R&D Weinapple's 2012 Trip to Spain and Israel: Israel - Friday

After our last breakfast at funkily great Cinema Hotel, we took a taxi to Moshav Avihail, about 40 minutes north of Tel-Aviv, and several minutes north of Netanya. The taxi driver had spoken with Rama to make sure the directions were right, and they ended up enjoying a conversation together. He had been around since halutzim times and knew about the Beit Hagdudim, as well as the early pioneers. A historically interesting ride. It was like coming home to pull up to the Kaminer house with their name painted on a post in front. I remember that patio we used to play our Hearts card games on. Rama and Natan were seated inside, Rama in a wheelchair, she can barely walk, and cannot leave the house. Her body is a mess; heart and lung problems, but her head is 100% all there. I talked more with Natan than usual - my Hebrew is getting better. I tried to translate as much as I could for Richard. Mary, their Filipina caregiver who is there 24/7, came and introduced herself. She is fluent in Hebrew, a little less so in English. Rama's daughter and son-in-law Smadar and Haim were there. Haim has very little English, and Smadar forgot much of hers. We sat and remembered how Rama took care of me when I would come over for a homecooked meal on weekends from kibbutz HaOgen or from Tel-Aviv University where I was spending my junior year in college in 1978-79. Smadar took me next door to their house (that was just built when I was there in 1994. Hila was in her room (converted from a garage) doing her video editing work, and she was also working on Geni geneology - we linked her Kaminer side with Bichkov. They also divided another part of their house for Hadi and Yael and their new baby. That's the way people are managing with the housing crisis. I didn't see Revital or her daughters this trip, but Smadar showed us photos of Maya's wedding, and she made notations in Hebrew of who was who in a group photo that I had taken a picture of. (I thought I'd ask Anat to translate it when I get home.) And beautiful Ziv lives on a kibbutz with her boyfriend. I took a couple photos from the photo album. Rama got on the phone to help us arrange to get a taxi, since it was already too late that day to take a bus or a sherut - shabbat had already started. As the taxi pulled up, it all seemed so rushed to say goodbye; I couldn't think of an appropriate way to say goodbye, because it is likely that I'll never see them again. As I got into the taxi, I started crying. Richard comforted me, and lately told me that this was the moment that he will remember most from the trip.