Driving (so far) in The UAE

One of the interesting and perhaps surprising things here in the United Arab Emirates has been the road system and driving I have encountered.

The roads are highly engineered and use very restricted amounts of entry and exit onto the main roads. This means that if you miss your exit, settle in to your seat and enjoy the drive till the next exit or post U-Turn entry. I am a victim! In one case, a 27 kilometer (16 mile) ride. The major highway linking the majority of the country is E11, which would be equivalent to I-95 or I-80, say in America. Keep in mind, though, that if the UAE was a US state it would be the 40th largest in land area between South Carolina and Maine. Here in Abu Dhabi, E10, E11, E20, E22, and E33 all come together here and form an amazing jumble with huge, sweeping junctions of bridges built in artistic, curving forms. These highways all are protected with barriers and tall curbs, and camel fencing (See a previous post on camel fencing).

Abu Dhabi is the capital of the UAE. Today a fairly well master-planned city, just 50 years ago it was a dusty, sandy island approximately 30 square miles aligned approximately northwest-southeast with palm-frond (“barasti”) huts and but one masonry building – the emir’s fort and palace(an emir is equivalent to a prince). It boasted a single mud-packed road and a dusty air strip. Today, it is a major city of glass- and video-fronted skyscrapers, 2-, 4-, 6-, and 8-laned roads, an enviable electronic infrastructure, in addition to parking garages, industrial ports, and major shopping and social districts. Broad, green, tree-lined boulevards grace the city as well as a corporate airport, beautiful mosques and churches, schools, major sporting facilities and all the accoutrements of a major world capital – government buildings, dozens of embassies, and red tape.

Navigating Abu Dhabi can be aggravating for a newcomer or visitor. It has been for me. But if getting lost helps one learn new surroundings, it means I am learning quickly! I have found and remember how to get to church and to the exquisite (for an American at least) rugby facility here. Also, Abu Dhabi city boasts at least four major malls, three of which I have visited so far. Happily, though, for those with short visits here, the taxi and bus systems are excellent and amazingly affordable. As an example, one day here before I got a rental car, I had to use taxis all day to go into, around, and out of the city. My total taxi tab for the day amounted to around 100 Dirhams (abbreviated “AED” for ‘Arab Emirates Dirham’), or approximately $26.

One of the more interesting quirks of the Emirati driving scene is that the traffic light flash green before turning yellow, and then to red. This equates to a very fast caution light, though, before turning to red.

And traffic here is not unlike the US, though I find it more akin to North Carolina, which in my humble opinion has the worst drivers in America. But, that’s another blog post altogether! There seems to be a special lack of turn signal usage, which is also rampant in America, but is aggravating anywhere.

If there is anything the Middle East should be famous for, besides oil and camels, it is speed bumps. They are frequent and varied, but fortunately are usually marked with speed limits and “hump” signs. These are needed because it seems that some of these speed bumps occur in really odd or unneeded places.

And tunnels. Major traffic tunnels are used in Abu Dhabi in a number of places, which I thought surprising considering the size and low altitude of the island. But this has not been too big a problem as the tunnels are large and deep and heavily used. They bypass large sections of city traffic and funnel traffic through more congested areas. Interestingly, though, the need for the major downtown tunnel may have been somewhat alleviated with the opening of E12 east across Saadiyat and Yas Islands, and bypassing the whole of the city from the Corniche, the westernmost waterfront of the city and island, toward Dubai and the northern Emirates.
Speed limits are as high as 140 km/h, or 87 mph, which is comparable to what I encountered in Europe.

Cars here are varied, though there seems to be quite a few more “exotics” here than we see in the US or even Europe. I’ve seen Lamborghinis, Ferraris (there is even a Ferrari store here in one of the malls, selling shirts, hats, fobs, etc.), Mercedes-Benz, Infinitis, Lexuses (Lexi?) and more than a few Porsche Cayennes, alongside an ironic mix of Kia Picantos, Hyundai i10’s and Daewoo mini-trucks. American cars are popular, too, with hundreds of used American machines ending up here. Chrysler products are popular here, with Chargers and Challengers frequently seen. I even found a 1963 Plymouth Fury for sale here! And the cars all come with a CarFax report at reputable dealers. Dark-colored cars are rather infrequent here - no surprise when summer temperatures regularly hit 45C/120F.

And a correction to an earlier blog: While pickup truck ownership WAS illegal for years to foreigners/expatriates, that is no longer the case, as my new Emirati colleague Mahmood has informed me. Apparently in the past there was a severe smuggling problem with expatriates crossing the border with a variety of products in small trucks. To combat this, trucks owned by foreigners were illegalized. The smuggling issue had apparently died down, so the law has been overturned.

So, driving here has been comfortable enough for me. The highways are wide and well engineered and generally drivers are not too aggressive or passive. I hope to get out of the city area soon and explore Al Ain and the western desert, as well as the east coast to view the Indian Ocean, and lastly to travel to Oman and the mountains along the border regions.

When I do, I will post updates.

My Valentine, My Wife, Darlene

I awoke this morning, rolled out of my bed, got dressed and decided to skip breakfast. Three of my colleagues and I went out last night and had supper at an all-you-can-eat, cook-to-order steak and seafood buffet at the Crown Plaza Abu Dhabi Yas Island last night, and I was honestly still quite full this morning.

So, off to work I went here in Abu Dhabi at one of the United Arab Emirates’ major air bases. It was well into the work day before I realized what day today was. It was then that I was embarrassed, and perhaps a little ashamed, that I had forgotten Valentine’s Day.

I met Darlene, the beautiful, young woman who would eventually become my wife in March 1978. It wasn’t love at first sight, but it took me less than three months to propose. Thirty-eight months later we were married. In the nearly 35 years (seriously – THIRTY-FIVE YEARS) since we have been together we have been through better and worse, richer and poorer, togetherness and separation, children and the empty nest, and hard work and unemployment, and through it all, I know that there is no other woman who I would ever want to do it all with, and likely no other woman who would have put up with me.

And if I had to do it all again, I would do it all with Darlene. And that’s why I know that I should NEVER forget Valentine’s Day. I can’t ever imagine sharing our family, our home, our life, our children, our bed, with anyone else.

So, while this year I didn’t send flowers, or candy because I simply forgot, and certainly wasn’t able to take her out to a romantic dinner or getaway, I can’t deny that she is my valentine and has been for nearly two-thirds of my life now. She has given me a wonderful daughter and son, and she somehow still loves me.

Darlene, I love you and I miss you every day that I can’t be with you. I cherish waking up next to you and I know that my last thought on this planet will be of you.

Happy Valentine’s Day.

"The Gun Is Civilization" by Maj. L. Caudill, USMC(Ret.)

I've made the argument for years that an armed society is polite society. My thought has always been that if everyone is armed, then a person is much less likely to do something rude or belligerent, fearing the potential consequences. I began to believe this about three decades ago when certain idiots, especially in California, were shooting at people in episodes of "road rage."

My brother was driving through Atlanta on Interstate 20 during this period and someone pulled up beside him and brandished a .38-caliber snub-nosed revolver. My brother, though kept our grandfather's .45-caliber Colt M1911 service pistol in his truck and made a show of holding the weapon in full view and chambering a round.

The next thing he saw was a cloud of blue tire smoke as the guy next to him hit his brakes. There was no problem after that.

So, when I saw this most well written confirmation of my argument I've ever encountered, I thought I should share this:

"The Gun Is Civilization"
by Maj. L. Caudill, USMC(Ret.)

Human beings only have two ways to deal with one another: reason and force. If you want me to do something for you, you have a choice of either convincing me via argument, or force me to do your bidding under threat of force. Every human interaction falls into one of those two categories, without exception. Reason or force, that's it. In a truly moral and civilized society, people exclusively interact through persuasion. Force has no place as a valid method of social interaction, and the only thing that removes force from the menu is the personal firearm, as paradoxical as it may sound to some.

When I carry a gun, you cannot deal with me by force. You have to use reason and try to persuade me, because I have a way to negate your threat or employment of force. The gun is the only personal weapon that puts a 100-pound woman on equal footing with a 220-pound mugger, a 75-year old retiree on equal footing with a 19-year old gang banger, and a single guy on equal footing with a carload of drunk guys with baseball bats. The gun removes the disparity in physical strength, size, or numbers between a potential attacker and a defender.

There are plenty of people who consider the gun as the source of bad force equations. These are the people who think that we'd be more civilized if all guns were removed from society, because a firearm makes it easier for a armed mugger to do his job. That, of course, is only true if the mugger's potential victims are mostly disarmed either by choice or by legislative fiat--it has no validity when most of a mugger's potential marks are armed.

People who argue for the banning of arms ask for automatic rule by the young, the strong, and the many, and that's the exact opposite of a civilized society. A mugger, even an armed one, can only make a successful living in a society where the state has granted him a force monopoly. Then there's the argument that the gun makes confrontations lethal that otherwise would only result in injury. This argument is fallacious in several ways. Without guns involved, confrontations are won by the physically superior party inflicting overwhelming injury on the loser.

People who think that fists, bats, sticks, or stones don't constitute lethal force watch too much TV, where people take beatings and come out of it with a bloody lip at worst. The fact that the gun makes lethal force easier works solely in favor of the weaker defender, not the stronger attacker. If both are armed, the field is level. The gun is the only weapon that's as lethal in the hands of an octogenarian as it is in the hands of a weight lifter.
It simply wouldn't work as well as a force equalizer if it wasn't both lethal and easily employable.

When I carry a gun, I don't do so because I am looking for a fight, but because I'm looking to be left alone. The gun at my side means that I cannot be forced, only persuaded. I don't carry it because I'm afraid, but because it enables me to be unafraid. It doesn't limit the actions of those who would interact with me through reason, only the actions of those who would do so by force. It removes force from the equation... and that's why carrying a gun is a civilized act.

Welcome To Abu Dhabi

It has now been three weeks since I left my home in South Carolina and after 27 hours of traveling landed at the Abu Dhabi International Airport. The appointed driver was there and I was whisked to the hotel on Yas Island just to the east of the United Arab Emirates capitol.

If the Emirates were a US state it would be ranked 40th in size between Maine and my home state, and it has double the population of South Carolina, or about 8 million. Incredibly, only about one million are Emirati (the term used for citizens of the UAE), and the population here doubled between 2005 and 2010. There are seven emirates, equivalent to European principalities, of which Abu Dhabi is the largest and the wealthiest by huge margins. Despite this, Dubai is the more well-known city in the UAE.

Despite being on the sea, it is a desert land full of low-lying islands, salt flats and mangroves. The fauna can be interesting. I was told that up until a few years ago there were frequent collisions with camels on the main highway between Abu Dhabi and Dubai. So, in that vein, it’s a bit more like Maine and their moose collisions than South Carolina. We only have collisions with deer, and deer don’t typically come crashing through windshields like moose and camels do!

Interestingly, just fifty years ago, the only paved road in the country was apparently a one-lane asphalt road between Dubai and Abu Dhabi. And in Abu Dhabi there was but one paved road in 1965. Full independence in 1971 from Great Britain saw Abu Dhabi emerge as the capitol of this nation and a planned building effort eventually emerged for the city. Today, Abu Dhabi boasts a world-class skyline, branches of NYU and the Sorbonne, and currently under construction are branches of the Louvre and the Guggenheim museums.

The native language here is Arabic, but I have yet to find a single person who does not speak or refuses to speak English! IKEA, Ace Hardware, KFC, Popeyes, McDonald’s, and Starbucks are just a few of the stores here. Oh, and don’t forget Bloomingdales! And of course Sheraton, Holiday, Ramada and Radisson are prominent.

There are a few things here that do need explanation. For instance, a foreigner cannot own a pick-up truck here! I’m not sure how this redneck boy is supposed to survive! The SUV market is wide open and I even found a beautiful, red 1963 Plymouth Fury! If it’s still available in two months I may buy it! If not, there are a wide range of Fords, Jeeps, Mercedes, Mitsubishis, Range and Land Rovers, and Toyotas.

I’ve found banking here to be quite interesting. There are a variety of banks, both Emirati and foreign (American, European). I’ve chosen to bank with Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank and have gotten amazing service, quite honestly, that most American banks can and should learn and implement. An example is that any time I use my debit card I get a SMS post on my phone within ten seconds advising me that my card was used for the amount paid or received at the ATM.

Housing is a bit high, though, and one must pay six months rent in advance. Fortunately my employer allows an advance of 6 months of my housing allowance. Utility costs are low, though.

Abu Dhabi has been proclaimed the world’s wealthiest city, and I have nothing to prove them wrong. It is an island city, laid out efficiently in a grid pattern. Traffic is heavy, but there is an efficient and cheap bus and taxi service. I went all over the city for most of one day and paid a total of about 100 Dirhams (abbreviated as ‘AED’), or about $26.

I’ll continue this commentary in the future as I see and learn more about my new home.

If President Barack Obama wins reelection, I would like everyone to print this out and put it away for safe-keeping.

Why? You may ask.

Simply this:

1. If he is reelected you will be soon unable to read this due to the onrush of censorship that will engulf the nation.
2. Our 2nd Amendment rights will be curtailed.
3. We will quickly move into a second recession that will see OFFICIAL unemployment stay around 8%, though actual unemployment will move to levels unseen America since the Great Depression.
4. The military will be gutted.
5. America’s energy dependence will increase dramatically, and gas prices will explode.
6. General Motors will collapse.
7. America will renounce its alliance with Israel and war will engulf the Middle East again.
8. Iran will produce and PUBLICLY detonate a nuclear bomb, perhaps over Israel.

These are my predictions. Print them out, file them away, and in four years look at them again. If I’m wrong, I will admit it and produce a mea culpa for you. But I won’t have to.

“If America reelects Barack Obama to a second term, we deserve all the misery that will ensue. “
Representative Allen West,
Republican-Florida

Truth and Prejudice

Thirty years ago I made the mistake of telling a trusted colleague of mine, that "I'm not prejudiced."

"Bullshit," he proclaimed. "Everyone is prejudiced about SOMEthing. It might be lawyers, or truck drivers, or another race.” And it was true. He then made the profound argument that where we will make a difference is how hard we work to fight that prejudice.

During that same period, there was another colleagues of mine who stunned me with a comment I always try to keep in perspective to this day. And I remember the shock I felt, and STILL do, when this colleague looked me in the eye and told me that he didn’t trust “really dark-skinned (black) folk.” You see, he was also black, just like my first colleague.

So, yeah, I am prejudiced.

I am so grateful for that period in my life. I worked for nearly three years in a sawmill in the deep south of the United States. Many of the men who worked there were the fathers, uncles and brothers of people I had gone to high school with, played football and ran track with, and one in particular sticks out. He was the father of a classmate and fellow football teammate. He worked hard and saw all of his half-dozen-or-so children attend college. And he was a completely illiterate black man. To this day I have the utmost respect for that man. He married and had children, and worked to provide for them. He didn't want help or handouts from anyone or anything. He helped to show me what life and the world and the people who live in it are all about.

What brought all this on? It was an NBC news poll (http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/10/27/14740413-ap-poll-majority-harbor-prejudice-against-blacks?threadId=3598754&commentId=71479014#c71479014) that gauged racial attitudes between 2008 and 2012. It found that “a slight majority of Americans now express prejudice toward blacks…”

Well, we ARE all prejudiced in some way. Think about it. Is it lawyers you have a bad attitude about? Or barristas at Starbucks? How about cops? Maybe anorexic-looking supermodels? Or overweight people? Or maybe the homeless? Seriously, you know what your prejudices are. We all do. But, HOW MANY PEOPLE DO YOU KNOW THAT WANT TO BE PREJUDICED? I would wager that it is darned few.

If you're a friend of mine, you that I'm one of that group. But, my former colleague was right. We do all have prejudices.

I have spent all my adult life working hard to see past and through race, color, religion, creed, national origin, sexual preference, class, etc., and try equally as hard to understand people. I want to see through other’s eyes. And I refuse to allow others to classify ME by what they THINK they see. Clearly, it is how we contol, and how affective we are at controlling and defeating our prejudices that make us “color blind,” to use a more pointed term.

In the past six years I have been accused because of my political views of being a racist, a mysoginist, a sexist, a homophobe, and so-on-and-so-forth. And it hurts. Not so much because I am one or all of these things (remember, I am prejudiced), but rather because of the effort I have expended over the years to try to ensure I was NOT any of those things. It hasn’t been easy.

But, because of my efforts, I have cherished and dear friends, colleagues and acquaintances who are black, white, oriental and Hispanic. They are men and women, homosexual and heterosexual. They are corporate CEOs and presidents, and dirt-poor and in-between. They are lawyers and cops, fat and thin, short and tall, warriors (of at least a dozen nations) and draft dodgers, and they are smart and, well, dumb. They include Christians, Jews, Druids, pagans and Muslims, and complex combinations of all. They are all my friends, my colleagues, my acquaintances and I cherish them all, though admittedly some more than others. Interestingly, most of the people I see as enemies are the same race as I! But, as I have been taught by Jesus and my Christian upbringing, I love them all. Though, admittedly, I do love some more than others.

So it was with more than a little interest I read the NBC News article and the comments that followed. In the end, what I wonder most is just how much of this negative attitude, this prejudice, covered in the poll has to do with the gross mismanagement, corruption, and policies of division that have been practiced by the First Black President? A president I love as a human and a man.

But whose policies I deplore.

I guess that's ANOTHER prejudice I'll have to work on.

Muslim Rage Against America is Because of Israel?

On one of my groups the question was asked, "Why do muslims hate the US?"

I answered, "Six letters: I-S-R-A-E-L. Israel is 4/10 of 1% of the total area of the Middle East, but the problem is that Israel demonstrates and magnifies everything that is wrong with the Arab culture and the other 99.6% of the Middle East."

Then the site administrator asked for a clarification, "What do you mean by this? Why is it Israel's fault?" He asked this because he had received five-or-six anti-semitic replies and wanted to make sure of the direction of my comments. I replied,

"It's not Israel's fault, unless you want to blame the existence of Israel itself. Israel occupies all of 4/10 of 1% of the Middle East. They have no oil and almost no natural resources. The Arabs have 99.6% of the territory, huge amounts of oil and more natural resources than Israel. We also know that BOTH Israel and an Arab state were mandated by the UN. And, of course, the Arabs did everything to destroy the mandate in 1948 and lost spectacularly to a nation that had no real armed forces, and what they did have was mostly obsolescent or pieced together. And Arabs have been angry ever since. NOW, we (the US) are the only TRUE supporter of Israel and because of that support, NO MATTER what we do for or against muslims, they will hate us simply because of our support for Israel, the one and only, true, liberal, democratic government in the region.

"Romney was right. Israel's culture, democracy and immigrant polpulation is the reason for Israel's success. The success of the society - tolerance, wealth, military prowess, equality, etc. - are anathema to muslim mores and ideals.

"The US has fought seven wars/military actions/policing operations since 1980 in efforts to assist muslims. Somalia was an effort to save muslims from starvation. Bosnia and Kosovo were efforts to save muslims from CHRISTIAN genocide. Kuwait and Iraq were to save muslims from MUSLIM genocide. Afghanistan was an effort to assist muslims fighting communism in the 1980's, and later to assist them in throwing off the yoke of a genocidal and injust muslim "theocracy."

"We've spent trillions in support of muslim nations. So, it comes down to Israel. It doesn't make sense, but that's it.

"Our support of Israel is the only reason that muslims dislike us."

The Liberal View

I read a letter to the editor the other day in North Carolina’s Fayetteville Observer newspaper that made me roll my eyes. The point of the letter, by a liberal writer, was ‘why do conservatives vote against their own self-interest?’ His point, of course, was that voting Democrat was better for you personally.

And I now believe he is right. He is right in that he was unknowingly pointing out the very stark differences between liberals and conservatives. Liberals vote in their own self interest. Conservatives vote for what they believe is in the best interest of the nation as a whole.

I believe that is why you see more conservatives in the military. Soldiers, sailors, marines, coast guardsman and airmen clearly serve for a higher cause – that of the nation and of the people. Conservatives consistently vote, promote and use their money to help others. Statistics show that if liberals gave to charity in the same amounts as conservatives, that charitable giving would increase 40%.

Clearly, giving away one’s money is not in one’s own interest, yet conservatives do it. A lot more than liberals.

Clearly, putting one’s self in harm’s way, with bullets flying, bombs and rockets dropping, and mortars falling, and roadside bombs exploding, is not in one’s own interest. Yet conservatives do it. A lot more than liberals.

I heard a commentary some years back, shockingly on National Public Radio, that concerned the commentator’s son, who had joined the US Marines in a time of war. This young man had knowingly joined what is and was arguably America’s most elite regular military force with the knowledge that he would serve in one of two places, and likely both – Iraq and Afghanistan. The commentator was stunned as friends, colleagues and acquaintances acted shocked that this man’s son would “waste his life” by serving them and the nation!

“Couldn’t he get into college?”

“Why would he do such a thing?”

“I’m so sorry to hear that.”

These were typical comments he received. When in Liberal America did serving your country become a mistake?

So clearly, the letter writer was right, especially in the viewpoint of the American liberal. Conservatives do act, vote and give against their own self interest. That’s because they know that their own self interest is not as important as the interest of the nation.

And conservatives act accordingly.

The Final Straw

I am not, nor have I ever been a racist, a sexist, or any other "ist." I am an American. 

I refuse to see color, or race, or religion, or national origin. I have had, and continue to have, dear, close, wonderful friends who are white, black, yellow, red, brown, mixed, men, women, straight and homosexual, Asian, European, South and Latin American, African, Muslim, Jewish, atheist, Christian of numerous denominations, wealthy, poor, blue collar, white collar, retired, veterans, and others too numerous to mention. I consider them all friends and colleagues. Okay folks, I'm sayin' it here. I am venting. Why? 

 I am a TEA Party Patriot. And I am just beginning to tire of the unwarranted and unverified accusations and attacks on me, my family, my friends and fellow Americans who oppose what we see as government-out-of-control. But because we feel that our Federal Government and our current president have overstepped the bounds of the Founder's intent, and on many occasions our Constitution, we are "haters." 

I do not hate. I may not LIKE you, but I love you as commanded by Jesus. Nevertheless, opposition to our current government brings out the accusers, calling me and others racists, homophobes, haters, et al. And if you haven't already noticed, EVERY time some psycho in America attempts, or performs, a violent attack, every pundit out there jumps to link them to the TEA Party. But, it never holds. To date, not a SINGLE violent act has been linked to the TEA Party. Not one. None. Zero. That can't be said about the Occupy movement or their liberal cohorts. 

And I am just tired and fed up with it all. 

I'm sorry, folks, but if you have only the hate card to defend your view versus mine, I would have to say your view is indefensible. I do NOT need to prove my credentials. I've already proven them by who I choose to associate with, who I chose to be my friends, and how I treat all those around me - with kindness, deference, and respect. I do not need to justify a position based on my life experience and historical fact. And I certainly shouldn't have to justify my association with a group that has no history of violence, racism, sexism, or any other "ism." I'm tired of it. I'm fed up with it. I've had it. And the gloves are off. 

Starting now, I will call names, be ugly, make accusations, just like all those on the left (except my accusations will be based on fact). Just a warning liberal America. I'm pretty sure I won't be the only one.

Back in the USA

Well, I’m home from Germany. It was snowing the day I left, the first time in over a month. Ironically, I was in Southern Germany six days earlier and saw quite a bit of snow in Stuttgart.

A week earlier I had gone with a friend, Corwin Gal, north to Gothenburg, Sweden. He was picking up his new Volvo at the factory and asked if I would like to go along as his co-driver. Gothenburg was bare of snow! Sweden was really interesting. What I found surprising was that everyone I met there spoke excellent English. When we arrived at the hotel, I asked whether they spoke English, fully prepared to ask if they spoke German if the answer was “no.” The young woman behind the desk looked and said, “Of course I speak English!” In my mind I was thinking, ‘Of course? Hey, I’m in Sweden. What else would you speak?’ Much of the television programming, like most of Europe, is American and British English language shows. For instance, I watched NCIS in English on Swedish TV, with Swedish subtitles. There are less than ten million Swedes, so it’s not cost effective to dub over the shows in Swedish.

Denmark, like Sweden, was incredibly expensive. Our meal in Copenhagen cost us $70 each! I would leave Europe with Euros, Swedish Kroner and Danish Kronor, and US dollars in my wallet. Most interestingly, to me, were the differences between the close Scandinavian neighbors. Sweden was easily the most “American” European nation I saw. Large autos predominate, and the streets, despite the age of the cities, were wide. Additionally, outside the cities were wide open spaces and large homes. The terrain reminded me a great deal of the Delmarva Peninsula.

Copenhagen, on the other hand, was a more typical European city. Their difference was the MASSIVE use of bicycles, even in the dead of winter. Every street in Copenhagen had bike lanes and everyone, it seemed, was riding a bike in the January cold. Bicycle racks were more common than auto parking spaces, and to be honest, it was a good thing. If all the people in Copenhagen had cars instead of bicycles, Corwin and I would STILL be stuck in Danish traffic!

So, I made it through the clearing process, mailed home my tools, and packed my bags. Clearing German Customs and the normal hassle through security were surprisingly easy. The flight wasn’t uneventful, as the Delta Air Lines Boeing 777 was improperly loaded and out of CG, so as we began taxiing away from the gate at Frankfurt Main Airport were quickly diverted to another spot on the ramp and a pallet was unloaded from the aircraft. As we pulled up to have the pallet unloaded the pilot announced that he anticipated a ten-minute delay. 57 minutes later we finally taxied out to the runway. As a result, we took off an hour late. Happily, the airplane was nowhere near full so I and everyone else were able to stretch out in their own row. Nice.

The flight was smooth, but there was cloud cover all over Europe. It began to break up at the Western Irish coast, but was spotty over the Atlantic. I tried hard to spot icebergs, Iceland and Greenland from 30,000 feet, but all I saw was occasional whitecaps. Thankfully, the clouds cleared completely just before Labrador, Canada. Watching the ice pack and bare coast of the Canadian Shield, covered in snow was amazing. I observed a small town (maybe 30-to-40 buildings) below on the Northeast Canadian coast with an airstrip above on the hilltop, and a single road leading out of town to literally nowhere. And I think I spied a famous ice road.

Since arriving in South Carolina, I’ve been to the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce (now THERE’S an awkward title), and I’ve called and gone online to the Texas Workforce Commission. I bought a new sink and plumbing items, began to tear out our second bathroom, and have had to begin training my daughter’s dog to stay off the furniture and the bed, and the cats to stay off the kitchen table and counters (yuck!), as the wife will not discipline the animals.

Additionally, I bought a new 18-inch Husqvarna chain saw, and I’ve cut and cleared some trees and stumps in the yard, pulled up some vines, and burned it all in the backyard. We threw a party the week after I arrived and had a wonderful time with friends and family. AND there’s the unpacking. Clothes, books, magazines, tools, etcetera. On the upside, everyone loved their gifts.

So far, what I miss about Europe is the incredible food and the history. I also miss responsible, educated drivers and the laws and law enforcement enforcing those laws. I DON’T miss the traffic cameras.