We had quite a successful day, having pulled the arrangements together rather quickly. I picked up my partner, 82 year old banjo player Avram Rosenthal, at the train station in Ashkelon. As is our custom with sponsored shows, we stopped in Sderot on the way to spend some of the sponsorship money to buy some groceries at their local supermarket, and then to our favorite shwarma restaurant for a quick lunch and bathroom break, giving a small measure of support to the local businesses. Friends we have made in Sderot at the market and restaurant happily reported great improvement in their lives since Operation Cast Lead put a stop to the daily bombardment of kassam rockets from Gaza.
We then met up with David Landau, of Standing Together, and his crew of volunteers along the road. David arranged the visit to the IDF bases. We arrived at the first base around noon and went straight to work. David opened up his mobile food kiosk, from which cold drinks and popsicles were distributed to maybe 100 or so soldiers who passed by. The volunteers also distributed to the soldiers personal letters of thanks and new years blessings from people around the world who were encouraged to write them for this occasion. Avram and I stood by the kiosk playing classic jazz tunes on our two banjos, in our traditional red vests and straw hats. It was a beautiful day, a bit hot and dusty. We could see Gaza in the background.
Many of the soldiers gathered around us to enjoy the music while partaking of the cold treats brought by David. And enjoy it they certainly did! They clapped along, sang along with the songs they knew, like "When the Saints Go Marching In", and even danced. Several of them grabbed their cameras or cell phones and photographed or video recorded the scene.
After more than half an hour at the first base, we moved on to a second IDF base down the road, where we found even more soldiers eager to enjoy the treats and music. We had a circle of another 75 or so (with others passing by or coming and going) who circled around us and joined into the show with even more enthusiasm than the first group. More photos, videos, dancing, clapping and singing. Here we were presented with what the soldiers called a strap for the banjo, with the patch of their unit on it. I think it was really a strap for carring a rifle or ammo pouch, but it will work for a banjo too. We must have played for 30-40 minutes there.
After about 2:00 we packed up and I took Avram back to Ashkelon to get his train home to Tel Aviv, and I returned to Jerusalem to get ready for our Doctor Jazz concert in the Old City. It was a great day. A couple hundred IDF soldiers on duty during the holy days along the Gaza border received a huge blessing and encouragement. A hearty thank you to Leah Shalek for sponsoring our show. We announced to the crowd in both places that our visit was being sponsored by Leah in honor of the golden wedding anniversary of her parents, Martin and Joan Shalek, of Nashua, New Hampshire.
To sponsor a show for IDF soldiers or Israeli citizens living under the threat of terroism, contact Elazar at jazzmin@actcom.net.il, or see our website at www.doctorjazz.co.il.
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Hey Larry. Nice.
murieleileen 2 years ago