And I really wanted to tell you my good news, but I’ve got this big lump in my throat that won’t go away. We had to turn the TV off, because Bish has to work and he couldn’t concentrate. This is fortunate because I’ve been crying all the time. How silly can you get? I don’t think anyone noticed. I read somewhere the other day that we don’t have any heroes any more, here in Israel. Whoever wrote this didn’t think about Ilan Ramon. Neither did I when I read it. We’re not very into heroes. Much too sophisticated and cynical for that sort of stuff, us.

As if to spite us, and our snobby disdain of things like heroes, here we found ourselves with our very own real live hero. We were so proud. He took a bit of all of us up with him, when he went.

Now that he’s not coming back down, what happens to that bit of all of us he took?

Maybe that’s why we’re not into heroes. They always die and leave us hurting.

* * * *

My good news is that I’ve started a Hebrew blog.

Update: Steve of the Hoosier Review says about what happens to that bit of all of us he took with him: "It lives on forever, a testimony to a man and a people who were not afraid to reach up and grab the stars".

Thank you, Steve.

My condolences to all my American friends. We're in this together.