Although every independence day in Israel is a big issue, this year it's a very big issue as its the 70th anniversary of the declaration of independence. I don't think that there's any particular significance to 70, apart from the fact that it's a decade. As a result, last night we were treated to a richer independence ceremony than we normally have on the kibbutz, including the lighting of seven torches, each representing a different aspect of life.
After the ceremony finished, music was provided for the traditional folk dancing; I mean that providing the music is traditional, whereas some of the dances are most certainly not traditional. Thinking about it later on, the whole tradition of folk dancing is fairly strong in Israel whereas it doesn't seem to be in other countries; even so, I am reminded of the Sunday in Čilipi, Croatia and of our final night in Sorrento, Italy .
I very much enjoyed folk dancing when I was a youngster; I religiously attended the weekly dances during my gap year (1973-4) and after I emigrated (1978-9), but after an episode which began with a wisdom tooth extraction and ending with a period of low blood pressure (1984?), I had to stop. I don't know whether there are currently weekly dances in Bet Shemesh or somewhere else in the vicinity, but it doesn't matter to much as I don't have the time or energy. So my only opportunity to recall my glory years on the dance floor is Independence Day (or evening).
The past few years I've had to pace myself, saving my energy for the fast dances which I know perfectly and skipping those which I half remember or never learned properly in the first place. There are a few dances which are at a walking pace so these are amenable to me.
Last night didn't go exactly to plan: the first dance in which I participated was a very fast dance with a great deal of bouncing on the feet. I learned this dance in 1979 when it was new; I still don't know what it's called. Last night's execution started off fine but at some stage I missed a step or slipped on something, and so careened off to the side as my momentum carried me. Fortunately I didn't crash into anything. My wife, who was watching, asked to where I had disappeared; she didn't notice what happened to me. I should point out that the 'dance floor' is concrete and not level; one year I twisted my ankle when I landed on a rough spot.
Once my stability had returned, it was time for a slow one ("Erev Ba" - it looks like the accompanying picture was taken during this), a dance which I probably learned when I was 12, 50 years ago. Whilst this dance is at a walking pace, it involves several twists and turns; by the end of the dance, I was quite dizzy. After one more slow dance (again with twists and turns), I came to the conclusion that enough was enough. I suspect that the dizziness stems mainly from one of the medicines which I take to lower my blood pressure: I get dizzy if I move from sitting to standing up too fast (this is a known side effect of the medicine; my doctor warned me in advance).
Today we will host the traditional barbecue; last year we were at our son-in-law's family as it was our grand-daughter's first birthday and in past years we have been at my brother in law's, or even at the brother of my brother in law's wife. Naturally I prefer to be at home, even if it means that we bare the brunt of the costs. Normally the roads are choc-ablok on Independence Day, but this has rarely been a problem for us as we generally travel in the 'wrong' direction. City dwellers head for the countryside, where we live, whereas we have headed for the cities.
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