My (loving) children would tell you that warbling on at
great length about nothing in particular is not a challenge for me. I take
issue with that. They (much as I love them) are victims of the MTV/ computer
game / Sponge Bob generation whose attention span is measured in milliseconds.
Others have (uncharitably) accused me and my ilk, as students of History,
English literature and Marketing, of turning warbling into a profession. I
despise all those others (except the one I’m married to).
And so, without further ado, let’s move precisely and
concisely, to the family update.
WhatsApp Doc?
All family members our now equipped with phones smart enough
to use WhatsApp. This little tool, adopted by 400 million people across the
globe (so far), has revolutionized our lives. Quality time has gone digital. We
exchange messages, updates, pictures, jokes, divrei torah, shopping lists and
smilies electronically. I love it. Four WhatsApp lists keep me connected with
my family, my brothers’ families, my in-laws and my work colleagues. Judy has
five more groups - one for each basketball team she is on. But the girls’
WhatsApp groups are as numerous as the sands on the shore. Their phones sing
and ping endless brain-drilling WhatsApp alerts all hours of days and night. Abigail
(12) recently announced she had 2000 unread WhatsApp messages explaining: הבנות בכיתה
חופרות (untranslatable, but my closest is: “my classmates
blabber”).
The inevitable Basketball update
Judy’s basketball career is moving into high gear. Potentially
she has five games a week although typically three get cancelled. Her latest
move was joining a team in Petach Tikva where, among other perks, she will be
treated to a 3-day basketball competition in Eilat, most expenses paid, some
time in October.
Elon (23) has also joined a new team. Elon is a bit of a
small fish in a big pond. Although at 1:88 he is the tallest known Isaacs
on the planet, as basketball players go, he’s diminutive. Sometimes he is
confronted with a two-meter monster, but when his opposite number is of normal
proportions, he scores 20 points a game.
Even I tried my hand at basketball. Four days after
finishing the Tiberias marathon (in 4 hours and 4 seconds) - my first marathon
in five years - Elon called me to make a “minyan” up in a late-night game where
only seven players had appeared. Five minutes into the game I got an elbow in
the side, which developed into a bruised or cracked rib that has left me unable
to run, twist or even breathe properly for two weeks already. I’m sticking to
42 kilometer runs. Much safer.
Start Up Nation
Ari (26) is the stuff that makes Israel the “Start Up
Nation”. (If you haven’t read the book, do so. It’s 50% nonsense, but
non-Israelis don’t know that). He is on to his third start-up. A previous venture
with a great business proposition collapsed because the CTO and the CIO -
both 22 year olds – stopped talking to each other. Bet that didn’t happen with
Bill Gates.
Have you heard of 3D printing? 3D printing is a technology
that will either peter out or revolutionize our lives. Ari’s banking on the
latter. His company - Shapedo - provides a platform for open source 3D design
that supports all 3D design formats and enables forking. Don’t worry if you
didn’t understand that, but go to www.shapedo.com
if you want to learn more.
Did you know that only 1% of startups ever raise any
funding? I had no idea it was that tough. Ari is optimistic, hard-working,
smart and creative, and is running around trying to get into that elite
percentile. The multi-million dollar exit is still quite a way down the line.
“Dance” to me only with thine eyes
On her free day from national service, Orly (19) is studying
to be a dance teacher in Wingate. She learns all styles – ballet, classic, hip
hop, modern, jazz and others I’ve never heard of. Only modesty prevents
us sharing the videos, because she is fantastic. Orly is already starting to
teach two dance classes – one in Elkana for the fun of it, attended by, among
others, Abigail and Elisheva (9), and another as part of her national service.
My daughter the “dance teacher of rehabilitating drug addicts”. Never
seen that on a business card.
Yahrzeit season
Strange title, but it’s true. In non-leap years, my mother
and father’s yahrzeits are just five weeks apart. For my Mum’s yahrzeit last
week, we converted 130 old slides to jpegs and shared with the grandchildren
some wonderful and embarrassing pictures taken in the 60’s and early 70’s.
Glaswegians, family and people who get a kick out of seeing 50-year olds when
they were in nappies will love these pictures, which include Isaacs boys in
Celtic football strips, Calderwood Lodge uniforms, Clark’s start-right sandals
and extremely brief shorts. View 30 of the best ones here.
By the way, the whole family concluded that none of my children look anything
like me. Praise the L-rd for his Grace.
Shoo Shoo
I reported last newsletter that Naphtali (21) had completed
his lengthy specialist training and was about to start active duty. Fortunately
he has more advanced training to do. A worry in the bush is much much better
than a worry in the hand. We don’t know too much of what Naphtali does in the
army, but based on the number of hours he sleeps when he gets home, he’s still
pretty busy.
That’s it for now.
Lots of love
Michael, Judy, Ari, Elon, Naphtali, Orly, Abigail and
Elisheva Isaacs
Elkana
