Hawaii and Vietnam
Hawaii
Back two days from Hawaii. Still tired, but the 11 hour flight has nothing to do with it. I've gone to bed late both Saturday and Sunday nights, which are really half the reason.
The other half is that the humidity and heat in NYC are simply awful. You walk two blocks in this devils armpit, and you're wet and gross and you don't think straight and you're tired and sluggish and that's it.
Hawaii was great. Its always great. Was more great this time as Katie & Keri brought their parents out there, and I got to hang out with them for most of a week.
A swell adventure.
For starters, Katie and Keri had no idea I was coming. They were brought into the Shell Lounge in the Hilton Hawaiian Village and sat next to me. They agreed that the guy next to them " looked an awful lot like Uncle ( Phantom )". Prodded to approach me for a picture, the game soon was up.
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Vietnam
My Vietnam visa is ready.
A couple of people, including the Swede, are not crazy about my going to the place. Because its a repressive place, because of the bad things they did in the war.
Well, I agree that it is a repressive country. Its less repressive than it was eleven years ago, when Dr. K went there, but it is still a Communist dictatorship.
But its a Communist dicatorship that is loosening the reins, and is every day becoming a little more friendly to the US. Things like this are only one of many signs.I think you encourage more liberalization with things like tourism and friendly contact between citizens.
You don't encourage more freedom by staying away and by blockading, the approach that has helped Castro starve the Cubans for 40 years.
If its ok with John McCain that I go to Vietnam, then I'm goin'.
Why are the US and Vietnam becoming such buddies? They both are concerned about an aggressive, imperial, revanchist China, that's one reason. But another is that I think both countries really want to put the horror of the Vietnam war behind them. I'll write a lot more about that later.
Back two days from Hawaii. Still tired, but the 11 hour flight has nothing to do with it. I've gone to bed late both Saturday and Sunday nights, which are really half the reason.
The other half is that the humidity and heat in NYC are simply awful. You walk two blocks in this devils armpit, and you're wet and gross and you don't think straight and you're tired and sluggish and that's it.
Hawaii was great. Its always great. Was more great this time as Katie & Keri brought their parents out there, and I got to hang out with them for most of a week.
A swell adventure.
For starters, Katie and Keri had no idea I was coming. They were brought into the Shell Lounge in the Hilton Hawaiian Village and sat next to me. They agreed that the guy next to them " looked an awful lot like Uncle ( Phantom )". Prodded to approach me for a picture, the game soon was up.
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Vietnam
My Vietnam visa is ready.
A couple of people, including the Swede, are not crazy about my going to the place. Because its a repressive place, because of the bad things they did in the war.
Well, I agree that it is a repressive country. Its less repressive than it was eleven years ago, when Dr. K went there, but it is still a Communist dictatorship.
But its a Communist dicatorship that is loosening the reins, and is every day becoming a little more friendly to the US. Things like this are only one of many signs.I think you encourage more liberalization with things like tourism and friendly contact between citizens.
You don't encourage more freedom by staying away and by blockading, the approach that has helped Castro starve the Cubans for 40 years.
If its ok with John McCain that I go to Vietnam, then I'm goin'.
Why are the US and Vietnam becoming such buddies? They both are concerned about an aggressive, imperial, revanchist China, that's one reason. But another is that I think both countries really want to put the horror of the Vietnam war behind them. I'll write a lot more about that later.
