An unusual Purim Party:

We gave a Purim Seudah this year for about 45 people. A dozen Israelis (on extended visits to our town this year) were among our invitees. The party was supposed to start at 4:30pm. That time passed, and no one had arrived. But a few minutes later all the Israelis showed up. Everyone else trickled in later.
"What kind of a party is it," I asked, "when the Israelis are the only ones who arrive on time?" An Israeli friend who phoned us on Shushan Purim answered my question. To her, this was just another example of how, on Purim, all is changed.