Elizabeth: A Holy Land Pilgrimage by Cheryl Dickow, Part One

Beth awoke, startled, as her book slipped from her lap and landed on her feet. She was sure she had been snoring, another symptom of menopause, and embarrassedly looked at her seat companions. Fortunately, they, too, were older and probably couldn’t even hear Beth’s snores above the roar of the engines. Beth saw that she missed her chance at a drink and pressed the “call” button for a flight attendant. Normally she would have just dealt with her dry mouth but today felt it necessary to make a statement that the next two weeks were all about her. Not in a rude or offensive way, just her own simple acknowledgement that she, too, was worth the effort.

“Can I help you?” asked the flight attendant as he reached across her seat to turn off the call button.

“Yes, please, I’m sorry that I missed the drink cart. Could I please get a glass of ice water?”

“Sure, just give me a moment,” was his reply. Beth refused to feel guilty as he looked up and down the aisle, apparently preparing a strategy to obtain this errant drink requested by a demanding passenger. Of course Beth knew that receiving the drink was only the first leg of the imposition. When she had finished her drink, she knew she would have to press the call button again to dispose of the plastic up and shards of ice that remained. She opened her book and began reading to indicate that this wasn’t something she was going to back down from, regardless of the flight attendant’s dramatic flair.

When the plane touched down in New York, Beth had just finished the third chapter of the book. So far, so good. It was just what she had hoped and knew she had made a good decision. The christening flight of her trip was a success. She listened as the pilot instructed everyone to remain seated during the approach to the terminal and filled them in on the weather conditions and time in New York.

Beth had close to ninety minutes before her second flight and decided to be one of those people who simply sat in their seats while the other passengers jostled for a place in the aisle, just to stand, like sardines, until the door was opened. This made two, very unlike-Beth acts within the space of three short hours. First, she did not beg off with her interest in a glass of water the moment she saw it would take a bit of maneuvering and now, staying seated during the plane’s disembarkment, as if she were a lady of leisure. She was practically a new woman already! This was going to be an awesome two weeks.


Get the whole story at Elizabeth: A Holy Land Pilgrimage