Dec 2023. Blues Vol 39 No. 12

DARYL LOTT
daryl’s deliberations
A Little Help From The Idf
I was in Jerusalem a while
back. While there, I went with
friends from church to see the
stained glass windows in the
Hadassah Medical Center. The
medical center was not as big
as the Texas Medical Center,
but it was a sizable place.
There was a shopping mall
embedded in the complex
and I went to the drug store
there to get some toothpaste.
At least I hoped it was toothpaste.
I don’t read Hebrew so
I got a tube of something that
looked like it was probably
toothpaste. Meanwhile, I got
separated
from
my
little
group
of
friends.
If you
can
imagine
the
underground
hallways
and elevators in Houston’s
medical center, that was
kinda like it was.
The stained windows I was
looking for were designed by
a Jewish artist named Marc
Chagall. There were twelve
windows representing Israel’s
twelve tribes. They were in
a synagogue in the hospital
somewhere. I walked down
one corridor that ended at
a restricted entry. I began
to notice nothing was in a
straight line. It was as if the
designers and architects didn’t
want to offer clear fields of
fire for terrorists. So I doubled
back and saw more restricted
areas. I wondered where my
friends were. I did have my
toothpaste, so I had that going
for me. I was walking in this
maze-like fortress or hospital
or whatever it was, for a long
time. I felt like one of Pavlov’s
dogs and I was looking for a
bell to ring.
I guess I looked like I was
DARYL LOTT
lost and didn’t belong. It was
crowded and the foot traffic
was brisk. Everybody looked
like they
were efficiently
accomplishing
tasks.
I was
accomplishing
nothing. I
did have
my toothpaste.
A
young
man
walked
up to me and asked if I was
lost. A genius in residence!
I nodded, afraid to reveal a
Texas accent to go with my
Texas sized screw up. “Where
do you want to go?” I told
156 The Blues 40th Anniversary Issue