distant israeli cousin & off to d.c.

so i've picked up orit at the train station. she has gotten herself from lilo's apartment on 52nd & lexington aves to penn station & then onto new jersey transit & sheree's stop at princeton junction. she is 21 years old, from israel, has served her 2 years in the army, & is travelling in south america and the u.s. until april. this is her first time in the u.s.! she's been in nyc for about 2 months & is ready to go w/me to california. she wants to see places & people in the u.s. that she's seen on tv! what she knows about the u.s. is what she's seen on tv & in the movies - my truck did not appear in her viewing, nor have i.
we are distantly related - which is such a joy for me. i grow up not having cousins or 'real' relatives on my mother's side - only survivors of the holocaust who came & went; and whom my mother could not explain to me how they were related, just this is "taunta truda' and 'taunta elsie'. but my grandfather had a sister who immigrated to israel in the early 30's, before war started - she was the smart one, the one who read the writing on the wall, the one who found a stranger to marry so she could migrate to israel. her daughter rute (ruth) is orit's grandmother - making her my 5th cousin maybe? never in my life have i been able to introduce anyone as my cousin until today! i'm just re-adjusting to being able to introduce my sister & now i have a cousin also.
she seems practical, down-to-earth, and so very young, altho mature enuff to travel by herself in big, bad nyc. she is waiting outside in the frigid cold, bundled in a red down jacket she's purchased in the states - she doesn't need a coat in israel she tells me later. she gives the truck no more than cursory glances as she waits for me to load everything up & take care of the last minute details.
we head off to d.c. after saying bye to rae & sheree! tears!
it is a cold but clear day, a great time to head back to the scene of the criminal inauguration. i have secured another load to bring to california - both pick-ups are within 3 miles of each other - talk about lucky! the second one i'm delivering to albany, a few blocks from my shop; the first will go to l.a.
it takes most of the afternoon and part of the evening to load both customers. my last customer has soooooo much stuff, i have to repack the whole truck & i'm nervous about fitting everything on. as i pack, the load gets bigger & bigger as well. finally, we are done. orit has been a trooper - first she helped & then she went inside, napped & read as she patiently waited.
finally, by 8:00 we're ready to pull outta d.c. & head to richmond, virginia. then i want to swing by atlanta & regroup for a day or so before heading to the west coast. orit is busy looking for movie stars and places she's read about in her romance & sci fi novels!@ okay! peace, sam