So I get a call this evening from the United Hatzala* dispatcher -- they want me to shlep (transport) from Jerusalem the "Pesach (Passover) gifts" for the Hatzala EMT volunteers in my area. I don't really have the time, but I'm a volunteer EMT for Hatzala, so I really should help them out. They put me in touch with another shlepper -- the guy bringing the gifts from Jerusalem to Petach Tikva, and maybe I can meet him there. It's getting complicated.
I call him up and he says he's on his way...I say, "me too"...can I meet him somewhere on the Jerusalem-Tel-Aviv highway so I dont have to go out of my way to Petach Tikva to get the gifts? "Sure," he says, and we agree to meet at a gas station along the way.
He tells me he's driving a ZAKA** ambulance with the gifts in it; that's not really surprising -- there are many organizations like MDA, Hatzala, ZAKA, etc, that all have the same volunteers -- so it doesn't surprise me that a Hatzala volunteer is also in a ZAKA ambulance. (I'm in both MDA and Hatzala).
So we stop at this gas station along the way and I drive behind the ZAKA ambulance. I park behind him (there's hardly any spare room in the parking lot). I get out of my car and some guy starts honking. He wants to back out because a tanker truck is blocking the exit. I tell to hang on -- it will only be a minute. He doesn't care, and gets out of his car to yell at me. I tell him to chill out. He keeps yelling.
The Hatzala Pesach present this year is a large duffel bag/suitcase on wheels -- packed 4 at a time into long, gray, plastic bags.
The guy is now really yelling, and I open the back of the ZAKA ambulance and start dragging these huge "body bags" from the ambulance and throw them into my car.
The guy stops screaming at me mid-sentence and turns white as a ghost.
He stares at me holding these "body bag" lookalikes, as I'm transferring them to my car from the ZAKA ambulance. In a flash, he turns around and runs back to his car, slamming the door shut.
That should teach him not to start up with volunteers from Hatzala and ZAKA!
Chag Kasher vSameach!
Jameel @ The Muqata
*United Hatzala (“Ichud”) of Israel is a non-affiliated non-profit Emergency (EMS) Volunteer Organization that assists in responding to medical emergencies throughout Israel. The primary role of Hatzalah volunteers - trained and certified as EMTs, Paramedics and MD’s - is to provide an immediate response within 2-4 minutes from the onset of an incident.
**ZAKA is a volunteer organization that assists ambulance crews, aids in the identification of the victims of terrorism, road accidents and other disasters, and where necessary gathers body parts and spilled blood for proper burial.
I call him up and he says he's on his way...I say, "me too"...can I meet him somewhere on the Jerusalem-Tel-Aviv highway so I dont have to go out of my way to Petach Tikva to get the gifts? "Sure," he says, and we agree to meet at a gas station along the way.
He tells me he's driving a ZAKA** ambulance with the gifts in it; that's not really surprising -- there are many organizations like MDA, Hatzala, ZAKA, etc, that all have the same volunteers -- so it doesn't surprise me that a Hatzala volunteer is also in a ZAKA ambulance. (I'm in both MDA and Hatzala).
So we stop at this gas station along the way and I drive behind the ZAKA ambulance. I park behind him (there's hardly any spare room in the parking lot). I get out of my car and some guy starts honking. He wants to back out because a tanker truck is blocking the exit. I tell to hang on -- it will only be a minute. He doesn't care, and gets out of his car to yell at me. I tell him to chill out. He keeps yelling.
The Hatzala Pesach present this year is a large duffel bag/suitcase on wheels -- packed 4 at a time into long, gray, plastic bags.
The guy is now really yelling, and I open the back of the ZAKA ambulance and start dragging these huge "body bags" from the ambulance and throw them into my car.The guy stops screaming at me mid-sentence and turns white as a ghost.
He stares at me holding these "body bag" lookalikes, as I'm transferring them to my car from the ZAKA ambulance. In a flash, he turns around and runs back to his car, slamming the door shut.
That should teach him not to start up with volunteers from Hatzala and ZAKA!
Chag Kasher vSameach!
Jameel @ The Muqata
*United Hatzala (“Ichud”) of Israel is a non-affiliated non-profit Emergency (EMS) Volunteer Organization that assists in responding to medical emergencies throughout Israel. The primary role of Hatzalah volunteers - trained and certified as EMTs, Paramedics and MD’s - is to provide an immediate response within 2-4 minutes from the onset of an incident.
**ZAKA is a volunteer organization that assists ambulance crews, aids in the identification of the victims of terrorism, road accidents and other disasters, and where necessary gathers body parts and spilled blood for proper burial.
Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael טובה הארץ מאד מאד
