Rushing's Ramblings

August 7 marked the twenty-first anniversary of the embassy bombings in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. On that same day, I flew from Johannesburg to Cairo, Egypt. I was flying on EgyptAir because I wanted to visit the Egyptian pyramids in Cairo before returning to the United States. It was unusual when we landed in Cape Town an hour after takeoff and had to deplane. Airport personnel removed every piece of luggage from the plane. Soldiers instructed us to walk about 100 yards from the aircraft and identify each bag and suitcase. After this exercise, we were allowed to board the plane. In retrospect, it was apparent that the African countries were on high alert that something was about to happen. Violent crimes in Johannesburg and a toxic atmosphere had marred my stay in South Africa. The country was in turmoil after many years of apartheid and a historical change in the government. Mandela had been the President for four years when I arrived a year earlier. There we