The Factory
We rode down to Eilat with Peter, Karen, baby Jade, and a few others in their “Blue Whale” 508 Mercedes. The place we were directed to organize the circus was owned by a nice couple, Harvey and Mimi, who hoped to build a community there. It was a huge cement structure that could have been an unfinished factory of several floors. An enormous open space to practice the potential circus acts was perfect. Cement stairways led up to the upper levels, where people began to explore for places to sleep.
I pulled out my guitar and played a few chords to hear the acoustics. Harold said, “Oh! You must come with me and check this out!” He led me to a large, empty metal silo behind the building. Opening a small door, we crawled in. Tiny streams of light through a few small holes in the seams barely illuminated the interior of the vast silo. I played a few chords, and the reverberation was incredible!
Brainstorming ideas for the circus began in earnest, and people began to break off into smaller groups to work on the concepts. Abruptly, something changed. I’m unsure as to what happened or why, but as a result, we were all suddenly asked to leave. Someone suggested that we go to the beach on the Red Sea.
To the Beach!
By the time we got there, some of the group had already begun to set up camp. The beach and sea were beautiful. Marked with only a single loosely strung strand of barbed wire, the border to Jordan was only a few feet away. Before long, the work of organizing the circus was back in action.
One group decided that we should make masks of Papier-mâché. Donna and I jumped at the opportunity. We love art projects. She made a really beautiful one with lovely colors. Mine was a full helmet that resembled the mask of Mexican wrestlers.
Segal organized the singers for which Peter and I banged out backing guitars. Several of the ladies organized a group of dancers. Gabbi and Britta worked on juggling, comedy, and popcorn to feed the audience. Baby Jade was running around and being cute, dancing and singing. Everybody was either performing or supporting the effort. It was a rag-tag circus that was beginning to form up quite nicely.
Ein Geddi
With the circus organized, the tour became possible. Peter and Karen said they wanted to visit a special place in Ein Geddi, where a Rainbow brother was guarding special caves for the government’s electricity department. Segal decided to continue on with the circus for a while and would meet again in Jerusalem. We decided to go with Peter, Karen, and a few others to see these caves.
We arrived at the fenced, gated, and guarded facility above the road and overlooking the Dead Sea. The young man guarding the caves explained that they were part of an experiment to make electricity. He had no idea how that would work and thought it had something to do with the minerals inside the cave. “No one is to be permitted to enter the caves,” the guard said. But then, he took us on a short tour of the caves. The cave was a perfectly smooth round hole that bored into the side of the hill at about a 15-degree angle. Deeper inside, it became full of water, and we went no further.
Magic at the Dead Sea
Donna and I set up and organized our tent. Peter and his family moved into the big tipi, the guard’s home. A few others also had tents, and soon an impromptu gathering was happening. Big pots appeared, and the preparation of food began. The Dead Sea was beautiful, and we thought of going floating in a sea that no one can sink. The water’s waves were too choppy.
It seems that whenever we are with the Rainbow family, we inevitably see a rainbow. This time was no exception. “Look, a rainbow touching down right on the shore of the Dead Sea,” Donna exclaimed! We all looked and decided we should run down and see if we could catch the pot of gold, as the legend says. We walked down the drive and crossed the road to the seashore. I know it’s supposed to be scientifically impossible to be at the end of a rainbow, yet the photographic proof lies somewhere in storage at my son’s house. We must have been the lucky pot of gold, for we were at the end (or beginning) of this rainbow!
memory jogging time again, well i have no recollection of the building. but i do remember going to eilat, to meet up and be with the circus. because it was the year that the border between Jordan and Israel was opened. and a friend came walking over, whom had been living with the bedouin folks for some years.
i remember going to a place called dimona???? and few other places with the circus ending in Jerusalem.
i remember staying at the ein geddi cave, for sometime i think after the circus??? for a month or so. swimming in the pool of water in the cave, that was a tunnel that was to pass between the med and the dead sea, and stopped because they realised the mix of the two waters, would not be “not good”… and hence it was no longer for use for original purpose. but was guarded for safety. wonder if it is still there.
i remember Gabby and brittas popcorn song that was created haha. all in the fall of 94…..
happy days, xxx
Avant je pouvais faire la traduction. Et ici impossible ?? Dites moi pourquoi .merci.