Flowers in the Guns

I don’t recall how I came across this twitter update:

But when I did it sent me back … way back … I kept it open and began a search until I found what I was looking for:

I drew this picture when we were living in Los Angeles. I was apparently into my 10th year of life, still attending a Jewish school (where I believe I lost any connections I may have still had to Judaism) which was a “base” for the Jewish community in that area (the synagogue we attended was on the same campus). One day we were notified that a famous Israeli poet/singer – Naomi Shemer – was coming to give a concert and that there would be some kind of drawing competition. I drew this drawing and I was one of the lucky winners.

Our prize included going up on stage and shaking her hand or giving her flowers or something like that (doesn’t figure, I won, shouldn’t she be giving me flowers?). What I remember is a few hectic moments and a fat sweaty woman.

This is one of her most famous, powerfully entrenched in the Israeli psyche, songs Jerusalem of Gold performed by a popular Israeli rock band (ironically called “Hayehudim” – which translates as “The Jews”):

Thank you Trystan for the flash-down memory lane 🙂