Sunday, August 06, 2006

Grandma got to eat


Friday morning we had intelligence that there was going to be heavy fire in the afternoon, while all morning it was quiet. Around 2 o'clock there still hadn't been any strikes, a little odd as they normally start around 8 AM. Two last meals needed to be delivered before shabbat and we needed to pick up some supplies. So I put on my shoes and hit the road in the midday sun. Unfortunately there was a typo on the address sheet and my friend and I were wandering around for over an hour. Still no rockets. The whole time I'm walking I'm looking for good places to take cover in case the sirens sound. We meet a crazy cab driver who claims he knows where the house is (though the address doesn't actually exist). So we hop in the cab and head on our way.
When the siren sounds and your out on the streets, an immediate jolt of adrenaline surges in your heart and an animalistic scamper mode kicks in. You drop whatever your doing and scurry. The siren sounded and I was stuck in a cab. I told Cabi I wanted out. He said he knew a good place to go around the corner and I should believe in god. Around the corner was a giant wide open parking lot, one of the worst places to be. Shrapnel pierces car metal, I've seen it. His plan was to just park the car and wait. 5 seconds had past since the siren sounded. 10 seconds till landing. Car still rolling. I yelled at Cabi, tossed him ten Shekkel and told him I wanted out and opened the door to moving car. He stopped. I ran with friend. Sirens. Open naked lot. Found a trash dumpster vestibule made of concrete. Pushed out dumpster and curled into a ball. Head between legs, hands on head. Nothing to do but pray and wish for time to fast forward or somehow rewind. This was the first time I actually heard the Katusha cutting through the air. FFFWWWWWOOOOOOOSHHHHHHH! (as it flew overhead)
Boom.
But not just an exploding boom, a boom with broken glass and shattering concrete.
I didn't go to see where it landed. Still had meal to deliver. When we finally made it to the old woman's house the sirens sounded again. She was extremely old and couldn't move. She began to shake and cry. She looked like my grandma Rose. She was sitting on the couch by the window, shaking. Crying. We sat with her as the rockets landed. There's a nice Jewish Idea that bad things wont happen to you while your doing a good deed, and besides, Grandma had to eat.

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