Only in Israel: A Bus Driver’s Daily Act of Kindness
This week winter came to Israel. Snow, harsh winds, heavy rains, freezing cold.
Israelis who have a choice tend to stay home next to their radiators in weather like this.
But our IDF soldiers don’t have that option. Neither rain, nor snow, nor heat, nor gloom of night stays these dedicated young men and women from their appointed rounds.
Yesterday, in the middle of the freezing, torrential rain pour, I set off on a 2-hour bus trip to attend an overnight vacation for women which I booked several months before I knew what the forecast would be.
The bus was nearly empty except for me and the driver, an older man in his 60s.
As we drove towards my destination, the bus passed by quite a few soldiers at various gates and roadblocks.
The first soldier we saw was guarding a kibbutz the bus entered. And I noticed something strange.
By the kibbutz gate the driver opened his window and passed the soldier a newspaper which is distributed for free in Israeli cities, but is harder to find outside of them.
The soldier took the paper with a smile and said, “Thank you, David!”
Then we reached a roadblock, where there were 5 soldiers standing. And the driver handed them a stack of newspapers as well.
“Where is Eyal today?” the driver asked the soldiers, “He’s not feeling well? Well, tell him I said Refuah Shlema!”
And this routine repeated itself every time we passed any soldiers. By the time I got off the bus, the driver had distributed at least 25 newspapers.
Right before I got off the bus, curious, I asked the driver why he gives out the newspapers.
He shrugged off my interest, “Geveret, these soldiers are protecting us. For years I’ve been bringing them newspapers, and every day it makes them smile. It’s the least I can do considering all they do for us.”
