Aug 29, 2008

Gam La'Ganav Yesh Ta'am!!!


"Gam La'Ganav Yesh Ta'am" - The thief also has taste!

That is what the driver of a tow truck told me tonight.

We were headed north for a simcha tonight when our car died on us. After numerous attempts to figure out what might be wrong with it, we kind of gave up. Some nice family pulled off the highway to try to jump the car battery for us, but it still did not work (I wanted to get that in, because it was very nice of him to take the 15 minutes of his time and pull of the road and try to help us, total strangers).

So, we called the towing company our insurance works wityh and ordered a tow truck to take us back to Bet Shemesh. I waited for him, and as we could not go with the baby in the tow truck, I sent my wife and baby home in the taxi).

The tow truck driver was typical Israel; gruff and scraggly on the outside, but nice and sweet on the inside. He eventually gets to me and the car, and he comes out of his truck real upset. he is barking at me, telling me off, shouting about what might be wrong with the car, upset about where I tell him to take the car (the specific street, not the city), etc.

We finally sit down in the cabbie of the truck, and after a moment or two he magically turns into a nice guy.

He apologizes to me, and we start chatting a bit. It turns out his other driver is sick, so he is doing his own shift and the other guys. he has been on call since 4am, and has to stay on the roads through the night tonight until 4am. So he is exhausted and hot and uncomfortable. He gest all nice, and tells me about himself, asks me about me, and we have a nice friendly chat.

We stop on the way to pick up another car, and he gets all gruff and upset at this person. Where the car is located, where he has to take it, etc..

We get back in the truck and he turns all nice again. I offered him to stop and I would run into a kiosk and buy him an "Ahr-Tik Kerach" (popsicle) so he could cool off, but he said no and then got even nicer and friendlier.

Anyway, as we were talking about where we would leave my car, on the street near the garage I use, I mentioned it might be risky leaving it there overnight as it might get stolen.

His response to that was that I should not worry as the car is too old and it will not get stolen, aside from the fact that it does not work so the thief would need a tow truck to steal it. And then my friendly tow truck driver, Etai, added, "Gam La'Ganav yesh Ta'am! - Thieves also have taste. Your car is too old and they have no interest in your car. So you have nothing to worry about.

Awww shucks. Thanks. My car is not classy enough for the car thieves.

7 comments:

  1. People have been telling me that lately a lot. I have a nice bike and everyone who looks at it comments that the reason that they have a Not Such A Nice Bike is because they feel that thieves have taste and wont steal a garbage bike.

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  2. but to prove it is true, your would have to get stolen. Would you like to let us know where you park it? :-)

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  3. I had a car that this reminds me of, only mine acctually got stolen!

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  4. I had a bike before that and I was nice and it did get stolen out of the garage on Shabbos by a bunch of goyim. They took all the nice bikes and left the old junky bike. I still went out and bought a nice new one with the insurance money after.

    Now I keep the bike in the house. If someone wants to get it they have to kill me first. :-)

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  5. Fantastic post Rafi. This is really "Life in Israel".

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  6. An interesting post. When you have a moment I'd like to invite you to visit a new online Jewish journal that I publish called The New Vilna Review (www.newvilnareview.com) which is dedicated to exploring themes of modern Jewish identity from both an individual and a communal perspective. Perhaps you'd be interested in writing something for the New Vilna Review about life in israel?

    -Daniel E. Levenson

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  7. But did he say it with a twinkle in his eye?

    Mark

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