Bus Drivers: The Real Heroes of Israel + A Sample Bus Ride

Who are the real heroes of Israel, during this peace-time lull?  Bus Drivers.   Careening around corners, in buses big enough for circus elephants,  maneuvering windy roads at highway speeds, they are a wonder.   

Solemn and serene, they don't even break a sweat when handing you change while they're driving at 20 mph: awe-inspiring.   They get my vote for the day and my commendation for bravery.  


Considering things people have done to buses here in the region, they drive them without fear.  They put their own lives in danger every day as they take us, unassuming passengers, from one stop to another.

I love them and they are worthy of any good PR they get.     I'll try to include a clip of a bus ride here to show you what I mean--as well as a picture of my favorite driver.  



This is near Abu Ghosh going in the direction of Jerusalem!
Late in month of March.

He's a hit with all the kids!     The only one I hear them ALL saying good-bye to as they leave.    (He also recognized me and another moshavite one night, pulled the bus over and picked us up so we wouldn't have to walk the last 20 meters to Yad Hashmona in the dark.) 

Now if I could just remember his name...Moshe...Avram? 

I Found My Passport!

Two weeks after I realized that I was going to Israel, I also realized that I had lost my passport!  I looked everywhere--throughout my house, throughout my 'other' house, in storage, in all bags, purses and backpack pockets... It was no where to be found.   

I went through the agony of looking into the re-application process, the worry of it being stolen and the time frame this would cost me.    The Passport office in Seattle was a great help.     (Applying for another passport takes about 3 weeks rushed --my price range, if you don't already have a plane ticket for a destination.)

The Good News~ One day, as I was looking for an old copy of my passport--I still had those--a strange blue flash peeked out at me from under my document odds and ends in a file.  

I dared to hope.   There, buried under poetry and library cards was the most beautiful sight.   Biloxi Blue stamped with a golden eagle.    I stared spellbound at its cover and luxuriated at its weight in my hand.   My trusty passport had showed itself just in time--leaving me to apply post haste to the kibbutz of my choice, Yad Hashmona.
I feel like one of those Bedouin shepherds that found the Dead Sea Scrolls   It was at a strategic moment in history for the young nation of Israel and a mini-strategic moment for me.   

I have been leaving my passport in plain sight at home so it will never get lost in a shuffle of papers again.    I have it is in cyberspace now as well.    

Passport Info:

Passport Info:   http://travel.state.gov/passport/