A Day on the Reservation

I think they founded the city of Tel Aviv for much the same reason that the Americans set up Indian Reservations. They needed to provide a place where strange and colorful people could live their lives according to their own traditions without interfering with other, normal, people.

Out here in the country we see them often; raiding parties of wild savages from Tel Aviv in convoys of shiny 4x4 all-terrain vehicles with polished hubcaps and dust free rentals adorned with hi-tech logos plunder the countryside whooping wildly and boom-boom-booming trance music, dismount to search for cell phone reception and espresso, and flee back to the city with a trail of litter and destruction in their wake.

Normally I try to steer clear of Tel Aviv, but my niece Brittany that is serving in the US Navy sent word that she would be there taking part in joint exercises with the Israeli Navy in a five star hotel, and Odelia and Netanel wanted to blow their birthday money, so we decided to make a day of it on the Reservation.

We started off in old Jaffa and wandered thru the narrow alleys, but the kids had money burning a hole in their pocket and we moved on to the flea market near by. I keep Yael on a short leash in places like this, holding tightly on to the purse strings until we spot a victim and then let her loose on the unsuspecting shop keeper. No one is Yael's equal when bargaining and we always leave the shop with more than we deserve and the vender with less cash than he hoped for.









































Tel Avivians are a primitive people, but it can't be said that they don't make a contribution to society. I serve with some of them in the Army. Almost every patrol has one or two, and they are usually designated to take point along with the Bedouin trackers because… well, there's no nice way to say it… they're expendable. I ran into one of my army buddies, Lior. Israel truly is a small country. He told me two things of note.

One, that he is one of the Israelis that visits my blog regularly. Two, bad news for Maayan. Lior says that Amir, the guy that only a year and a half ago solemnly swore off women (so much so that I decided on the spot that he is not son-in-law material), has decided to tie the knot. Maayan has seen snapshots of Amir and thinks he's a hunk. Sorry Maayan, another prime piece of man flesh is off the market. (In the photo, Amir, to the right, and Lior, in the middle, are setting off for a night patrol.)

Only the locals can find their way around in Tel Aviv, but Brittany has been trained by the Navy to navigate, so she gave us directions. We dropped her off at her Hotel and made it home with our treasures. Tel Aviv is interesting, but there's nothing like getting back to civilization.

I wish to express my sincere apologies to Native Americans for comparing them to the savages in Tel Aviv.