15. The Visit Of A Space Alien

GROSS!

This shout came from the shower. Mr. C. and I were doing his Hebrew homework in peace when this shout startled us. I looked at Mr. C. to see what we should do, but he lifted his head, set back in the chair and waited for the what’s next? event.

Mrs. C. shot out off the shower with a huge towel wrapped around her shaking all over, “an alien...thing growing there”
“where?” calm Mr. C. moved his lips
“there” she pointed toward the bathroom door
“where there?” he dared to ask calmly
“out of the wood in the shower, you know, in the seat, it looks like out of space something!”
“let me look at it” extremely calm Mr. C. slowly raised himself out of the chair.
“I think it’s a mushroom of some sort” she said “gross!”

While Mr. C. went to inspect the intruder and Mrs. C. positioned herself by the bathroom door still hugging her towel, I slid under the jarred door and peeked behind Mr. C. shoulder. Yap, she is right, some alien being, maybe a mushroom, is growing in the corner of that wooden plunks that is attached to the wall. It is brown and orange and almost as flat as I am.

“It’s only a mushroom” said Mr. C. disgusted. “I'll plank it out”.
“Don’t use your hand! put some gloves on!” she screamed at him from the doorway. Mrs. C. was still upset, maybe she really thinks that it is an out of space alien. Mr. C. plucks it out and throw it to the big garbage bin.

We, the men, went back to the business of learning Hebrew while Mrs. C. calmed down enough to finish her shower.

After an while I noticed Mr. C. developing a smile. He set back in his chair looking at his studies and at me and sighed a content smile. His eyes averted toward the bathroom door and his smile widen. Mrs. C. came out of the shower nodding her head and saying, “this is crazy, we’ve got to do something about that mold!” Mr. C. looked at her. His eyebrows slightly lifted and his eyes squinted a bit, “yes dear”. After a pause he continued, “tomorrow I will take that wood apart and we will clean it again”.

Peace returned.

Later, the drama invaded our abode again. Sheva came in to play some cards, and Mrs. C. told her about the alien growth. Sheva promised, “tomorrow I'll come by with cleaning supplies and we’ll work on it, bleach is not good enough”.

Can you find Flat Stanley? Spring Cleaning...

In the morning, Sheva arrived as promised. In her left hand a broom-vacuum, in her right a few bottles of cleaning chemicals. Mr. C. removed the offensive wood from the shower, and took up vacuuming the carpets while Sheva started to teach her only student. The two ladies worked on that bathroom from top to bottom. I was helping Mr. C. with vacuuming, washing floors and generally cleaning the house while they attacked every possible spot in two bathrooms and a kitchen. I can help real well sliding into small cracks in floors and under carpets just like my brother taught me long ago. The three adults and I started that major enterprise at 08:00 and continued until 12:30, at which point non of them was able to move another step. “well”, said Mrs. C. “I guess we started the Passover Spring Cleaning right on time.”

Mrs. C. is still cleaning and learning about supplies and water and other such things. The chemicals she used in Canada, are not strong enough for the Israeli dirt. Stones are filling the water supply of the country because the water is drawn from 3000 km depth inside the earth and are passing through lime stone and other such geological and ecological treasures, all leaving their residue in the water and no reservoir or factory pump can clean them out. The contaminated water leaves stone spots on marble in kitchens and stone deposits in water kettles and even causes hard to manage hair. Mold grows rapidly everywhere there is moisture. Mold is the earth way to hold on to water in a dry land. Dust covers the window sills and outside of blinds (remember the Tris that Amir had to fix? these ones.). All need to be cleaned by ways that are not wasting water and keeping the spots and dirt at bay.

It is just the right time for this exercise. By Passover the house has to be spotless. All leaven and yeast has to be removed for the greatest celebration of the year. Mr. C. is planning to paint some of the walls in the apartment. Sheva said that it easily takes three weeks to clean the house well. Passover will be here at the end of March and judging by the activity of this week, it will find us all ready for it.

Surrounded by rugs,
Your reporter, Flat Stanley