Tuesday, August 28, 2007

From 20 Floors Above

We laid sod in our yard on July 23, which means we have had grass for 37 days. In those 37 days, our upstairs neighbors have contributed a number of interesting and not-so-interesting things to the new look of our yard. Some of their contributions were intentionally thrown out their windows or balconies, while other things were simply blown from said windows or balconies.

Each morning is a new adventure, almost a treasure hunt, as I lay out the water hoses and see what kinds of things I'll find. So, far, this is what I've found:
Apple: 1, half eaten;
Baby wipes: countless;
Balls: 3;
Burger and fries meal: 1, half eaten;
Cigarette butts: countless;
Coffee cups: 11, paper;
Coke bottles: 2, 1.5 liter plastic;
Cotton swabs: 7, used;
Disposable diapers: 2, used;
Dog food bowl: 1, steel;
Food container: 1, plastic (Tupperware-like);
Glass vase: 1, broken;
Gum: 2, chewed; 1, un-chewed;
Hair removal wax: 1 blob, hair included;
Latex glove: 1
Lollipops: 2, half eaten;
Peach: 1, half eaten;
Peach Pits: 2;
Plum: 1, half eaten;
Popsicle wrappers: 3;
Receipts: 2;
Rubber snake: 1, small;
Shekels: 100;
Toilet paper: used #2;
T-shirt: 1, mens;
Tuna cans: 2, empty;
Underwear: 1, boys;

Sunday, August 26, 2007

Happy 42nd


We combined family day with my birthday and went to the zoo today. It was really sunny and hot and the animals were secluding themselves in the shade, so there wasn't much to see. But just getting out with the family is a great gift, one for which I am very thankful.

After the zoo, we went to Spaghett'im downtown. I had my usual: spaghetti with meat sauce. I guess it's a holdover from my childhood. Back then I always chose Spaghetti Warehouse as my birthday restaurant. That was before it had expanded into a chain restaurant and I think it was better back then. Every year, I chose the same dish: spaghetti with meat sauce. I think one time I chose meat balls, but it wasn't as enjoyable for me. The spaghetti was good, but I think my favorite part of the meal was the sourdough bread. Wow, I would like to have a bite of that right now!

The atmosphere of the original location was great: the San Francisco trolley, the game area with "antique" popcorn cart in the front, drinking from jars. All neat stuff. I think the next time we are in Dallas, I'll take the girls for a survey trip to The Old Spaghetti Warehouse. I wonder if it is as good as it used to be.

More fun stuff: After dinner, the girls made me a carrot cake (my favorite) and sang happy birthday. This has been a great day.

Saturday, August 25, 2007

For a Miracle: Pass It On

I did what you told me...I sent it to 10 of my friends...I'm still waiting for my miracle...

Friday, August 24, 2007

Foto Friday: Team Israel Between Innings


Getting the guys focused and hyped is my job when we come off the field and head to the plate: "Alright, guys - great effort in the field. Now, lets get some runs. 1,2,3, Israel!"

This foto is courtesy of Johnny Mueller.

Sunday, August 19, 2007

A Wedding Dress

Before we were married, Colleen was living in Czech Republic and I was living in Israel. Since we planned to live in Israel after our wedding, we decided that Colleen would bring her stuff to Israel and then, we would fly to Texas for our wedding. Our flight out of Israel was exactly 12 hours after Colleen arrived from Czech Republic, which isn't quite enough time to see the sights.

When we arrived in Texas, very few details for our wedding remained to be arranged since most were either taken care of abroad, or, alternatively, by friends in Texas. Among the details that were managed from abroad was Colleen's wedding dress, which she had custom made in Czech Republic. It was beautiful, inexpensive and hand carried. We didn't take the chance of having it damaged or lost in checked baggage; and it came in handy as we went through airport security at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv.

Usually, Israel is a destination point, not a transit country. That being the case, I suspected that her flying from Czech Republic to the United States via Switzerland and Israel might raise some serious concerns for the security team at Ben Gurion. Particularly, if she was in Israel only 12 hours. That's just not a normal route.

When our turn came to go through security at Ben Gurion, we approached the counter expecting to be given the "full treatment." It seemed reasonable given our particulars: we're not Jewish, we're not Israeli, and Colleen had only been in the country 12 hours. The agent who handled us was thorough, but courteous, which was appreciated. As he quickly moved from question to question, he finally arrived at the standard, "where are you going and why" questions.

"Well, we're going to Texas to get married," I answered. He smiled as if he had finally found a chink in our armor and asked,"Can you prove that you're going to Texas to get married." As quickly as I noticed the look in his eye, the answer came to me: "I can't prove that we're going to get married, but we do have a pretty good clue. She has her wedding dress!" I responded. "Can I see it," he countered as we seemed to be sparring now. So, with great fanfare, I "jabbed" him: "Sure! But in our tradition, I can't see her dress before the wedding, so give me a chance to turn around!" Colleen pushed the garment bag toward our interrogator as I spun away. The timing was so perfect it had to be choreographed. But it wasn't.

Apparently weakened by my ability to verbally spar, or more likely realizing that we were telling the truth, he delicately opened the bag just enough to peak inside. Upon recognizing that it was, in fact, a wedding dress, he blushed and quickly zipped the bag closed and said, "Okay, you can go." And, as quickly as he zipped the bag closed he covered our bags with security stickers and moved us on to the ticket counter.

That was it: One of our easiest journeys through airport security. The interview lasted only a few minutes and the issue of Colleen's 12 hour transit in Israel never came up. I felt victorious. Colleen was just happy that I didn't get us dragged into the back room for the extra special attention offered to shady characters.

Next stop: Newark.

Friday, August 17, 2007

Friday Foto: Safe or Out? Pt. 2


The next frame following the foto from last week.

I like this photo because of the way the action is stopped: Both the runner and fielder are captured in mid-air. The runner because he has continued running at full force in an effort to beat the throw. The fielder is trying to avoid a collision at the base, so he pushes himself up and back after contacting the bag.

NOTE: The umpire called the runner out.

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

A Great Compliment

After we arrived from our recent trip to Italy for the European Baseball Championship, I received a great compliment. It is common for players or their families to say thanks for my efforts as a coach, but this one was different.

Unlike any other teams that travel to the European Championship tournament, Team Israel is required by the government to travel with a special security team. The guys that travel with us have always been very professional, which isn't surprising since they are the Israeli equivalent of the US Secret Service. Rarely have they ever understood or been interested in baseball, but they did their job well all the same. And I appreciate that fact.

This year, after we had gathered our luggage at Ben Gurion Airport, one of our agents approached me and said, "Craig, I want to thank you for what you do, and I don't mean the baseball. That was good, but I'm talking about preparing these guys for life. Thank you."

That "thank you" meant more to me than many others that I have received over the years. Sometimes the "thank yous" are obviously heart felt and are greatly appreciated. Others, however, are clearly just the socially expected behavior.

What made this one different were two things: First, the source: Our security agents see a different side of life than most of us would be comfortable knowing about. They, for the most part, have dedicated their lives to insulating the rest of us from the nasty underside of the world. Second, the observation: This particular agent recognized that my baseball training program is geared toward making my players better baseball players and better people. Better students. Better soldiers. Better citizens. Better husbands.

Perhaps, I have accomplished more than I thought.

Sunday, August 12, 2007

Jury Duty

Jeromy Jackson of Morgantown, West Virginia, is suing McDonalds for $10,000,000.

Here's the short version: On their way home to watch a movie, Jeromy, his mother Trela and friend Andrew Ellifritz stopped at a McDonalds drive-thru for a quick bite to eat. When ordering their meals through the drive-thru speaker, Jeromy allegedly informed the order-taker that he DID NOT want cheese on his burgers because he is allergic to cheese. According to his lawyer, Jeromy also told at least two other workers "face to face" that he couldn't have cheese because of allergies.

Assuming he had done enough to protect his own life, Jeromy and company drove home, entered a darkened room where they planned to watch a movie, and without inspection tore into the meal.

Almost immediately Jeromy started to have allergic reactions because there was, in fact, cheese on his burgers. He was rushed to the hospital and "was only moments from death or serious injury by the time he reached the hospital."

Jeromy's lawyer, Timothy Houston, said, "By my count, he took at least five independent steps to make sure that thing had no cheese on it. And it did [have cheese] and almost cost him his life." Therefore, the trio, deserve $10,000,000: Jeromy for almost dying and the other two for risking their lives rushing him to the hospital.

If I'm on the jury, I'm probably getting dismissed at this point, because I would likely start muttering to myself or out loud: "Maybe he took at least five independent steps to make sure that thing had no cheese on it, but what about the sixth and MOST IMPORTANT step?" Why didn't he look at the thing just to make sure it didn't have cheese?

Doesn't it make more sense that if he is deathly allergic to cheese that he would inspect his sandwich BEFORE eating it? And if he didn't, wouldn't that be reckless behavior?

At some point, personal responsibility has to kick in. If McDonalds had advertised "hypo-allergenic hamburgers" and then hid the cheese in the burger, that would be one thing. But that isn't what is being alleged. That McDonalds mistakenly gave the man a cheeseburger is what is being alleged.

McDonalds pushes out lots of burgers everyday (many of them cheeseburgers); and the chance that a cheeseburger may be put into the wrong wrapper or the wrong bag is, it seems to me, fairly high. For a deathly allergic person to eat at McDonalds seems risky to me, but for that same person to not check his food before eating is without question, highly risky behavior.

According to Jeromy's lawyer, McDonalds offered to pay half, then all of Jeromy's $700 medical expenses, but the trio was not interested in that offer and McDonalds wasn't offering anything more than the medical expenses. That being the case, apparently the only resolution is $10,000,000. If I'm on the jury, Jeromy would regret the decision to reject McDonalds' initial offer.

However, my prediction is that one of two things will happen: First and most likely, due to the high cost of defending themselves in a trial, McDonalds will settle out of court for a million or so. We probably will not find out due to secrecy agreements. Or, the jury will award a ridiculous amount to the plaintiff rewarding him for his reckless behavior. This seems to be the pattern of juries these days.

To read the whole story (without my commentary) see here.

Friday, August 10, 2007

Foto Friday: Safe or Out?



I took this photo at the Cadet European Championship Qaulifier in Reggio di Callabria, Italy.

In this photo, the batter and first baseman arrived at the same moment. Your task: Make the call! Safe or out?

Tuesday, August 07, 2007

Guess Who Called Tonight

In the unlikely event that you guessed former Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu, you would be absolutely correct. As you might imagine, I was quite surprised to hear him say, "Bibi Netanyahu is speaking." But when it sank in, I hung up on him like I do every telemarketer.

Yes, the political season is once again upon us and Bibi has a recorded message warning us of the terrible dangers of the left and the dramatic need to elect him. I know this because the second time he called (about 30 minutes after the first time), I listened a bit longer so that Colleen could hear him. She was a little skeptical when I told her Bibi had called, so it was good that he called back.

Lest you think I'm being too harsh on Bibi, you may be comforted to know that I'm an equal opportunity "hanger-upper" when it comes to telemarketers - ANY telemarketers. Recently, I was told to expect a test call for a telemarketing project that our church may undertake. My response: "If they call me, I'll hang up on 'em." So, it matters not if you are a former prime minister hustling votes, a church trying to recruit me, or you are selling the latest greatest whatever, I'll hang up on you. So, don't call - especially if you are a recording.

Monday, August 06, 2007

Jewish Star - Star of David

I received the following email from a friend who thought I would enjoy it. So, I offer it for your consideration.

"Even if you are not Jewish, this is really amazing. The Jewish Star (of David) is also referred to as a MAGEN DAVID.

ALL 24 LETTERS OF THE HEBREW ALPHABET ARE FOUND IN A MAGEN DAVID (Star of David).

THERE IS NO SUCH THING IN ANY OTHER LANGUAGE.
"

For those that don't know Hebrew, the aleph (first letter, top right) is a bit of a stretch, but the other letters seem to be more or less accurate.

Interestingly, the original author mentions 24 letters rather than the standard count of 22 because he is counting the altered form of the "mem" and "nun," which occurs when either of those letters are the last letter of a word.

I'm not sure if there are any big implications in this, or if it is just an interesting coincidence. I'm sure some will see this as a sign of something. But what? If you see something, please let me know.

Feedback

She approached me just before the service started and said, "I want to give you some feedback from what you said last week. It's good to get feedback." At that moment, I had that funny feeling in my stomach that said, "Oh boy, what did I say that needs to be corrected? And why now?" As everything went into slow motion, my mind worked overtime trying to figure out what I said that might have been controversial or problematic. I couldn't think of anything.

Those who have been in ministry for any length of time, have probably had the same type of negative experience. You know, the kind where a person feels obligated to approach you and tell you that you didn't say something well, or that they disagree with what you said. That's what "feedback" usually means. And, this almost always occurs just moments before the service is supposed to start, or when you are in the middle of something that needs your undivided attention.

"Something you said last week has stuck with me all week. I was really challenged when you told us that we need to be conscientious of how we speak to God and others. I really needed that reminder. Thanks."

In a rare use of the word "feedback," she wanted to compliment and thank me for something I said the week before. Some days you just need that type of feedback.

Psalm 19:14 - "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer." (ESV)

Sunday, August 05, 2007

A Big Real Estate Developer Goes Under

Last week, Heftsiba, one of the largest developers in Israel may have gone bankrupt. I say may have, because they haven't officially filed for bankruptcy, but the signs seem to be very apparent.

As it turns out, our new apartment is part of one their development projects. So, although we (or, actually, our landlord) are much more fortunate than many of our would be neighbors, we will feel some of the effects of Heftsiba's financial woes.

Our new apartment is one of 58 apartments in a 22 floor tower. And our tower is one building within a 6 building complex at the entrance of an area of Jerusalem between Ramat Rachel and Bethlehem, called Har Homa.

Our tower is about 60% occupied, and the other 5 buildings in our complex were 0% occupied. I say "were" because on Thursday morning before security arrived, people started taking up residence in apartments they had purchased from Heftsiba. (News of the potential collapse of Heftsiba started circulating late Wednesday PM and throughout the night.) Even without water and electricity, they were staking their claim, attempting to show residence, which means the developer has to go to court to get them out. From what I overheard down on the street, the "squatters" were trusting that their receipts of payment and technically residing in the building would save their large financial investment, which in some cases was more than $300,000.

It's a complicated issue to understand, particularly for an outsider, but from what I understand, those who haven't formally received the keys to their apartments, will most likely never get possession of those apartments even though they have paid for them. In Israel, receipt of the keys is the formal process of transferring ownership from the developer to the buyer.

In an effort to show sympathy for their plight and to find out more information, I have gone down and circulated among the most effected people on a number of occasions. I've been able to talk with a few of them and even meet some of the greatly relieved tenants of our building, all of whom have said with a sigh of relief, "Just last week we got our keys."

As a result of this new development, some of the promised amenities for our building will apparently not be realized. We have three elevators in our building, but only one is open. I've been told that the other two will not be opened now. Apparently, the planned fitness center will not be completed either. Finally, the dues to a general building fund for upkeep of the building may increase since the original amount was based on a certain number of occupants, which apparently will not be realized now. That may mean an increase of about $75 per month for us, but that is yet to be determined.

I feel kind of weird even mentioning these things because they are, at most, mere inconveniences for us. And nothing compared to those who haven't received their keys and may have lost everything.

You can read some of the local (English) press reports on this story at:
JPost
Ha'Aretz
Arutz7

UPDATE:
According to this JPost report, Bank HaPoalim (our bank) is going to ask the court to release all of Heftziba's assets to the bank. Additionally, they may try to faciliate the completion of the various building projects, which may be good news for all parties concerned.

More from Ha'Aretz.

(08-06-07)UPDATE:
This JPost article gives a better explanation of the process, though, they mention a 15% deposit, which doesn't match the numbers I'm getting from the would-be homeowners in our neighborhood.

(08-07-07)UPDATE:
This Ha'Aretz article offers some good news for those who haven't yet received their keys.

Thursday, August 02, 2007

Catching Up

Is it reasonable to say that I have been so busy that I haven't had time or energy to write? Whether it's reasonable or not, it's definitely the truth.

Since I last wrote, I/we have:
1. Moved apartments,
2. Started umpiring in a professional baseball league,
3. Traveled to Italy for the European Baseball Championship,
4. Planted 150 meters of sod in our new yard,
5. Preached,
6. Guided a small group,
7. And everything else I normally do.

Each of these things has been some combination of mentally, physically and emotionally draining.

In spite of my lack of actual blog productivity, I have a number of blog ideas that will find their way into a draft to be presented here. I want to write about my experience as an umpire in a start up professional baseball league, things we have learned while living in an apartment tower for the first time, how I got fined for bad conduct by our new building manager, why it is so draining to move from one apartment to another in Israel.