Now it's time for random thoughts ...

- I forgot to mention one detail about the flight from Poland to Israel. Because of the recent terror bust in Great Britain, security is extra tight, even for El Al. For all flights going into the U.S. GB, Israel, and I think Canada, you cannot bring ANY carryon luggage. Instead, they give you a clear plastic bag usually reserved for hosting a few apples from the grocery store. Inside, they allow you to place travel documents, your passport, your wallet and your money. Nothing else. Not a pen. Not a book. Not a newspaper. I'm not sure how long this will last, but our Aug. 20 flight from Tel Aviv to JFK might feature the same security level. Fortunately, El Al is allowing a third checked bag to make up for the rule. In addition to advising people to visit Israel some day, I reccoment trying out El Al, just for the experience.

- The food here, so far, is fantastic. Also healthy. I know, it's un-American to spin "health" in a positive way. For breakfast we had scrambled eggs, a variety of fresh fruit, multi-grain rolls and an array of mystery items I couldn't fit on the plate. For lunch, we stopped at a falafel shop in the Old City of Jerusalem. Warning: The following statement is both un-American and anti-OSU ... the gyro/falafel/pita was far better than anything you can get at Pita Pit. Dinner was hosted at a fancy and festive reataurant, where we had a private backroom and talked with a group of Israeli college students as we ate an amazing salad, some ravioli, and a variety of other things. There was no "main" dish -- in America this would be the giant steak or the plate of ribs -- instead, you just keep loading up on the healthy and light items until you're happy. And you hardly notice that havn't eaten a large portion of a cow. Now, I'm not saying I advocate vegitarianism -- I do not -- but one can enjoy food here and not be a fat-ass.

- ... my turn for the shower has arrived ... and rom 572's Internet Cafe de la Dan has customers in the waiting. So I'll yield to Marshall and Argenes and clean mysef up, get some sleep, and wake up for another awesome breakfast.

(OK ... and in case I sound too optomistic about everything, note that mysel and many of the other editors are very concerned about the inhearant confict of interst in us accepting this free trip ... I'll offer a full discussion on this matter at a later time on this blog.)

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