40 My Scooter

This is my scooter. I use it for short trips – to the swimming pool, routine arrangements and shopping. I also ride on it in winter and even enjoy doing so. I have an excellent wind breaker suit, a wool scarf and leather gloves – which is sufficient for Israel's mild winters. But the real pleasure is going on it to the sea in summer. I take a good book with me (or a book that I need to evaluate), load my telephone with two items from "The New York Times Book Podcasts", place a bottle of water or sometimes cold beer in a backpack, tie the seat to the scooter and set out.

At the seashore scooter parking is free. I pass the automobile barrier easily and reach the parking lot of Sdot Yam's sailing club near the seashore. I like to sit on the bank of the Kibbutz Sdot Yam Bay, north of the boat club. It isn't crowded there and the sea is like a gigantic swimming pool surrounded by arms of flat rocks. I watch the many surfboard riders gliding diagonally either away from the shore or toward it and marvel at their dexterity. I watch the children returning from the sea in little boats, pushing and pulling them onto wagons and dragging them ashore.

When I get tired of sitting near the water I go for a refreshing swim and then take my customary walk – south to the power station or north to the Port of Caesarea.

The picture shows my scooter fully equipped and ready to go. The backpack is already in the storage compartment, the chair is strapped in place and presently the helmet will be on my head. The key is lying next to the helmet. See you at the seashore.