Death in Jerusalem
I'm in Jerusalem, at the Albright Institute of Archaeological Research, waiting anxiously until August 4th when I get to fly home. I've been gone too long. June 1 I went to a conference for a week in Indiana, and was home for a few hours, then flew to Jerusalem where I supervised on an excavation for a month and a half. Then I spent a week in Egypt, traveling around and taking pictures. Now I'm back in Israel. I phoned Therese and she said that Gilgamesh asked the other day if I died. I need to remember two things: two months is way too long to be gone from family, and that if I am going to travel around, it is much better to do it before the excavation. I was very homesick when volunteers on the dig got on the van to drive to the airport for home and I still had three weeks. Plus I am exhausted, and a bit ill, from the hectic schedule I had in Egypt. Anyway, I can't wait to get home. Things will be crazy busy when I get back. I have a couple of articles to finish and a pretty huge teaching load. So, Gilgamesh, I'm not dead, but about to be resurrected.