Friday, April 16, 2010

meeting 883.mee.003 Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire

Nobody disputes the wealth and diversity of Dayan�s collection, but can it be detached from its owner and become a basis for enthusiasm and admiration? For example, Aarons (1982:36) writes: �his collection transcended avarice or possessiveness. It was his poetry, his statement, his romance with history.� A closer look at this romance involves a lot of monetary details.�������

��������� Dayan turned his Zahala house into an archaeological garden (Dayan 1976:125; Ben-Ezer 1997: 122-3). At first, the collection was a source of joy, but it gradually became an obsession. Pictures of the garden were published, e.g., �In the family circle, on uniform and in a civilian [dress]�- Dayan holding an ancient bowl. Another photo states that �archaeology requires not only patience, but also wisdom-of-hands�, showing Dayan restoring a clay jar (Yurman 1968). In fact, museum workers had to re-treat many objects, because Dayan�s restorations were not good (Ornan 1986: introduction; M. Ben Gal, interview 2.9.01).

Dayan in his Zahala Garden of Antiquities. Courtesy Uri Avneri and Ha-olam Ha-zeh.

6.2� �� The last meeting of Dayan and his family in the garden is mourned by Yael Dayan in these words: �Father sat on the garden swing, surrounded by his offsprings, a tribal patriarch... the children were all over the place, climbing into Roman sarcophagi and sitting on Byzantine gravestones and church pillars, dipping apples in honey, as it is customary in Rosh Hashanah, having a good enough time� (Dayan Y. 1985:260). In the Hebrew version (Y. Dayan 1986a:189), the children also toyed with bronze church-bells.�

According to Yael Dayan, Rahel (Dayan�s second wife) invited antiquities dealers to evaluate the collection soon after his death (Dayan Y. 1985:269; cf. Aarons 1982:28-29).� Many of �the less rare antiquities� were sold together with the Zahala house (Dayan Y. 1986:288; 1986b:16-17; Ariel 1986:9; Silberman 1989:127-128). A journalist named L. Inbal (1991:9) saw a few antiquities during an interview of Rahel Dayan in her new flat, and admired how the world of Rahel �is still surrounded on all sides by Moshe Dayan�. There is no further description of these �leftovers�.

Saturday, April 10, 2010

hippies 339.hip.0012 Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire

is about a “tribe” of hippies in 1968 on New York's Lower East Side. Through songs that became pop hits, such as “Aquarius,” “Let the Sunshine,” “Easy to Be Hard” and, of course, “Hair,” various tribe members tell their stories. Every kid's story is overshadowed by the looming draft, the Vietnam War, the drug culture and the desire not to fall into the lives of their parents. In other words, the '60s.