February 5, 2002

A collection of wild mushrooms from the hills of Zababdeh.

Our shepherd friend came by tonight for one of his periodic visits, bringing olives as well as fresh wild mushrooms picked from the hills! They were delicious, although the walls started to breathe...

He also brought the latest news - a shooting in Jenin. Soldiers, we assumed, but no. A man from Qabatia was killed by three men in some kind of altercation - the details aren't clear. What's remarkable about this is how unremarkable such an event would be in the US, with daily murders throughout the country. But here, in a land where hundreds (becoming thousands) have been killed both in and out of combat, a murder is a rarity.