Today's Thought

Three things you should know about me:

1. I've been a Barack Obama supporter ever since I saw him speak at the Democratic National Convention (which was one of the coolest events I've ever attended) and very nearly quit my job at Big Red to move to Chicago and support his Senate race.

2. I would be thrilled to see a female president of the United States and want to believe that our nation is ready for this milestone.

3. I'm traveling on a rented bus with 20 crazy MBA students to Punxsutawney, PA to see Phil the Groundhog make his prognostication next weekend. In other words, I hardly profess to be an expert in politics and sometimes my judgment could be considered suspect.

With those three things said, let me also say that I'm annoyed by the heavy use of Hubby Bill in Hillary's campaign. I'm all for using the weapons you have in your arsenal to win a fight. But I guess I'd hoped that the first female president could win (or lose) on her own merit. Nancy Pelosi earned her spot as first female speaker of the House on her own, after all. The craziest part of the whole situation is that I believe Hillary does have merit ... but the overuse of Bill undermines it. In other words, could she win if she didn't have Bill? Of course, most of us know that no man could really survive life, let alone a presidential campaign, without his wife's support, but in our world of gender gaps, deserved or not, it doesn't mean the same thing the other way around.

Then again, maybe it doesn't matter. Maybe the important thing is to just get a woman in the Oval Office and open that door first.

I'm coming home

Last day in the Middle East!

For now, that is.

Today, I had my last falafel pita lunch, my last hotel buffet dinner, took my last tourist photo. And I have to say, these elderly folk have really grown on me over the past 10 days. Don't get me wrong, I'm looking forward to spending time with people in my own generation again, but some (though not all) of my fellow travelers have turned out to be real charmers.

While I'm also looking forward to sleeping in my own bed again, I will miss so much about this fascinating, complex, endearing region. I'll miss the Turkish coffee, the chicken schwarma pita sandwiches, hearing the Muslim call to prayer, trying to learn Hebrew and Arabic, and most of all, I will miss getting offers of marriage and negotiating my price in camels. The bartender last night offered a million camels shipped to New York by boat, so he could "mate" with me. I told him that he probably was looking for the word "marry."

For now, though, I have a lot of valuable information and unforgettable experiences from this trip to digest and piece together. It's all been rather overwhelming, but the Middle East is a very special region and I hope to be back soon. Stay tuned for more reflections and photos.

Even the lowest of valleys can be inspiring

We visited the Dead Sea today -- the lowest place on the planet at 1400 feet below sea level. When we first drove in, the thing I noticed immediately is the most beautiful azure blue of the water. I don't know why, but I think I've always imagined the Dead Sea as this sort of yellow-brown stagnant blob of water. After all, the salt content is so high that nothing can live in it. But oh, the blue! And the shades of blue change as the water approaches the shore -- I swear, it's almost like looking at the ocean in the Caribbean. The best part, however, was experiencing how the desert changes color as the day progresses. By the time we left, the sun was setting and it set the water and the desert mountains afire in a glowing orangey red, which was soon muted to lavender and then a deep, inky indigo. Unforgettable. I wish my pictures did it justice.


Will write up the two-day trip to Jordan some other time. I absolutely loved it and need to take some time to find the right words to describe it ...

At a hotel bar in Jerusalem and so far, have seen Germans, Italians, Greeks, Americans and other assorted nationalities sidle up to the bar. It is fascinating how the language of alcohol is a universal one. Forget David Beckham or Michael Jordan, I'm convinced that "Johnny Walker" is the most recognized personality around the world.

The choiciest photos for you

Well, the old folk are still slow but they're becoming much more interesting. I decided that surely they must filled with all kinds of great stories, so I started asking them questions. Turns out, this one guy, Wayne, has been traveling to the Middle East for 60 years and he actually spent five months backpacking through Israel and living off the land -- in 1949! Israel didn't even declare statehood until 1948. World War II didn't even end until 1945. I was totally blown away. What an amazing story!

To add to the eye-opening moments of today's adventures, here are a few of the best photos from today and yesterday. The captions will tell you what you're looking at. Also, you should know that I'm currently sitting at the Sheraton Hotel bar in Tiberias, drinking a glass of local Israeli red wine (it's not half bad!) and listening to a wedding singer-type man croon out "No woman, no cry" with the help of his synthesizer.

From Elijah to Elmo

For as long as I can remember, people and places like Elijah, Ahab, and Solomon, Caesarea and Megiddo have merely been familiar names and vague images from the Old Testament. They are part of childhood stories that I’ve heard told again and again, recounted in Sunday school by teachers whose names I barely recall.

But today, all these names became real. Today, I tread upon the same path, the very same stones, leading to the city of Megiddo that the ancients walked and that King Solomon built. I stood where Elijah likely took his stand against the Baal priests. I passed through the remains of ancient halls where the apostle Paul was once imprisoned. In the distance, I saw the same mountain upon which Barak the army general went to Deborah (gasp! A woman!) and asked for her help going into battle. (She must have been a pretty kick ass woman). Now, how *cool* is all that?!

However.

(And there is always a “however” in my life).

I’m traveling with a bunch of geriatrics. Not only have I been reminded why I never travel with tour groups, the average age of this group is about, ohhhh, 68. I kid you not. One of our guides is 75 years old. When my parents told me this was going to be an “older” group, I was not at all prepared for this old. Now, I give these folks a ton of credit for hauling all the way out here to the Middle East and when I’m their age, I hope to do the same thing. But the absolute worse part about traipsing about Israel with the AARP crowd is, well, there’s not much traipsing. It’s more like tottering. Slowly. Veeeeeeeery slowly. They dismount the bus slowly. They take pictures (fiddling with their brand spankin’ new digital cameras) slowly. They eat slowly. They talk slowly. But it’s super hard to stay annoyed with people who have names like Henrietta, Anita, Marjorie and Elmo. Seriously, how do you stay irked with a tall, Southern man named Elmo!?

Tomorrow promises to be just as enlightening -- we head up to the Mount of Beatitudes (of sermon on the mount fame), visit a kibbutz, and take a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee. All slowly, I’m sure.

Happy New Year!