Stacey's home!

Stacey and the other women came home from Palestine last night. What a relief! And it was a dramatic departure to boot. About five of the women were detained at the airport in Tel Aviv and questioned. Finally, they were allowed to board and all arrived home tired ... but safe and exhilarated. What a fabulous experience: all the people they met, the tiny Palestinain towns visited, the misery they witnessed and the euphoria unleashed by being able to stand with these people who are fighting, literally, for their very existence. Job well done. Now they intend to bring their witness to people back here in the States; people who are so uninformed or, better, mis-informed. What are the issues? What's the reality behind the occupation?


Arriving at JFK last night - "glad to be home."

Stacey took some great photos and kept a blog on which you can read about her adventure. That was incredibly difficult given the nature of a small town: lack of internet connections, crude equipment, slow connections. And then there was the press of time: meetings, protests, touring -- all conspired to limit her ability to compose and send these logs. I was very proud of her -- and from what I've heard so are the other women in the group. She's a very impressive woman!

Three of us headed to the airport to pick up our wives. I was joined by Stu and Mickey. We brought flowers with us to greet the intrepid travellers. I prepared a dinner for Carol and Mickey and Stacey and me, even though they had not slept for the past 48 hours and would be exhausted...still a dinner on the deck was very appealing: they were home at last. Some times they could not shower for 4 days at a time! And the dust - very fine dust that invades every little crevass and crack and coats everything was very discomforting. Another thing that bothered them was the amount of smoking that goes on and everywhere. So, it was exciting, exhilerating, euphoric and dramatic. But -- they were also very glad to be home again. Stacey said that to me today while were having lunch at Cafe Luluc today sitting in their lovely garden. She looked around, signed and said simply "It's nice to be home." I'm sure it was.

The cat's happy too. Pumpkin loves, no -- adores Stacey. She likes me too but it's not adoration. No. More like tolerance. So, when she was gone for two weeks and then some, Pumpkin hibernated. Perhaps she was mourning. She spent most of her time under a bed, lying there in the dark all day. Poor cat ... I tried telling her that her lover would be back in a while, but she ignored me and took her place under the bed every day and stayed there (she would come out, briefly, for food, or to make sure I was about). After a week or so of this shiva, she started to warm up to me a bit and would lie down on my chest at night so I could pet her -- for a few minutes anyway. But there's no denying - she was disconsolate.

Well she has her Stacey back now and is following her around all day to make sure she doesn't get separated again. Stacey is upstairs now, napping - catching up on that 48 hour lack of sleep. And where's Pumpkin you ask? No, she's not under the bed any longer. She's on it. Do you love cats? I love cats.


Pumpkin guarding Stacey to make sure she doesn't leave again.