In the week or so I have been in S. Turkey I have reconnected with three of my canine friends from summer, been treated to lunch by the security guys, learned how to light a coal stove, got to watch a women's professional basketball game (Go Ceyhan!), and learned I can go for at least a week without a shower (provided I wear a hat). The sun finally returned, gloriously, after several God-awful days socked in with freezing temperatures and serious rain. You couldn't even see past the end of the dock. The world disappeared into the thick gray clouds.

Currently staying at the home of friends and half-way through my second Kinky Friedman novel. My friend, The Coach, reads to maintain his English. Yet even his strong skills were no match for "The Kinkster". He passed them on to me, saying he didn't "get" him. Waiting on another friend to return from Syria in a few more days before we head to Ankara.

Sad to leave Syria behind, but happy to not have to worry about running afoul of The Man there again. Many blessings and good karma to Mehmet and Suleyman for holding that bus and the other passengers for not lynching me. And I had the pleasure of having my Turkish visa issued by a very sweet and handsome Turkish border official with a big smile and salt-and-pepper hair. Sort of looked like Jorge Ramos from Noticias Univision, actually, and that is never a bad thing.