Going home with new treasures on the same grounds that Jesus walked... In fact, only about 100 yards from where he rose again.
Perhaps this dumpster holds more treasure, curiosity and magic than others in Israel?
“Children make you want to start life over.”
It was a sea of people around every corner in Old City Jerusalem. A mixture of tourist and locals going about their daily chores of shopping, sightseeing, selling and more.
Jerusalem is the most visited city in Israel. About 3.6 million people visit the city annually.
In the Old City of Jerusalem you see shoppers making their way home from a day of purchases, you see beggars asking for change, you see the aged sitting in chairs along the streets talking, laughing, smoking. You see life, some of which resembles the way life may have been in the late 1500's.
Today, Old City consist of an estimated 27,500 Muslims, 5,681 Christians and 3,089 Jews.
The area is mixed with different religions all living together. Sometimes they live in harmony and sometimes they don't. It can be a mixed bag of rest and fighting. The United States Department of State reports, "Jerusalem has been assessed as Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution"
In a May 2018 edition of The Guardian, Harriet Sherwood wrote, "Christians in Jerusalem’s Old City say their presence at the geographical heart of their faith is under threat from intimidation and aggressive property acquisition by hardline Jewish settlers."
Life. It can be different from what we think depending on where we stand.
Jewish men and boys laughed jovially as they took part in the celebrations of Lag BaOmer, the 33rd day of the Omer count.
It happened in May of last year (2018) and Bonfires were lit throughout Jerusalem as part of the celebration.
This particular event I photographed was at a Jewish school. In Israel, it is celebrated as a symbol for the fighting Jewish spirit.
2018: A Jewish night in Israel marked by a celebration.
"A mother understands what a child does not say."
-Jewish Proverb
He could have talked for hours, never asking me for a penny. It was as if his sign was a disguise for friendship or connection. I simply tuned in at the right time.
One of the things he talked about was his injured leg. He told me that he got bit by a spider and the aftermath landed him in the hospital.
Today, the spider bite is healing. However, he still has trouble walking for long distances as the pain radiates from the outside of his skin inward and down to his foot.
“One of the most sincere forms of respect is actually listening to what another has to say.”
JANUARY 2018: The dark night made the neon lights appear brighter as the prostitutes, the alcoholics and tourists slowly mixed with one another like a Sunday crowd mixing in church never staring too long.
Read MoreAge is an interesting thing. America is getting older and for a first time by year 2030, all Baby Boomers will be older than age 65. In other words, one in ever five residents in the United States will be of retirement age.
Read MoreIn the West Coast area, much like New York on the East, thousands of homeless live in the underground tunnels of the city they call home. The tunnels were made to transport flood waters away from the population to prevent death and destruction. However, the same tunnels used to prevent death can also cause death.
Read MoreHis shoes appeared to have seen their final days as he stood partially in the street due to a lack of sidewalk while pausing to look back. Other pedestrians busy in conversation hurried past as if he was not there.
Read MoreThe small store was in what Americans would call a strip mall. However, it was nothing like a regular strip mall and instead was a long 12 foot wide by 60 foot metal building, gravel parking lot filled with customers and vendors, each selling their local produce.
Read MoreAnd there we were... at the sacred tobacco farm where the famous and sometimes infamous Cuban tobacco was grown, dried, hand cut and later rolled into cigars that some call, “Sweeter than candy.”
Read More52 Year old Dyran sat back as if to better focus on the past... “I remember pulling up to Graceland at about age 20, the staff was at the front door and pointed to the side where parking was located,” he told me.
Read MoreAs the sun was setting over Knoxville, she prepared for the night. Her home is the sidewalk. But, it's not just her... she is 5.5 months pregnant. In just a few months her child will be born.
Read MoreOne of the most famous quotes is quite true: "First you take a drink, then the drink takes a drink, then the drink takes you." — F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby
Read MoreHe was confined to a wheelchair with only one leg while the other was swollen in the heat and humidity of Cuban air.
Read MoreCubans are smart, very smart. According to "The Fact Life," Cuba has one of the highest literacy rates in the world at 99.8%.
Read MoreCuba has around 37,800 miles of roads. Of that number, close to 20,000 miles are unpaved. That said, some downtown streets may have been paved 40 years ago and not touched since. So, what maybe a paved route, could easily feel and look unpaved.
Read MoreDave Walker lives in his van in Murfreesboro, TN near Nashville. In this 10 minute he talks about some of the things he has seen or heard in the past 8 months.
Read MoreThe late Fidel Castro banned imports of vehicles in 1959. Cuba doesn't have an auto manufacturer, so the cars that were imported in the 50's were there to stay. The communist leader also banned the import of car parts, according to the "Independent UK Newspaper."
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