Two hours on line. At least six bottles of water. One almost inedible energy bar (we had more bars with us, but they really were difficult to consume). Three bathroom trips. And no less than thirty tissues and napkins used for sweat management.

We met caribbean street musicians who played Jewish music for us. We got pushed around by Brittons, Germans, Frenchies, and various sundry Eurotrash that apparently felt some sort of birthright to skip ahead in line while complaining about the heat, the humidity, the length of the line, and even the poor signage. We were passed in line by large numbers of Israelis who seemed just as irritated as the Europeans and by the very same issues, plus their apparent belief that they should somehow be excused from any security processes because they have been living with these security hassles longer than any other nation on earth…

Along the way, though, we also found some fun photo ops. And I, for one, felt encouraged by the apparent fact that Lady Liberty is still important to some people.