Dubai

Featured in "For Authors Newsletter (March 29, 2023)" 

We planned this time away for a year, carefully planning every second of our time away. From the moment we board the plane to set down in Dubai, all is precisely mapped out.

Harry and I are going to Amsterdam first, checking out the tulip farms and the canals. The flight from home will be a long one, so we figure a few days there will help us recover a bit from jet lag. Then on we jet to Dubai.

We’ve had this dream to see the tallest building in the world. No reason. Just see it and say we did. Then to go to the desert and ride camels. Such yin and yang. Such glamour and dirt.


“What are you thinking, Great Master of All?”

The Master stood looking at a globe, the shiny blue and green orb in his hand.

“I think it is time to shake the globe. Do I not control the heavens? Who makes the rain fall on barren land?”

Great Master’s attendant bowed, “It is you, Great Master of All.”

“I will take command of the heavens. Let it be written in the scrolls for this day. I can shout to the clouds and make it rain. I will make lightning appear and strike where I direct. That is all.”


All of us in Dubai, Harry and I, plus Dan and Shirley from Ohio and another couple from New York, planned to go out of the city to a place where we could ride camels. On the way, we stopped at an old open-air market. Too bad we can’t take the spices and foods home. And maybe those wonderful glass lanterns!

Then on to the camels. It’s nothing like riding a horse, that’s for sure!

“Doris! Smile for the camera!”

And I did. Then suddenly, the heavens opened up. Rain like I’ve never seen before. Torrents of rain. Rain so hard we were soaked in seconds. Rain so hard we feared we’d be stuck out in the desert. But somehow we made it back to the city.

As we drove into Dubai, huge lightning bolts hit Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world. Now it seemed to be acting as a giant lightning rod.

Through the safety of the sealed windows in our hotel room, we watch large waves roll into the city from the Arabian Gulf.


“Great Master of All, the rain and lightning have begun.”

The Great Master of All shook the green and blue globe. “It is done. I told the rain and lightning to pour down. Everyone stops working and sees my power. I can now tell the rain and lightning to cease.”

“As you wish, Great Master of All.” The attendant left the great hall.


“Harry, the rain just stopped. Just like someone threw a switch.”

“Well, that is just the oddest thing ever. I thought we’d have to get on Noah’s ark or something,” he laughed.

Our phone rang.

“No kidding. Well, alright, thanks,” Harry said as he hung up.

“What? What’s wrong?”

“Seems we’re ordered to leave the hotel. Now. Get to the airport. They’re ordering everyone to leave the city due to the flooding.”

We scurried about, got the last cab to the airport and flew out on the last plane.

And that is how we ended up in Egypt. I guess you could say it was a bit of a detour, but then I always did want to see the pyramids. King Tut and all that, you know.

We’re still in the desert. There are still camels. The pyramids are still some of the highest buildings around.


W/C 603