Driving culture

 

[Man behind the wheel*]

It is said that our first 18 years have a lifetime impact. Our childhood affects the foods we enjoy, our approaches to life, the way we raise our children and even our career choices, to name a few. Granted, each of us over time accepts or rejects this heritage at any given time but it is present and impacts our life one way or another.

I recently became aware that it also influences how we drive. Simply put, I am a much better driver in the United States than in Israel. By better, I mean more natural and relaxed. In the United States, I sense the kind of stupidity to expect from the drivers around me. I know the expected pattern of speeding up and slowing down (except on Sunday when the “Sunday drivers” come out). I am confident in my ability to identify early and react to any situation. As a result, I am relaxed when I drive in the United States, especially on the West Coast, and find the driving experience neutral, i.e., neither pleasant nor unpleasant. By contrast, in Israel, I actively monitor all cars around me, expecting them to try to risk their life to reach the same red light 30 seconds before me. I am rarely disappointed. Although I still often sense what a given driver will do, I am less confident and more stressed. For me, a 45 minutes’ drive in Israel is not fun, to put it mildly.

Logically, that should not be so as I have driven in Israel for many more years than I did in the United States. I drove in the States for some 12 years regularly, getting my driver’s license at the age of 17 until I immigrated at the age of 28. Adding annuals trips over many years, I have driven on US roads for some 15 years at most. By contrast, I have lived in Israel some 32+ years, driving on a regular basis for a good part of that period. I am quite familiar with the roads and the drivers. They should be second-nature.

Of course, driving in the Mediterranean is Mediterranean is highly entertaining, at least for those that enjoy action. Whether in Spain, Italy, Tunisia or Israel, Mediterranean drivers own the road, literally. Other drivers are mere trespassers and really should not be there. Not only that, as elsewhere, phone calls and personal arguments are of greater priority than keeping with the flow. Still, the traffic flow around this middle sea does have a specific tempo that can be learned.

Clearly, high temperatures affect driver attitudes but only so much. As the mercury goes up, driver patience tends to go down and tempers rise. It does not take much to begin an argument between two drivers here. A sudden stop will suffice to create some interesting street action. The fact that all cars in Israel have had air conditioning since 1995 has not significantly mitigated the slaughter on the roads based on the annual numbers. Not only that, drivers from many other countries also suffer from high temperatures but still exhibit patience. The weather itself does not explain the difference.

It is possible that my driving culture was formed not only by actually time behind the wheel but in the surrounding seats. For some 16 years, I watched my parents and other people drive and the interaction between them. In a passive but embedding way, I “learned” how to drive, which I applied when I became an adult. As I came here at the age of 28, I did not receive that education. Thus, my comprehension of Israeli drivers is not instinctive. On the other hand, it may be just me. Other immigrants may have gone native with no problem. I confess to have done no research on this subject.

So, in my opinion, driving patterns are a cultural phenomenon. They are affected, as in all such matters, by both childhood and later life experience. I strongly affect that the former has more of an influence than people suspect.

* Caption pictures to help the blind access the Internet. Picture credit: Image by <a href="https://pixabay.com/photos/?utm_source=link-attribution&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=image&amp;utm_content=1149997">Free-Photos</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com/?utm_source=link-attribution&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=image&amp;utm_content=1149997">Pixabay</a>

Uplifting downsizing

 

[large and small trees*]

The last ten years, especially this last year, have created a plethora of changes in many people’s lives, including mine. One of most noticeable and positive, in my view, differences is downsizing, reducing the amount of “stuff” as George Carlin would say. While for some more is still better, many including myself have experienced an improved quality of life by reducing, addition by subtraction if you will. To demonstrate, I now have a smaller house and car, less books, limited television access and eat less frequently, all for the positive.

[house]

Some ten years ago, I had a large, multistory house (240 sq.  m/2500 sq. f.) with an expansive garden. Aside from making an impression on visitors and having lots of storage space, it involved constant investment of time and money to maintain. Now, I have a flat and garden half the size, which takes less than half the time to clean, is subject to half the property taxes and requires much less water. Not only that, it is located in a neighborhood with a wider variety of people, who also actually talk to their neighbors. The move to a smaller residence has improved my quality of life.

[car]

We recently sold our fancy sedan with all the bells and whistles, some of which I understood the function, and bought a small car (Mazda 2). It is a pleasure not to watch the gas gauge float down in front of your eyes while driving. Parking is much easier as is operating the few buttons on the dashboard. It also turned out the most of the lost space in the trunk was in terms of height, not usable surface area. Functionality is cool.

[books]

Over my life, I had collected quite a few books, which I insisted on dragging with me from place to place. A smaller residence forced me to “part” from the vast majority of these prized possessions. I spend a painful afternoon considering whether I would ever reread each and every book. The answer in most cases was negative. Some 10 boxes of books were donated to the public library. Curiously, I have never regretted their loss and hope that some reader somewhere has enjoyed them.

[TV]

By contrast, divorcing cable was an easy decision but a much longer process as the cable companies, at least in Israel, tend to view these connections as Catholic marriages. After over a year of squabbling, pleas, delays and screaming, we managed to cut the cord and now watch TV through our computer using an Internet TV supplier. Not only do we watch local TV for free, we have access to the foreign channels we actually watch. Even better, the monthly fee is much less. When it comes to TV, quantity does mean price but not quality.

[restaurant]

Finally, the prolonged Corona crisis prevented everybody from eating at restaurants. Granted, takeaway and delivery were/are available, but the food and experience are not the same. While homemade food may involve more cooking and cleaning up time, it generally is much tastier (my wife is a very good cook). Furthermore, we control the amount of salt in the food. Most importantly, because restaurant portions are much larger than we normally eat, it is very pleasant to get up from a lunch, the main meal in Israel, feeling full but not stuffed. Not surprisingly, the monthly credit card bill is lower as homemade food is generally less expensive than eating out. I still enjoy going to quality restaurants but will do so much less frequently.

None of these changes would fit the bill of a Knut Hamsun naturalistic paradise.  I still live in a nice flat, have a car, buy books occasionally, watch TV and eat out. However, I do so on a much smaller scale. For whatever reason, this downsizing has actually improved my life as it has for many people, uplifting it so to speak. For some, less is better.

* Picture captions allow the blind to fully access the Internet. Pictures through Pixabay.