Fed Ex and Mother’s Day

May 11, 2009 by Leave a Comment

We’ve had no small amount of trouble with Fed Ex over the last five or so years. Our trouble with them generally revolves around their inability or effort to deliver a package, which typically means our intended recipient ends up going to the Fed Ex facility to gather the package. And this has happened more than once.

However, this time, the ending was a little different.

Colleen ordered some chocolate candies for her mother for Mother’s Day. As is her normal practice, she had them sent to her sister’s apartment to be hand delivered to her mother.

Colleen has been anxiously tracking the delivery, or non-delivery online. On Wednesday, the driver left a note on my sister in law’s door saying that he had been there and would try again the next day. She, in turn, wrote a note for him to leave the box at the manager’s office. Thursday: no package. Friday: no package.

By Saturday, Colleen was getting upset since she had paid extra to insure timely delivery. So, she called her sister and asked her to call Fed Ex and check on the whereabouts of said package. Sis went to Fed Ex and waited while the manager searched with no success for a half hour. Finally, he asked her to go home and call him with the tracking number, and said that in the meantime he would find his driver and see what he knew about the package of (probably melted by now Godiva) chocolates.

Sis went home and called back with the information, and the manager presumably got busy searching for the package.

A few hours passed when there was a knock on the door at my sister in law’s apartment. She opened the door to find the facility manager standing there holding a plastic bag. Sis was puzzled because she knew the package would not have been shipped in a plastic bag.

The manager said, “I couldn’t find the package; it seems that one of our workers might have eaten them, so I went and bought some chocolates for your mother. I have a mother and it’s Mother’s Day. I’m sure it’s important to your mother, so I wanted to take care of this. Also, I’m going to reverse the shipping charges. Have a blessed day.”

I don’t know the guy’s name, but he definitely saved a customer for Fed Ex.

Happy Mother’s Day, Memaw. I hope you liked the chocolates, even if they got to you in a weird way. We love you.

Filed Under: Surprises

BREAKING NEWS: Station IV Has Moved

February 21, 2009 by Leave a Comment

I interrupt my current programming to bring you this BREAKING NEWS: Station IV on the Via Dolorosa has moved. I repeat, [the entrance to] Station IV on the Via Dolorosa has moved.

Not much has yet been made of this unexplained move. But no doubt thousands upon thousands of pilgrims who have venerated Station IV in its old location are going to be greatly disappointed to find out that they apparently venerated in the wrong location.

It is unclear how this change will affect those pilgrims’ reflections on their visit to the Holy Land, particularly their march through the stations of the cross, also known as the Via Dolorosa.

At this time, I have not been able to get an official explanation, but I was able to get a man named Kobi to share his thoughts on this new development: “You might expect these things to move every once in a while, but you never expect it to occur in your own lifetime,” he said.

Here is a photo of the old site:


A couple of things to notice in the photo above: First, you can see that the iron gate is chained shut, giving a clear message: Don’t come in. Second, you can see that the stone facing with the symbol of the station has been broken away from above the gateway. It has now been placed above the gate at the new entrance.

About 70 feet north of the old location is the new Station IV, sitting immediately next to Station III. Here’s a photo with an explanatory overlay:

Notice that the entrance to the new Station IV is immediately to the right of the Station III. You can also see the stone symbol of Station IV above the gateway of the new location. And, it is important to notice that the stones in front of the gate are not yet laid in a semi-circle.

The reason that is important is that, in an effort to protect the pilgrim tourist from scams, the municipality puts special stonework in front of the official stations of the cross. I’m afraid that there may be much confusion in the near future, as long as the old Station IV entrance still has the semi-circle stonework while the new Station IV entrance does not.

For those who are less informed about the stations of the cross, Station III reportedly marks the location where Jesus fell under the weight of his cross the first time.

Station IV reportedly marks the location where Mary saw Jesus go by carrying his cross. Apparently this sight was so intense for her that her feet “melted” into the pavement, and this is commemorated in a mosaic in the church at Station IV, the Armenian Church of Our Lady of the Spasm. (Believe it or not, I didn’t make up that name.)

By the way, neither of the events commemorated at Stations III and IV are recorded in the Bible.

And with that, I’ll resume my regularly scheduled programming.

Filed Under: Life in Israel, Photography, Surprises, touring Israel

I Didn’t Expect This

February 17, 2009 by Leave a Comment

I was out for a little while yesterday doing some prep work for a college group that I will be teaching at the end of this month. Imagine my surprise when I saw this:


No, the olive green patch didn’t mysteriously appear over his face after I had taken the picture. I placed it there to “protect” the identify of the teacher. (You never know how certain quarters will react to something so scandalous.) This Israeli soldier – who was a good teacher, I might add – was teaching from this:


In case you don’t read Hebrew, it says “New Covenant,” which is the New Testament.

I don’t know the soldier, so it’s possible that he’s part of our New Covenant Community, but I’m guessing he’s probably not. I know a number of soldiers from our community, so it isn’t so uncommon for me to see a soldier carrying a New Testament – even teaching from one – but here is what I didn’t expect:


He’s teaching a group of “soldiers.”

Now, before anyone gets too worked up, he’s not trying to convert any of the soldiers. He’s giving a history lesson. But I was happy to see that he was actually giving that lesson from the NT and not just listing off a bunch of traditions and tour guide anecdotes.

Filed Under: Life in Israel, New Testament, Photography, Surprises
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