Winter (1984)

December 3, 1984

Israel ís being hit by a massive storm. Were all hunkered down against the torrential rains ...and what appears to be oncoming snow in our mountainous regions like the Golan, the Galilee, Safed, and, of course Jerusalem. It sort of feels like the old days, nostalgia for back when we heated our homes with kerosene ("neft", in the Hebrew-influenced English we locals speak) ...so I'm running this Oldie today from 1984.

Strikes, Snow, and a One-Day Weekend (1982)

February 05, 1982

Today's Golden Oldie is from 30 years ago this month.
February 1982.

Interesting that the latest local Israeli news at this moment is about the short nasty strikes we've been having and the prediction of a snow storm in Jerusalem this upcoming one-day weekend.

Sigh.

Purim Snow (1987)

Today's Golden Oldie is a Dry Bones cartoon done for the run-up to Purim in 1987!

The past few days here in Israel have been gorgeously Spring-like. Next Sunday will be the holiday of Purim. The conversation in the cartoon is a conversation I've had dozens of times with other Israelis. In fact, I'd had the conversation so many times by 1987 that I decided to put it into a cartoon. In Tel Aviv it doesn't snow. Tel Aviv kids just get rained on, and occasionally get to see Jerusalem or Golan Heights snow on their TV screens.

I haven't seen the weather forecast in a couple of days. I've been too busy. But today the temperature dropped a bit. And as I felt the beginning of a chill in the air, I thought "Here comes Purim ...maybe there'll be snow."

Freezing Weather (1985)

Today's Golden Oldie is a Dry Bones cartoon done 25 years ago in January 1985.

Back then, we in Israel were treated to television coverage of freezing weather hitting Europe as we basked here in our lovely local weather. The news today, 25 years later, is that both Europe and much of the United States are in the grip of freezing weather ...and yes, it was a lovely, balmy day outside my front door.

* * *

Note: Back in '85 I was doing Dry Bones for an English-speaking Israeli audience. That meant that I could play with our Hebrew-polluted version of English. In Hebrew slang, the word for a "screw-up" is a "fashla". So in the next-to-last panel of this cartoon I did NOT make a typo. I did NOT mean to say Ethiopian Falashas, but was making a cross language "almost pun" joke. The off-screen member of the public shouting at King Solomon on his balcony was referring to the government's screw-ups in the rescuing of Ethiopian Jewry. Our Ethiopian "fashlas".

Oh and if I were speaking to another Israeli in English I'd never say "balcony". The correct word in our local pidgin English is "mirpesset".

Winter (1975)

Back in January 1975 I was in bed with the Flu. I lived in Jerusalem at that time and the only thing that could have dragged me out of bed would have been a Jerusalem snow fall. One of the amazingly beautiful Holy Land events to enjoy first hand.

Today, as I write this, Jerusalem has been blanketed with a delightful covering of snow, but as I'm no longer living there, I had to hunt for images online instead of out my living room window.

On Youtube, I enjoyed a lovely (virtual) 4 minute romp with a Jerusalem couple and their dog and thought you might enjoy it. I'll paste it in below. It's the closest thing to being there. If you've got speakers, make sure they're on.

Snow Alert (1978)

Click on the cartoon below to open a larger, more readable version of this full page Dry Bones Golden Oldie from thirty years ago this month. Back then, as today, we were being warned by the weatherman of the approach of a big snowstorm heading towards Jerusalem:

Click on the cartoon above to open a larger, more readable version of this full page Dry Bones Golden Oldie from January 1978.