Be careful my stubborn dirty old friend!

Chag Pesach Sameach

Had I known that, I would've taken Dovster up on one of his offers to visit years ago, with the hopes that my now ex would have been so jealous he would've left then!

Shortly before midnight (my time) I heard over 20 explosions, but they seemed to be a number of kilometers away so I was not too concerned. As it turned out they were Iron Dome missiles shooting down Hezbollah rockets and were high in the sky. Then, about two hours later there were three more explosions, much louder, and clearly they hit the ground. Deciding that discretion is the better part of valor, I got out of my comfortable bed and moved into my bomb shelter, which has a much less comfortable bed. I was not able to sleep so I heard my phone telling me I had an SMS message. I read it and was informed by the Army that the last three explosions were our artillery shooting into Lebanon. (The border is so close to my house that it is impossible to judge from the sound on which side they landed.) Hopefully, the games are over for tonight and I can sleep in the good bed.

Hope your other beloveds are doing ok there, Dovster

Dov, how are you doing?

Haven't heard anything since the end of April.

Times of Israel has said more Hezbollah missiles coming into the north and now there are fires

Stay safe my friend,

Mike

Dovster, this article reminded me of you, geographically and in other aspects. Monica Seeley, "Aramean Christians, Israel, and Gaza: An interview with Shadi Khalloul", Catholic World Report, 4 June 2024, available at https://www.catholicworldreport.com/...hadi-khalloul/ . Ongoing prayers for peace in Israel.

Ok the good news is that I finally checked his ft page and saw he posted on 6/12. I myself also felt like I was seeing reduced ft activities from Dovster thus I too felt some concern.

Sorry, but I cannot type and post because of a combination of health and IT problems.

Dovster asked me to post an update. He has been released after a week in the hospital due to medical issues not in any way related to the current war. He is doing well, but suffering from some residual brain fog. Since he was taken to the hospital, there have been several attacks on his Kibbutz. At least four houses (not his) have been destroyed and the army has asked (rather forcefully) that residents not return. So he is staying in a hotel (with lousy internet) for now.

And yes, he laughed when I pointed out that Omni-Libs will acknowledge his brain fog is nothing new.

Thank you for the update - it’s just a very challenging situation for everybody…

Hope he’s okay! I am very worried about Dovster. I’m glad we are not going back to Israel again. Very extremely dangerous situation for us. I remember when we have a wars in Israel over two decades ago. We had go back home. Everybody knew the news about war in Israel and Lebanon. They were very worried about us. But I’m glad we safe back home.

Five out of eight doctors I have consulted since leaving the hospital believe that I am still alive.

SPN Lifer may be interested in learning that despite Israel being a Jewish nation, the hotel is owned and operated by the Catholic Church. There are quite a few priests staying here as guests. They have all refused to give me the Last Rites, saying I have committed too many wrongs.

I tried dating several of the women staying here but nun of them were interested.

Thanks Dovster - great to read from you.

I was recently at St. Luke's Hospital in Manila for prostate cancer, a prostatovesiculectomy, radiation therapy, and quarterly female hormone injections. (The latter induces menopause symptoms, including hot flashes, increasing my empathy.)

It turns out to be an Episcopalian hospital, but I am still grateful for my care. Don't ask me about urinary stress incontinence, and voiding my bladder into an air sickness bag during turbulence. :)

Prayerful best wishes for ongoing recovery. 🙏 ✡️

I have been working in legal aid these past three years (indigent clients are much more appreciative than government agencies), but I will say that sometimes mental clarity is overrated. From almost five years living in San Francisco, plus decades in the Bay Area, I do like the fog. :D

It has been said that two rites don’t make a wrong.

I am glad to see you posting on FlyerTalk again. Try to stay well and stay safe...