HOSTAGE HEALTH
The Jerusalem Post records how a Jewish hostage attained the victory over his captors: Anatoly… would not let them insinuate themselves into his mind. He had enough resources to fill it himself. The guards in the corridor were startled to hear loud singing coming through the door of the punishment cell shortly after Anatoly was put inside. Every day he sang all the Hebrew songs he knew, uninhibited in his solitude about singing as loudly as he wished despite his off- key voice. Singing is a balm for the soul in any circumstances; in solitary confinement it can tilt the balance toward sanity. Falling back on a favorite pastime, Anatoly began playing mental chess — moving both the white and black pieces in his head and analyzing the game as he went along. He ran through the two thousand words of his Hebrew vocabulary and rethought computer problems. He systematically set out every day to remember the things in life that pleased…
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