The Amusement Park that was Not Amusing

As our summer vacation approached two months ago, my husband and I made a conscious decision that this year would be different. We’d be organized, go to
fun and exciting places, enjoy cool day trips with the kids, create tons of memories, etc.

One day stood out…

I saw this incredible sign advertising the funnest new amusement park in Israel, geared specifically to the religious sector. Among the many activities
advertised were: a large swimming pool with separate hours for men and women, a climbing wall, mini-tractors, pony rides, tons of kosher food at attractive
prices, trampolines, etc…

This park, called SpeedyKeff, is located in the city of Imanu’el, which is in the heart of the Shomron (‘Judah and Samaria’ or ‘West Bank’).

After making a few phone calls to the amusement park and verifying the separate swimming hours for men and women, my husband and I were sure that this would
be the climax of our family vacation. We packed up a large bag with bathing suits, towels and floaties, and another bag including hot dogs, hamburgers and
cold drinks for the lovely family BBQ we were planning on having.

Due to the fact that our car was at the mechanic, we searched for a taxi who could take our brood to Imanu’el for a reasonable price. Even though it’s
only a 40-minute ride, we were quoted fares ranging from 250-400 NIS! The drivers explained, “Well, Geveret (ma’am), it’s in the Shomron, it’s dangerous, I
won’t have a return customer, I’m actually doing you a favor, please understand me, I’m afraid of entering that zone, the Palestinians there are not exactly
friendly…”

So we hired Motti, a friendly driver to transport us to the funnest, coolest, amusement park ever, smack in the heart of the Shomron. We left Elad at
precicely 9:30 AM, full of hope and excitement.

The Imanu’elites we asked directions to were friendly and courteous, indicating the way to SpeedyKeff.
Nearing a cliff, we saw the tiny sign: SpeedyKeff, next to an abandoned parking lot.
“There’s a lady over there, ask her if we’re here,” I urged my husband.
The woman looked at us in shock, eyeing the taxi, and us, and the taxi again, and us again… “Umm… they usually do the SpeedyKeff park in that building up
those stairs.”

Uh-oh… that didn’t sound very good…

I ran up the stairs and looked inside the building. Yes, the gym of the Imanu’el community center had been transformed into SpeedyKeff, with three toys for
the three children who were there. That’s it. No pool, no grassy lawn, no mini-tractors, no wall to climb, no ponies, nothing… I showed the organizer a
picture I had taken of his incredible advertisement in Elad, announcing the countless fun things to do if only you would make the trip from Elad to Imanu’el.
“Where is all this stuff that you advertised?!”

“Ein”, he replied (There’s none).

“Do you realize that you schlepped an entire family from Elad for nothing?! We came all the way here for this??? You lied to thousands of people!!”
He just shrugged his shoulders and walked off.

My husband, who had not lost his composure, quickly called Motti the taxi driver and begged him to come back and bring us back to Elad immediately.
Oh, the disappointment!

On the way back to the ‘Mercaz’ (central Israel), my husband told Motti that he was just relieved that he had been able to come back and fetch us. We were
aware that it could have taken us hours to find another taxi willing to make the trek up to Imanu’el to take us back to Elad. My husband could not imagine
how he’d have felt, stranded near that SpeedyKeff for hours, with nothing to do but wait for a taxi and deal with a bunch of ultra-disappointed ultra-bored
children!

On the way back, Motti suggested that we go to Ganei Yehoshua instead, a REAL park in Tel Aviv (that I had been to before and could confirm existed).

Thank G-d, we had a blast there, enjoying motor-boat rides in the little lake, pony rides for the kids, a barbeque and plain-old relaxed family time. Our
Ganei Yehoshua trip was even more special, keeping in mind what could have been that day- a boring day sitting in an abandoned parking lot waiting hours for
a taxi.

After this whole saga, I decided to pull me a nice cup of coffee in my personal mug that my husband got me from his e-shop – A mug with a Yiddish
saying: “A mensch tracht un G-t lacht”, meaning: “Man plans and G-d laughs”. While we plan and plan away, G-d has an Ultimate Plan for each and every one of
us, tailor-made for our individual growth and development.

Viewed differently, while our family made a useless trip to Imanu’el, Motti the taxi driver who took on the job that his peers didn’t want, made 500 NIS in
less than two hours (equivalent to two days of work!). G-d has a plan for all of us…. The only thing that’s certain is that nothing is certain!