I'm Back

Yes, I’ve been gone from this space for quite a while.  No real reason.  Some might call it writer’s block, a slightly presumptuous term for a simple lack of inspiration.  No matter, it’s time to climb back on the hobby-horse to see if I can still trot.

One of the odder things that happened in recent months was this:  we all got a sms from the head office telling us not to approach the jackal that was lurking near the high school.  Since I live not far from there I took notice.  Not that I would know a jackal if I saw one – I would probably just have thought it was an especially homely dog.  A few days later there was a sign in the dining hall, saying not to worry, the jackals that have been coming onto the kibbutz are not rabid.

Well, that’s a relief.  Who wants a rabid jackal nipping at your heels?  Of course, I knew they were in the area.  You can hear them whooping at night.  Before I knew animals were making that noise I had thought it was teenagers howling at the moon to be, I don’t know, funny.  But why, I could not help wondering, did the beasts decide to come into our little village?  Jackals are supposed to be shy and really wary of human beings, so what were they doing here?

I can only guess that they were tired of foraging in the wild and came looking for fast food.  It’s only natural that they would be tempted by the smorgasbord of the kibbutz.  And while I can’t imagine they would be dangerous to people, I have been practicing my Cesar-Milan-Dog-Whisperer skills – no touch, no talk, no eye-contact, calm, assertive energy.  Just in case.