Robert - I left my main comments at Big Hollywood but in rereading your wonderful post had to mention that instead of Patton I think of Karen's serene bearing in battle like Stonewall Jackson -

People who were there all remarked on his blue eyes and absolute calmness in battle - an attitude that "God will decide my time" and to not even be concerned with danger or death...

But then Stonewall didn't have a magical backpack...

As that poster at BH who had the father in LAPD giving the reasons for the police not intervening at the beginning (and cutting it in the bud) I have always felt that most big city police chiefs are more politician than cop - it was disgraceful what those few in command did - to further their political careers.

It's one of the reasons our country is in the mess that it is for having calculating politicians rather than ones who do what the right thing regardless of political blow back

>In my pocket, as always, a little Swiss Army Knife.

I used to carry one everywhere I go. One of the more useful attachments for me was the bottle opener, which I would use for opening bottles of local wine on my travels. However, now that I am no longer permitted to get on aircraft with them - I seldom have checked luggage - I no longer carry one. Now, when I am abroad and feel like wine, I buy an opener as well. Almost invariably, these openers have a small folding blade as well as the opener itself. When I arrive at the airport to return home, it seems wrong to throw away a perfectly good opener. Therefore I put it in my luggage and decide that I will have to pretend that I forgot about it if it shows up on the X-Ray scan of my bag.

However, this has yet to happen even once, and I now have a drawer full of openers at home.

Bill:

Stonewall Jackson sounds good, except Karen does not have blue eyes:-)

Michael:

I have lost four Swiss Army Knives to the Homeland Security thieves at LAX.

I keep forgetting to remove the knife from my key chain.

Do people realize that airports have become nightmares due to the PLO's terror war against Israel and the west initiated in the 60's with hijackings?

Robert: I have lost a couple like that, and on a couple of other times I avoided losing one by posting it to myself from the airport post office before going through security.

After a while I simply stopped carrying it, which is a shame, as the are useful things to have with you.

B"H

Um,...Robert,...don't you think it's time to come home to Israel?

After a bomb attack, a Molotov Cocktail, and missing several bullets by hours, sometimes minutes, and hitchhiking through the Shomron several times per week, I still feel safer here than in Los Angeles.

I was in San Diego during those riots of '92, and that was close enough for me. I remember the "rumors" that the rioters reached the SE corner of Beverly Hills, so learning that they reached WeHo doesn't surprise me.

Why wait around for them to reach Brentwood, SanMo, Malibu, or the West Valley?

You're safer in the "West" Bank than in Burbank.

Oh, did I mention I was talking about spiritual safety in addition to physical safety?

I'm not really as self-righteous as I sound. I just don't want to lose any good and decent Jews like yourself in Galuth, let alone the Jews who don't yet know that they're good and decent.

I can introduce you to the frum "former Hollywood" crowd, too, when you arrive.

Ben-Yehudah:

While all my children and grandchild live in America and while I am still working in Hollywood I will,sigh, be staying put.