Election Fever!

It's been a while since we blogged.  There are many reasons why, but one is that we were wrapped up in elections.  

First, there was Micha's election to his class social committee.  There was a lot of competition.  It was a hard election.  Every candidate needed to have a really good campaign.  But it needed to be wrapped up into five minutes of speech, but in Micha's case show.  (We're trying to get the video of the campaign presentation on the blog, but until then we'll describe it in words):

First Micha opened by saying, "One thing a member of the social committee needs to be, is diligent"

(At that moment, Micha took off his t-shirt, and underneath was another t-shirt with a picture of Micha with a caption that said, "Micha is diligent.")

[To be continued...]

Paul McCartney

On Thursday night, Susan and Noah went with Marylin, Michael, Rachel, Ayelet & Chen to see Paul McCartney in Park HaYarkon in Tel Aviv.  Michael emailed when we were in America, writing that he'd decided to go because he was turning 50 and after all you only live once, and wondered if we wanted to go.  Tickets on the lawn cost 500 NIS (~$150); seats cost 1500 NIS and 5000 NIS.  Luck was, we received Michael's email while at Noah's parents house, and Rachel was there when it arrived.  Noah reported that Michael was going, but it was too expensive to go himself, and Rachel said, but it's Paul McCartney, and anyway I owe you an anniversary present and can you order tix over the internet and, long-story-short, five minutes later the tickets were ordered.

We biked through the park to get to the venue, by the end navigating thickening crowds and finally admitting that we couldn't weave through the people anymore, and walking.  The gates were a mob, and when we got through we took a place far back, a football field from the stage, and drank contraband wine we'd siphoned into water bottles.  Huge banner jumbotrons on either side of the stage scrolled photos of the beatles, mostly, and some of wings.   It had just gotten dark when McCartney in a nehru jacket jogged to the microphone and said, "Shalom Tel Aviv ... Ahalan!).  He picked up his Hofner bass -- the bass we all know that looks like a violently stretched violin -- and started signing "hello goodbye" from magical mystery tour.  

And it seemed to me that much of my life was contracting, contracting and collapsing into that one moment, surrounded by 45,000 people in tel aviv, and Susan and Michael and Marilyn and Rachel, Dara and Micha a short bike ride away, hearing a song I played over and over 40 years ago (from an album swiped from my sister's room).  Later, McCartney strapped on a ukulele and, peering down to his cheat notes taped to the floor, say "ha-shir ha-zeh mukdash le-george" (This song is dedicated to George) and then played "something" on the ukulele and it was odd and sad and moving and beautiful.  And I thought, "Look at what's become of us," without knowing fully what I meant.  

The concert ended with Sgt. Pepper's, at the end of the second encore.  I felt like the end of Yom Kippur, as if something had happened that had meaning, and tired, and cleansed, and sad and hopeful.

The six cousins!

This is what it looked like when Dara and Micha went home.

Today is the day Micha and Dara are leaving to return to their home planet Israel.
There were some great times shared by all of the cousins, (Ari, Ben, Naomi and Jody), but unfortunately all good things must come to an end. We hope to see each other soon!

WarchaizerEfrons At Large

It's Sunday, and Susan is at work in Princeton, and Noah and the kids are still at Mira's bat mitzvah. (Congratulations, Mira!). Perhaps they are already on their way home?

Plumrs Reunion, with Hunnybuns and Next Generation

The annals of rock n roll overflow with stories of progeny of stars who never overcome the curse of their provinance: Julian Lennon, Dino Martin, Nancey Sinatra, Alfonso Mozart, and so many more. Which is why it was with anxiety that Liquid Plumr gathered in West Virginia, with a good number of hunnybuns and kids. The wear of 30 years on the road has begun to show on the boys in the band themselves:

The boys at Angel's Watch, Berkeley Springs, West Virginia

Indeed, at first some of the next generation did demonstrate signs of the aimlessness that sadly characterizes the children of so many rock legends:

Russell Pondering the Utter Meaningless of it All

Heddy & Maya, in Imitation of the Critically Acclaimed Film, "Sideways"

Micha, Hanging Out

What will become of these "children of the dream"? Only time will tell. (Oh, and remember, you read it first here, and not on any other family blog, some of which might also carry less reliable accounts of Plumr Reunion '08).

At the National Zoo

Dara, Susan & Micha with Languid Panda

Noah, Ari & Dara Discussing Animal Husbandry

Herm & Roz Pondering the Reptiles

Rachel & Micha Excitedly Discussing Public Affairs

At the Park with Saba & Savta, Ari & Rachel

Savta had the great idea of going to the park, where we could picnic, ride on the open seas, and then toss around the ol' frisbee. Everyone quickly agreed.

The first thing we did when we got to the park in Rockville was eat our lunch of salmon croquettes, tuna sandwiches, cucumbers, peppers, carrots and watermelon, on a bench overlooking the lake. We looked like this:

After we'd eaten and eaten well, the call of the seas was too strong to ignore. We trekked to the boat house and rented their most yar vessels:

Truth be told, the landlubbing life had come to grate upon our nerves. As happens with old sea-borne families like ours, the salt in our blood had gotten the best of us. We rented the paddle-boats for half and hour, as we had an itch for the open seas, and nothing less than 30 full minutes could satisfy us.

Back on shore, the children relaxed with a recumbent brass bear of the sort one often finds in port towns:

Saba and Savta left us for a prior engagement, a surprise anniversary party for their good friends, the Fingerhuts. The rest of us went off to the field, for a variety of activities, including flying the small helicopter that came in the mail yesterday:

As well as ultimate frisbee (kids vs. adults; final score - kids 4, adults 0) and a very complicated game that Dara introduced, involving four bases, two invisible runners and other features that elude me at the moment.

Dara patiently explaining the rules of a complicated game

After that, as we began our ride home, Ari realized that his expensive mobile phone was no longer in the pocket of his shorts. We went back to the field where we played the complicated game, ultimate frisbee and flew the helicopter. No luck. We went back to the boat house, and they had the phone. This is why we love sea folk: they're our people.

Then after picking up a DVD at Hollywood video and grabbing a quick dinner at the Ben Yehuda Cafe, Micha and Abba dropped off Dara, Ari and Rachel at Saba & Savta's house, where they watched Star Wars III, in which Aniken Skywalker become evil. He does it to save the woman he loves but in a gift-of-the-magi sort of paradox gone bad, she dies because he turned evil. Oy. Micha and Abba went to a theater to see "Fly Me to the Moon" about three young flies who join the Apollo 11 crew on their historic first voyage to the Moon. Buzz Aldridge has a cameo appearance. The movie was shot in that new 3D, which was wonderous.

Micha in Newfangled 3D Glasses

More wonderous still were the prodigious quantities of Sprite and Popcorn Micha acquired upon entrance to the theater.

In sum, a lovely day was enjoyed by all.

With Ari & Rachel in Ocean Grove, New Jersey

At this writing, we are sitting on the porch of the Bath Avenue House in Ocean Grove, New Jersey, talking about this and that, as one tends to do at the beach. The Bath Avenue House is a Bed & Breakfast of the sort where all the guests eat breakfast together and chat. We met the granddaughter of the founder of Russ & Daughters, an old Jewish smoked fish deli on the Lower East Side, near Yona Schimmels. Last night, at the big oak dining room table, one of the guests was checking the galley prints of an article for the Journal of Religion. Dara points out that this sort of bed and breakfast was just the sort that Loralei and Rory stayed in on Gilmore Girls, afraid to leave their room for fear of being forced to play parlour games with the other guests, to the point where, starving in their twee room, the fought over a linty Certs from the bottom on Loralei's purse.

Yesterday we spent the day on the beach, a bit in the chilly water and quite a bit playing ultimate frisbee in the sand, first kids vs. adults (kids 3, adults 2) and then Ari, Dara & Rachel vs. Micha and Noah (2 to 2). Then we walked to Asbury Park for Dinner at Old Man Rafferty's restaurant. (Rachel to the waitress: "Is the owner really old?"; Waitress to Rachel, "No, and he's not Rafferty either). Then Micha and Abba went off for twilight on the mini-links (about which score, the less said the better).

This being vacation, Susan and Noah went to Target, naturally.

Ocean Grove was founded as a Methodist Retreat (the Great Auditorium was raised in 1894, and it is surrounded by a tent park, now as then). In the 1980s it started to become a Gay town as well (New Jersey's Fire Island, they say), and to this day, it is at once very Methodist and very gay, which has a disconsonant, but appealing vibe of opposites meeting.

Children on Horses @ Kibbutz Malkia in the Galil

Dara at Camp on Visiting Day!

Publish Post

Dara & Family at Camp on Visitors' Day (Artist's Rendering)

On Thursday, finally!, visiting day arrived and we all went off to see Dara at camp.  On the way, we stopped at Ikea, conveniently located near Neve Hadassah, and power-purchased an l-shaped sofa.  (More on that in future posts).  At three o'clock, as visiting hours began, we arrived, and Dara was waiting for us at the gate.  What happiness to see her!

She was hoarse, of course, and sounded rather like Marge Simpson.  She showed us her room -- very orderly -- and took us a bit around camp.  Then we met the other Tel Aviv families for the traditional visiting day pic-a-nic.  Then we went to see the film Dara directed in her film group.  Written by her friend Avigail Yehini and starring her, it told the story of a spoiled girl, anxious to leave camp, haranging her parents on the cell-phone: Pick me up! Pick me up!  She shuns her campmates.  But they do not shun her. Slowly, she is drawn in.  By the end, she is delighted to be at camp.  Moving, and with excellent production values.

Then it was on to a meeting of Dara's unit at camp, and an introduction to all the counselors.  Not long later, there was a fabulous show, with some surprising good speeches, and then sadly it was already time to go.  Now we have to wait four more days for Dara to come home, and it's harder than ever.

Mimzy

Susan and Micha watched the movie so called "the last Mimzy''.

Susan liked it and gave it a:

but Micha didnt like it so he gave it

Monopoly game produces surprise winner

Micha's rendering of the Monopoly Guy, "Rich Uncle Pennybags"

For today's game, Micha selected Monopoly, a choice he came quickly to regret.  On the first turn round the board, Susan landed on Park Place, half of Micha's by-far favorite monopoly.  Only moments later, Susan landed on Chance, and received the "Take a Walk on the Boardwalk" card, a turn of events that gave her the priciest Monopoly on the board.  She wisely sank all her liquid assets into three houses on each property, and Noah immediately landed on Boardwalk, wiping out his liquid assets immediately, and forcing him to mortgage all non-essential properties.  Two turns later, Susan landed on "Free Parking," capping an incredible run of luck that gave her the resources quickly to build hotels on Boardwalk and Park Place.  

Her opponents had not been entirely without luck.  Noah purchased the light blue monopoly (Oriental, Vermont & Connecticut Avenues), and Micha managed to buy the burgundy monopoly (St. Charles, States & Virginia Avenues).  In time, Noah gained control of the tan monopoly (St. James, Tennessee & New York Avenues), and Micha got the purple one (Mediterranean and Baltic Avenues).  But it was not long before Noah landed once again on Boardwalk.  His financial future was destroyed with a roll of the dice.  Before declaring bankruptcy, however, he sold his two monopolies to Micha.  However, Micha had no money and was unlikely to beat Susan, who had clearly become the Donald Trump of Nordau Blvd.

It was then that the miracle happened.  For the next dozen rolls, Micha managed time and again to avoid Susan's properties.  Meanwhile, Susan's luck had soured.  Time and again she landed on Micha, who used the at-first modest rent she paid to enhance his real estate holdings, adding house to house and soon enough building hotels.  His investments paid off, as Susan landed time and again in his properties, eventually removing her hotels from her properties and mortgaging them.  It was not long before Micha, to the shock of all (himself included), had won the game.

Micha and Chen go Futurama!

While Chen was baby sitting, Micha and Chen watched Futurama.

When I said we should watch Futurama, Chen looked like this:

yet after watching Futurama, Chen looked like this:

Comment from Ella the Dog

Strange things are happening, and I don't much like it.  Two days ago, the shorter people disappeared from the house, carrying bags in their hands and on their backs.  The people leave all the time, but then usually they come back in time for my evening walk.  This time, after my evening walk I went into the shorter people's rooms, and there was no one.  

Then yesterday the fatter people went out before my evening walk, and when they came back they had with them one of the shorter people, the one with hair and eyes the color of the food they put in my bowl.  The other short person, the one with hair the color of the sand where I pee and eyes the color of the ocean did not come back.  This short person is the one who rubs between my eyes while she reads her book, and who lets me lick her snout.  

Today the short person with food-colored-hair-and-eyes was tying up a ball in a long purple string.  I don't know why.  Also, I don't know why the sand-hair and ocean-eyes short person had to go away.  It was better before she went away.

Kids-at-Camp-Crisis: Day 1

Yesterday morning, Dara and Micha went off to camp, Micha for 4 days, Dara for 14.  As you can see from the picture, it's always most difficult for those who remain at the home front.  

Lox, RIP

This morning, we found Lox dead in his tank.  He was a good fish, while he still was a fish.  He brought much joy into the life of Tuna, and the rest of us.  He was also very playful, as you can see from the video below.  We'll miss his orange presence.  ברוך דיין אמת

Dancing Robot Dances Robotically

But the Warchaizer-Efron family is more than just humans, dogs, bunnies and fish. There is also a robot who cleans our house, makes us meals and does the laundry. But for all that he works, he is also happy, as this video shows.

Tuna & Lox, the Warchaizer-Efron Goldfish, Do Lunch

Using the most advanced techniques of wildlife documentary film-making, Micha managed to capture a rare conversation in-the-wild between his two goldfish, Tuna & Lox.

(c) All rights reserved by Michasoft, a division of HyperGlobalMichaNet, Ltd.

Roller Surfer

For Micha's ninth birthday (for which he had a science party), he got a present.  It happened to be that he was snooping around and before he got the present he somehow found the present in Abba's closet.  At the start, Micha didn't really want it.  Then Micha thought, I probably won't get anything better in the short time before my birthday, so I should probably just take this pretty cool roller surfer.  (For the downlow on roller surfers, see www.rollersurferusa.com)

At the start, Micha started by doing rolls from one side of the living room to the other side of the living room.  His first time, he learned how to push himself off from the ground, and how to turn a little.  After that, he started to roll outside.  At the start, Micha started to practice just going downhill.  Yet, eventually, he started to do all sorts of missions.  Like, "touch three leaves of a tree" or "touch three trees on each side" or "do a loop-de-loop".  And then, Micha one day started just from a roll down, yet one he turned around, he started to ride uphill and up and up.  Somewhere a quarter the way back, he stopped.  He practiced and practiced, and then reached the record of three whole laps with no stop.  

(c) All rights reserved by MICHACO, a subsidiary of MICHACORP, which is fully owned by Micha Industries

Brief message from Ella the Dog

All I ask is to be taken out four or five times a day, and would it hurt if I ate one stinkin' cat?  The place is lousy with 'em.  I'm just saying.

Micha Dreams of Money

   

("Cold cash is like blood running through our veins," says Micha)

 

 

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

One day at camp, a day before it happened, they told us that we had to pick an imaginary nation.  We picked "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory."  Each guy had to dress as a character or as chocolate, and to come with chocolate. 

At the start, Micha had an idea.  You just take a pan, put in the chocolate, take skewers, put marshmallow on the skewers, and then dip it in the chocolate and eat.  Yet what Noah said was: "Preposterous! Stupid! Crazy!". So Micha had another idea.  For this idea, Micha bought 46 Riesen candies:

And a big box of Kinder chocolates:

In the Kinder, Noah and Micha carefully opened two of the Kinders and put in each a "golden ticket":

The only way to get a whole, huge chocolate bar as a prize was to open the right kinder and find the golden ticket.

With the 46 Riesens, Abba cut a bottle in half, put them all in the bottle and then closed the bottle with tape.  The idea was that the person had to guess how much candies there was in the bottle, and if they were right, they would get the whole bottle filled with all the candy.  

We went to the AM-PM Market to get all the things.  We came back and by that time, Micha remembered that he had to dress as Charlie.  Yet Eema couldn't find anything in his big, messy closet of clothes that looked like Charlie.  Using some bandaids and dirt, Micha got close enough to Charlie.  But everyone else forgot to dress up like they needed to.  

At the sale, the kinders were all sold out and the golden tickets were found in the last two.  By the end all the candy was sold out.  Each bit, except the candy bottle.  The closest number to what they needed to guess was 46, which happens to be the exact number of candies in the bottle.  Twenty-seven people guessed, and the kid who won was some kid from handball.   After he won, we wanted to give him the prize, but we didn't know where handball was, so we walked in circles and circles and we went from one side to the other to the other and we asked all the people, even the people who were actually next to handball, and noone knew where it was until finally some guy found it.

At the end of the fair, we counted our money and the total was 360 fake dollars.  

Camp

To camp, we (that is, Micha) go on bus five, the bus we are always late to.  Once we get there, we go to a big sign that says "Comics" on it.  (Comics is my area of specialization, therefore my group is the comics kids).  At the start, you change clothes and go to the pool.  There you have free time. Micha can only go to the middle of the pool, not the deep end.  After that, everybody gets dry and we eat breakfast.  That is, either chocolate milk and a roll or cornflakes and a roll.  After breakfast, we go to our specialization.  We learn comics there.  Sometimes the teacher teaches a couple of stuff, but mostly you just draw comics and all kinds of stuff like that.  But not always.  One time, we even saw a movie.  Then we come back for activities.  At the end, the people that finish at 1:00 leave, and all the rest stay.  By that time, every day there is a different day.  By that I mean, one day there is a "survivor" day, when you do all sorts of cool missions.  One day, there is a color day.  One day, there was a sport day.  After all of that, we go back to our bus stop and leave on bus five and go back home.  

The Wii FIFA Game

In the Wii FIFA game, Micha (Manchester United) vs. Chen (Chelsey), the long game began.  The game had lots and lots of fouls made by Chen on Micha, and Micha just kept getting lucky.

"One time even, I stopped him, and the ball flew over to one of my players and I headed it by mistake and it went in my own goal, yet the game said 'offsides: goalie kick," said Micha

The game didn't have no goals till the extra time, and in the extra time, Micha, on the first half of the extra time got one goal.  And then after him, Chen got one.  At the end of the game, the game went to goalie kicks.  Chen with his major skills, didn't really know how to be the goalie.  Therefore, Micha got all of his goals.  Chen didn't know how to kick well either.  But he lucked out, and Micha only stopped one ball.  But that was enough to win the game.

Tense Shabbat Game of "Scrambled States of America" Leaves Dara Undisputed Winner

For reasons not easily explained, the weekly Shabbat game selected this week was "The Scrambled States of America", in which contestants compete to most quickly answer questions of geography, including the locations of States, their capitals and slogans.  Susan, who has superior grasp of such matters, was emcee.  (Noah, whose grasp is not superior, was judged an equal match to 8 year old Micha, who has never studied American geography and who reads English as a second language).  

In the event, Dara had almost to be bound and gagged in order for Micha or Noah to answer any questions at all.  By the end of the game, she had more points than both her competitors combined, much to Micha's consternation.  "It's really not fair, I mean really not fair," opined Micha.

Micha Draws Abba

(Note the bulked-up biceps)

Ayelet & Chen to View the Blog

Chen just called asking for the URL of the Warchaizer-Efron Family Blog.  This may be the beginning of a W-E Family Blog viewing craze.

Chen & Ayelet before viewing the blog

(For Illustration Only; Photo May Not be of Chen & Ayelet)

Micha Sees Kung Fu Panda for 2nd Time in a Week

Attending Barak's birthday party at the Azrieli Center, Micha was taken to see the movie Kung Fu Panda for the second time in a week.  This time, he'll be able to notice the subtleties.

She's Back!

Dara, Susan & Micha Watching the Cool Slide Show Micha Prepared for Susan's Return

We welcome Eema home with bananas

As always we decided to write a sign for the weary traveller coming home.  This time, Dara had a great idea: writing on bananas! Welcome home, Eema, we missed you and went bananas without you!

The New House Keeper Didn't Show!

“The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men / Gang aft a-gley," wrote Robert Burns in his poem, "To a Mouse."  You can say that again, especially the "Gang aft a-gley" part (which in the olden days meant "go awry").  The house cleaner that Noah arranged to come today, just in time to spruce up the place before Susan comes home, called this morning to say that her sister is sick in the hospital so she cannot come.  

High pitched cheers could be heard arising from the housefly colonies, now spread thickly throughout the living room and rumpus room.

Warchaizer Efron family end risk game without finishing it

After a very long and hard game (see risk game in blog for full information) Micha decides to end the game before it is over.

"We will never know who would have won." said Dara  immediately after the destruction of the game "but I think I had a great chance" (the last sentence was said sarcastically).

Susan's flying home

As we write these lines, Susan is probably passing through passport control in Newark, getting ready to come home.   It's been pretty nice in a lot of ways while she was gone, but deep inside we feel like this:

After she comes home, though, we're going to feel like this:

Watching the Gilmore Girls

Apres-la-burgers bar, which was apres-la-Wii-game, Merav, Ayelet and Dara relax with the Gilmore Girls.

 

Rachel may read the blog!

In a phone conversation from Columbia University, Noah told Rachel about the blog, and in all likelihood, she will view the blog soon!

Dara, Ayelet, Chen & Merav visit Burgers Bar

With 150 shekels in hand, the younger set went off to the Burgers Bar to buy an apres-la-Wii-game late lunch.

Phyllis & Stanley Coming to Visit Susan in Princeton

In just half an hour, Susan's mom & dad will be visiting her at Princeton University Medical Center.

Chen not in picture of people viewing blog!

Only seconds before he was in the room, yet somehow, he's not in the picture.  Weird!!!!

Ayelet & Merav Come; See the blog!

Ayelet, fresh from Italy (more or less), came to visit, and so did Merav, who hasn't been to Italy in lots and lots of months!

Dara & Chen play tennis on the Wii

Chen wins three straight sets.  Says Dara, "It's really not my fault."