Part 3: A Hockey Journalist In Wartime Israel

Metula is a sweet little town, reminiscent of Stowe, Vermont where my wife, Shirley, and I honeymooned in February 1968. Metula's Canada Centre features an Olympic-sized hockey rink where the late NHL coach Roger Neilson ran an annual summer hockey school.

Fischler on Tonelli Becoming an Islander

For many years my three Israeli grandchildren learned their hockey fundamentals in a village called Metula; about a 45 minute drive from our home.

"It was exciting stuff," Neilson once told me, "and every so often, I'd have to herd the kids into bunkers to avoid the rockets coming over from Lebanon."

Guess what?

The rockets still are coming in, except that now Metula -- along with many towns -- has been evacuated by order of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) because the rockets are bigger and more devastating than those fired when Neilson ran his camp.

One of my favorite towns to visit is a half-hour drive from our kibbutz. It's called Kiryat Shimona and reminds me of the town near us in the Catskills, Boiceville, N.Y., only a few stories larger. When my wife Shirley visited after the last Lebanon (Hezbola) war in 2006, the Kiryat Shimona was a wreck; battered up and down with the exploded Hez missiles.

This time around -- because of the latest blitz -- the government evacuated a number of places, including Kiryat Shimona and Metula. But we needed food -- and Shabbat was coming up -- so we decided to take a gamble motor down and check out Kyrat Shimona.

The three of us -- me, Simon, and his wife, Lilach -- took off on Thursday morning. What greeted us was a veritable ghost town. Hardly any pedestrians and lots and lots of parking spaces.

Most amazingly, we found not one but two stores and spent a couple of hours loading up for the duration. Not surprisingly, military vehicles continuously passed us on our way back. And when we reached the kibbutz entrance, well-armed IDF forces allowed us back to our house.

After a lot of unpacking, we all agreed that the drive was worth the gamble but not something we'd like doing again in the weeks ahead.

The trick for me and my family these days is to continue doing our things. For me, it's writing for The Hockey News, the Islanders website, and NHL.com while maintaining my decorum, sense of humor, and love for old-time big band-era music.

When I clean our backyard, I hum any tune that comes to mind or -- when I'm thinking hockey, what kind of snappy, one-sentence lead on my stories to entice my readers?

I mull over such topics as whether Connor Bedard is being overwhelmed by media attention and whether the Oilers can keep their heads above water until the other Connor -- McDavid -- returns.

Yesterday, I cleaned up the backyard singing an inspiring World War II tune,

"There'll Always Be An England," as well as Irving Berlin's famed "This Is The Army." And, to stick with the military theme, George M.Cohan's "Over There."

The latter song has special meaning to me since my Dad, Ben Fischler, served in the U.S. Navy during World War I on the USS San Francisco, a mine layer based off Inverness, Scotland, working the North Sea.

Since the weather has been sunny and mild, I occasionally get on my 45-year-old GP Avalanche mountain bike and pedal around our kibbutz. Or, I may take a 45-minute walk with my younger son Simon. And if it rains, I let it and jump on my stationary bike, hitting the pedals while reading a good book.

My current hockey favorites include "A Stick In The Window -- The Hockey Life of Buzz Deschamps" by Long Island author Joseph Rossi with a Foreword by Bryan Trottier.

Another really good one is the biography of the fabulous hockey character John Brophy. Author Greg Inkpen also happens to be a Long Islander. An avid researcher, Inkpen excellently captures old-time hockey as played by the Long Island Ducks.

Not surprisingly, the NHL's new season also fascinates me --especially since my pal Jimmy Devellano's Red Wings look like a playoff team again. The Islanders remain my hometown team, but I have a soft spot for the Devils since my pal Travis Green now is the associate -- same as an assistant -- coach.

This almost may surprise some of my readers, but I enjoy the Rangers because my 17-year-old grandson, Ariel roots for the Blueshirts. (It's also worth noting that my first paying job out of Brooklyn College in 1954 was with the Guys From The Garden. The old Garden, that is.

I might as well tell you that these hockey digressions help keep me from focusing on the war around us.

And that takes my memory to the 1950s when Gladys Goodding -- at old MSG's organ console pounded out "Hockey Games Are Here Again," an icy takeoff on the classic "Happy Days Are Here Again."

Frankly, I wish they were!