And the Tremping Saga Tremps on...

It's hard to believe that all these siyate d'Shmaya rides and tremps were all in one day...

Newly redecorated trempiada, hitchhiking post
just outside of Ofra going to Shiloh and further
north or west

I've frequently described my mode of travel as siyate d'Shmaya caful X2 ( the Hand of Gd doubled.) First of all we must remember that all safe traveling is due to Gd's help,  siyate d'Shmaya. And all safe traveling is a gift from Gd, which is why I call it "doubled."

Yesterday was a busy day for me. No, I didn't go to work. I had errands in Jerusalem and then babysitting for the young grandkids in Ofra and visiting the older ones. So I had to squeeze in my Jerusalem shopping within the rather late opening times and still manage to get to Ofra in time to pick up my young granddaughter from Kindergarten. I also wanted to get in as much walking/exercise as possible.

After walking down the hill to the main Shiloh bus stop, I saw a lot of people waiting to get out. OK, not everybody goes towards Jerusalem.  And the large number of young girls from the 8th Grade were waiting for a bus to take them for entrance exams in a nearby high school. But still, even after taking all that into account, I wasn't quite sure how I'd travel. Nobody seemed to know if the 8:29 bus had come or not, even though I did get down there at 8:30. So we waited. After a bit, one of the young home-grown Shiloh men, who now has children attending the local school said he was off to Ofra, so I got in. We had a great talk catching up and I told him a lot about the history of the school, things little kids don't notice or quickly forget. Due to our talk he discovered that one of his students is the daughter of an old friend. He dropped me off by the Ofra bus stop, and within a couple of minutes, who should drive by but my very own daughter... Now, that was an unplanned treat. We had a nice visit while going to her Jerusalem office.

In Jerusalem I managed to walk to all of my planned destinations and got almost everything accomplished. The only foul-ups were when I discovered that my water bottle had probably fallen out into one of the cars, and my lunch (apple and almonds) had either done the same or had been inadvertently left at home. Minor snafus.

I took the lightrail to the Ammunition Hill stop and then walked down (Ramat) Eshkol Blvd to a bus stop at which I caught a bus to the "cityline," since I didn't know if there was a bus to Ofra. While waiting there a bus (461) to (Shiloh and) sped by and almost didn't stop. A couple of us had to run to catch it when he finally stopped a good 20 meters after the proper place. His driving was so crazy, we were halfway to Ofra before I could maneuver myself to a seat barely 90cm (about a yard) from where I was hanging on for dear life. The young man sitting there had kept motioning for me to sit down, but every time I tried to move I felt the bus careening in the wrong direction. Thinking back, I guess there were no passengers waiting in Sha'ar Binyamin or Ma'avar Michmas, so he never stopped.

I got to Ofra early and went to my daughter's house where I quickly took something to eat, relaxed, and then went to pick up my granddaughter. Eventually all of the Ofra grandkids got home, and I had a nice visit and was very impressed by their English comprehension and other talents. Finally it was time to go home.

Just as I got to the Ofra bus stop, I saw a 461, which goes up to my neighborhood coming in. I greeted the driver and a neighbor, and just as I was taking out my money to pay, the bus "died." The driver, well experienced as he is, couldn't get it to start, so I said goodbye and went off to the trempiada just outside. Within a couple of minutes or less, a neighbor who lives nearby stopped to give me a ride home.

B"H another wonderful example of siyate d'Shmaya caful X2 ( the Hand of Gd doubled.)