Grapevine: Light rail, hefty price

In the long route that changes names at certain intersections but extends through Keren Hayesod, King George, and Strauss, bus routes have been changed, bus stops have been moved or canceled, traffic lights have been removed, and sidewalks have been sealed off, forcing a choice between a long alternative walk or a dangerous walk on the road where motorcyclists and bike riders blissfully ignore traffic regulations.

In several places, excavation for infrastructure goes right up to the fences of residential buildings, deep into side streets and up to the windows of shops. On King George, makeshift bridges have been constructed to enable storekeepers, their employees, and any customer desperate enough to make the effort, to enter and exit the store.

Progress in light rail construction appears to be very slow, which indicates that the inconvenience may last for at least another year. Will residents and storekeepers be compensated? If so, to what extent, and when can they expect to receive compensation?

Mayor Moshe Lion frequently delivers speeches about how beautiful the city will be when everything related to urban renewal is completed. But what about compensation? When will he talk about that - if ever?

On the subject of urban renewal, the mayor, who is an accountant by profession, might care to comment on how urban renewal will affect the economy. Many of the multistory residential buildings have commercial enterprises on the ground floor. Among them are mini-markets, clothing stores, jewelry and accessory stores, and hairdressers and barbers.

Does this mean that supermarkets are on the way out and that residents of such buildings will buy only what they need when they need it, thereby reducing waste both in food and money?

In my lifetime, I have seen the typewriter give way to the computer keyboard and the alphabetical digits on the mobile phone; the disappearance of airmail paper and public telephones; the fade out of transistor radios; the short shelf life of computer banks where people who did not have a PC or a laptop could go in and use a computer for a symbolic hourly fee; and the heavily reduced use of ground line telephones - not to mention telephones with a dial - and that’s just a short list.

Will the mayor tell us what else is on the exit line?

It's fairly common knowledge that babies and toddlers are curious about everything related to their environment. They love to explore and examine and take things apart, and put strange objects in their mouths. They climb to places no one would believe they could reach, and too often their curiosity leads to serious harm and even death. Parents don’t always realize the capacity of their tiny infants, as, for instance, those who hung a good luck charm over the bed of their baby son.

Tair and Yosef, residents of Moshav Yishai, have four children. The youngest is six-month-old Adir David. A gold amulet, designed to protect the infant from the evil eye, had been handed down in the family for 40 years and hung over his cot, attached to a safety pin.

The pin came loose and fell together with the amulet. The baby put the pin in his mouth, and almost suffocated. His mother, who was in another room with her six-year-old eldest child and three-year-old twins, heard a strange sound coming from Adir. She rushed in, realized what had happened, and called her husband. He came home immediately, turned Adir David upside down, hoping to help him spit out the pin. Instead, he spat only blood.

Alarmed, the parents sped to their local health fund clinic, where X-rays showed that the safety pin was in his stomach. Adir David was immediately transferred to Hadassah-University Medical Center in Ein Kerem, where medical staff inspected the X-rays and determined that he was in urgent need of surgery. Using an endoscope and assisted by nurse Tal Ilsar, Dr. Zev Davidovics completed the hour-long procedure, which demanded complex precision.

The safety pin was removed intact.

Davidovics warns that no sharp object should be hung over a baby’s bed or within an infant’s reach.

The old adage that the best way to a man’s heart is through his stomach also applies to women. The aroma, taste, and presentation of good food are a proven means of bringing out the best in people.