Below are one-liners I’ve heard in the past week since my trip away from home.
“I thought Daddy quit his job; why is he leaving again?”
– Boy 1’s sadness at another separation.
“I made a card for you about 60 times so I’m out of ideas.”
– The inscription in Boy 2’s card he made for me before leaving.
“The revolution has given us freedom.”
– Young man at a shop selling me water in Tunis.
“Upright your seat!!!”
– Flight attendant barking out orders to passengers, economy class, Turkish Airlines from Tunis to Istanbul
“More champagne, sir?”
– Different flight attendant, business class, same airline, Istanbul to Amman
“In Jordan, we are the most peaceful country in the region; really it is the quietest.”
– Driver picking me up from the airport in Amman, one day before a protest in the city leaves several people injured.
“I love how they’ve redecorated the place since the bomb blast.”
– Friend of mine, yesterday, upon admiring the efforts undertaken to redecorate the Landmark Hotel in Amman after it was bombed a few years ago as the Radisson.
“Be careful, honey.”
– My darling wife. And yes, I always am.
paul mcadams - a change is coming 