In Dar es Salaam

Our plane touched down at 10:00 p.m. last night in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, after a 21-hour trip, including a two-hour layover in Amsterdam and a one-hour layover at the Kilimanjaro Airport. My favorite part of this journey was passing over the German and Austrian Alps. Sitting by the window on the left side of the plane, I was able to take in the snow-covered German Alps - stunningly beautiful, the majestic artwork of God.

I am enjoying reading Eric Liddell: Pure Gold by David McCasland, a biography of the 1924 Olympic champion who was the subject of the Academy Award-winning movie, "Chariots of Fire." Still a favorite movie of mine, I am having a wonderful time getting to know more about this "Flying Scotsman."

One humorous story from his early life: Eric's older brother, Rob, was learning some bad words after both of them were sent to boarding school in Scotland. When he casually used a few of them at the supper table, his mother reacted with horror. McCasland writes: "Once he understood that swearing was unacceptable, five-year-old Eric offered a simple solution: 'Just tell me what all the bad words are, and I won't use any of them.'"