Leaves of Hope

by Jerry Waxman

Sometimes it seems Sderot has no life.

I was walking around the other day, just observing things. I saw three dogs playing on a lawn and went closer to watch. Why?

Seeing dogs play is a rare thing, believe it or not. Most dogs in Sderot wander around kind of sad-like. And they do not trust people. They are uncommonly afraid of people. . . . Strange.

One of the dogs I was watching saw me and one began to bark, to protect his territory, I guess. All three dogs pranced off to another field. They wanted nothing to do with humans. And I couldn’t blame them.

I continued on and walked in to a supermarket.

When you walk in, there is always at least one security guard, often two, at the entrance. They are pleasant enough for having to stand there all day. They say nothing to me, but they know some of the Russian speaking customers and greet them.

The faces of the cashiers is discouraging. Blank stares, almost, as they go through routines. Even in conversations they have with people they know, there is little sign of emotion of any kind; just blank, serious stares as they process each customer, slowly and machine-like.

My guess is they don’t trust humans any more than the dogs.

The conversations you do hear in the supermarket often sound like arguments, almost like fights. Whether it is between two customers or between two employees or between an employee and a customer, it always seems to come up short of swinging fists.

I saw all this when I was nursing a melancholy mood. The dogs were supposed to put me in a better mood, but they failed.

Yet I remember times when I first came to Sderot, that I saw things differently. My mood was upbeat and it seemed like everyone else’s was, too.

So in reality, Sderot is neither a happy place or a desparate place. It just depends on what your mood is.

My wanderings brought me to a gymnasium near my house. Two men sat at the top of some stairs and explained to me what this facility was. Lying next to one of the men was a big furry dog that looked like a lion. No matter what I did to try to cheer that dog up, it remained aloof. Typical scared-of-humans dog.

I asked why all the dogs are afraid of us. The dog’s owner told me it was because of the kassams. The dogs are very afraid of them. He said the dogs know when they are coming before people know. And they are stressed out.

The same dog owner told me he once had 5 dogs, but two of them died of fear.

You know, it’s been months since there were regular rocket attacks on Sderot. Months and months of quiet. I have been eager to NOT define Sderot by its victim-hood. But the effects of the kassams keep coming back.

The dogs are stricken. And the people must be, too. Maybe it’s a major source of stress for all these people you see in the supermarkets and elsewhere with few smiles and quick grievances.

When I came to Sderot, I held ideals of living in a town of heroes who have given the enemy the collective finger, saying, “We ain’t leaving!”

But the more I see the faces of Sderot, the more I see people who have stayed in Sderot only because they have nowhere else to go.

Where are the ideals? Where is the courage – - the passion to protect our homeland?

I think I found it.

In the back of my apartment, I noticed something remarkable. Leaves.
Leaves were coming up in a garden I had once designed and built. They were watermelon leaves.

I had put the seeds of watermelons in the back yard months ago and forgot about it. There has been no rain for months, so how ever the seeds got the idea to grow is a mystery.

There they were, watermelon leaves that had braved the dry elements, the hard soil, the stones and sand and gravel, and broke through for sunlight.

Nobody can say for sure if these watermelon plants will succeed. There are insects and cats running around. Sometimes there are dogs and humans running around. Nevertheless, the watermelon leaves do not give up. And they’re not going to leave because of fear or stress.

Watermelons of Hope

That is a message of hope. If the leaves of a watermelon plant can brave eight inches of dry soil, and then continue to grow with no help from anyone, not even water, shouldn’t the people of Sderot be able to overcome their fears and apprehensions, too.

Maybe they will. And maybe we can help the dogs, too.

Meanwhile it would be good to get a little rain. But that’s another issue.

“Project “770″

Making life a little better all the way around.