The Israeli military, too, has contributed to the Israeli hasbara that Tel Aviv would be able to face several threats at all fronts, from Gaza, to the West Bank, to Lebanon, and Syria.

 But the Hamas attack at numerous Israeli targets on Saturday, October 5, at precisely 6:00 am Palestine time, proved him utterly and humiliatingly wrong. Neither Netanyahu, nor his army were in fact able to face a single Palestinian group, operating alone, and under siege.

 It will take time for all of this to sink in among Israeli leaders, military brass, media, and society. For now, however, Netanyahu is desperate to show that Israel remains a powerful country and a regional power that deserves its often-touted status of having an ‘invincible’ army.

 But all his options are nearly impossible.

 It was obvious that Hamas, and later the Islamic Jihad, were keen on capturing as many Israelis - both soldiers, and settlers - as possible.

I was half asleep. The covers were pulled tightly over my head. My body was balled up in the fetal position and I was sucking my thumb. Something I still did when sleeping. A fly buzzed over my head, the sound woke me up completely.

“Sara. Sara. Sara!” Jean was yelling.

I felt the covers being pulled off my head. I grabbed onto the blanket and tried to keep it from coming off any further, but Jean had a good grip on it and was pulling me as well as the blanket onto the floor.

“Get up girl. It’s time to get ready for school, don’t you hear momma calling us?”

As its 30th season opens, that crowd pleasing palace the La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts is mounting a musical perfect for capitalizing on the fact that as of this writing, it’s currently Hispanic Heritage Month. The title characters of On Your Feet! The Story of Emilio & Gloria Estefan are, of course, real life musicians who were both born in Cuba. Given the Miami Sound Machine’s (and later iterations of Gloria’s band) hits, including “Dr. Beat,” the eponymous “Get On Your Feet” and the positively infectious “Conga,” I wondered if Feet! would actually have a plot per se or if this stage production would merely be a glorified excuse for a concert.