Newark airport
Jessica Litwak
Airports tend to make me sad and nervous even though I am in them all the time and love the fact that they are gateways to my full life of exploration. But I am always scared of missing planes. So I got here a bit early drank a glass of wine in the airport bar (Joni Mitchell's The Priest is a song worth listening to) and the Luthansa plane to Munich (my first stop on the voyage) is delayed so I am staring at identical red head German twins - thier hair is long their eyes greenish blue they are in their twenties - strikingly beautiful in the most Aryan way - they are dressed identically - they speak in unison - one seems sweeter around the eyelids but when the mother comes her features harden and her twin softens. I can't really tell who they are - I am overwhelmed by the presence of their privilege - thier safety in numbers - their specific beauty - their angelic and yet potentially dangerous confidence. Or perhaps they are troubled being gorgeous and twinned. Perhaps I will spend the night in flight with them knowing nothing of their truth . They are an omen for the beginning of this journey - an awakening , a reminder : things will not be everything they seem. Look carefully. Listen hard. Perhaps you will learn something fabulous that you never expected. Be brave. The announcement to board comes in German over the loudspeaker and I switch to flight mode