"Beautiful dream of Israel has become a nightmare." Gabor Maté

Tremendous sadness at the state of the world right now - lawless rebels shooting innocent people out of the sky, and, more than ever, the insoluble and tragic dilemma that is the Middle East. I've been reading everything I can, but an article by Gabor Maté in the Star today speaks with great eloquence and truth about it. Highly recommended.

Commentary

Beautiful dream of Israel has become a nightmare.

Watched a documentary the other day, a series of short films about people's take on Vermeer. Falling in love with him was one of the great moments of my life and that of many others. The doc spoke of his privacy and reticence: "Vermeer never gave anything away," someone said, speaking of the mystery at the heart of his work. And another: "Vermeer is about meditation, a small observed moment that has been stilled." Yes yes yes - the milkmaid, the musicians, the women reading letters - a moment that has been stilled. 

And a final expert, looking at the "View of Delft" which is the painting I saw in Amsterdam that set off my love affair, said, "Vermeer didn't paint just bricks; he painted the situation of bricks." And the camera moved in to closeup and yes, it was true, these were the most vibrant and quivering of bricks. 

And another doc that I tried to stop watching but couldn't, about the 50th anniversary celebrations of the Queen's reign, with fascinating glimpses of her at rest and play, joking and funny. So often she's stomping about grim-faced, clutching her purse, but she's a canny old bird. An anachronism, like her relatives the royals of the world, whom she entertained royally at the time, but quite magnificent too. Fascinating. 

This afternoon, finalized my will with my dear friend Mary, who's also my lawyer. It's surreal but necessary. "If you die and your daughter dies ..." she says, speaking of what would happen, what would be in trust for Eli administered by his uncle Sam. Has to be addressed, even if we hope the document lies in the file drawer for many years to come. But who knows?