Monthly Archives: September 2008

The Ford Crown Victoria is a lousy taxi

Posted on by
6

By Jeffrey the Barak

Having just returned from the airport by cab, I have been moved to rant about how ridiculous it is for Los Angeles taxi cabs to pick the American dinosaur Ford Crown Vic as a cab.

It’s a large sedan, with a big engine, and many cab operators buy them as used vehicles from the police, so the Police Interceptor version is a veritable rocket ship dragster.

But in taxi guise, the partition that keeps the driver safe from potentially violent rear-seat passengers also takes away the rear seat legroom.

A Fiat Taxi in England

A Fiat Taxi in England - small outside - roomy within.

Tall people have no way to place their feet on the floor without twisting them to the side. Only two normal adults can comfortably stand a short ride on the hot vinyl seat in the back of a Crown Vic cab.

The particular cab that we took from LAX also had a propane conversion. Nice for the environment you say? Well that propane tank has to go somewhere, so only one suitcase could fit inside the trunk, and our second bag had to go in the front seat beside the driver, obscuring his view of the right-side mirror.

Our flight originated in the UK where all kinds of economical, sensible vehicles are used as working cabs. All of which are able to take four adults and their luggage, and none of which have any issues with steep hills, motorway speeds etc.

The American taxi industry seems to have lost the plot. if you had to choose the worst possible passenger vehicle to use as a cab, it might very well be the exact one they have chosen.

The next chapter at MyPoP

Posted on by
2

By Louis the Scooterer

Before I get going on my scooter, to MyPoP, let me show you a couple of pics. The sea view I had, where I lived at the previous address..was a small studio with balcony…magnificent views of beach and promenade, and always much to see.

My current apartment on the other side of “town”, where I can see some sea..and 90 meters of the promenade. (3 pics from previous studio balcony, ….and 1 sunset from (current) apartment window.)

So the pics I took the other evening at MyPoP of the “finished place”..was spectacular at the least..unique setting…I was told its a wedding ..120 guests..about 40 persons attending to the guests..and cost roughly a leg and an arm ?..and the hubbub of workers and organisers was incredible !

The next morning it was just an empty parking-lot..and a clean-up delux…I couldn’t believe what gets thrown in the garbage skips..good pieces of carpeting and floor coverings, one tall table with a broken leg..many meters of useable cloth and other things.

In passing, I mentioned to M..who works at MyPoP as a “do-everything-man,”.. that earlier in the morning I had seen at the showroom where I bought my current scooter, an ATV with same name as Ice Cream that is sold at the counter…

This great story was told to me by M.. was that an uncle of his was planning a party to celebrate his 65th birthday, and uncle casually mentioned that a longtime desire was to have a drive on an ATV…SO, M got the ball rolling and began gathering moss, and all sorts of manipulations were handled, and many friends and relatives collected enough money to buy a good used ATV.. and on the night of the party..at the busiest time..as the food was being served..M drove this ATV thru the garden, and placed it in front of the “birthday man”..can you imagine??

I have had many short chats with most of the waiters and waitresses..and other temporary staff, and the partners..(several stories will come about from those chats)…but they all have work to do, while I watch the waves and can relax quietly, in a beautiful clean place..also watching some mermaids and others..its just such a shame that so many of those people are smokers…but thats another story.

and dont forget you can email me louisdrinkingt@013.net Continue reading →

Visiting, coffeeing, chatting and seeing at MyPoP

Posted on by
4

By Louis the Scooterer

As I said in my previous post, I go to MyPoP (almost) every morning and spend a couple of hours, and have found my favourite spot, where I place a chair under a big umbrella together with the bright orange color low settees and a low table…(I prefer a higher chair becoz when my knee stiffens a little, I am able to stand up easily and take a stretch !)

Without turning my head much..I can see the sea and beach, the full length of the terrace restaurant, which has many different types of tables n chairs n lounging chairs n stools and can seat more than 120 bums, and shaded by large umbrellas. I can see the bar n kitchen, and the round building which is undergoing renovations. Behind me is also the beach n sea n fairly big carpark and of course…cliffs, and the drive leading up to the main carpark and the road.

So my short stories are not gonna be as a diary, and not in chronological order.. I will tell some things that may have happened a few hours ago..or some observations from a while back…and even some reminiscing about wayback.

When I make the effort to find conversation, I simply approach a person, a couple, or a group..I casually ask “do you speak English?”..and the answer is usually “YES” or “a leetle”, and usually when I say “I speak Hebrew a leetle”..then there are many smiles, and we are already “friends”, and conversation flows.

The current owners are a group of mainly young men in their thirties, all constantly on the go and with little time to sit around talking to this scooterer, but they often give a few seconds chat, and amazing what info comes to me from just a few seconds chat.

“Event makers” large and small are often bustling around preparing for “a reception” to take place..mostly in the carpark, which is transformed to become a beautiful setting, with many tables covered with tablecloths and wineglasses and whatever goes onto a dinner table. Most of these events will begin before the sun goes down and the sunsets are magnificent. They always arrive in their big trucks and offload a great variety of “things” and set about their planning.These fellows and even some young women will carry furniture, and push loads of flowers and move bar-counters and clean-up..also will settle down to fold napkins (serviettes) and place them in glasses. Certainly never a dull moment.

I do not often travel around on scooter after dark, especially on roads that are not lit up..as is the last few hundred meters leading to MyPoP, so I cannot describe any actual event..(yet..I plan to do just that !)..what I can say is that “after the event” everything is taken down..and an empty carpark is what I find when I arrive, in the morning.

Okay enough descriptions for this writing….see you at MyPoP.
Comments welcome and also you are welcome to email me at louisdrinkingt@013.net

The consequences of the befriending of bees.

Posted on by
3

By Sig Shonholtz

It happened a few months ago, I noticed some dead bees on my patio, odd I thought but then I went on with my day. A few days later I noticed some bees in the corner congregating around, buzzing it up and what have you. Finally I realized that a family of bees had made a home inside the wall of the patio, it did not really bother me because they were in the corner. Now personally I like bugs, at least most of them, in fact if they do not threaten me I am rather encouraging and supportive, spiders are a favorite of mine. After a short while we came to an understanding and cohabited quite nicely, I tried not to step on them and they in turn bee hived (haved) by not stinging me. Soon we were great friends; if I had my breakfast outside they would sit on the table and buzz on about things that were important to them. Pollen, honey and such things as that were always a topic of conversation, and the queen also. You should have heard them complaining about her, a real princess they all said. Although secretly I think they wanted to bee with her, if you know what I mean.

I really appreciated the opportunity; living in a concrete jungle it seems there is never enough nature around us. I considered it a gift, to have this bee hive on my patio. Anyway…. one day I came to them with some very sad news, the building was going to be fumigated soon because of a termite infestation, and they were going to have to leave. Bee reasonable I told them, it’s not my fault, as far as I was concerned they could stay. In fact if they wanted to blame somebody they should complain to the director of the termites, it was their incessant eating that was the problems. Sadly, the ants who like to eat the eggs of the termites had left town and now the termites were taking over, that was the real problem.

It was then I learned that the bees and termites were bitter enemies. Apparently there had been an argument and finally a brutal battle between the two groups, about 100 million years ago. It seems a queen termite had fallen in love with a worker bee and the rest is history.

So on Friday I packed up my things, and asked them one last time to hit the road and bee t it. I left for the weekend.

When I returned on Sunday I immediately went to check on them at first glance it looked like they were OK, but then I realized that it was just a few left over soldiers that had been on patrol when the tent went up. There they were hanging around waiting for their hot queen to buzz them in, but no signal ever came. Soon the last ones died and I was once more left alone on my patio.

Sig Shonholtz is a master watchmaker and philosopher and is from Los Angeles.

This day at MyPoP (My Piece of Paradise)

Posted on by
Reply

By Louis the Scooterer

Dear Readers,

Maybe you already know that I live in Netanya, Israel, a coastal city on the Mediterranean, and that my transport is a scooter (usually 50cc).

Since I arrived on 1 Nov 1999, I have found and visited many coffeeshops at the square and in the city, and coffeeshops in all areas of Netanya, for my “daily” cup o coffee, and perhaps find a person to chat with.

Over the years, many places have changed as I have changed, and for whatever time I patronised a place, that was always rewarding, until it was time for me to move along to another.

I always spoke favourably about all the different venues I coffeed at, even those that eventually chased me away.. by allowing smokers to stink-the-place-out.. Even the outdoor venues smell continously of smoke and tobacco, and my intelligence also tells me thats why many flies are also around all those places!

Since I re-found my current PoP, I will share with you some of what I and my camera see, and experience at this magic place.

The neighborhood is called Tsuky Yam (Cliff Sea), on north end of Netanya and is a few minutes scoot, and I breath fresh air and smell the sea, and although smokers do come there, mostly that does not bother me as the fresh breeze always blows the smoke away, and flies are rare.

I will gladly answer any questions you would care to leave in “comments”, or feel free to email me louisdrinkingt@013.net

So for now, enjoy the pictures and I will continue with short stories. Almost every morning I scoot to MyPoP, and stay for a couple of hours, which always fly away. And never a dull moment at MyPoP!

So..watch this space!
Lou at MyPoP

Scooterer Stories, Part Eleven, Up the West Bank

Posted on by
Reply

Scooterer Stories
By Louis the Scooterer

The travels of Louis the Scooterer, a retired former South African who has found an unusual way of getting to know Israel.

Part Eleven – Up the West Bank of the River Jordan

We have refreshed ourselves at “HaLido” at Kalya Junction..at the north end of the Dead Sea.. now we get onto 90 north at “Beit Ha’arava junction”.

Note..(I made a mission to see every bridge that crosses the River Jordan, and that mission ended where we will now begin.)

A short drive on 449 to Allenby Bridge Crossing, ( a traveller can only cross the bridge with necessary travel documents ,) and casual visitors are not allowed. (Note..This bridge and 2 other bridges, at border crossings, do not cater for sight-seers, and I was not allowed to be on either of the 3 bridges…(also no picture taking permitted).

Back on 90, with Jericho on our left, we head north, and pass a few moshavim and kibbutzim that are earmarked for a future visit, and arrive at turnoff to Adam Bridge…some fading signs show “no entry”. We continue and I made a quick stop at Argaman kibbutz, but the coffeeshop / restaurant in a converted train carriage was not open..and I strolled around in a very large nursery looking at pottery and flowerpots, and when I drove out…two policemen in their patrol car waved me on.

(Another note is that Jordan River is pretty close on our right ( East), and visible are many very large “hothouses” and large greenhouses made of plastic or nylon, for growing fruits and vegetables.)

I was curious about a big advertising sign showing “an adventure holiday resort” at Brosh Ha Biqa, so I went into the cute restaurant at the filling station, had a lovely chat with the young Arab manager and also with a young man who stopped there for a coffee.


I was told the entire resort was temporary home for many families who were re-locating when they exited from their homes in the Gaza strip…and being a Saturday morning..I decided not to go in.
A few kms further I made a quick stop to buy fruit at this incredible stall… I was met by the biggest smile I ever saw, and his small sons posed for me on their well looked after donkey.

Always some interesting monuments, unfortunately not always someone around, to explain…

The border crossing at Sheik Hussein Bridge a short drive from Beit Shean is constantly busy with many taxis and many security personnel who politely invited me to U Turn and no pics allowed…I sneaked a pic through the rear view mirror.


On an earlier visit one early morning, the 2 security guards explained that there are no facilities for casual visitors. On that visit I actually saw the bridge from a short distance.
(another NOTE is that every other bridge (yes there are many) can be crossed, as they are not at border crossings…
(but the “finding bridges” mission is another story.)

So, into Beit Shean.. also many interesting sculptures..one in particular invited me to sit.

There are many ancient sights, and we will quickly visit a couple and walk around the amphitheatre and excavations. At the Regional Council office I was given coffee and a couple of lovely maps (belonging to the man in charge), and he specifically pointed me to visit the hydro-electric site…at Naharayiim..(soon we will be there!)

On the outskirts of Beit Shean, still going north on 90, is a lovely site to visit ..”The Roman Bridge”. A little walkaround, take some pics, and carry on…then drive through a few moshavim that are next to the Jordan river…always something to see and take pics.

Then a visit to “Old Gesher” is a must.. after passing a large empty fortress, we arrive at the entrance of the old kibbutz…with ruined bridges and buildings. Many interesting stories, and a movie in the small “cinema”, explains much about the place, and the area…be sure to ask to visit the model of the hydro-electric plant.
One major story is that when the kibbutz was under fire from enemy tanks.. plus other weapons…and the women of the kibbutz were trained to place explosives, and eventually blew up the bridges and railway bridge…that was under attack.

I rode on the fenced back road bordering the “Peace Island”, and arrived at Naharayiim…

the spot where 2 rivers meet (Yarmuk and Jordan,) and where the ruins of the hydro-electric plant remain. Stay a couple of hours minimum, (preferably during the rain season), to explore and walk around, crossing bridges

and seeing the 2 rivers meet. The plant and canals were built in 1929 and for several years supplied electricity, and ceased operating in 1948.


A tiny kiosk run by the local kibbuts have brochures and much information is available. Also behind the kiosk is a beautiful garden and lawn, there is a sad memorial to 7 young schoolgirls who were shot by a soldier when visiting the site. On a small rise are benches under a pergola to look at the magic views, so dont forget your binoculars.

Also available is a guided tour in your car across a bridge and into Jordan, and a drive through the Peace Island, with many explanations about this area of land that (as a “Peace gesture”) was handed back to Jordan.

After some snacks and drinks we take a back road through the lands of the kibbutz, and we need to “make a major decision”…as we will soon be entering the southern point of Kinerret.

Do we drive around the Sea of Galilee and then return to the point where we entered ?
or do we take the East route and “hug” the border with Syria ? A big decision ?…

Louis the Scooterer is 69 years old and it sounds like he’s just getting started.