Three Stories High - Three Generations

The clock tower in Jaffa stands three stories high. The same number of generations my family has been exiled from Jaffa. 

Walking down each road, I could not stop thinking of my grandparents. Have they been on this road before? Did they walk by this building too? When I saw the clock tower, I thought only of my seedo (grandpa in Arabic). I stood at the intersection a little ways down looking at the windows and clock hands, wondering if he ever stood in that very spot watching the tower too. If he ever passed it on his way to work, or the beach. 

I imagine my life and history without a Nakba or Israel. Born and raised in Jaffa, like my grandparents. Maybe I could have walked by that clock tower with my seedo, hand in hand, no occupation to weigh us down. Maybe 3 more generations could have walked by it too.