It was a lovely break, beautiful weather, a town full of hairy bearded men ... and I came down with a bout of bronchitis. It always happens when I take a break from a long period of intense work: I get sick. My lungs are pretty useless and in this heat and with mold spores and pollen everywhere and my asthma kicking in ... it was inevitable. Still, I did get some time to hang with a couple of great friends and managed a bike ride and a trip to the beach (all of which I probably shouldn't have done). My little garden - which was an overgrown jungle a month ago is slowly yielding to my labors. No one taught me the simple therapeutic joys of gardening. There's no going back now.
A mountain of thanks to David Frum and Dave Weigel who revealed why they are such stars of the Internet. I was amused at the blowback they got from even agreeing to blog in this space. Apparently, my views on Israel make me anathema to many (it seems no one can just disagree, they have to ostracize), and my determination to get some basic information from a public figure about a highly contentious episode in her life also renders me beyond the pale for many. I'll deal with Dave's Trig stuff tomorrow.
But for now, more thanks to Chris and Patrick who are the backbone of this site. As for me, it's great to be back, even though the lungs are still wheezing and the bears have all disappeared into that great, pudgy hairy expanse called America. But the beat goes on ...
See you tomorrow morning.