Of lentils and gables

Wednesday lunch

It was the 4th of July but this year the americans kept a low key here in Jerusalem. The Light Festivl outshone the american celebrations ... and luckily so. Not everyone here is happy with the American embassy move and the last thing you want is to provoke a riot. So far we've been having a quiet enjoyable summer. Don't spoil it with politics.

Meantime the refugee crisis in the north is reported every hour. It is sad but I can understand Jordan and Israel's fears. So far both countries have done a lot by providing field medical service to the refugees and I think food and water. That is already a lot of humanitarian aid considering the tens of thousands of refugees packed at the borders. My question is: what is the rest of the arab world doing to help? Where are they? They have the oil, they have the money, they have countless tracks of desert to house thousands of people. So where are they?

Stone mason engraving a gable

Last night I had to go back to the other office as I had forgotten to do something. It was 9pm. The roads were filled with visitors of the Light Festival. I did think of going to see the displays at the Jewish and Armenian Quarters but seeing the crowds, I decided to go home. Smart choice. My legs were too tired anyway ... this week has been one long track. I'm hoping the rest of summer would be less demanding ... and I can rest ... or better, I can sleep more. The word is "aestivate".

Wednesday today. That means lentils. We fast or abstain twice a week ... on Wednesdays and Fridays. My dislike for lentils is legendary. This time the cook had broken fettucini (fancy word for kway teow) cooked with the lentils. I was very hungry so I ate it. It was penance.

Yesterday on my way home from work, I had the opportunity to witness 3 stone masons engraving floral designs on a door gable. It's an ancient art which I thought was dead ... so it was a pleasant surprise to see the 3 men drawing the vines and grapes on the stone gable and starting to chisel the shapes out. Few people can afford such artwork on their doors or walls nowadays. It's very expensive. I think the gable that the masons were working on belongs to a coptic or ethiopic monastery.