Modern Vespa

I left work yesterday a little bit early. I usually leave around 6:30, but I'd gone out at lunchtime to pick up a new backpack for our youngest (who is starting first grade today), and I'd wanted to make sure I was home before he went to bed so I could give it to him and help him pack up his school supplies.

During my ride home I noticed that there was an unusually large number of soldiers along the road, but assumed (correctly) that it was just because of the heightened state of alert in advance of the peace talks that were about to begin in Washington.

About two thirds of the way home I passed a string of army and civilian ambulances racing in the other direction with sirens blaring. Then several police cars screamed by... followed by another ambulance; this one a larger, mobile ICU.

Although the road I travel to and from work is relatively lightly traveled, the fact that it twists and winds up and down the rocky spine of the Judean hills means that there are occasionally spectacular wrecks. Seeing all those emergency vehicles streak by in the other direction, I naturally assumed I'd just missed an accident, and breathed a small sigh of relief into the inside of my helmet.

When I got home and parked my scooter, my wife met me outside the door. She looked ashen.

Apparently several of our friends and neighbors had phoned the house, and a little too casually asked if I was home from work yet. My wife's no idiot, and realized there had to be a reason so many people were suddenly interested in my whereabouts, so she went to the computer and clicked over to one of the Israeli news sites. And then another. And another.

Splashed over the top of all the major Israeli media sites was the news that there had been a terror attack - a shooting - on route 60 in the Hebron Hills (exactly the route I travel), and that there had been multiple fatalities. No other information was available at the time.

Most of our friends and neighbors know how I travel to and from work, and it is an unfortunate fact of life here that when there is a terror attack, people pick up their cell phones and start dialing; for no other reason except to hear a friend or loved one answer and say 'hello'.

I rarely turn off my cell phone, but I can't hear the ringer while I'm riding, so it sits ignored in my jacket pocket until I get where I'm going. When I checked later there were over 50 missed calls (including multiple attempts from my wife).

For the better part of twenty minutes my wife had been out of her mind with worry. And as she later related, seeing me walk through the door gave her emotional whiplash since her relief at seeing me was offset by guilt since our good fortune meant someone else was waiting at home for a loved one who would never arrive.

When I passed the site of the attack this morning on my way to work, soldiers and police were still swarming over the area. And a fireman stood by his truck using a hose to wash away some ominous stains from the pavement.

I'm still horrified by the idea that if I hadn't left a little early to bring our six year old son his new backpack for school... I can't even finish writing that thought. It leads to a very bad place.

[I sincerely hope this post will not be perceived as political by anyone. I think we can all agree that terrorism is inexcusable. Full stop. I was simply experiencing some survivor's guilt after a restless night and a surreal morning commute. And sharing this here has helped me start to move on.]

Peace

Last edited by Treppenwitz on Wed, 01 Sep 2010 06:52:21 +0000; edited 1 time

I am happy that you made it home safely. 8)

Sheesh. Horrible for you and yours. Sympathies.

And to reassure, your post isn't seen as political in the slightest by this very anti-political-post Mod here.

Geez, now I really feel like a wuss for not riding to work when it's a bit rainy!

Seriously, though, thanks for sharing. I'm glad you're okay. It really puts things in perspective.

Keep safe.

Wow .. that is quite a story. Glad that u are OK.

hard to know what to say, except that i'm glad you're okay

thats scary sh#t, makes my whining when I get a bug in the face seem pathetic, glad you safe chap

And here's me thinking the Yorkshire bees hitting my lid sound like bullets.

That's scary shit Trep. I hope sharing it helps.

Is some sort of mobile/bluetooth lash up not an option with your helmet ?

Shalom.

Oh, I'm sure it is. I've actually priced a few Bluetooth set-ups after browsing the threads here on MV.

But except for [hopefully] rare occasions like yesterday, why would I want to spoil a perfectly good ride by being accessible?

And there's the rub

Keep safe.

Prayers of thanks for your safety and for the victims of terrorism.

Life is a hell of a crapshoot. So thankful for your safety. Let's hope the peace talks result in more peace! (not meant as a political statement, let's just leave it at that).

Not good to have folks worry, but nice to have family and so many friends who do!

Scary scary stuff, glad you're alright and that you were able to put your child to bed last night. Peace.

Timing is everything. My wife Teresa says we are a quarter inch from disaster at all times - some of it in our control, the rest of it not. Everytime I get home on my bike (either the gtv or my road bike), I always feel like I "made it" and I live to ride another day.

I don't know if it's available in isreal but the iPhone coupled with a MobileMe account allows someone to remotely query the location of a phone. Wonder if that might help w ur wife geolocate u in times like u just experienced.

Nothing political at all about ur story. Thx for the story. Best to u and ur family. I remember my first day at first grade. Exciting times for ur son.
Miguel

Shit! (Really trying to be apolitical here... self edit)

Glad you are ok!

I've traveled that rode before.... I can imagine the hills would be beautiful on a scooter.

Re: Bluetooth
I have a parrot and it works marvelously.

We live in, "Interesting Times".



Treat every day like it is, a gift.

Please be safe over there.

Two thoughts.

One, I'm so glad you are alright and feel sorry for those lost.

Two, Despite some posts I've seen here you cannot plan, dress or practice to survive everything that can come your way riding. You can be killed no matter how careful you are.

Really Really glad you made it.

Glad you are okay. Crazy shit.

If you have an Android phone, you can turn on Latitude and your wife can follow your travels in close to real time if you have Maps on and GPS enabled.

See New Spot II Satellite Messenger
to stay in touch

Sadly I have arguably the lowest tech cell phone on the market.

No camera. No gps. No nothin'!

I work for a defense/aerospace company and they don't allow any high tech gadgets into the facilities for security reasons.

I may have to suck it up and get a bluetooth kit for my helmet.

I'll miss those quiet rides...

Glad you're OK. A Blue Tooth headset for your helmet might be worth it if you can give your wife some instant peace of mind. Something like the Parrot SK4000 would be good.

The Spot II might be a good option to secure your quiet ride. You could toss it in the pet carrier while at work (or do you bring the scoot through security?).

Not sure how these gizmos can be set to filter out say, everyone but the wife. Certainly you could select a different ringtone when it's her calling.

Good luck.

TREPP glad you are alright. I've "dodged a bullet" myself once in Turkey and i know what you mean. My BF and i were in the middle of the covered bazaar in Istanbul looking for rugs. All of a sudden i heard this noise and i yelled get down and everyone in the shop hit the rugs (literally). Immediately there was the sound of glass breaking and the rounds from a machine gun went into the wall above us spraying us with concrete That put a damper on our outing so we went back to a bar near our hostel and had a drink (more than 1). Apparently it was an Armenian terrorist who decided he wanted to exact some revenge on the Turks 9 people killed (including the terrorist) 22 wounded I phoned home before we left on our rafting trip because i didn't know if it had hit the news back there. Luckily it hadn't and i never told anybody until i returned home from Saudi Arabia and showed them the newspaper article. I often wonder how and why i get in and out of stuff in my life but who knows maybe one day i'll find out. BTW there were some Israeli girls that lived on a kibbutz in the bar drinking with us. They had been in the same area and were ready to g back home where it was safe Israel during the 80's wasn't so safe.

Glad you and your family are safe . I know how you feel! having grown up and raised a family myself in a "conflict" zone ,Belfast, Northern Ireland.
We had 30+ years of "The Troubles" and it is a terrible thing to say, as time rolled on you become "hardened" the the suffering and day to day life continued. Thankfully times have started to change for us and we have a degree of "peace" with hope for the youth of the future .Stay safe friend and may your God watch over you , Bill

I'm so glad you are ok! I don't have words for the rest... I've rewritten this post several times, but all attempts at speech seem inadequate...

Wishing you safety and peace.

Close one. You live in a very "interesting" place. Glad you are safe.

However ... I need to take you to task. Do you mean to imply that your young son, who needs you desperately at his age, is usually asleep every night when you come home? If so, please consider changing your hours, if you can, and be there for him. It will be soon enough, just a few years, when he won't want to have anything to do with you.

Thank G*d you made it home. I know He was looking out for you.

I don't know what to say other than glad you are safe.

Protective mojo sent to you and yours for peace and safety.

Your stories are always good, but that was a near-miss story like no other. I'm glad you're okay, and sorry for those who were lost.

Treppenwitz:

Glad to see this post. When I heard on the news yesterday about the shootings I immediately thought of you and hoped you were okay. The post confirmed you were.

Terrible for the victims.

Travel safe my friend.

As I read this the news of this story is playing out on the television in our darkened bedroom.

I loved your donkey story, you're inspiring. Stay safe.

First of all, thanks to everyone for the good thoughts and comforting words. The only possible silver lining that can come from bad stuff like this is that it makes me appreciate every day more than ever. Okay, not that I need to justify my parenting chops to anyone, but I know you meant well (and I have a couple of minutes) so I'll share:

In our house I'm the one who gets everyone up in the morning and prepares breakfast. I get to see all the kids before I leave.

I sometimes get home after our youngest is already in bed (his regular bedtime is 8:00PM on weeknights but he often stretches it to 8:30 with the usual tricks), but this is a very rare thing.

However last week and this week we decided to put our youngest to bed an hour earlier because he seemed to be still on US time from our vacation and we wanted to get his body clock reset to the local time.

It is only for this reason I was worried I might miss him and left early from work.

PS: Even on the rare occasions I get home after he is in bed, I always go up and say hello. If he is already sleeping I spend a couple of minutes adjusting his covers and kissing his cheeks. Even though he doesn't wake up, I know on some level he is aware of the visit.

No offense intended. I'd give "anything" to have those days again when my daughter was young. Best years of my life.

Ride safe ... and "keep you head down".

None taken. Thanks!