Chapter 16, Playing with Fire
This story is very difficult for me to tell. It’s about how I lost respect for Mom.
Uncle Moshe just joined the army for his military service. Uncle Moshe Mom’s youngest brother was tall now and very strong. His army base was close to our town. He was in the “intelligence”, shahs, don't tell anyone. He learned to read and write Arabic and was involved in something secret. Anyway, every time that he had an afternoon pass, he would hitchhike his way for a visit and have some of Mom’s cooking. We didn’t have a telephone so we wouldn’t know in advance when he was going to come. But mom always had a few moments warning. You see, the bus stop was a few blocks up the road. Avi and I would play outside and the moment we would spot his tall figure coming off the bus or the ride he just got, Avi would run back home yelling all the way home, “Uncle Moshe is here, Uncle Moshe is here.” Mom then would rush and put some water on the fire and rush to the bathroom to make sure she looks presentable. I would run to great Uncle Moshe and skip around him with questions and tells that I had waited to tell him since his last visit.
Uncle Moshe was a funny guy. As much as I didn’t like the fact that we were never allowed to touch any of his stuff, we still enjoyed his company. Every visit he would come with a new joke or a new prank to show us. Once he brought with him a whoopee-cushion and placed it under Mom’s seat. Another time he got a fake throw up and placed it in front of Avi and made him almost throw up for real. This time he showed us how to make a tower with matches. He pulled out his match box from his pocket and emptied it on the table. Carefully, he placed the matches one on top of the other. Slowly but surely, we had a match tower.
We played for a long time and before we went to bed, I asked Uncle Moshe to leave the tower as is so I can play with it the next day.
In the morning right after Mom has left for work Uncle Moshe realized that he didn’t have matches for his cigarettes anymore. “Can you go buy me some matches? He asked me. “Here are ten Agorot, go buy them while I get ready.
“Sure” I said and ran down to Sa’adya’s groceries store.
When I came back, I gave the box to Uncle Moshe and his 5 Agorot change. “Keep it” he said, buy yourself some candy.
Avi and I walked Uncle Moshe to the bus station and waited to bid him goodbye before he left. As soon as he climbed the bus, I ran back calling Avi to follow me to Sa’adya’s groceries store. We arrived there out of breath and I asked Sa’adya for another box of matches. “Didn’t I sell you another box just ten minutes ago?” he asked.
“Yes” I said, “it was for my Uncle Moshe, but he wanted one more.” I lied. I knew he wouldn’t sell me the matches if I told him it was for me to play with.
“Hmm,” he said, I don’t like it, but here you go, be careful!”
“Come let’s make the tower bigger,” I said to Avi.
“No,” he said, “let’s make a Koomzits.” Koom-zits is a Yiddish word for a campfire. It means ‘come and sit’. We, kids, loved going to a Koomzits. There’s singing and dancing around the fire and the best part are the roasted potatoes.
“But we don’t have a place to do it” I said.
“We can do it in the living room” Avi suggested.
“No that could cause a fire and burn the house. Maybe we can find a safe place in the back.” I said. We went to the backyard and then I saw the hut where Grandma Okev lived. It was a small house built out of tin.
“See?” I pointed to the house in front of us. “This is a good place. Grandma Okev’s house is made of steel and it won’t burn. We can try making the campfire next to her house.”
“Good!” Avi cheered.
We gathered some small kindling and some paper and placed them next to the back wall of the hut. I tried to strike the match and light it, but it didn’t work. They were either wet or I didn’t have the knowledge of how to do it.
“Let me try” Avi said.
“Sorry, you are too young” I said.
“No, I’m not!” He yelled. “If you can do it so could I.”
“No, you can’t.” I said again but then he started to cry and yell so loud that Mrs. Okev came out and to the back and asked; “What are you two doing behind my mother’s house?”
“Nothing” Avi and I answered in unison.
“Are these matches in your hands? Don’t you know a ‘five years old’ shouldn’t be playing with matches? Give them to me! Where did you get them from?”
“I’m not five years old.” I said angrily. “I’m six, and I bought them at Sa’adya’s.” Reluctantly I extended my arm and gave her the matches.
That afternoon when Mom came back, she walked in the house as we were playing with the match tower. “Come on kids!” She called, “it’s time for lunch and a nap.”
We came to the kitchen where she served us lunch and right after that we went to our rooms to sleep.
A few moments after I got in my bed, I saw Mom coming in with something that looks like a butter knife in her hand. She approached the bed and asked me to extend my left hand forward. I did so and as she grabbed it with one hand, she pressed the knife’s flat side on top of my hand with her other hand. It was hot. No, it was burning hot. I felt the pain instantly and it took me by surprise so that I couldn’t even cry. I gasped for a deep breath and looked at burned back of my hand.
“Now you’ll learn never to play with fire.” She almost whispered and left.
Next, she went to Avi’s bed and shortly after I heard his cry, and I knew he was getting the same punishment.
It took a long time to heal. We had to go to the nurse at the medical center so she could spread some ointment and cover it with bandages. When she asked us, how come we both had the same wound at the same place I was too ashamed to tell her that I had a mother capable of such a thoughtless deed.
Avi’s wound took longer than mine to heal. But he forgot about it before too long. Yet, the scar lasted with me forever, and it was not the scar on my hand. I swore that no matter what, my kids, whenever I have them, will never feel about me the way I felt about my mom.
***
Cumin ChickPeas and Potatoes
This is an easy, simple, and hearty dish. It could also be made with some light meat, but here is a vegan version of it. It takes less than an hour to prepare and it is filling as well as tasty. Ingredients: Preparation:
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