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...