 4 Aug 2005 @ 11:01, by Judih Haggai
Frequent army checkpoints checking for authorized residency, soldiers standing all day in mid-summer heat and then arriving by busloads to take advantage of kibbutz pools at night; Gaza settlers blatantly flaunting their 'orange' colour of protest, and life becomes a series of question marks as the Gaza disengagement gets closer and closer.
Well, I've disengaged. Am now in North America visiting family and taking a far away look at what is happening over there in the Western Negev.
Just before I left, Wednesday August 3rd, Fox TV crews had begun to occupy temporary quarters on the kibbutz. A few strangers were wandering our small kibbutz store to look for basics - junk food, coffee and humous.
Doing t'ai chi, Tuesday night on our tennis courts, it became a constant concentration exercise (more than usual)while detaching from the outer sounds of a serious soccer game right beside us and the laughter of soldiers at the pool with the radio turned up loud to the Army Channel (Galei Tzahal). Along with hip-hop and rock, the trusty news broadcasts shouted out every half hour breaking the momentum. And what's a poolparty without a barbecue? Suddenly meat invaded the space one step further.
Meat on one side and ammonia stink carried on the gentle breeze from the neighbouring kibbutz's factory - (what won't the breeze bring next?) and there, in a nutshell, was the mosaic of a single evening.
More evenings and days will mount up till the final disengagement date.
I'll be over here for awhile, but like most people who live in Israel, I'll be glued to news updates from www.haaretz.com and from friends.
Will keep you posted.
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