Departure

My friend and colleague Nancy Dinsmore graciously left her house at five o'clock in the morning to drive to San Francisco and take me to SFO. Nancy was an ECUSA Missioner and for many years served as The Development Officer for The Diocese in Jerusalem where she is remembered for raising global conciousness of poverty and suffering in Palestine-Israel. She is responsible raising major funding that continues to benefit The Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City and The Princess Bazma Center for physically challenged children where they receive treatment and education, and they and their families are given the support to integrate the child into mainstream life.

I got a skycap to help me and went directly to the United Counter for check-in. One suitcase was seven pounds overweight. I miscalculated! I must have looked startled when the agent asked if I had a book in my suitcase that I could remove. Not a seven pound book I thought. "Remove a book Mr. Tedrick", she said emphatically. Wanting to be compliant I unzipped a compartment and removed The Gospel of Thomas. With that she directed the skycap to put the suitcase back on the scale. "You're fine now, Mr. Tedrick. My mother is from Liberia, have a good trip."