Sunday we are leaving for the dig at Tel Dor and will be helping with the dig for three weeks. I don't know how much digging I will be doing. The tell is right next to the beach and my plan is to sneak down to the beach........ they won't miss me. We will take the laptop with us, and hopefully there will be a phone outlet to plug into. I don't think that I could survive three weeks with out my email life line. Writing these letters is my coping therapy.
We rented a car for the time that Ron is with us. Don, Ron, and sometimes I, have been running around in the car to various dig and antiquity suites. We continue to walk or take the bus here in town, it's easier than trying to find a parking place. Don and Ron walked over to the school library this morning and I have this computer all to my self, no one pacing around waiting for their turn.
Don, Ron, and Randy (when he was here) have been doing the dishes for me. It's so nice to relax in the evening and let them do the cleaning up. We have no dish washer or garbage disposal, we're really roughing it.
Last night we did our first outing with the Civil Patrol. This is a branch of the Israel Police Department and is similar to neighborhood watch. Don and I walked (a few blocks) over to the Community Center where the Civil Patrol office is. We were briefed on what to watch for, got our official police vest and identification, were shown how to use the official police mobile phone, and met the rifle carrying man who would go with us. (We don't get guns because you have to be an Israel citizen and take a class to carry one. That's fine with me.) Soon after we started walking around the neighborhood, we saw a vehicle that looked like the one we were supposed to be watching for. Don pulled out the paper he had written the license number on, and.......this was the vehicle!!!! We fumbled around with the mobile phone trying to remember how it worked, called the patrol office and reported where we saw it and what direction it was going. The patrol office reported this to the police and they took over. How exciting! The men in this vehicle were known to be stealing from cars in the neighborhood. The rest of the evening was uneventful, we walked around the neighborhood and said "Shalom" to any one we met. This is a volunteer thing, and we will be doing it once a month or more. OK, I can hear it now, "Be careful!! Be careful!!". There is no danger to us, we just report when we see something that we think is suspicious.
The gas inspection man came to check the stove and dryer. He said they both had leaks and turned the gas of. This affects the stove and dryer but not the hot water, our water is solar heated. I have been hanging the laundry on a line in the back porch and things dry almost faster than they did in the dryer. The dryer man came and fixed the dryer. The stove man came this morning to fix the stove but said that he couldn't because the gas is off. The gas man won't turn on the gas until the stove is fixed. Oh well..........we are going to be gone for three weeks and in that time Jody (our land lady) should have it all sorted out. For meals I have been using the micro wave, toaster oven, and the deli.
I don't think I will get another letter off before we leave on Sunday, but hope I will be able to send email from Tel Dor. If I can't, I'll cry a lot!!
More later...............Shalom........Bernice