Thursday, June 28, 2007

Funniest Cicada story

I was traveling back from Jerusalem on American Airlines (Brussels to Chicago) when the plane was readying for takeoff and a passenger pulled out a pillow and blanket wrapped in plastic and showed it to the Flight Attendant -- we don't call them stewardesses any more.

Inside the plastic, apparently picked up in Chicago on an earlier flight from Chicago to Brussels, was a six legged stow-away. A little red eyed Cicada.

Had to have been 4,500 miles or more.

-- Ray Hanania

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Just returned from a great Comedy Tour of Israel and Palestine

So many readers have asked about the Comedy tour I just completed in Israel and Palestine. The web site for the tour is http://www.ipcomedytour.com/. I've posted some of the press coverage. There is a story coming out this week on NBC Nightly News (5:30 CST) on Channel 5 ... I don't have a date yet but they said this week.



Anyway, the Cicadas have really taken over although these are so much smaller than the cicadas we have been used to, although far more numerous. These are about half the size of the ones that surfaced last year in smaller numbers.



My kids calls them Cicada Bombs that come flying into the car window when you drive.



If yu have any stories on Cicadas pass them along to me at



rayhanania@comcast.net



This week's column is on a former Southwest Sider who moved to Palestine and lives in Ramallah in the West Bank. (Last January when I toured I did a feature column on a Jewish Chicagoan from the Southwest Side who moved to Israel. Just being fair.)



Ray