My Big Radio Debut

In March of 2011 my dad and I appeared on a radio show in Abilene. I was taking a creative nonfiction writing class at the time, and today's post comes from one of my assignments.

I am sitting in my chair, back ramrod straight, staring at the microphone in front of me. I can hear soft music as it drifts quietly through the headphones that rest on the table in front of me. I am nervous and I have to stave off the nausea that I feel welling up in my stomach. My mouth is dry, so I take long gulps from the water bottle that I have placed conveniently by my hand. The man in front of me signals that we have one minute until we’re on the air. Public speaking is one of my greatest fears, and I’m not sure I’m comfortable talking live on the radio. In fact, I’m sure that I am not. My eyes dart to the door. I wonder if I could escape before the show starts.

“And we are live in three, two, one.”

Too late. The microphone in front of me is now connected to the airwaves and anything I say will be broadcast to the listeners of KWKC. I guzzle more water, hoping to drown my nerves. The guy next to me introduces my dad and then introduces me. This is actually kind of cool. I’ve never been introduced like this before.

I relax infinitesimally as the first question is directed to Dad. And then the second.

But now I hear the interviewer say, “This next question is for you, Rebekah. How did the military interact with the citizens of Cairo? Did they treat them okay?”

I am momentarily frozen. But now I remember that Mom is probably the only one listening to this broadcast.

“Yes.” I reply. “As far as I could tell, the military and the people were getting along.  I didn’t see much direct interaction. But the military were everywhere. I think they are stationed everywhere to remind the people that they are in control.”

Okay, that was easy enough. I can do this. Dad answers a few more questions and I sit back through the commercial break. My nervousness is slowly seeping out from me. It’s a nice feeling, a relieving one. My whole body feels lighter and my head clearer. I think I just might make it through the rest of this hour. My water is almost gone, but already my mouth feels less cottony.

We are live again and the interviewer asks about the archeological museum and if we visited.

“It was great!” I reply. The museum had only been reopened for a week before we visited and we had to walk down a line of tanks to get to the museum, but we felt very safe. There still weren’t many people in the museum, certainly not many westerners. We had been told that the museum would be crowded, that the room that houses King Tut’s funerary mask would be packed. Everyone would be crowded into the little room and we would see the mask for a few seconds. Instead, there room was almost empty and we just stood in front the mask and gazed at the boy-king’s face.”

Everyone wanted their kids to take pictures with me. And the tanks.

I take a breath and look over to Dad. He smiles at me, letting me known that I did fine. Maybe it’s sad that I still look to my Daddy for reassurance. It’s almost certainly a little juvenile. But maybe that’s okay.

The remainder of the show passes quickly and soon enough I sign off the air. That wasn’t nearly as bad as I had expected. 

Merneptah Stele

Last Monday I sat at the Toyota dealership with my styrofoam cup of coffee and waited as the oil in my car was changed and my state inspection sticker renewed.

Egyptian Revolution
I'm sure I looked a little out of place reading Lost Treasures of the Bible: Understanding the Bible through Archaeological Artifacts in World Museums. My dad got this book for me last Christmas, and I've enjoyed reading and rereading it. This week I was refreshing my memory on the
Merneptah Stele. This Egyptian stone tablet was created around 1200 BC and is now in the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities in Cairo.


Dad and I visited the Egyptian Museum when were in Egypt of 2011. We traveled to Egypt just days after President Mubarak stepped down, when the US State Department still advised Americans to avoid travel to Egypt. As tourists we largely had the country to ourselves and other white westerners were few and far between. The road to the museum was lined with tanks and you can see me walking alongside our guide Shaza to get to the museum.


The Boy King
One of the Egyptian Museum's most famous, or perhaps infamous, exhibits is the treasure of King Tutankhamun's tomb. We had read up on the Egyptian Museum before our visit and had heard of the crowds that surround King Tut's treasures. Tour guides must wait outside the room that houses Tut's ornamented funeral mask and sarcophagus in order to slightly reduce the number of people crowding the room. I read several accounts of visitors who were herded through the congested room with only a quick look at Tut's famous gold burial mask. But not us. A guard and three visitors milled about the room with us as we stood face-to-face with Tut's mask and gazed for minutes upon end into the ageless face of the boy king.

Evidence of Israel
After viewing the King Tut collection, Dad and I set off in search of the Merneptah Stele. It is in an out of the way corner in the museum, hard to find and unlabeled. This is likely because it is, to many, just another stone tablet, interesting only in that it is covered in hieroglyphics.

To historians and biblical scholars, however, this stele is significant because it contains the earliest known mention of Israel. Additionally, it is by far the earliest reference to Israel outside of the Bible. The hieroglyph in front of the word Israel is indicative of Israel as a people group rather than a nation, which is consistent with the biblical record.

Please Do Not Touch!
The section of tablet that reads "Israel" is worn black from many hands that have streaked fondly across the surface. This darkening of the stone is evident at the bottom center of the tablet. Clearly I am not the only one fascinated by by this tablet. And if you ask me if I took the opportunity to lightly brush my curled finger across this piece of history, I will adamantly tell you no... And as an aspiring museum professional, I feel I should take this opportunity to point out the damage done to objects by inquisitive hands.

The Merneptah Stele is appreciated both by historians and by the millions of Christians and Jews whose spiritual beliefs are connected intimately with the people of Israel. Because of its incredible biblical significance, this is one of my favorite museum objects that I've seen. Though seeing Tutankhamun's burial mask was yet another amazing experience. And the mummified body of Ramesses II. And... okay, this list could just go on and on. Suffice it to say, with my love for Egyptian history, this museum was amazing and the less than three hours we spent inside was far too short.