June 26 packed up and (almost) ready to go

Well, not so unusually for me, I've had a (possibly?) great idea at the last minute. I leave for Israel at 4 this afternoon and have decided now, at 8:27, that what I really need is a blog of this trip. Mainly what happened is I changed my email address to facilitate better access while I'm away, and then I sent it to my friends and family. And what do you know, lots of them emailed back asking what the heck I was doing, how long I'd be gone, etc. Well, I'm not quite self-centered enough to think people will be wanting regular email updates about my trip, but, I thought, maybe some of them will want to check out what I've been up to, and maybe a blog will force me to do a little bit of literary and photographic documentation of what is sure to be an interesting trip.

So, I make no promises--this may be the first and last blog you see from me. But maybe not . . . In any case, I arrive in Israel tomorrow at 10 am local time (it will be 3 am, however, in my tired, old body). I hope the next time you read anything on this site, it will be from me in Jerusalem.