Tales from the Towers: Spring is the nicest season

"Why do you always turn your head the other way when you pass me by?" asks Jana, the pretty blonde girl who stands behind the buffet whenever we celebrate birthdays in the Towers.

"Jana", I tell her, "I don't turn away from you, I turn away from the buffet with all the cakes and stuff you have there, I just don't want to look at it and start thinking that just one small piece of cake won't ruin my life! It may not ruin my life but it certainly would ruin my self-respect and my pride in my willpower! Now if I meet you someplace else - not behind that buffet - you know very well how friendly I can be!"

So like every other end of month we had our birthday celebration for all the people who live here at the Elisha Towers were born in the month of March.. The musical program was presented by a couple of singers of light music. As soon as they appeared on the so-called stage, speculations started among the public:

"Are they married", someone asked, "or are they just together for the music?" 

"They are not married", someone offered information, "in fact he was married to someone else and then he met this woman and left his wife for her!"

"Not true", said my neighbor to the left, "as far as I know they've been married many years and he is faithful too!"

"Nonsense! Have you ever heard of a musician being faithful? Their lives are full of temptations which they cannot resist!"

Nizza, who could not have heard all these comments, suddenly said:

"OK, before you ask, and in order to put your minds at rest, those two are married and happy together, so don't come to me with the usual questions!!!"

Fine. Riddle solved!

Our dear town Haifa is being reconstructed, and it is not just road repair but the scope of it all is to have a small train circulate through the streets and ease our usual traffic congestion. Maybe it will all be done in two years, three years, who knows? In the meantime, a couple of days ago and after some errands downtown, I was looking for a bus stop to go back up to Mount Carmel. As I should have expected, the bus stop had disappeared, instead I found a big mount of rubble. I asked a shopkeeper nearby whether he knows where I am supposed to board my bus now and he says:

"You go up this street and then to the right,…no, no wait a moment just continue here until you see the building which was a cinema once and..then…you know it's all the idea of our mayor, my business is shot to hell and wait a moment I want to tell you what this did to all the shops here! …"

I did not wait. A lady told me: "Take it here to the right and there you will find bus no. 28!" I found a bus but it was no. 17!

"You are supposed to be 28!" I reproached the driver. He gave a big sigh and said:

"Until last week I was 28, then just for one day I was No 2, and now, frankly, lady, take a look outside and up there and you tell me what I am, because I undergo so many changes, I can't remember! I am grateful that my wife still knows who I am!"

"So what do I do now?" I asked.

"Oh lady, of course you know what to do! Just take a taxi!"

Come to think of it, our ambitious mayor should pay for it!

Spring has come and here and there the smell of jasmine is intoxicating. Spring also brought allergies, a new and modern virus and our house doctor is busier than ever.

When I got sick too, he came to see me and assured me that I'll live!!

I wish you all good health and remember:

Spring is the nicest season of the year!

Lucca