While I was away on a magic carpet sailing the ambiance of intercontinental flight, the Pacific and Indian Oceans and waters about Australia and New Zealand, the world was busy with its prior and current affairs. I understood this would happen but I busied myself with my own place in time as a stranger in strange and unfamiliar locations.

I will print out, collect and send out in one mailing the essays I wrote aboard ship on the laptop computer I hauled along and had to unpack for inspectors several times. It was inconvenient for me to write often since Carol and I were busy with the many activities provided us in a floating city of about five thousand souls. But, I will try to send out the entire batch at one time.

While I was away, Joe Lieberman dropped out of the race for the Democratic Presidential nomination. I felt that he should for he was in an uncomfortable place being dropped by Al Gore. People do some strange things but he did the right thing. It looked like Kerry is surging ahead of the pack that is left.

While on board, someone reported hearing that Dean made a deal with Al Sharpton as the vice-Presidential candidate. This did not seem as strange as other reported goings on by the international reporters and commentators we heard on CNN on our television in our stateroom. Another knowledgeable fellow traveler somehow got the information that Jeb Bush was divorcing his wife. We learned from a paper we acquired on land that it was Neil Bush, who had marital malaise.

Mr. Bush was reviled everywhere we went. Australians and New Zealanders are quite willing to tell us what is wrong with Mr. Bush and his policies. I have made the observation in another place that when the United States (or whatever world power is preeminent at any time) sneezes, the rest of the world catches the cold. Unsettled economic times are upon us with the Bush election promise to cut taxes having been made with Democratic compliance. That the taxes were given back to those who paid them was recognized by Nick Kristof this morning who remembered the initial situation where Mr. /Bush declared that those who paid taxes would get them back – despite his largesse being made in favor of the class that gets away with paying less taxes percentage wise than us ordinary citizens.

Oh, yes; I have been away and while there, the shenanigans have continued and revelations revealed. We do live in interesting times and we should all rejoice that we still have the freedom to say what we please.