Tears of Joy, Nahariya, Israel 07/04/06

Yes, it was independence day for the United States. I heard that many Israelis joined the Americans at the American Embassy in Tel Aviv to celebrate. Wow! As for me, I checked out of the hotel at around 10:30am. I did a little shopping in Ben Gurion street and headed out. What a great time I had had in Tel Aviv! I carry with me great memories.

It was all coastal road along the Mediterranean Sea towards the north of Israel. It was possible to see the Sea now and then. On the way was Netanya, Hadera, Caesarea, Neveh Yam and finally Haifa. I had been planning on going up to the top of the mountain, where the Bahai Temple is located to take pictures and video. It's an awesome view of the Port of Haifa from up there. Mt. Carmel that has also been in my mind for such a long time. What a bummer! The batteries of my video camera died. I thought I had charged the extra battery. So I proceeded, thinking that I would be up there on the way back to Jerusalem.

Haifa is beautiful and clean. Like all the other cities in Israel, it has grown quite a bit. It's a city built in a little peninsula on a mountain by the water. At a short distance lies Mt. Carmel, Akko and Nahariya. The main highway takes you right through the main street of Haifa. I went passed the bus terminal which I had used so many times, the port from where I had sailed to Cyprus and the Arab neighborhood that I had walked. There were also new buildings and the roads had been widened.

Akko was just a few minutes away, even closer than before because this city has grown as well. There were beautiful buildings and everything was very well organized. I continued and in about 15 minutes I was in Nahariya. On the left by the Sea, I saw a new neighborhood. I stopped to take pictures. Then I drove on and on the right was the neighborhood where we used to have our Bible studies with an old British man called Stanley Roberts and his wife. I wondered if he was still alive. My heart started pounding. I took a picture and drove on. There it was! The traffic light that marks the entrance to the city. I excitedly took a left and found myself on the main street of Nahariya. Tears started rolling down my face as many fond memories started flashing through my mind. I remember back in 1977, when I first came to visit, that there were horses and carriages for the tourists. My father had given us the pleasure to ride one of the carriages around the then very small town. The horses were not there any more. I drove on as I tried to contain the tears on my face. I made a left when I got to Weizman street. This was the street where we used to live. I tried swallowing, and my heart was beating like crazy.

Finally, I got to the building where we used to live. I remember it being a new building, but 20 years had passed since then. People looked on with a puzzled face as I took pictures of the building. What a great moment! I hoped that the blond twins that lived in the building would come out any minute to play with me. There was no sign of the little brunette with the dazzling blue eyes and a beautiful smile. I wondered what my childhood Israeli friends would look like now. On the other side of the street was where I used to be picked up by the school bus to travel 2 hours to Herzlia. Dennis, the Nigerian kid, and my sister Ketty were not there waiting. I looked at the building again, and couldn't see my father's red station wagon. My bike that my sisters had brought from the US was not parked at the bottom of the building. The small green fence that divided my building and the other was not there. I still bare the scar on my leg from the time I tried to jump it, but got caught in it. It was a beautiful sight to see once again after so many years!

I drove back to the main street to call my friend Carlos, who was like a little brother when we were going to school together. Last time I had seen him was maybe back in 1989. Maybe before that. He is now married to a beautiful wife, Diana, and has an adorable daughter, Little Tamar. It was Diana who answered the phone and we immediately got along. I was such a special moment to meet his girls. I got a lot of the scoop from her Point of View, including how they got together. Carlos got home from work very shortly. I was overjoyed to see Carlitos after such a long time. It kind of reminded me of the story of David and Jonathan. We sat down and he gave me the scoop from his point of view.

The Delgadillo family showed me around Nahariya. Of course, we had to buy some ice popsicles. We went by the Sea and beheld such a fantastic sunset. The whole area by the beach where I used to go was very different and it looked very nice, very touristy. There was a little walk way along the water with restaurants and bars. We sat down to grab a bite to eat and watched the rest of the sunset. The weather was perfect for a time of catching up and simply talking. What a great day it was!