Jet lagged to the gills, arrived back in Seattle today from Lao PDR, a communist country as full of the nicest people you'd ever hope to meet. Sorry that my country dropped a half ton of munitions per every man, woman, and child on them when we thought there was something to be won there.

Thankfully for us tourists they are quicker to let bygones be bygones than many of my fellow Americans. Some of them continue to build homes out of the bomb casings we provided them. Lovely people, incredible food, beautiful scenery.

I will catch up with some of you individually as soon as baggage claim returns my tardy soul to me.