Tel Aviv Rooftop

No, not Gaza or Mogadishu, but south Tel Aviv, Neve Sha'anan, this morning. This is old Central Bus Station area. Once the alighting point for anyone arriving in Tel Aviv by bus, which, up until the 70s, was just about everyone. Now, it is the dumping ground for foreign workers, both legal and illegal, from scores of countriesas well as refugees from Sudan, poor Ethiopian Israelis and others at the bottom of the heap. The shops  that used to sell kitschy paintings and cheap chocolates have been turned into peep shows and brothels. Gospel -like music emanated from the open door of the 'Mountain of Fire and Miracle Ministries, Tel Aviv' just a few doors away, apparently offering a more wholesome experience. The old platforms have been dismantled to make way for a new tower project. Looking at this picture , it is hard to imagine the heaving, pulsing, sweating mass of humanity that once lined up here for the un-airconditioned hard-edged buses...

A Friday spent with friends in the Galil celebrating the newly achieved PhD of Dr. M. Friends who go back 30 years: all of us showing signs of wear and tear, some more serious than others. Memories rekindled and maybe some old animosities forgiven and forgotten. On the drive home, the ever changing sky and birds flying south for the winter. Nature taking its eternal course.

Mid Life Crisis has been rehearsing hard for this upcoming gig - Tuesday, December 8 at 8.30 p.m at Sublime - Rehov Salame 53. We managed to put together three new songs (one of them even a politically correct environment song) to add to the roster of favourites. We will be rocking! Hope that you can join us. To hear Mid Life Crisis: http://myspace.com/mlcisrael