SNAKE DINNER, VIETNAMESE STYLE

Back packing around the world isn't for sissies as Bob Gambol can tell you. He had so many interesting experiences he is rich in memories, some of which I will share with you. He wanted to travel in Viet Nam to close that chapter of his life. Here he describes a memorable meal he had in 1995.
“In Viet Nam, prostitutes take cabs back and forth across the border but they have to have 4 people in a cab. So I got a ride with three gals right up to the border village at the Port of Entry. The U.S. Consulate is situated across the land border. I was told I had to leave and enter at the same place. So I stayed in the village and walked to a jungle compound and got a room in a cement block building with a cot. These guys were sitting under a tree and it was hot and humid and I had a beer with them. I asked, what’s for supper? They got a kid to come over. He ran into the jungle with a knife and came back with a big old snake. He went into the kitchen and skinned that thing, filleted it and we ate it with vegetables and rice. It was a great meal." Bob can be reached at bobgambol@yahoo.com

LUNCH AT GARDEN CAFE, FINAL DENTAL WORK

Today we made our final trip into Mexico to
take care of my dental work. YAY!!! Yesterday we had lunch at the Garden Cafe with Bob Gambol and his companion Hilda. Both are ex-marines. Bob back packed the world at age 55 and visited 168 different countries over a period of six years. Hilda, just got off one segment of the Appalachian Trail. She intends to hike the whole thing-its over 2,000 miles. She is in her 70's. What an interesting pair they are. And here in Yuma, you find that residual taste of the Old West, the modern and the decidedly different. I'm learning that people who choose alternative lifestyles, are interesting, cantankerous and contrary. More about Bob to follow as I am currently working on his manuscript. I have another victim on line as well. And, this photo of an old clock fits the craziness of the old west. It hung across the room from the bar. When the drinkers looked in the mirror, they could tell the time because the numbers, as you can see, are printed backwards. Some drinking somebody thought that one up I suspect.
Until manana.

PUBLIC SERVICE MESSAGE ABOUT FIRE ALARMS

I have a friend, Richard Patton, who is a veritable crusader against the current fire alarms installed in most homes. He crusades against them because they are ineffective. He worked in the industry for years and knows of what he speaks. To condense the danger I'm repeating information from this website: www.hbsslaw.com/smokedetectors . Another is www.smokealarmdisclosure.org
Early warning is the key to surviving smoldering fires, the deadliest kind of home fire. Ionization technology to sense the presence of smoke is slow to warn, if it warns at all, especially smoldering fires which typically happen while occupants are sleeping. Most smoke detectors work on the principle of ionization. Smoke particles enter the chamber and the alarm triggers. Burning toast for instance, generates a lot of small particles and sounds the alarm. But smoke particles from a burning couch, for instance, are large and fewer in number and don't set off your alarm. Having a detector that doesn't work efficiently lulls you into a false sense of safety. And, in fact, many lives are lost each year because the industry continue to sell devices that don't do the job they were intended to do.
I'm an activist and that is a part of my personality, so message delivered.
On the personal front, Jim and I enjoyed a bike ride and picking fresh organic oranges. I also completed an interview with Bob Gambol who backpacked to 128 countries and one Sultanate in six years, in his fifties. He visited communist countries and places where tourists didn't and couldn't go. He avoided the usual European destinations. An amazing feat.