1978 Israel

Mr. Wright gives us a good, concise overview of why Israel did not feel a lot of incentive to make a peace deal with Egypt that entailed giving up some of its acquired territory.

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What was peace worth to them? Swollen with territories seized in 1948 and 1967, Israel now stretched all the way from the hills of southern Lebanon to the Red Sea, and from the River Jordan to the Mediterranean. All this space provided strategic depth, something Israel had never had before. Sinai had been a historic concourse for attacking armies; the Golan Heights had been the dominating redoubt for Syrian artillery; the West Bank was a hideout for terrorists. Why surrender any of it? Would peace replace the security that Israel gained from having these territories under military control?

-- Lawrence Wright, “Thirteen Days in September”

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Jack

Jack came over, to see the new TV, which is not really all that new anymore. Why now?, I wonder. Jill and Ronny came with him. Sometimes I wonder if Becky is still alive, the brown girl. I suppose she could be a busy teen with better social obligations at hand than having to visit granddad, but it has been a long time since I have seen or heard anything about her. I remember once asking Pop about her, and he gave one of those halting, mumbling responses that suggests a felt need to cover something up. Has she gone to live with Falstaff, the other granddad, perhaps to be a concubine? I know this is a dirty thought, but I cannot honestly rule it out, or something of this kind. If this sounds absurdly far-fetched, let us remember what happened to Jack's unacknowledged small boy under Priscilla. He was apparently carted off into the underground kiddie-sex trade never to be heard from again, for which Priscilla may still be serving time in prison, even though she was an unknowing dupe, a retarded woman that was taken advantage of.

Regarding the TV, based on the very little that I happened to overhear, Pop highlights the curved aspect, whereas, for me, the great feature is the 'smart' aspect, its Internet-functionality. I am doubtful that they looked at that at all.

What most impressed me, though, is the quality of their interaction with each other. Their conversation seemed to flow so freely and gaily. Their shared laughter sounded so spontaneous and happy. It could not have been better produced in a TV or movie studio. Sure, I still scoff about small minds thinking alike, but more than ever before, I was feeling my smallness, my isolation - like there really is something deeply wrong with me. Turning fifty probably has something to do with this, as it becomes pitifully clear that that day is never coming when I rise above my lot and they can see what a great man they had in their midst all these years. I will always be an 'insignificant deficient' to them - no matter how many times I read "Hamlet" to myself.