One week in Israel

Welcome ladies and gentlemen, the show is about to beginMy trip through Israel, giving a peace of my heart the truth all realI wrote one before one after, when the show is over standing ovation chit chatterSee the world through new eyes; don't forget to bring a tissue in case you need to cryBefore you enter this is what you must do, close your eyes and prepare to walk in someone else's shoePerception is one's reality; just remember this is Israel with Erik Johnson's personalityWith no further ado, let me present the gift I wrote for youLearn something from my gift that is my only wishChronological order is how the story is toldWatch, understand and listen to trapped moments of time and how they unfoldI despise a critic who just reads to readI embrace the scholar seeking answersThat is to whom I wish to plant the seedBe true to yourself if you're not ready stay awayThis is how I Erik Johnson know how to prayThe car ride to the airport was a breeze, I had fun being by myself, the trip to Charlotte from Asheville wasaround 2 hours. When inside the airport I did what any Tar Heel fan would do, find the first bar with the gameon, as it was March Madness and the heels were still in the tournament. The airport had a restaurant called'Carolina Corner ''. My flight was delayed until the closing minutes of the game. We were up by a comfortablelead so I was worried free. I boarded my plan and fell asleep (I was off on my adventure) we arrived two hourslater to JFK. (If you have never been to JFK it is the most frantic airport I have ever been in). In order for meto make it to Tel Aviv I had to change airlines, from Us Air to Delta. Delta needs help. I don't know if theywere remodeling or what, but they need to expand the ticket lines, we were like a bunch of cattle MOOO!I eventually got through, found my gate and decided to have a couple drinks while I waited the 6 hours Ihad before my flight. I found a Samuel Adams restaurant, and began to drink; I met some very interestingpeople going everywhere from Maine to Ireland. The last fellow I met was on his way home from businessso I allowed him to watch a couple "top Secret" videos on my computer, and read a little bit of Allen'sbook. I left the bar with just minutes to catch my plane, as I was running (I was thinking to myself how amI going to explain this to Kara, I missed my flight because I was in the bar, I don't think that would go oververy well). I made it with 3 minutes to spare, Out of breath and a little drunk I boarded my plane. I foundmy seat and passed out, I woke up with only 1-hour left, I slept the majority of an 11-hour flight. Thesecurity was not a problem I walked right through, met my sister outside of the terminal, took a couplepictures, joined our taxi driver and we were on our way to Haifa.On the way to Haifa I learned a lot about my surroundings, Israel is desert on one side and ocean on theother, it was the season of the "hasoon" which was caused by the sandstorms in Saudi Arabia; dust wouldfill the air giving it a grungy taste. When we arrived in Haifa I was given a brief history of how special tothe Baha'i faith this place was. I was shown the burial place of the "Hands of the Cause '' and other features.My boarding house was at the top of a building with no elevator insight; it was two long flights of stairs.When we arrived at the top there was a man behind a desk ready to take our reservation. The man had aplaque on his wall disclosing himself to be Masonic. I told him my great grandfather was Masonic fromNorth Carolina. He smiled at me and said, "I guess then I am your father too".