Hi Dovster! Shalom! It's nice to see you are still posting here after all the years... Do you still have your Used Italian Girlfriend?
Sorry to hear about all the mishaps that happened to you. I hope you are safe where you are. It's really sad what is happening there.
Most important is that you stay safe. I will be looking up your posts.

Its been lovely the past week or two. A few red alerts along the troubled areas, but otherwise all is quiet. We have started to unpack our emergency go bag and are enjoying everyday life in TLV. Hoping things stay quiet so @dovster and others can return home.

A family friend's son is a lone soldier. He has now served in Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria. No one had that on their bingo card when he enlisted.

Two days ago, Lev, a Russian immigrant who was a member of the kibbutz and a good friend for over 30 years, passed away. It was a major shock to all of us as he was 61-years-old, seemed to be both healthy and in good physical shape. Lev was one of the few people who remained on the kibbutz for the duration of the war. The reason he stayed: he was the manager of the kibbutz's convenience store, and while it had almost no customers from the kibbutz, there were a large number of soldiers who served in the general area and wanted them to have a place to buy refreshments.

I drove to his funeral yesterday and was surprised to see several hundred people there. Some were kibbutz members but most were not. They were soldiers who guarded the kibbutz at various times during the fighting. They all appreciated what he had done for them. They ranked from privates to one full colonel. Until about a week ago, no gathering of more than 10 people was allowed, out of concern of the number who would be killed by a single missile. Now, with the cease-fire still holding up, the restriction was lifted for the length of his funeral.

Sorry for your loss Dov. Nice that Lev had so many friends who came to his funeral.

One of the unsung heroes, the kind who never get medals but just go above and beyond the call of duty without fanfare. I don't know what the afterlife holds, if anything, but he sounds like the kind of person whom one would want to see rewarded in it.
It may be worth pointing out here, for those not familiar with the IDF, that its ranks go up to the equivalent of a U,S lieutenant general (three stars), versus four in the U.S., and only one person at a time holds that rank, the head of its General Staff (versus 40+ four-star officers and 150+ three-star officers in the U.S. military). The commander of the Israeli air force, for example, has the equivalent of U.S. two-star rank. In that context, a full colonel is a much bigger deal than in many other armies.

Thanks for the update! I’m sorry for the loss of your friend. Very sad!

@Mrp Alert - I hope all is OK with you after the missile falling in Tel Aviv

Uh-oh! Here we go again!

Dovster, you be careful out there and stay safe! Keep it safe!

After having lost 30 kilos (66 pounds) while I was ill, my appetite returned about 2 weeks ago and, with it, my ability to eat more than a few mouthfulls of food. During that time, I found a steak/hamburger restaurant which has delicious food. In those 2 weeks I re-gained 6 kilos.

I went there last evening and, as I was leaving, two women who are staying at my hotel, walked in. They are both (I am guessing) in their mid-60s, and while I have chatted with them in the hotel lobby, I don't even know their names. One is Mexican and the other Panamanian -- beyond that I all I can say is that they seem very nice. I put them in a state of shock when I handed my Visa card to the waiter and told him to debit me for their meals. As I said, the women were shocked -- but the waiter was not. He told me that since the war began, a lot of Israelis are doing favors for comparative strangers. I am no psychologist, but I am guessing that this helps us develop a feeling of unity at a time where it is really needed.

Big kudos on the healthier weight gain! Great job rizzing the younger ladies and let’s see some kissing in your future :-)

Great news, Dovster ! BTW, to say, "Bon appetit!" in Spanish, we say, "Buen provecho." All short vowels, so pronounced "Buehn proh-veh-choh".

I thought it was Bwayne Pro Veh Cho. ;)

And the veh isn't pronounced like the vey after oy :p

It would have been simpler to wish Dovster בתאבון. 😜

You guys! You be careful out there and stay safe out there! I knew the war is not over yet. I wonder what happened to all of those people who were stuck in Israel. There’s no way to get them back to the United States. I’m afraid you’re still stuck there for a long time. You can’t get out of Israel! How about rescue flights? I am very worried about my friends who live in Israel. They are going to try to get them out of there.

El Al and several other airlines, including Etihad, LOT, Aegean, Ethiopian and Air Europa, currently fly between TLV and the US, Europe and elsewhere. No one is stuck in Israel.