One of my closest friends that I had made in Israel moved away to a European country a few years ago.  An American, he was one of my first and closest friends in Israel.  We met while we were on a Kibbutz during our absorption process.

He called me last night to let me know he would be coming to Israel for a very short visit and we needed to make time to catch up in person.  Great.  I asked where he would be staying and he said “Tel Aviv”.  After leaving the Kibbutz, my friend had made his way to Tel Aviv, where he lived the life of a single guy in Israel.  That’s the place to be.  It’s kind of like a mix between South Beach and Manhattan.

My friend has since married (I was honored to have been a witness and stood up for him at his Chuppah) and no longer lives the single life.  He explained to me that during his visit, he doesn’t plan on wandering around the streets of Tel Aviv, hopping from bar to bar or from restaurant to restaurant.  There would be no visits to nightclubs and no aimless walks around town at all hours of the night.  He would refrain from busses, shared taxis (monit sheruts) and would pretty much call wherever he would be staying his home base.

This was such a change from when my friend was single and living here.  I was beaming.  He had grown up.   In the most non-condescending way I could think of, I told him just how proud of him I was and that he was turning into a serious young man and how nice it was  to hear that he had left some of his single ways behind.

Immediately, my friend cuts me off, mid sentence, and explains to me that I was dead wrong.  Ok, he had grown up a bit, but his agenda was to try and avoid getting stabbed or run-over by a terrorist while visiting Israel and not some sort of “revelation.”

I paused to gather my thoughts  I hadn’t even thought of that.  Had I become so immune already to what is going on that I completely disregard current events?  No, I hadn’t.  It took me a few minutes to figure it out, but the reality is, if I think about it too much, I would never leave my house.  I would be trapped in my own little prison. The less I think about it, the more normal of a life I am able to lead.