A Jerusalem July 4th celebration

I walked into the New Age bookstore in Jerusalem - Olam Qatan - and my friend's friend was nearly in tears.

"I don't wanna go. Do you think I should extend my ticket? I really don't wanna go."

Glancing at her face brought back memories for me. I knew exactly what she was talking about - she didn't need to explain. It was that same experience I had, the same exact familiar and deep feelings for Jerusalem, that draws you to its soul, so closely that if you leave, you think you'll burst or die or wither away spiritually.

"Look, honey" I said as an older sister would have said. "I used to be that way too. That's why I moved here, sweet pea. When it got too painful to leave Jerusalem, I decided that was it and I moved here. You'll be back." I knew it better than Schwartzenegger.

"Won't I just get back into the swing of things and forget about Jerusalem once I'm back in my apartment?" she seemed worried. Oh no, dahling. Israel's always in the news. You'll be reminded of your spiritual home every day. You'll see familiar scenery, and you'll get a whiff of the city buses and remember the diesel fumes of hundreds of Jerusalem's buses on the roads each day.

I knew she'd be on that plane crying all the way home. I did it when I lived in Toronto. She lives in Chicago, so of course she'll cry. Chicago ain't nothing like Jerusalem.

We parted ways and off I went with Roseanne, my long lost friend. We went to a free open-air movie, which looked like a drive in, only it was more like a sit-in - bean bags on the floor with neck pillows. I'd never seen anything like it. We plopped ourselves down on the bags in front of a table. Bad move. The table, in fact the plaza, belonged to Lugars, an upscale restaurant. Looks like the movie wasn't so free after all. But had we just plopped down where there weren't any tables, we may have gotten around having to place a food order. But what the heck. Ain't nothing like munching and watching a movie at the same time. Fuck popcorn. The movie was "Meet the Fockers" - so terribly stupid but so much fun to watch with hundreds of other people on these zany seats, all around you. My friend, an Orthodox Jew, was amazed that she could just sit at an outdoor movie theatre, ordering a hamburger. You can't order kosher hamburgers in this particular scenario anywhere else in the world. But here we were - a mix of different people - all enjoying the cool Jerusalem evening. My neighbors to my left were a group of young kids here for a summer learning program in Jewish Studies. They offered me chocolate to celebrate the 4th of July.

"Honey, I don't need the 4th of July to be gouging on chocolates. Just waking up in the morning is a good 'nuff excuse." I told them. But then as the chocolate melted in my mouth, it began to sparkle and crackle. What the hell is that? They laughed. Special fireworks chocolates for the 4th of July. How cool.

We went downtown to Mikes Place, in its new location, to see how they celebrated American Independence Day. My friend was again amazed at the clientele, which consisted of many young American kids, a few Israelis, and a smattering of Ultra-Orthodox Jews. "You'd NEVER see this in New York. They'd never go to a blues club." And we rocked together with Mike Perry's astounding band until it was nearly midnight, and no longer the 4th of July.