Will iconic images recorded in the grooves of an ancient vase unite the Holy Land or rip it further apart?

THE VASE

A novel by Mark M. DeRobertis

Muhsin Muhabi is a Palestinian potter, descended from a long line of potters. His business is run from the same shop owned by his ancestors since the day his forebears moved to Nazareth. The region's conflict saw the death of his oldest son, and rogue terrorists are in the process of recruiting his youngest in their plot to assassinate the Pope and Israeli prime minister.

Professor Hiram Weiss is an art historian at Nazareth’s Bethel University. He is also a Shin Bet operative on special assignment. With the help of fellow agent, Captain Benny Mathias, he plans to destroy the gang responsible for the death of his wife and only child. He puts a bomb in the ancient vase he takes on loan from Muhsin’s Pottery Shop.

Mary Levin, the charming assistant to the director of Shin Bet, has lost a husband and most of her extended family to recurring wars and never-ending terrorism. She dedicates her life to the preservation of Israel, but to whom will she dedicate her heart? The brilliant professor from Bethel University? Or the gallant captain who now leads Kidon?

Harvey Holmes, the Sherlock of Haunted Houses, is a Hollywood TV host whose reality show just flopped. When a Lebanese restaurant owner requests his ghost-hunting services, he believes the opportunity will resurrect his career. All he has to do is exorcise the ghosts that are haunting the restaurant. It happens to be located right across the street from Muhsin’s Pottery Shop.




Monday, June 3, 2013

Monday Blues

It's Monday, but that's not why I'm feeling blue today. It's because this is the last week of school, and I always feel blue the last week of the school year. Most teachers seem to welcome the summer vacation as much as the students do. But not me. And I don't really know why. I sometimes think it's because I enjoy my job, and I love being here. Particularly at my current school. I've worked at schools before that I hated. Maybe most of them. But for the last thirteen years, I've loved the school where I work. And I thought that that was why I wasn't so ecstatic when the school year ended.

And all of that is probably true, but there could be another reason. Time just goes by so fast, and when the school year closes out, that is just another way of life letting me know that another year has passed by. Like your birthday. On your birthday, it's the most obvious event that drills it into your head that another year has passed. You're a year older. No getting around it. But just as eventful, I think, is the passing of the school year. At least for a teacher. At least for me. The crop of students you had will turn into another crop of students when you come back in the fall.

And then it starts all over again. And sure enough, the time will fly by and it will be summer vacation again. And in the meantime, you had another birthday, and you're a year older. And the years seem to be moving faster all the time. Especially when I see my kids growing up. My oldest son is 17. Ouch. Next school year is his last year of high school. I've seen my friends kids grow up, and both of my sisters' kids grow up. Now it's happening to me. But not  yet. I've still got some time. And I'm living it to the fullest, you can believe that.

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