Disabled friendly buses?

There are two main buses in Jerusalem: The older red and white buses and the newer, roomier and apparently disabled friendly green buses. I try not to get on the red and white buses for several reasons. Because of the high entrance step, the bus is difficult to get on to. Once I am on the bus, the driver takes off at break neck speed before I have even paid him, then I have to find and sit in a seat, no easy feat on the older buses. The seats are grouped into 4, with each one facing the other. There's minimum leg room between you and the person across from you, so if you have bags or other stuff there's really no place to put it, so there's constant shifting and apologizing to the other passengers. The other reason I try not to get on the older buses is that each set of seats is on a platform so I have to step onto that and sit while the driver is racing through the streets. The 3rd reason I don't take the older buses is psychological. During the second intifada they were the buses that were blown up almost daily.

Now onto the newer and supposedly disabled friendly green buses. The buses are kneeling buses so they are much easier to get on to. There are more poles and handles to hold on to. Also, more space inside the bus lessens the claustrophobia. Naturally the seats behind the driver on the right and left side are reserved for the elderly and disabled. If they are reserved for people with limited mobility and balance problems I'd love to know why it's only those seats that have nearly 2 and a half foot high platforms?! If the driver wasn't driving like he was in the Daytona 500 the second I got on the bus, the platform wouldn't be such an issue but rarely have I gotten on a bus where the driver doesn't start driving the second I'm in the door. The funniest thing is that while the driver sees that I have a disability and I'm trying to balance myself and pay him at the same time, he says to me sit, sit. Riiiiight. I swing from pole to pole like a monkey until I make it to the seat. I heave myself and my stuff onto the "disabled friendly" seat and apologize if anyone is sitting next to me since at that point I have unintentionally hit them with my bag, jacket or whatever else I am carrying. Or I just ask the person next to me to hold my stuff until I get myself settled. The stop before my destination is always a challenge. There's no bell on the left side seats where I usually sit. The only bell on my side is behind me and high up. Great. So I either have to stretch and reach really high while seated or hope someone is also getting off at the same stop. I always forget how to say can you press the bell for me in Hebrew so I either don't ask, or recently I've just been asking in half sentences, like is it possible to ring? It sounds better in Hebrew. Anyway, time to get off the bus. Sometimes I forget that the step down from the platform is a big one, so the send off I get is usually hitting my derrier on the seat handle as I swing down from the platform and man does it hurt! I end up limping off the bus. Disabled friendly buses my ass...literally

Shower of reality

This morning began like any other day. When my husband left for work I got into the shower. Halfway through my shower I hear what sounded like a loud siren. I listened more closely and realized it was an air raid siren. My heart stopped. What do I do? REALLY bad timing!! I think I know where the bomb shelter is. Grab the dog, the passports and run! I managed the fastest towel wrap ever and ran as carefully as I could to call my husband. With the siren still blaring in the background I yelled "What is that?!" Nonchalantly he says "Oh yeah, the military's doing a drill, don't worry about it." I'm standing there dripping and shaking and he's telling me not to worry about it? He couldn't tell me there was going to be a drill this morning because....? As I finished my shower, the reality of living in Israel reared its ugly head. I thought about the people of Sderot and Ashkelon. They deal with air raid sirens everyday. For them it's not just a drill. it's their reality.