Tahiti... (from Jared)

Yesterday, the good skip and crew headed into the fueling dock at the marina at Papeete, Tahiti after a wonderful three days of provisioning, buying air compressor to fill scuba tanks, fixing refrigeration, pearl shopping, and eating some great Chinese food. I have been dying for some good Chinese and when those sesame sticky buns and won-tons hit my lips, I was in culinary heaven and at market price. To get a good deal here on anything is kinda' like finding a diamond ring in a lost and found in a border town. Good luck. Tahiti is the most expensive country we have been to yet. Everything in this country is expensive, but then again the merchants can afford to miss a deal or two, it's a socialistic government, so they are assured their checks from France will be arriving shortly.

So, we were fueling up our near empty diesel tank (generator is a must at night as heat makes Panama feel like a crisp, New England apple-picking day) and out of the blue I hear the Star-Spangled Banner blasting from a sailboat flying french colors fuel ling up next to us with people waving back at me with large smiles on their faces, genuine smiles. I put my hand to my chest and faced their boat for the duration of the greatest song in the world and they watched me the whole while. At the end, I yelled "Merci Beau coup." The smiled and said, "Your welcome!" I had to wonder if it was just a friendly gesture between those who sail the seas or something more. Had their parents been subjected to the horrors and atrocities of the 3rd Reich? Were these a section of the French populace still grateful for the sacrifice our country made to liberate their beloved France? Perhaps, just another group of the multitude of friendly sailors we have met along the way? I don't know. I will never know. What I do know is that as we find ourselves sailing and meeting the most beautiful people from myriad countries, we find ourselves more akin to people than different. The other day, a Polynesian guy about my age with the coolest geometrical tattoos, saw the name of our boat, "Brown-Eyed Girl" and without pause began singing the Van Morrison song. I piped in and the two of us stood there with people looking on as these two, very different looking guys who could communicate only through hand gestures moments before, were now singing a great tune together. He knew the words verbatim and carried the tune very well. One of many cool experiences I have experienced.

Then I heard the news of the "failed car-bombing" (trial run in my opinion of something worse to come) in Times Square. It brought me down. I see far more good as I travel around this beautiful blue and green sphere. I see innocence in the eyes of children playing in the surf and learning to paddle their outrigger canoes. These kids will never grow up to want to take human life. They have food, love, community, safety, and the next wave to catch. But evil in this world is a tangible thing and must be confronted and eliminated. It saddened me to read that my president seemed more interested in Miranda Vs. Arizona than making sure my relatives back home would be safe from a future attack. I don't mean to politicize this blog but what I write here is what I see, feel, and hear as I make this wonderful journey. As I am very far removed from my relatives and other loved ones, I find these things affect me more. What saddens me is how little talk there is of this latest incident among those I find myself sailing with. It's like they don't care, it's no big deal, or they accept it. My family had a relative murdered on 9/11. Raymond Metz, III was a great guy. His memory, and the memory of 3,000 others deserves a little more attention to the matter than review of Miranda Vs. Arizona. I hope our President has the strength to see this through, to prevent another Fort Hood under his watch or the planned upcoming attack on Times Square.

It will be a great day when I can safely sail the Suez or along the banks of the Euphrates, and meet Middle-Easterners of all ages from all different countries, whose major concern is finding the next big wave or catching a fish slightly bigger than that of their buddies.

Te amo, Merce

"Brown-Eyed Girl"... out