God decided that my car would die on top of Glacier Point road in Yosemite. I was able to coast down the hill in neutral while listening to Mike’s Song (Phish) and wondering how in earth I would get to have a Shabbos if I was stranded in Yosemite without cell reception.
At the bottom of the hill at the intersection I spotted a payphone — serious hashgacha pratis, my friends. I was in full blown gam zu altova mode, which may have been spurred on by the 36 mile solo hike I just completed in one of the least visited portions of the park. I consulted with the Lord in the woods and decided that everything was all part of the master plan and indeed it was.
I called AAA from the payphone and waited for about an hour for the tow truck to arrive. I must have looked like an oddity to many of the tourists driving by in rental cars – my feet were blackened from the dust of my hike (24 miles of which were done in sandals) and I was sporting a yarmulke and tzitzis – I should mention that last Wednesday in a spur of the moment 90 degree heat wave decision I went to the first barber shop and told them to take it all off (my hair is now at #6 length) and I was sitting on the hood of my car reading Bill Bryson’s account of Australia.
I wondered if my donation campaign had worked — I will write more about it in the future. I am pleased to announce that over a dozen people donated money – not much – but plenty for me. I looked at my watch, it was erev Shabbos and I wondered what I would do. The closest Jewish presence was Chabad of Fresno which over 100 miles away and the dispatcher told me there was a bus to Merced at 4pm.
I then tried to explain to the tow drivers and garage employees why I couldn’t pick up my stuff for the next day or so. My car had 2 bikes and a lot of backpacking gear inside of it, not to mention the roof racks which I would have to remove before sending it to the junkyard. They told me I could keep it in the yard a couple of days and then I started to dread a lonely shabbos without food, or a shabbos siddur (I had my weekday siddur) locked in a hotel room in Merced.
Once again God hooked me up. I took the bus to Merced and it came 20 minutes early. I hopped over to one of the cab drivers and asked for a ride to Fresno, 50 miles south of there. I got to Chabad in a nick of time — about 10 minutes to shkiya and I had spent less then my hotel room would have cost for two nights. $140 was the most expensive cab ride I ever took, but well worth it if you have ever spent a shabbos alone in a hotel room – it can drive you nuts.
I am writing from Fresno. Now I have to take a train back to the Bay area, get to work tomorrow and then get my buddy to drive me in his truck back to Yosemite to pick up my stuff. Then after all is said and done I have to buy a new car — for which unfortunately I only have half the money. God always comes through for a reason – it all worked out so far in such amazing ways.
Thank you all for the donations and I hope to thank each of you personally when I can get to my own computer in a few days.
I do not expect to blogging much during this “crisis” with no car, I have no internet – since I have to drive to get internet access and pretty much do everything I need to do, so hopefully one of you big donors will come through and hook a brotha up.
{ 31 comments… read them below or add one }
heshy this post sounds very down di darf shoin ah frau tzu dir machen frailach.
hatzlocha in both cars and women
Good luck to you Heshy. Wish we were close enough to help.
A 36 mile solo hike?? I am majorly impressed! Can’t wait to see Yosemite. I have this plan to visit the park for four days next May, in the beginning of our road trip, then come back again via Tioga Pass in August (I assume it will still be closed in May).
Here’s a link to our itinerary –
http://www.israelimom.org/travel/1066/one-hundred-days-in-the-west.html
If you have any tips or ideas, do post a comment to that post – sounds like you are well traveled!
So glad you got back from Yosemite intact Heshy. I truly wish I had a couple of thousand dollars just laying around to send you for your new car. :^)
Hesh,
Not having a car isn’t the end of the world. I have 6 kids and been without a car for 5 years. I occasionally rent or borrow a car if need be, I do a lot of biking when there isn’t any snow on the ground.
I’m saving roughly $5000 / year by not owning a car.
We don’t have a car either Phil! :^) We’ve saved tons of money not owning one, but now we’re looking to buy one after all these years …. Biking and alternative transportation is HUGE here in Eugene. :^)
Mahla,
Same here. We have public transit, and the city runs a public bike rental program (Bixi) which is being marketed in other big cities across the globe. Out of about 2 million people, we have 250,000 that use bikes to commute on a regular basis, reserved bikes lanes a sprouting up everywhere.
Personally, I think most North Americans are too dependent on cars, though many cities are set up where you really can’t get by without one.
Phil, are you in the Toronto area? The last time I was there the bike-friendliness and public transit were excellent, almost up to European standards.
North American cities were re-designed over the last sixty years to get rid of public transportation and force people into cars. Zoning and tax laws and direct subsidies were used. The destruction of hundreds of thousands of miles of street-car rail, the creation of suburbs built around cul-de-sacs and feeders onto highways and more were explicit, conscious efforts. It wasn’t an accident. It was a conscious plan mostly on the part of the auto, tire and oil companies to create a continent designed for their benefit.
There were quite a few lawsuits over this. Most of them were successful. But as observers at the time said the fines didn’t even cover the costs of the expensive suits GM’s corporate lawyers wore to the trial.
Nuran,
I’m in Montreal, we’re way more European style than Toronto, which most of us consider “Americanized”.
Most people living around the downtown core don’t need cars at all. In fact, many that work there prefer to leave there cars near Metro(subway) stations and take the train to work, they don’t need to worry about traffic or parking.
I get to just about anywhere I need to by bike, most stores deliver, and the kids take the bus to school.
The public transit system is quite cheap, you can ride unlimited subway and bus for $70 / month, student fare is about half of that. As you can imagine, the Metro is the ride of choice during snowstorms, though personally, I prefer walking.
Ah, Montreal! That explains a lot. I was only there once many years ago. With all its troubles it still seemed to be well designed for livability, built to a very human scale.
With a bike, a bus pass and something like Zipcar you could do pretty much everything you needed without owning a car.
Nuran,
It’s very livable indeed, everything is very central. Living cost in general is lower than most North American cities, and the Govt sends bundles of $$$ to those with many kids, medicare is free, etc.
On the flip side, single people pay a fortune in taxes, and everything is French. We even have language police that go around fining stores that have English signs, and most people are forced to send their kids to French schools, unless one of the parents went to English school.
I went to high school in BC. The language politics are familiar. So are the jokes about it including the off-color ones
Portland is very nice that way. We are now the bike-friendliest and most bike-using city in the US. And despite budget cuts we have a decent transit system that people actually use. It make a lot of things much easier.
Guys, it’s a lot easier to do without a car in Eugene or where Phil lives than it is in California. The official Established State Religion of Cali is the Cult of the Automobile.
Nuran,
Cali public transit sucks, but Hesh seems to be in good cycling shape. Besides, Cali traffic is about the worst I’ve seen the US, back when I was in L.A.
Phil, if Cali traffic and public transit sucked they’d be good for something
LOL! Southern California is like a huge altar to the combustion engine. I moved up to Eugene from there, so I know whereof I speak. :^) Portland is awesome! What a beautiful city.
And I’d love to visit Montreal someday too. The farthest north I’ve been so far is up to Astoria, and then over the bridge into Washington State, for a few minutes, just to turn back around. :^)
We want to get a car to take road trips, but we never want to do the whole daily-car-based-lifestyle thing.
Mahla,
You’re probably better off renting a car to take road trips, which is what I do. Even 6 or 7 days a month is cheaper than owning a new car, which is what you get each time you rent. You also don’t have to worry about insurance and maintenance payments.
I’ve taken rental cars up some pretty rough forest roads, I would be very worried to do so if I were the owner. The rental companies don’t care, as they get rid of them before the wear and tear has a chance to kick in.
Is this the subaru with 400,000 miles?
My wife’s Subaru lasted 300,000 miles. Couldn’t hardly kill that car with a stick.
at least she died in a pretty place! how many miles did she end up with?
Boruch dayan haemes!! and good luck finding a new one
Highly recommend In a Sunburned Country.
I know this is a Jewish blog, but the only word that comes to mind after the vivid description is “Bendito!”
Which version of Mike’s were you listening to?
I’m so glad I donated! It’s nice to see I actually helped you out.
Let us know what happened after Shabbos!
As an aside…
To me, the only appealing thing about living in Ontario or Quebec would be the colder climate. I guess public transit is nice…but it’s way too European up there for my liking. And when you live where I do, and there are car festivals every weekend, and people show off their old GTOs and Camaros like they’re old friends, and you can pull up to a stop light and look over at the guy with the hot blonde in the next lane and floor it to prove his middle-age-crisis-stricken ass that your car is better than his, and there are drive-through cheeseburger/milkshake joints, and the smell of exhaust and leather and chrome turns you on…
Well, when you live in a place like this, the lack of cars in other cities seems downright WRONG.
Tova,
The cold weather is great, I can use some just about now, It was over 100 with the humidex today, spent the day out on the water with a buddy.
We have a car muscle car show every Wednseday about 3 blocks from my house, though I never attend.
Actually the Bay Area is the first suburban area I’ve ever been in that people commute to work via mass transit and bikes, I’ve been taking light rail to work and it’s great – but as an outdoor nut I need a car (it’s a nice luxury) I also live far from any frum community which I need to be in for shabbos and I like to go to shul and learn as well – which can’t really be done unless I have a car.
I am a cyclist – but showing up to shul in spandex is against my policy. I go in shorts, but spandex with all my shiz hanging out is just wrong. I’m dealing because in two weeks I’m going to NY for succos so I’m trying to save up for a good old subaru.
Good choice on the Subaru. They’re very reliable.
If your route to shul is inside the eruv could you take a change of clothes?
If it’s not could you stash a spare set at the shul to change into on Shabbos?
This is a very interesting point of view. Your blog is refreshing, but I wish one could find more content, though. I am looking forward to reading more from you. Keep up the good work. thanks.
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