Despite the need to take any job that would put food on my table; living in a small apartment with roommates; and dealing with the implacable cold; I recall this period of my life with great fondness.

I was part of a group who had already immigrated once; settled with great difficulties in a new country; decided that there was something better out there; left the familiar behind; and once more ventured into a new and challenging land.

Being with those former Israelis held a special magic for me.  We were all young, optimistic, sure of ourselves, and determined to succeed.  And you know what?  In time, we all did well; none of us expressed any regrets, and certainly no desire to go back.

But enough of waxing poetic; this part of my recitation is meant to describe how we entertained ourselves during that period.

Nessim (nickname:  Nisso) and his wife Laurette often invited us in their apartment to spend the evening.  Now remember that we were as poor as church mice:  The apartment in question was largely bare:  A table and a few chairs; a basic bedroom, and a kitchen with the bare minimum of implements.

This therefore was not a formal invitation, more of a get-together.  We sat on the floor in the carpeted living room; we brought our own food and drink; listened to music or watched television; and above all talked of our years in Israel, and our day to day life in Canada.  And we loved it!  Even after all those years, I can see myself sitting on the floor in that living room and having the time of my life.

I said “we;” who therefore were the attendees:  Robert and his wife Margot; Jacques and his wife Mary; Laurette’s parents who were the only ones using the available chairs; Foufou, Alfred, and I. In time, other Israelis joined our group, but by then there were plenty of chairs, a larger table, and a sofa.

We did go to another place, this time an established household.  Ellie had introduced me to his sister Aliza, and her husband Amos.  After Ellie left for Vancouver, she insisted that I keep in touch.  They had been in Canada for a few years and wanted to befriend other Israelis.  It took a while before I contacted them for so many things were going on.  They extended a warm invitation to come for supper; I diplomatically asked if my two flatmates could come along; “of course,” was their response.

And so, on a Saturday night, Foufou, Alfred, and I went to their home.  They treated us like royalty, and expressed their joy to have other Israelis under their roof.

Amos had a movie camera with super-8 mm film; thus he filmed us and we got a chance to see ourselves “acting.”  This for us was a new experience; such cameras were available in Israel, but were prohibitively expensive.

Ultimately, the highlight of the evening was not their warm hospitality, nor the chance to get filmed; it was getting together with brethren tied together (in this case) by religion and nationality.  We all know that humans crave the company of other folks; what is less known is the fact that for a group, a common denominator gives a special aura to that assembly.

Aliza and Amos insisted that I put them in touch with other Israelis; and I did.  And on a couple of occasions we all gathered in their home; and, yes, Amos filmed that cast of thousand!

Not far from my home was the Van Horne Theatre who brought second run movies at absurdly low prices.  This for me became a cheap source of entertainment, and I rarely missed a movie.  I did go by myself for Foufou and Alfred were not movie amateurs.

We availed ourselves of other forms of entertainment.  I will talk about that next.

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