The journey home is always shorter than the journey out, shorter than one remembers. Waiting to go home, though, is more aggravating than other kinds of waiting. Waiting in an airport in the middle of the night is most aggravating of all.
They waited in Ben Gurion Airport at Lod outside Tel Aviv because their TWA flight was three hours late leaving London. Some waggish Irishman had called Heathrow to say he had planted a bomb among the baggage. Security removed everyone from the plane quickly and safely. The luggage was set out in a large room, and everyone had to identify theirs. No bomb was found. They reloaded the baggage, reseated the people, and the plane took off three hours late. Hours squandered, nothing gained except a deep-seated animosity for the dangerous game the terrorists p
