The 2005 METS class arrives this weekend for Orientation. METS vets know the routine—two and a half days of slide talks and handouts covering more than you ever thought there was to know about the Middle East.

For some time I have known that, in addition to the official METS Orientation, there is also an Underground Orientation whereby each previous METS class passes on to the new class WHAT THEY REALLY NEED TO KNOW before heading out to the Middle East. But only recently has one of the Underground Orientation handouts fallen into my hands. Three bits of advice caught my attention:

1. If you ask Max a question that has anything to do with history, his answer will be long, involved, and probably begin with the Paleolithic Period.
2. Max is “solar powered.” The hotter the sun, the longer and more involved his answers. But he begins to fade at sunset.
3. If you have good question, do not ask it while your group is standing in the sun on an archaeological site. Save it until you are back on the bus. Better still, save it until after sunset.

This will be the 24th METS class to depart from Atlanta, but the 26th year of the METS program. We did not travel the year of the Gulf War or the summer following 9/11. So we split the difference and declared 2005 our 25th Anniversary. Big plans are underway for the celebration in October. I look forward to seeing all of you then.

As part of the anniversary program, the planning committee has invited Jerry Mattingly and me to give an Orientation-style talk on a topic of our choosing. I have proposed to talk about the historical roots of the current Middle East crisis—”current” meaning whatever particular crisis is unfolding in October. That remains to be known, of course, so it has been difficult for me to come up with a title. But, undoubtedly something critical will be happing in the Middle East in October and there will be historical roots to take into account. Thus my title: “It All Began in the Paleolithic: Historical Roots of the Current Middle East Crisis.”

Be assured that these talks will be in a comfortable, air-conditioned auditorium. No standing in the hot sun.