Citizen 1,235,824

Okay, I was pretty bleak last night about the prospects of leaving here. I still wish I could stay, somehow, but the goal is to be back over here again in four months or so. And then again next November. My Thanksgivings will likely be spent over here for years to come, until I can figure out how to move over here with the family. But, I am looking forward to getting back to Charlottesville. The site is moribund, and I've not posted anything since last week. The Wake-Up Call file from Sunday is sitting on a hard drive at WNRN, waiting for me to go and get it. I took the instructions with me, which wasn't good. My apologies to the producers, and to Rick Moore on that. Charlottesville is home. I've lived there longer then I've lived anywhere else in my adult life. More than four years, now! Four very full years, with a lot of turmoil and drama, but a lot of happiness, too. And, a lot of possibility. And, I'm ready to take it all to the next step. I can't wait to

So, Jim is watching an episode of the Ghost Whisperer on Sky +, and it has to be the one in which there's a major plane crash. It's freaking me out. But, I can type while sitting on this couch. I'm not comfortable sitting on the bunk bed I sleep on when I'm here at Dunstable. I hope all goes well tomorrow. My flight leaves at 5:00 PM London time tomorrow. I've got a long day ahead of me. I'm hoping to be at the Luton train station by 10:30, to catch the train into London. I'm then getting the Underground to a stop to meet with someone from the UK Podcaster's Association. There may be an interview in the future. After lunch, I'm then hoping to be at Heathrow for 3:00. The Underground trip to Heathrow usually takes an hour or so. The Heathrow Underground stop is back in operation. The trip is over. I've not written anything about it since Saturday. Not even to myself. So much to say. Too late now. I hope I can recall the details once I get back, bu

Sit down with me for a second while I have several cups of tea? Today's warning of gale force winds did not come about, and so the day ended up quite lovely, with the sun shining on Hertfordshire. Of course, Henry is at his cousin's play. Matthew is sixteen and six-foot-six, but he's still playing a Munchkin in a presentation of the Wizard of Oz in Pendley. Henry's aunt came to pick him up. We had eight hours of pure fun today, though. Henry wakes up early, and so at 5:30 this morning he came to collect me from the sofa. And we began to play. In the past, this might have left me exhausted, but the best thing about being news director at WNRN is that I'm now ready to go after being awake for just a few minutes. I can shake off exhaustion pretty easily. So, we began to play, but not until he had his breakfast. Today, that consisted of "grown-up cereal", a cup of milk, and some toast with marmite. Unfortunately, I ended up eating most of the toast. So far tod

Sit down with me for a second while I have several cups of tea? Today's warning of gale force winds did not come about, and so the day ended up quite lovely, with the sun shining on Hertfordshire. Of course, Henry is at his cousin's play. Matthew is sixteen and six-foot-six, but he's still playing a Munchkin in a presentation of the Wizard of Oz in Pendley. Henry's aunt came to pick him up. We had eight hours of pure fun today, though. Henry wakes up early, and so at 5:30 this morning he came to collect me from the sofa. And we began to play. In the past, this might have left me exhausted, but the best thing about being news director at WNRN is that I'm now ready to go after being awake for just a few minutes. I can shake off exhaustion pretty easily. So, we began to play, but not until he had his breakfast. Today, that consisted of "grown-up cereal", a cup of milk, and some toast with marmite. Unfortunately, I ended up eating most of the toast. So far tod

The English will do just about anything in a cold, driving rain. The High Street in Tring was closed to traffic this evening for the Christmas Festival. That is when the lights are turned on, and a carnival breaks out. Henry and I left Pippa's flat at precisely 6:30, when the Festival was to begin. At the time, it wasn't raining, so I decided against taking the umbrella. I also did not put socks on Henry's hands as Pippa had requested, though I did put him in two pairs of socks as well as a wooly hat to go under his jacket's hoodie. All day, Henry was incredibly excited. “I'm so excited,” he shook, as we passed by the library parking lot, where they were setting up the roundabouts and a carousel. He was so giddy, and all day he's been asking when he would get to go to the fair. I even used not-going as a threat when he refused to pick up his toys at about 4:30. Even now as I sit down to write this, I can hear the sounds of the festival. You usually can't hea

So, I'm watching television in the Peterson's apartment. At the moment, I'm watching Al Jazeera in English. It's really good, at the moment. To be honest, I don't watch much television news, but I think because the news channels in the U.S. seem to treat international news like it is something that happens in 80 second increments. In fact, I just watched a segment on Fox News (it's over here, too, as is CBS News and CNBC and likely others) that was actually called "Around the World in 80 Seconds" and all of the news focused on light, fluffy pieces. New Dehli TV, on the other hand, covered today's bombing in Sadr City with a graphic quality CNN isn't going to touch. Bodies being pulled from scorched minivans. What aren't we watching? What aren't we getting? Now, I've got the Chinese channel on, in English, but I'm not really watching. As a journalist, I'm feeling much better about the trade, because everything I've watche

“You can get on, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to get you up the Downs,” said the bus driver as I tried to purchase a single ticket on the 62 to Dunstable, where my aunt and uncle live. “There's been a serious road accident and the police aren't letting anyone through.” I got on anyway. I had been waiting for the bus for 15 minutes. A taxi driver stopped and asked if I wanted to take a taxi. It would have cost twenty pounds for the ride. I told him I'd wait for the bus, but to check back in 30 minutes or so, just in case. There were about a half-dozen teenage girls loitering about in the bus shelter, across from the Rose and Crown. The words coming out of their mouths would have made a sailor's mother invest in a soap factory. An older woman was waiting for another bus, which was also late, the 500 to Watford. Thankfully, the bus arrived, and I got on, taking much too long to pay because I couldn't find enough change to pay the 2.70 for the ride. There we

For the next week, I'm in England on a trip to see my son. I'm hoping to blog about the experience. Now I am off the plane. I've made my way through customs and baggage claim, along the Heathrow Express train, and am now sitting just outside the Underground station at a net cafe. Sweating very much indeed. It's not that it's hot. It's just that I've lugged my luggage all across Heathrow. Now I am trying to learn this keyboard. I am going to have a cup of tea and sit here for the next hour or so, trying to kill time. And I'll write a bit, too, maybe. I'm incredibly sweaty. It's a mixture of cold and hot. Someone wants me to be lukewarm, which is an appropriate way to think about it. The plane was full. I sat in between people, which makes it hard to sleep. On my right was a very nice man who I chatted with for quite a while. I can't remember the details, but a lot of it had to do with with aging. On my left was a college girl who I didn't