News-Record.com

GOD'S COUNTRY--Air travel is an intimate commitment. Someone selects a seat mate for you. You hope they put some thought into it. But then again, they do not know anything about you! Still you wonder: Will your mate be considerate and respectful? Or at least tolerable?

The moments before you meet your seat mate are fraught with anxiety. It is like waiting to see your new bride or groom for the first time in an arranged marriage. If you are sitting in a section with three seats across then you must immediately drop to your knees and ask God to have mercy upon your soul. This could be the longest commitment of your life.

At least the view is nice.

View from my seat high up in the sky.

My seat mate was Meir. An Israeli who imports and exports for a living. He exports Israeli goods. I should talk with him about exporting Israel pretzels. I bought some at a convenience store and they're the best I've had in my life! (Not at all dry like ours in the United States and the sodium content complements the flavor rather than overwhelms it.) I think I'll bring a few bags home to share with family and friends.

Meir imports products from China. I hope he has better luck than we've had in the United States. Meir: Test those toys for lead and pass on the dog food!

Meir was a great seat mate, helping me with Hebrew and Arabic pronunciations. I learned a few phrases but am still shy about speaking them. I say Shalom and then speak English. I'll work up to more. It's my first day and I'm running on 4 hours sleep and lost 7 hours crossing time zones. My bio clock is coo coo-ing! The English has a great word for how I feel right now: knackered. I'm bloody knackered alright!

Meir was surprised to find my iPod filled with Middle Eastern music. He loves Arabic music, so I gave him my right ear bud. I used the left. Our heads titled to the middle to give slack to the short cord. (Luckily the middle seat in our row was empty.)

I played him Omar Faruk Tekbilek, Natacha Atlas and Helm. He got a kick out of Natacha Atlas but favored the more traditional sounds. Then I played him an Ihlahi from the Yuval Ron Ensemble. That was the ticket. That piece hit a sweet spot for him.

All the time we were laughing. I would say, "Oh, oh, listen to this one Meir!" Lyrics to the Natacha Atlas song Haram Aleyk made Meir chuckle, "Oh if you could understand this - it is so funny...." And then he'd sing a lyric or two in English for me, "how could you do this to me...what is wrong with you...shame, shame on you..."

This picture of Natacha is from her "Best of" album. She's holding the top of a hookah hose. Hookahs are water pipes for smoking tobacco.