| AMERICA AT LAST! So by now you probably all know that I have arrived in the States in earnest. I won�t dwell on my experiences attempting to leave Bermuda but suffice it to say that it was a touch like Groundhog Day. Get up, go to the airport only to be turned back by some pre-pubescent kid carrying a machine gun. When I was finally allowed to leave they decided to search my bags. I have this rickety old blue suitcase. Its favourite trick is spontaneously opening itself and spewing all its contents on the ground. I am wise to this by now so I wrapped lots of tape around it. When the woman went to search my bag I asked her not to do as it took me ages to tape it up in the first place. She kindly consented. Likewise the kid searching my hand luggage asked me to turn on my digital camera. I said that I could not as the batteries were flat and that seemed to satisfy him. Security alert or no security alert Bermuda beats to the rhythm of a different drum! I arrived Stateside on Saturday night. As I walked through the airport there were lots of adverts for Georgia Power. Can anyone tell me why utility companies which have a monopoly advertise? For the life of me I can�t figure it out. Maybe I�m supposed to say �They do such a great job that I am going to leave all the lights on when I go to sleep tonight to say thanks�. The mind boggles. I went to visit Tracy Housel in Georgia�s Death Row on Sunday with my friend Cathy. He was in pretty good spirits and I think having a young lady to talk to buoyed him considerably. He even arranged for us to have 2 pictures taken, one of which he gave to us and the other he was going to put up in his cell. After a long drive we arrived in Cathy�s Gainesville home on Sunday night. Monday was spent meandering around town and taking it easy. On Tuesday I went to visit a gentleman called Kris Maharaj who is on death row in Starke (never has there been a more apt name for a town), Florida. Kris� story is well documented elsewhere (or see the link above) but in a nutshell he was framed for a murder which he had nothing to do with, he has never committed a crime in his entire life and has now been on death row for almost 15 years. He is a 62 year old, sick man. It almost broke my heart to see this man led into the interview room in handcuffs and leg shackles (which remained on throughout) to see me. Makes you appreciate the arbitrariness of life and the importance of the carpe diem adage. Despite all that has befallen Kris he was nothing other than a gentleman and I have the utmost respect for him. I have a sore throat at the minute and Kris seemed more concerned about my cough than his own plight, even giving me a packet of lozenges. I was angry leaving the prison it has to be said. Watching Kris being led back to his cell with his feet still manacled led to some soul searching on my part and I was fairly irate for a few hours afterwards. Fortunately however Cathy had the perfect panacea � an evening sitting by her pool with several Guinness, throwing balls for her dog Milo to retrieve. The tempest ceased to rage and the medium term blood pressure prognosis is good. So now you�re up to date. I think that I shall head to New Orleans on Sunday and will scribble an update early next week. Hope that everyone is doing fine and I�ll talk to you all soon. Gary |