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Home Thoughts
From Abroad
by DAVID* and Ml I I DA MACAROV
from JEWISH CONGRESS BI-WEEKLY
How has the New York skyline
changed? Isn’t there a new bridge
somewhere over the bay? How can
people remember those long tele
phone numbers? What is a zip
code? How safe are the streets at
night? These are some of the ques
tions which we ask ourselves as
we prepare for a study trip to
America after seven and a half
years in Israel.
Our four children, the oldest of
whom is now sixteen, hardly re
member the United States. Their
hopes and fears are built upon our
reminiscences of "the old country,"
and what newer arrivals among
their peers have told them. We,
the parents, however, look forward
with great eagerness to some re
membered aspects of life in Amer
ica, and with much foreboding
to others. Leaving out purely per
sonal considerations, these are the
things which we find ourselves
anticipating, for better or for
worse:
The five-day week. Imagine the
luxury of having two whole days
off! What delight, what sheet-
pleasure to be able to lie in bed
and read a big, fat Sunday paper!
And to have one day as Shabbat.
and another for all the things you
don’t have time for during the
week, instead of Shabbath being
the only non-working day! There’s
a saying in Israel that Americans
will never be really integrated
until they can wake up on Sun
day morning without moaning
about memories of things past. Of
course, Israeli youth are supposed
to be. better educated, owing to
the extra day per week in school
for many years, but whether the
gain is worth the price is hard to
say.
Shopping. Not just the availabil
ity of goods at mass-production
prices, but the variety, the service,
and the convenience of the depart
ment store, the discount house, the
specialty shop, and even the corner
drug store, excite us. "The cus
tomer is always right”—do Amer
icans properly appreciate this atti
tude? Oh, tee will—after years of
"take it or leave it," and "no ex
changes—no refunds.” Of course,
we’ll probably do very little buy
ing between one and four o’clock,
having become inured to the incon-
^ David Macarov is a former
Atlantan who now divides
his time between Israel and
America. He's now in the
U. S.—and this is the di
mension as he and his wife
sees things.
The Southern Israelite
venience of stores in Israel being
closed during those hours." It will
also take us time to realize that
drugstores stay open even at night,
and on weekends. And can you
really buy candy, . drinks, gifts,
maybe even sunglasses in Amer
ican drugstores, or is this a false
memory?
Recreation. We may spend more
time camping-out, swimming, or
just walking in Jerusalem than
we will in America, because the
summer is longer, school days are
shorter, and built-up areas are
proportionately less extensive. On
the other hand, we’ve missed
skating rinks, driving ranges, golf
courses (miniature or regular),
batting ranges, bowling alleys, and
similar drop-in, come-as-you-are
recreation facilities. Even the ub-
iquitious movies operate in Israel
on a two-shows-a-day schedule,
for which tickets must be purch
ased in advance. It will be nice
to just pick up and go to a movie
on impulse. And, an almost-for-
gotten delight—movies without ad
vertisement - filled intermissions
right at the most exciting part. In
short, we’re looking forward to the
whole American complex of in
formal. individual recreation.
Services. The thought of unlimit
ed telephone service that does not
charge for each call, and accord
ing to the length of every call, is
a welcome vision of relaxed com
munication, in contradistinction to
our careful rationing of phone
calls, requiring self-justification
each time a number is dialled.
(Yehudit, you're not going to
make another phone call! Why
can’t she call you sometimes? They
can afford it better than we can.’’)
American transportation services
also have their attractiveness.
Without decrying the importance
of cooperatives in Israel for their
social and ideological contributions,
it will be delightful to be wooed
by competing railroads, airlines,
and bus companies, each trying to
outdo the other in pleasing us, in
stead of putting up with the in
efficiency and "public be damned"
attitude of monopolistic, albeit co
operative. services.
Food. We are far from badly
fed in Israel, but the local sub
stitute for Coca-Cola doesn't satis
fy an ex-Southerner; meat is ex
pensive enough to be served in
small portions and only at inter
vals; and delicatessen products,
olives, and pickles are all prepared
differently in Israel. It isn't really
true that the local frankfurter con-
Chit wood Broadloom
INCORPORATED
Resaca, Georgia
Hubbard Pants Company
Bremen, Georgia
Manufacturers of HUBBARD SLACKS
for MEN and BOYS
Birdsong-McKenney Incorporated
Insurance
108 North Hightower Street
Telephone 647-7216
THOMASTON, GA.
National Sales Co., Inc.
P. O. BOX 467
Calhoun, Georgia 30701
Telephone Nos. 629-4444—278-1225
Teletype No. 810-766-3982
Carpet yarns and jute carpet backing
CROWN JANYJO, INC.
Tufted Bedspreads & Rugs
Calhoun, Ga. Chatsworth, Ga.
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