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

With the entire airline industry on its head since the fateful September day in 2001, Beth found that safety measures seemed no different entering the El Al terminal than for her flight to New York. Precautions were in place everywhere and everyone was prepared for the eventual questioning by security personnel or the inevitable ransacking of bags and carry-on luggage. Rules, procedures, and limitations were constantly being updated. Currently, you were not allowed to have any beverages, shampoo, creams, or lotions in your carry-on bags. Beth wasn’t deterred by any of the edicts. She was too caught up in realizing her longtime dream of visiting Israel for her spirits to be hampered.

As she walked the terminals at LaGuardia airport she felt they, too, were no different than the terminals in Detroit. There were shops touting souvenirs of “The Big Apple” just as Detroit had souvenirs of “The Motor City” or of “Motown,” although these were both monikers that Detroit had long ago outgrown. LaGuardia also had the same small eateries as in Michigan. There was a hamburger place with lines spilling out into the halls while the establishments promoting more exotic cuisine seemed quite a bit emptier.

If everyone was like Beth, which she came to realize was in fact the case, a tourist was bound to avoid foods that have potentially negative long-term effects. “Passing-through” would have been applicable to the person as well as the meal. With an aging population, Beth knew this must be the case for many people and felt a twinge of sadness that she couldn’t partake in any of their interesting edibles. Those days were a thing of the past.
By far, Beth’s favorite thing to do was people watch. She was fascinated by the sheer number of people who inhabited the earth. She often wondered, as she watched people go by, why this one or that one wasn’t in her realm of acquaintances. Did God have a master plan and people only met when He deemed it necessary and providential?



Get the whole story at Elizabeth: A Holy Land Pilgrimage