In Springtime an Old Man’s Fancy Turns to ………….

One notices things living in the country.  The weather that we only tolerate in the city demands focused attention every day of every season.  The sound of the wind is amplified as is the songs of the birds, whirring of insects, and the nightly calls of the coyotes.  The night sky isn’t polluted by the wash of city lights and the brightness of the moon and stars is startling in it’s intensity. And in springtime, everything is more so.  The sunrise urges us to start the day sooner with more of a bounce in our step and the sounds of the day starting are nature’s own symphony.  I awoke earlier than usual this morning to a modest ground fog being chased by the...

A Night on the Town

One of the local mega law firms whose name shall not be disclosed herein, threw their annual bash the other night and pretty much went to the bottom of their client barrel by inviting S. and moi.  Our legal budget isn’t really that large any more.  I guess their theory is that their clients will continue to happily pay their annual retainers and stratospheric hourly rates by feeding us some mediocre food,  free booze and exposing us to a well-past-its -prime musical act.  Indeed, it seems to work pretty well because we and many others continue to show up year after year. S. and I go every year because….well, I really don’t know why we go.  But we...

The Spinmeisters

I thought I had seen or heard it all, or almost all.  The guys who can make chicken s**t and sell it as chicken salad.  The ones that called the Edsel an “advanced piece of American engineering”.  The Swift Boaters turning Kerry’s military record into a liability in the face of Bushies stalwart record of avoiding the draft.  The miscreants who can make an apology via a non-apology for stepping on their tongue and offending millions.  The bios that make Chaney sound like a warm and fuzzy fellow…..well, that might be taking it a bit too far. But to spin Tony Blairs announcement of their “staged withdrawal” as a sign of our success in Iraq  strains the...

To Fund or Not to Fund, That’s Not the Question

Much has been made lately of the parliamentary wrangling in the Senate (many would say that all they do is wrangle) over whether the Repubscan introduce and debate a resolution on cutting off funding for our military activities in Iraq as a pari pas sou for a vote on the non-binding censure of Bush’s surge plan.  Very clever, what. The repubs strategy is designed to put the demos in the box of being seen as “not supporting our troops” by voting to limit funding or being seen as giving tacit approval for Bush to proceed with more of the same on steroids.  Now, the demos are not entirely dumb. They understand a trap when they see one and have, therefore, chosen...

You Really Have to Be There

I’ve struggled to make order out of everything we’ve seen, smelled, and experienced, but I’m afraid that’s well beyond my capability.  Two weeks is a short time and India is a big, complex piece of geography, history and humanity.  The best I can do is to share some of the impressions we take with us.  They are presented here in absolute random order.  That is to say I’m writing them down as I think of them which may, or may not, have anything to do with how or when they occurred. I’m writing this as we’re on the way from Paris to Houston, a ten hour daylight flight after a nine hour night time flight which departed Delhi at 1:20 am.  So I ask for some...