ISAACS FAMILY NEWSLETTER – October 2016

I have slept less than 10 hours in the last 80, and some of those were on a plane (in economy class), so if this newsletter is less amusing than most, think of the extenuating circumstances and be charitable.

As each year goes by, I find international flights kick me further off kilter. There was a time when a trip to New York was no more disruptive than a hop to Eilat. No longer. It’s as if my brain, stomach and digestive system refused to sign the travel approval form. Now they want revenge. My head aches, my sleep instinct is on strike and my appetite works night shifts. I shouldn’t complain. I bet Doctor Who’s “tardis lag” is worse.

Time and Travel, Silicon and Cigars

I am on my way back from California. My company (Amdocs) spent about 100 million dollars pocket money on a company located in the heart of Silicon Valley. I was there to check out the new company’s Marketing strategy and chew the cud with my peers. My first visit to California was an eye opener in several respects. First, “Silicon Valley” is not made of silicon (another instance of the Yanks lyng to the rest of the world). Secondly, it’s not really a Valley (I rest my case). Thirdly, Silicon Valley companies know how to live. There is a group of guys there who from time to time spend the last hour of the day drinking whisky and smoking cigars. The last hour of my working days is typically a hectic dash to resolve other peoples’ crises that hit my desk at 6pm.

Everyone asks me what I saw when I was there. The answer is an airport, a road, a hotel and an office. Embarrassed at not touring I took a peek at the Golden Gate Bridge on Google Earth. Between you and me, what’s the difference?

Brentrance

If I tell you we did something really amazing this summer for our holidays, seasoned newsletter readers will reasonably assume we splashed out on a new tent or found an undocumented trek in the Golan. So those of you who are not family, friends or Facebook contacts (which doesn’t leave a lot) may be surprised that this year we really did do something different. We went yuppie. Judy, the girls and I spent 12 days touring France, Italy and Switzerland. Facebook friends will have already seen the glorious pictures Judy posted. I would complain that Facebook stole my thunder, but, hey, when I write newsletters once a year, how can I grumble?

Ostensibly, the trip was conceived by Judy as a reward for Abigail and Elisheva on condition that they read a full-length book in English during the course of the year. And they did. So congratulations to them. My narrative – and I don’t expect everyone to accept this – is that this was a thinly-disguised excuse for Judy to terminate our endless stream of camping holidays and take a real  vacation that didn’t involve mosquitoes and public showers.

Everyone wanted to get something different out of this holiday. The girls’ priorities were adventure parks, shopping and “tiyulim” (trips). Judy wanted long walks and alpine scenery. Daddy dreamed of guided tours of medieval castles and low cost (the “Scot” in me is alive and kicking).

We flew by EasyJet to Geneva, rented a car and stayed in three Airbnb flats – in Annecy in France, Iseo in Italy and in Champex in Switzerland – all three on lakes. The weather was perfect for 12 out of 13 days. And we all got what we wanted. Stunning scenery. Walks alongside exquisite rivers and waterfalls through fields and forests; shopping, shopping and shopping, including 5 hours in “outlet city” in Italy where the girls wandered through 140 clothes shops (and Daddy read a very long book); Gardaland adventure park on Lake Garda in Italy, where the fearless girls made a beeline for the largest, scariest roller-coasters; and, yes, even a pokey wee medieval castle.

As with every adventure that we undertake, all credit goes to the instigator Judy who researched, ordered and planned the entire holiday herself. We have lots of insights for anyone planning a similar trip, the first of which is to “check the freezers”. I suffered endless heartache trying and failing to locate items appearing on the French kosher list in quaint rural grocery stores. Nothing on the list was on the shops’ shelves. Nothing. But, to our great surprise, in the freezer department, we found Mars and Twix ice-creams with LBD (London Beth Din) Hechsherim. We feasted on them! And when I say “feasted” I mean “non-calorie-counting-I’m-hungry-can-I-have-another-ice-cream”-type feasting. I mean “we-ate-enough-ice-creams-for-birkat-hamazon” type bingeing. (I paid the price with many many running kilometers).

Documenting by Dancing

Orly had the idea to create a video for Elisheva’s bat mitzva constructed from clips of the girls dancing at locations we visited. Over the course of 12 days, the girls performed over 30 different routines on 30 different backdrops, each more breath-taking than the previous (except for the ones at the airport. I wouldn’t describe Ben Gurion as “breath-taking”). Naphtali edited them into a clip and it’s brilliant. Unfortunately, I can’t share it with you. My modest daughters don’t permit their dancing to enter the public domain. There are various journalists, politicians and celebrities whose careers would still be alive if they learned a less in modesty from my daughters.

Now to some other family snippets.

Ready, Steady, Start, Start, Start

“Ari continues with his start-up”. You have read that sentence in previous newsletters and you can expect to see it in newsletters for many years to come. Ari’s company has been operational for about 18 months and has six employees. He just went international closing his first deal abroad with a company in the US, which is a major breakthrough. By comparison, the company I visited in Silicon Valley has been around for 13 years, has 80 employees, 120 customers and revenues of $25 million. And they still consider themselves a start-up. When does a “start-up” become “started”?

Around the East in 200 days

Naphtali has now completed two 100-day “tours of duty” in the East. The first was split between the Philippines and Thailand; the second between India and Bali. Again, if you are a Facebook friend you will have seen some of Naphtali’s amazing photos. These are not instamatics. Naphtali has become an accomplished photographer with an artist’s eye and technical knack for it. He knows all about lenses, exposure, composition, light etc. etc., and uses editing tools that turn photos into works of art. I should get him to take a picture of me. Maybe he could do something in photoshop about the wrinkles and the projecting ears…and the big nose…and the greying hair...Then again, maybe I’m too far gone.

As for Naphtali’s future travel plans…who knows? Watch this space. Better still, watch Facebook.

Lots more to tell but I have hit my two-page limit. Lots of love from

Judy, Michael, Ari, Elon, Naphtali, Orly, Abigail and Elisheva

Isaacs, Elkana