Work

Installing the aircons

So the implosion continues to intensify even as the New Year approaches. A teen-age girl ws assaulted allegedly by ultra-orthodox youths in Tiberias last night. The secular jewish community is furious. This incident shows that the ultra-orthodox are now trying to control other parts of Israel ... cities known for liberalism and secular lifestyle. As someone commented ... the war has begun. The New Year period leads to the Day of Atonement ... and all the intervening days are days for repentance ....  https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Religious-youths-attack-teen-girl-for-immodest-clothing-566632

This morning was a whole series of errands  ... I didn't have time to even meet with our lawyers and admin team. I had to deal with visas for nuns stuck at the border, with unpaid phone bills for another convent, with booking Masses for a Kenyan group in Jordan ..... it never seems to end. In this heat I am getting a headache from rushing from one place to another. And the workers have come to install 2 zircons in the library .... a bigger headache as we have to move the enormous volumes of ancient manuscripts before they drill holes into the walls .... dust and noise everywhere. But the aircons are necessary as the ancient manuscripts ... some from the Crusader period are in very bad condition. The humidity and heat are destroying them. But it's alot of preparatory work ... moving the manuscripts out of the way, closing the other shelves with plastic wrapping ... Anyway it's lunchtime and the librarians are on their lunch break. I have to stay back to check on the aircon work as the 500 yr old gates have been opened for the installation. We don't want cats, rats and other unwanted visitors in the library.

Pigeons feed while workers wait for
jobs at Musrara

My right shoulder has been hurting again ... so much that I barely sleep 3 hours a night. It's excruciating. I ran out of Tiger Balm plastic and it's not available in our pharmacy. So too bad for me. Still I really shouldn't be complaining. This morning as I came home from Mass walking through the Musrara market ... the usual crowd of day-workers were sitting with coffee, waiting for some employer to drive along and hire them for the day. Some had hands in bandages, others were old men who needed to feed families, others were barely 16 yr old kids with dirty torn clothes ... all waiting to earn 200 shekels or so today for some very hard work. They have a truly hard life. So I have nothing to complain as I can't compare with them.