Sometimes People are So Nice

 

No doubt I'm sometimes guilty of complaining too much, but when there's something really nice to talk/write about it's so important to let the world know.

Last Thursday on my way home from Jerusalem after seeing cousins, I had some wonderful experiences. While walking out of the Old City, I had checked the bus schedule and saw that if I hurried I could catch a bus to the Shiloh Junction. 

With still another couple of minutes' walk to the lightrail I saw a train coming. I had to hurry, since the next train might have gotten me there too late. As I huffed and puffed onto the train a young man slid out of his seat, so I could take it. I paid and then sat down. I guess he heard and saw my arrival.

I got to the bus stop with time to spare, and the bus actually came on time, which is quite rare. 

On the bus I looked up and saw those little "outlets" to plug in the phone for charging, which was needed, since my phone battery was getting dangerously low. The only problem was that no matter how much I tried, they didn't work, so I asked the driver about it. He couldn't fix it from his end, but a young soldier on the other side of the aisle offered me his portable charger. But he got off a few stops later, and I saw that my phone battery was still low. I thanked him and told him it was fine.

To my surprise the driver reached into his pocket and gave me his portable charger. Wow!

 Yes, Sometimes People are So Nice.

Two Nice People Stories from Same Train Ride

Yesterday I was in Jerusalem. I only took the lightrail only one stop, but in that short time, I saw two examples of how nice people can be on the train.

Story #1

A man, a bit older than myself got on pushing a walker. Quickly, a woman of about the same age, sitting right by the door, got up for him. And he protested. He didn't like the idea of a woman, not at all young, giving him her seat.

"But you have a wa..." she stuttered, not even able to get out the word.

She prevailed, and he sat in her seat. This happened so quickly, and the train was full of people needing  seats that nobody interfered in their little "argument."

Story #2

Seconds later to my left I noticed a young woman reach for the Ravkav (transportation card) of an elderly woman, who was having trouble getting it to "pay" for her trip. The young woman deftly placed it in the right spot. It lit "paid," and she returned it to its owner.

Too often, all we have are complaints, so I wanted to write about nice people on the train.

Adventure on The New Jerusalem High Speed Train

One great advantage of our age and being retired is the opportunity for spontaneity. There are very few strictly scheduled events to worry about. After a lovely lunch in Center 1 with friends from all over the world, my longtime buddy and I decided to take the lightrail to the center of Jerusalem. Since we had a few minutes before the trolly's arrival, she wanted to ask some questions at the nearby Navon Train Station of the new Jerusalem High Speed Train. The young man at Information informed us that "today," meaning yesterday, we didn't need advance reservations to take the new train to Ben Gurion Airport. All we needed was our trusty Rav-kav.

And so, within seconds, we were on our way. The young friendly help staff assisted us in "purchasing" our free roundtrip tickets. We're still young enough to enjoy an unplanned adventure.

We had read about the Jerusalem High Speed Train, which like when the lightrail was new, is offering free rides. I must admit that I had been nervous about the long escalator ride underground. I'm still traumatized by old wooden escalators in the London Underground at Kings Cross to the Northern Line, which I had taken forty-three years ago. I must tell you that these new Jerusalem escalators are wonderful. I felt very safe and didn't feel any ear pressure when we got deep underground to the tracks.

In keeping with the festive mood of the pre-opening of the Jerusalem High Speed Train, we were given little chocolates. It was clear that many of the passengers, including young families, were on the train as a lark, like us, but there were also quite a few who appeared to be legitimate airplane travelers. They had lots of luggage with them.

We sat in the upper part of the train and looked out of the window, but it was disappointing to discover that a large portion of the route was in tunnels. We could see at times that we were speeding much more quickly than the cars of the parallel road.

The biggest time-waster was when we got back to Jerusalem and couldn't find an up escalator. All there seemed to be were a few much-too-small elevators. They were crowded and slow in coming. I think that only one was actually working. If that's so, then Gd willing it should be easier to get up once they're all fully functioning.

For people who live in or near Jerusalem, the Jerusalem High Speed Train is great. To and from Shiloh it isn't. We're actually as close to the airport as we are to Jerusalem. That's another reason why I enjoyed yesterday's adventure. I may never have another real opportunity to take the train.

eating the free chocolate candy

The actual train ride is just over twenty minutes in each direction, and there's a train every half hour.

In just over 90 minutes we traveled to Ben Gurion Airport, walked around the arrivals area and took the train back to Jerusalem.

Such Miraculous Traveling, Thank Gd

Jerusalem Egged Bus

We're "carless," meaning that we don't have a car. So to travel to and from Shiloh, we're very dependent on others, public transportation, rides planned and "spontaneous," and above all, the mercy and miracles of Gd.

I'm the impatient type. I hate waiting. It makes me nuts. Unless I'm pretty certain that there will be a bus in 5-10 minutes, I prefer waiting at a bus stop where there's also a chance for a ride aka tremp. I also time my leaving home for when there should be a bus very soon or lots of people passing with cars, who could offer a ride. I also have a pretty good knowledge of Jerusalem bus routes, the lightrail and connecting stops.

For years I've said that I travel by siyate d'Shmaya caful, meaning "doubled hand of Gd." First is that like all travelers, my safety is in Gd's Hand, and second it's thanks to Gd that I even get on the road.

How to travel, which bus or ride to get into, sometimes demands split-second decisions:

"Should I get into that ride which only goes part way?"
"Will this bus stop give me a better chance for a ride home?"
"Does this look like a good driver?"
"Do I have enough time before my scheduled bus to do a quick shopping?"

The list of questions as I travel is really much longer.

Yesterday after checking out some new kitchen stuff (bli eyin haraa, slowly making progress) and seeing one of my baby grandsons and his parents, I started on my way home. I caught a #18 and hoped I would be able to get a #66 from King David Street. But there wasn't any listed on the sign or app, so I walked as quickly as possible to the lightrail across from the Municipality. I took that to Pisgat Zeev and waited for a bus there.

Since I have a month's unlimited bus ticket this month, I can get on and off buses and the lightrail between Shiloh (actually Eli) and as far as Mevaseret Zion or Maale Adumim. That gives me a lot of flexibility in traveling.

I checked the schedule of buses to Shiloh and saw that there'd *probably be one in about half an hour. Now, would that give me time for a quick shopping in Rami Levy, Shaar Binyamin or not? OK it would depend on how quickly I could get to Shaar Binyamin. But I also must remember that the last time I tried it, I missed my bus. Maybe it would be better to just get off a Hizme-the "city line" and tremp home...

A minute later a #468 came. I could take it to Ofra, which is more than half the trip home. Usually, that's my principle:

Take the first bus or ride that is going in the right direction as long as it has a chance of connecting buses and/or rides.

But for some inexplicable reason, I jumped off at Hizme. Within seconds there was a ride to Ofra, but again, I didn't go for it. Something in my head kept saying to wait for an even better ride, even though the chance was minimal. A minute later someone I know was going to Maale Levona and could drop me off at Ofra. As I weighed the pros and cons in nanoseconds I heard my name being called. Just past the bus stop a neighbor had stopped and was inviting me for a ride home.

I ran to the car, got in and had a ride to my door. Totally miraculous. Gd is truly great!

*There is never any guarantee that a bus will arrive. They breakdown and there aren't any spares. Sometimes even two in a row don't show.

Passover/Pesach Visit to Jerusalem

Yesterday we met with cousins in Jerusalem. The plan was to go to the new Plugat Hakotel Museum in the former Maon Betar, Old City Jerusalem, where we had lived for almost a year after making aliyah in 1970. But when we got there we discovered that too many other people had the same idea. It's a very small museum, and you have to reserve a specific time slot to see the exhibits and movie. Since we're all retirees, we decided to do it another time.

Instead we found a place for lunch and just walked around a bit. Jerusalem was full of visitors from near and far.  We made our way out of the Old City through Mamilla Mall and then to the lobby of the Jerusalem Waldorf Astoria, where we sat and chatted. After that we made our separate ways.

Here are some photos:

Jerusalem Egged Buses Modernizing, Part 1

For the past few weeks, there have been announcements and warnings about major changes on Egged's Jerusalem buses.

To speed up travel, bus drivers will no longer be "clerks" selling tickets and making change. They aren't going the way of the American "exact change only." We are supposed to use these little machines to load our RavKav cards with the tickets we need.

This is fine if the bus stop has one of the machines, like the one here, and you have a charge/credit card and time. Some machines will take cash, and there are special RavKav centers in some of the malls around town. Passengers on the Jerusalem Lightrail have gotten used to the fact that we can't buy a ticket on the train, but the trains are more frequent than than many buslines. It can be very annoying to miss a bus that only comes every twenty minutes, because you were loading your card.

Frequent travelers who get a monthly pass will just have to deal with it once a month. Many other regular users of the trains and buses keep a number of trips on their card, so they won't be caught empty. You can check the content on those machines. For people like me, who usually begin our bus travels to Jerusalem in Egged Taavura, it's less problematic, since our bus drivers can load the RavKav cards with the various options. There are no ticket machines in our area.

The only people who will really find this problematic are tourists and others who don't have RavKav cards*, but I think they can be purchased from the machines and other places.

If I've gotten anything incorrect here, please let me know, thanks.

*There are two basic types of RavKav cards. One is the personal one, with a picture, registered to a single person. It automatically charges discount rates for the Senior Citizens and those officially recognized as handicapped by government authorities. The second is the "anonymous" card which can be used by anyone. It gives the 90 minute transfer but no senior/handicapped discount, nor can you do the special "all day" ticket.

Enjoyable Walk on Jerusalem String Bridge

Yesterday I ended up on a ride to Jerusalem that took me to Kiryat Moshe. That was absolutely perfect for two reasons.

1. I needed to meet a friend for our annual Birthday Lunch, and we had decided on Center 1.
2. It was an opportunity to walk the bridge!

The Jerusalem String or Chords Bridge has become one of Jerusalem's great landmarks, even though there were plenty of complaints about it as it was being planned and constructed. It certainly doesn't "blend" into the nearby architecture, but the contrast is striking. And something was needed for the lightrail to make that turn from Jaffa Road to Herzl Boulevard.

There's a walkway on the Binyanei Ha'uma side of it. I saw someone traveling it on an electric handicapped "scooter," and there were also a lot of cyclists who used it.

Not only did I enjoy the view, but I didn't have to cross all those streets at a very complex junction.

Enjoy!

Jerusalem Purim, 5777, 2017

This year our kids "spoiled" us. They did the entertaining on Purim, both days, even. So we weren't home much at all. On Shushan Purim, we were in Jerusalem, and even though it was a bit drizzly, London style, there were plenty of people in the streets dressed for the holiday in costumes, or at least funny hats. The trains even had some decals decorating the windows.

Here are some of the pictures I took.

Downtown Jerusalem, Like a Pedestrian Wonderland

When the Jerusalem Light Rail was being planned and constructed, everyone was so inconvenienced and pessimistic about it. It was clear to all that it would be a disaster and a deadly one, Gd forbid. Statistics from other cities were bandied about, and we expected quite a few deaths each year from careless pedestrians and distracted train drivers.

Amazingly, bli eyin haraa, Jerusalemites have taken very well to the trains and the tracks, which are empty most of the time. And, as you can see in the picture, Jaffa Road fills with pedestrians, cyclist etc when there's no train to be seen. And the trains are equipped with loud horns to convincly urge everyone out of the way when necessary.

For those of us who have always gone to the downtown  Jerusalem "triangle*," we are enjoying the new reality. The air is much clearer without the bus fumes and other pollutants. We've learned how to get our tickets and pay for the train rides. It's hard to remember what Jerusalem was like just a few years ago before the train...  Yes, very much like how only a few of us oldtimers remember when there was vehicular traffic on Ben-Yehuda Street, even taxi stands.

Things change. Yes, that's life.

*the "triangle" is the area between Jaffa Road, Ben-Yehuda Street and King George Avenue, which forms a triangle.

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.)

Travel, Tremping and Public Transportation, a "Typical" Day

Just in case you're curious as to how I travel... Yesterday after studying in Matan I visited an elderly friend in the Shalom Hotel, Bayit Vegan, Jerusalem..

sunrise, while waiting
for a ride

But let me start from the beginning. Once a week I study in Matan. That's the day I try to do all sorts of errands in Jerusalem. I get up very, very early. One of the reasons I have to get up early is my morning "elimination" routine. I once read that it's important to clean out old food before putting in new food. So I can't leave home until that is finished with.

I leave the house just after 6am. I've been hitching a ride with a school van driver who goes to Ofra. In Ofra I wait for a ride to Jerusalem. It usually takes a few minutes for someone to come out with empty seats in their car and offer us rides. As we get close to Jerusalem I check to see what their destination is and figure out where to get off. Last week I got a ride to walking distance (and I had enough time) from Matan which was great. The only problem has been that there are terrible traffic jams even so early in the morning. A half hour trip has been taking over an hour and a half. That means that instead of the lovely walks I used to take to Matan, I now have to rush from bus to train to bus, depending on where I'm let off.

Yesterday, I was let off at Givat HaTachmoshet, between Ramat Eshkol and French Hill. I caught the lightrail and took it to "City Hall," used the WC's and then hopped on the train for one stop to Strass and Yaffo Streets. There I caught the 18 which goes closest to Matan. And on the bus I ate my breakfast. I got to Matan just in time for my class.

Going home was less direct, because I had a few errands. A friend dropped my off at a bus stop which had the 18 and 77. I had to go to "Jerusalem Center," downtown, near Ben-Yehuda Street. Unfortunately, I forgot that the 18 takes King David Street in the other direction, and I had a bit of a walk to get to my destination. I had planned on printing pictures, but the picture place no longer takes dvds, so I'll have to do it from home. They told me how. From there I went to the corner of King George and Yaffo to buy my ns10 salad and ate it.

Then still on my 90 minute bus ticket, I was able to take the train two stops to Machane Yehuda to buy some fruit. After that, still within the 90 minutes I caught the train to the Mount Herzl stop so I could walk to my friend. I had plenty of time, so I wandered around, which is something I hadn't done there for over 33 years, even since we had moved to Shiloh.

Nothing stays the same, not even our old building.

Our old home in Bayit Vegan, Jerusalem. We were on the top floor, which today isn't the top floor.

But I'll blog more about that visit at a later time, G-d willing.

After visiting my friend, I took the #21 to the train on Herzl Blvd. From there I caught the #143 to the "city line." The bus, train and bus were all on the same ticket; we get 90 minutes of free transfers. There I waited for either a Shiloh bus or ride. I got a tremp to Ofra and then another tremp to the Shiloh Junction where I saw my friend waiting for a ride in the other direction.

Then I got a ride to the Shiloh-Shvut Rachel Junction, and from there I got a ride to the "downtown" Shiloh parking lot, which is half way up the hill which goes to my house. I started walking up, and someone stopped to give me a ride to near the start of my street. When I got off, I met a friend there and talked. And then I got home, thank G-d.

Just in case you were curious about how I manage to live without a car, and without patience to sit around waiting for buses.