I was finishing packing my box of photographs and had a few photo albums to pack with the loose photos I had already packed. I flipped through the albums and had many walks down memory lane. I also came across an album I had long forgotten that I had in my possession. It is the album from my father's visit to Israel in January 1970. I spent more time in this album than any of the others. I looked at the itinerary. I looked at all the places he visited and the places that I'd now like to visit as well. He had meals with (don't know if he met them, but who knows) David Ben Gurion, Menachem Begin and Ezer Weizman.
For me the really interesting (and cool) thing is that he went to the airport to greet new olim arriving from India. While he had no idea that his son would one day be making Aliyah, he got to experience the euphoria of people arriving and being there to greet them. So, while he may not be there to see my arrival, I now have a feeling that a piece of him is with me when I make Aliyah and experience the arrival at the same airport that he visited so many years ago (albeit slightly more developed today).
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