Arrival

So there I was, enjoying the sunlit afternoon at my rented villa on the Black Sea, when I heard a rumble in the courtyard. Closer inspection revealed a Russian tank , a T90 if I was not mistaken (and about such things, I rarely am). I made my way down to the courtyard and greeted the soldiers, who were busily scrambling out of their lumbering conveyance. Hoping that my Russian was up to it, I invited them in for tea. This took them somewhat by surprise, but after a brief discussion among themselves they followed me into the villa.

Over tea and scones, I learned that they were, Sherman like, going to march through Georgia. Apparently the powers that be in Tbilisi had seen fit to poke the Russian bear in the eye, always an ill-advised move. The tank crew had received orders to commandeer the villa and establish some sort of staging area, and I was asked to leave. The request was made politely -- I make a very good scone -- and besides, the owner of the villa, a clan leader with some 200 men at his command, would be perfectly capable of sorting the whole thing out. One way or the other.

And so I returned to North America, after a rather tortuous journey involving a hike through the Caucuses, and a grim trip through Bulgaria involving third class rail. But needs must, and from Sofia I could access my accounts, and arrange a flight from Sofia that eventually landed me in the leafy and somewhat socialist city of Toronto, where everyone was chattering about elections -- the Canadian (just announced) and the American (perpetual).

Before going into these elections, I want to take some time to adjust to the North American way of doing things before posting any deeper thoughts on the process. But I will say this. In Canada, it would appear that the Conservatives have a leader much more popular than his party, while the Liberals as a party are better received than their leader, even if aided and abetted by the Greens. And (this is a bit worrisome) the Socialist party, the NDP, appears to be making strides. There are other parties, but these serve more as background noise to the main event rather than having any chance to grab the brass ring.

America features a rather inexperienced but charismatic black contender, accompanied by a battle-hardened politico, against which we have another battle hardened veteran accompanied by an attractive, gun-toting paragon of Christian womanhood.

I rather suspect the American thing will trump the Canadian in terms of public interest, but we will see.

All for now, it's good to be back, and may all live long and prosper.