Hide and Seek and the Ice Cube Air-Con

by Jerry Waxman

A few clouds graced the blue desert sky today. Most have left, but a few have stayed to lend the night an essence of aesthetic peacefulness.

The moon is still new – only a sliver now – and a reminder that our Islamic neighbors have begun their month of Ramadan. For Israel in general, and Sderot in specific, this would usually be a time of extra alert. Our neighbors have often threatened to make their holy days holier by causing havoc for us.

This year — now — however, there doesn’t seem to be any extra threat. Nothing has been reported in the media. And people in Sderot are carrying on as though no threat has ever existed.

Children are playing outside. In the park across the street, a group of youths have organized a game of hide-and-seek. I don’t know what boundaries they’ve set for themselves. But while one boy counts to 20 or 30, most of the kids went to the street, and several ran way up the street. Too bad, because the park itself is big enough for a challenging game, and confined enough for dramatic arrests and challenges.

As the children run around, a white haired lady sits on some steps where she has befriended some kittens. The kittens – three of them – lie or sit next to her, calmly observing the human events.

It is hot in my room. The windows are open but lack of breeze means that the hot air from mid day lingers. Moreover the walls are still warm from baking in the sun, and they continue to heat the room. So many nights now, I have wished I had just a fan.

Today someone brought me something better than a fan, to borrow until I no longer need it. (A gemach may be something unique to the Jewish tradition. It is like a charity pool where things are given or loaned to people in need. So my friend from Uzbekistan brought me some things from a local gemach.)

As I said it is better than a fan — in theory. It is a clever air conditioner. It doesn’t cool a room in the same way as most air conditioners. It does not hang on a window and pull out the hot air. Instead it uses “ice cube technology.”

You fill the top with ice cubes and cold water from the ice moistens a filter in back of the fan. The fan pulls air through the cold, moist, filter and sends cool moist air into the room.

That’s the theory. I tried it for a while. It may not refrigerate a room the way an ordinary air-conditioner does. But the air it blows does feel cooler than the stagnant air in the room. It will make for a more comfortable night – I can see that now.

So here is a snapshot of Sderot on an August evening. It is quiet. The Jewish month is Elul, and different synagogues have different schedules for reading “slichot.” Some start at 4 AM. Others start after midnite.

The evening is quiet. The children have gone home. Few homes are active as men plan their rest schedules around the traditions of Elul. This snapshot — this capturing of a peaceful moment in Sderot — not only brings back reminiscences of hide-and-seek games long gone by, but is all the more quietly enjoyable with this new ice cube air con.

Tagged with: About Sderot • air conditioning • elul • hide and seek • jewish traditions • ramadan

Filed under: About Israel • About Sderot

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