G'day Joe:
Beaut piece, mate!
As your emigration dreams become more focused, I urge you to consider life in the Down Under. I migrated here from a Californicated Oregon about ten years ago, and if one avoids the big cities, regional Australia is the "America" I grew up in the fifties. No freeways, traffic lights or air pollution. No Wal-Marts (yet). Miles of beautiful empty beaches. Great grass! People still wave on the backroads when passing in their cars.
It's not by any means perfect here, but it's a damned site more humane than amywhere in Bush's America.
Meanwhile, I hope you keep writing your essays and observations. It's a very sad thing to watch the Titanic sinking -- even from 10,000 miles away -- but your reports from the deck are fascinating.
Richard
Chatsworth Island, Australia
PS: No thrushes singing here, but bell birds, kookaburras, kurawongs, and a chorus of other natural sounds are a symphony at night.
