Glimmering

My last day of vacation before I become Cinderella again. It's so glorious just to be able to walk around Jerusalem. I don't need to have to go anywhere special or do anything - just walk. I was buying school books for my son and firmly told Hubby - today not tomorrow is when we are taking back the old books and I can't possibly carry them all So Abed and Hubby met us downtown with Abed toting all the books in one box. I said to Hubby - you know what this looks like? It looks like we're walking with Abed "the indentured servant". I felt embarrassed. I stopped and wouldn't go further unless we were all given books to carry. I had books from 3 kids I needed lugged to the second hand bookshop. So Hubby and Abed shared the heavy load and we were absolved from lugging anything. Hell with women's lib. I'm happy not lugging. :-)

I rushed back because a friend I met over a Rolling Stones e-mail list had come to Israel for a brief visit, and wanted to visit with me. We call those visits between Stones fans - glimmer gatherings. She had gotten me tickets to Stones concerts in the States and invited me to stay at her house in New Jersey the last time the Stones toured the US. I had never met her before. Of course Hubby was like - she could be an axe murderer. He's always the wary one. But unfortunately for him, he's married to an adventurous Jewish gypsy and I felt I had to go. She was a great hostess, and gave up her place at an art gallery showing where one of the Stones, Ron Wood, and the object of my teenage, post-teenage, and pre-menopausal fantasies, was having an exhibition of his artwork. I couldn't believe I was "in". I actually got a kiss on the cheek from him after waiting over 30 years for one. Back to the present, I waited on my street for 1/2 an hour making sure her family would find our home. I gave them the grand tour of our neighborhood, my meditation spot overlooking the desert and the bedouin encampment and a tour of my humble abode, and as much as you can do and say in two hours before they headed back to their hotel. I don't think she'll wait 10 years for her next visit, as she did this time. We plan a longer glimmer gathering next year!