A False Start

We began our trip at the Greensboro airport. As soon as we had unloaded our luggage from the car, we were immediately hustled into a security area. Because of tensions in the Middle East, security guards ushered us over to a special place for all travelers who would be connecting with El Al flights to Israel. We got through security and had a nice two-hour flight up to JFK Airport in New York. We deliberately got there early because we would be boarding an international flight.

There security was even tighter. After going through the regular security screening, we were directed into a special area for passengers bound for Israel. There we were interviewed by other security officials.

One asked me, “Why are you going to Israel?”

I answered, “For tourism.”

“Do you know any of these other people?”

“Yes, I know all of them.”

“How do you know them?”

“I am their pastor. They are all members of my church.”

“Can you prove to me that you are their pastor?” he asked.

“Uh, let me think,” I said.

He interrupted, “Can you show me your ordination certificate?”

“I don’t usually travel with an ordination certificate,” I said. “It’s in a frame on the wall in my study at the church.”

“Do you have a Bible with you?”

“I am bringing a Bible on the trip, but it is packed inside my suitcase. It’s already being loaded onto the airplane.”

“Can any of these people identify you as their pastor?”

“Sure,” I said. “Ask any of them.”

He turned to my friend Earl and asked, “Do you know this man?”

Earl snickered and said, “I never saw him before in my life.”

Earl saw me go bug-eyed as the security guard went for his handcuffs, and then my former friend Earl began to protest emphatically that he did know me and that he had been kidding. In a moment they were interviewing Earl and me separately. Whatever they discovered must have satisfied them, because they eventually let me pass on to the boarding gate.

Several hours later we were lined up, boarding the flight to Tel Aviv. Glenda casually asked Earl, “Did you find a good place to park at the Greensboro Airport?”

Earl turned pale. He said, “Oh my God! I left my car running with the doors open in front of the terminal building at Greensboro.” Quickly he rushed to a nearby pay telephone and called the airport in Greensboro. They reported that the police had found his car running, with the keys in it and doors still open in front of the airport terminal building. They towed it to a police impoundment area and secured it there. What an eventful beginning to our trip!En savoir plus