You would think that people who have lived overseas for most of their married lives (in the Middle East, for crying out loud!) would find a move to Texas lacking in the excitement department, but I have to tell you folks, when we set out Wednesday morning it felt like a momentous occasion in the lives of the Linkers. We felt buoyed on a current of expectation and bright hope for the future. We felt that way all the way to Atlanta, where the passenger tire of our trailer blew out.

We’ve had a series of minor misfortunes since then (no heat or hot water until today, the wonderfully inexpensive medical coverage that we thought we were only paying ONCE a month, a leaky toilet, uninstallable dryer - you get the idea), we find ourselves this afternoon in a great apartment in an exciting city where Franklin has the opportunity to make money doing the thing he loves the most in the world. Besides a bitter and lasting resentment towards Texas Gas (which, by the way, is so common here that it actually helps us blend in with the locals), I think we’re really going to enjoy being here.

The next step in our master-plan is for me to get a job. For some reason this totally freaks me out. Not the having of the job - I’m looking forward to that - but the getting of the job. I’ve got a serious self confidence deficiency, and the thought of selling myself scares me spitless.

Most of the boxes are unpacked and the apartment is starting to look like us (for better or worse), so feel free to come and visit any time. We’d love to have you.

the Austin years | 3 Comments »

Here is the story:

We left Israel so that Franklin could further his guitar building skills with which he would go back to Israel and build guitars. But then this thing happened where the State of Israel said, “No thanks. We’d rather you just stayed in America.” We argued for a while, and lost. So we returned to the States and began hunting for worthwhile guitar building jobs.

This was easier than one might think in this economy because (I’m sure you don’t find this hard to believe) Franklin is fantastic at building guitars. Our first big opportunity was in Montreal Canada with a super-premier luthier. It was the chance of a lifetime - seriously, this guy is the creme of the crop - but he doesn’t pay his apprentices. And Canada is no more excited about giving me a work visa than Israel was, so we would have been a zero income family. We like food and shelter, so we decided to keep looking.

We considered opening up a repair / building shop here in Charlotte. We have friends, family, and a supportive church here. The idea had its attractions, but we weren’t sure that we could pull it off. Franklin was also concerned that his development as a luthier would be slowed by working in solitude.

And then we heard from a company in Austin, Texas. Franklin’s instructor from Michigan had called them and suggested that if they were looking for builders, they should snatch him up. And they did. And we’re leaving tomorrow for Austin.

I won’t promise that I’ll be better about blogging (you’ve heard it before), but we’re looking forward to adventures in the capital of the Republic of Texas, and I think those adventures should be shared. Austin is an amazing city, and we want you all to come and visit us there.

General, the Austin years | 4 Comments »

It may dip back into winter in the upcoming weeks, but for now spring has sprung in western Michigan. We’re getting to know our yard now that it isn’t buried in snow, the birds are singing, and the deer are getting harder to spot (except for the ones that were killed by the snowplows in the snowy season - they’re reappearing after wintering in the banks of snow along the side of the road).

We’ve settled into our house - the leaks are fixed, the bed is propped up, and it turns out that the guest bathroom isn’t scary at all when it’s clean. The stinky hot water was from the re-chlorination of the well, and it’s gone now. All in all it’s a cute little home and I look forward to hosting many of you here. The neighborhood is beautiful and we’ve enjoyed our time out on the frozen lakes. We haven’t done any ice-fishing, so when I say “our time out on the frozen lakes”, picture us just standing out there listening to the subsonic groaning and cracking and daring ourselves to stay put. Now that the weather has taken a turn for the warmer, we’ll have to give up our lake walking, but I’m sure we’ll find many outdoor exploits to replace it with.

Franklin is (of course) enjoying the guitar school. We’re impressed with the level of professionalism of the course and the staff. Franklin says he is learning a lot, and of course he loves having people around with whom he can talk guitar.

I’m keeping busy by joining every club Canadian Lakes has to offer. I understand that things really pick up here in April when the snowbirds return, but I’m already walking with the Fitness Walkers, going to the weekly Bible study (I’m the only protestant!), and meeting with the writer’s club (shhhh! They don’t know what an amateur I am!).

We still have occasional flashes of homesickness, and we sure do miss our family and friends, but we’re excited about this phase in our lives, and we look forward to the future.

General, the michigan years | 4 Comments »

We moved into our new home in Canadian Lakes, Michigan yesterday.

First of all, let me tell you about Michigan in February. There’s about 3 inches of snow on the ground, and 22 inches of ice on the lakes. The roads are clear of snow and ice - though maybe I shouldn’t say “road” because they’re more pothole than pavement. On our way to the grocery store yesterday afternoon we narrowly avoided being hit by a gang of mammoth shaggy does, and judging from the variety of dead animals on the side of the road, fauna abound in this area. It is amazingly cold, and apparently this is a warm spell. I wish you all could have seen us getting into the car this morning - I thought I would never be warm again.

Our house is in a resort area where, according to the neighborhood schedule, there are book groups, euchre, poker, and bridge games, daily winter hiking clubs, Bible studies, singing groups, sewing circles, square dancing, aquasize (indoor, thankfully), fishing clubs, cross-country skiing groups, and a planned event for any other type of outdoor or indoor activity that can be engaged in corporately. I intend to take part in all most of them. The house itself is cute - if you overlook the various leaks, the saggy bed, the stinky hot water (temporary, they assure us), the non-functioning fridge (though we saved the freezer goods by putting them outside overnight), and the rental house smell. And I’m a little bit afraid of our guest bathroom. But seriously, we’ve unpacked and nested, and once we fix our “punch list,” I think we’re really going to love it.

The people here are amazingly friendly. We met a couple at WalMart last night (the only grocery store we’ve located thus far, sadly) who told us the best place in town to eat (Sharon’s - just down the road - open 24 hours over the weekend) and welcomed us warmly to the area. Our real estate agent has been a doll, and we look forward to going in on the first of every month to hand her our check. This morning we met Jamie, who works for our landlord and will be fixing things up for us. He’s super nice, a Jehovah’s Witness, and plays hockey on one of the lakes regularly. He told us that the owner left 2 kayaks which he’ll bring over when the ice melts - yay!

So, despite the occasional flashes of “oh my soul! what were we thinking? what are we doing here?”, we’re settling in nicely, and we’re excited about the future. We have this week to get everything in order - and me may even sneak off to Crystal Mountain for some downhill skiing. See pictures of the new place in our gallery. We miss everyone tons.

General, the michigan years | 2 Comments »

As advertised, Franklin and I have migrated across the ocean with our dog and a small sampling of our worldly goods in tow. The months leading up to the great exodus were both unbearably stressful and incredibly wonderful at the same time.

The stressful part looked like this: we went through everything in our entire house and either packed it, boxed it for storage, or sold it. We’ve lived in Jerusalem for 8 years, and we’d accumulated significantly more possessions than is in accordance with the simple life we claim to live. It took forever to go through it, but in the end we got rid of about 70% of our non-furniture or guitar related detritus. During the same period of time, our neighbors from down the street moved in with us. They’re among our best friends in the world, so this event mostly belongs on the wonderful list, but for a short while there were 5 humans and three dogs in the house who were all undergoing major life changes and you could cut the stress with a knife. We made it through with a lot of laughter, and I have hope that their dogs will one day recover from the trauma that our dog subjected them to. We also got to deal with the joys of finding a place to live from long distance, planning for the creation of a guitar repair company and accompanying visa so that we can go back to Israel when this is all over, and saying goodbye to friends who are close enough to be considered family.

The wonderful part looked like this: we went to London for Christmas with members of the above-mentioned friends who are close enough to be considered family. We were joined by our biological family, and an amazing time was had by all. Let me tell you, we are a group who knows how to have fun with style. We only publicly embarrassed our host two or three (dozen) times. Afterwards we went skiing in the French Alps. Words fail for the most part, but here are a few that come to mind: private jet, after ski tea, lunch on the slopes, miles of runs, sunshine and champagne. It was a dream, and if I didn’t have pictures, I wouldn’t believe it happened to me.

So now we’re bouncing back and forth between Franklin’s parents in Columbia, SC and my family in Charlotte, NC. We leave at the end of the month for frozen Michigan. Some parts of the move have been more painful than we thought (we really miss our friends, we’re suffering a bit of culture shock, we were floored by the price of medical insurance here, we’re not fond of the NC DMV), but it’s hard not to be optimistic when we think of our upcoming time in Michigan. I imagine myself cross-country skiing, snow shoeing, fly fishing, cycling, and kayaking while Franklin builds guitars and hones his skills - then I remember that I’m an extremely lazy person and I’ll need to get a job. But it still seems like a time of great opportunity. A time to relax from the tensions of the middle east and focus on living day to day in a country where living is easy (despite what you hear from both Obama and Limbaugh). A time to reconnect with family and friends on this side of the ocean, and to remember why we’re glad to be Americans.

General | 2 Comments »