Exodus starts

When I woke up this morning, the Norwegian and the American were gone.

First the big news:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/07/17/world/main1807307.shtml?source=RSS&attr=HOME_1807307

Favorite quote: "I think we've made a mistake in policy," said CBS News Military Analyst Ret. Army Col. Mitch Mitchell. "When we see a hot war starting, whether it's going to turn into an all out war or not, we should be doing everything we can to get Americans out and I don't think we're doing a good job at all."

Back to this morning: The Norwegians (like every other country) had arranged for a boat. At 7:30 this morning, they met downtown but with 500 extra seats on the ship that they chartered, hundreds of people from other countries showed up trying to find a way on board. The American was one of the hopeful and he'd spent the evening packing his bags while myself and the Canadian sipped beer on the balcony and waiting for the nightly bombing to start. The Israelis - those masters of psychological warfare - had been flying their jets low and slow for hours, circling like sharks. It was just a matter of time.

So in the morning when two of the four beds were empty, I wasn't surprised; I rolled over and dozed off again but upon waking the second time I found the American back asleep in the bunk next to me. Apparently it was a no go. I got up and, noticing the time, called the travel agency that had booked my ill fated trip to Jordan.

They haven't been open since the bombing started, but I call every day just the same. Today, M. Barakat of Barakat Travel picked up the phone - I almost forget what it was that I was calling about.

"Hi...me...American...Jordan...bombed runway...Reimbursement?"

"Yes, yes we can do this for you - but not today. We are closing. Come later this week."

"Well, I mean, I could be on a boat to Cyprus soon - can I - "

"Later this week."

"Well, when are you open?"

"Oh, ha, that depends on the weather." (The two of us laugh).

"Look, can you give me 10 minutes? I'll be there in 10 minutes!" Run Run Run.

It worked out - he said his credit card machines were down so he handed me the refund in cash which I promptly spent on a taxi to AUB, one of the few areas of town with internet cafes still up and running.

At AUB I saw one of the most majestic sights I've ever seen. It looked like this:

It's true, by all accounts our government was one of if not the slowest to begin pulling out its citizens (I think we actually beat Canada) but it was still heartwarming to see something actually happening. Last night, a few individuals with medical conditions were taken out by either the French or US Choppers. Today, the students at AUB got called (although, really, AUB is one of the safest places in the city - articles like this:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13862665/

:are sensationalistic pieces of crap. With all due respect, for a 27 year old, this woman has a lot of growing up to do. Reading it only served to reinforce some of the fuzzy ideas I put in towards the end of my first post. I say this tentatively - we all have our own experiences and fears - and 9/11 was inexplicably horrible; though, I would assert in the same breath that we (particulary my generation) needs to learn to be stronger than this if we're going to be able to deal with the coming storm responsibly. Continuing, the only thing close to AUB that got shelled was the lighthouse. Comparatively, she's worlds away from it and surrounded by a security guard force 24/7. MSNBC should talk to my friend in the south who had a bomb dropped 100 yards from him, or my other friend that lives by the airport, or my another American who got their balcony knocked off by a shell, or to me, cautiously eying every refugee from the south that walks through the door to the Hostel, introducing myself promptly and gregariously to initiate conversation that would allow me to figure out who's pro-Hizbullah and do some quick and dirty diplomacy while warplanes bomb the port across the street.

...the lighthouse shelling wasn't much - and MSNBC knows that. They picked her because she was afraid, they picked her to sell the news. Again, don't trust the news.

Boarding the bus just as I got there, I saw a guy named Randy who I had met in a cafe two days ago. He's a late 40s schoolteacher originally from Philly who had been working in Topeka, KS for years; he'd come to take Arabic back to his students. When we talked in the cafe, I asked him mainly about his life. We somehow got onto the concept of beards (no idea how), about how they were at one time warn by fashionable young American men who had a bit of a rebellious streak to them. (I thought of old pictures I'd seen of Coppola on the set of the Godfather and of my father in a new context.) Because of the conversation we were having I found myself looking at his face a lot; he was cheery man, but you could see the tension around his mouth. He was ready to go, in my opinion. However, just now while boarding the bus - Red Sox hat squarely on his head - Randy was all smiles.

I haven't gotten a call or an email from the State department letting me know of when I'm supposed to be where. My guess is that with some 10,000 Americans to get out of Beirut and with only one cruise ship that's only able to carry 750 passengers per trip, that it will still be a few days.

And no, I don't know if there'll be a dinner show.