When I worked as a nanny in Canada, one of the things that I very much enjoyed doing, was taking the kids to the fire department.  The children loved to have a tour of the firetruck, see the firehouse, complete with the pole that they slide down in the event of an emergency.  We would get our pictures taken with the firemen and of the children sitting in the big red firetruck. 

And for me...it was always the thrill of seeing the hot men in uniform.  If I was really lucky, I would get to catch a sneak peek at the big, hunky firemen playing basketball with their shirts off.  It was well known that firemen were great cooks as well.  I often saw a team of them at the local Safeway, buying ingredients for the nights dinner.  Once, I mentioned to the Captain of the squad near my house, how impressed I was that Firemen were encouraged to develop their culinary skills.  He promptly invited me for dinner anytime I wanted. 

I never took him up on the offer, but I always knew that it was there and was something I could brag about to my girlfriends.  "I got invited for dinner at the Firehall!  Anyone want to come???"

Here in Israel, life is completely different.  The thrill of the day for children is not a firetruck or a police car.  We live in a small community in the West Bank and rarely, if ever, see either of those.  But we do see an awful lot of the Army, with their huge Hummers.  That is the big thrill for the children. 

"Look kids!  A Hummer!" 

Sometimes, the Army comes to do drills in our community.  So we will see many a young soldier, with their big guns, jumping out of their army jeeps and Hummers, ready to do a drill.  When I lived in my old apartment, there were a bunch of houses that were in the process of being built, and the boys came to do a drill.  I really wanted to volunteer to be Fatma, the female suicide bomber, because it just looked like fun, playing bad guys and good guys.  It looked like a good way to get some stress and anger out.  And really, who doesn't like playing cops and robbers at any age?

The best, though, is in the summer, when they come to do drills and they all take their shirts off, because the heat is unbearable.  Wearing only their saggy army pants, with their nice young, flat boyish stomachs.  One can almost contemplate a Demi Moore type relationship.

Of course, the best I can do is say to my little girls "Look!  Soldiers!!!!" 

Unfortunately, they aren't so interested.  At least not yet.  In about 12 years, I know it will be a different story, but for the moment, I will just have to work on having a little boy, so we can share in the delight of soldiers...