Returning home, wherever that may be

I am back in Frankfurt, chez mon Frere. I am tired, slightly smelly from all the traveling over the last 48 hrs, and glad to have had the family time, but also glad it is behind me for now. It was great to also see friends, climb a few mountains, and drink a few Weissbier. While I cannot see myself settling in Germany, I am forever connected to the Bavarian soil. Ich bin in der Welt Zuhause, aber in Bayern da Heim.

In a few days I make a quiet return to the US of A. It will be refreshing to see Obama's mug greeting me, rather than G. W.'s, which is the face that has represented the US since 2001. Let's see what this trip brings...

I certainly hope it is the last international move for a long while. Time to make something happen.

Open letter to President Obama

Your Excellency,

Though it is a few hours yet 'till your confirmation as the 44th President of the United States of America, allow me to congratulate you on your assuming of the Oval office. No matter what one holds as a personal opinion, this is a historical moment for our country. You have overcome great odds to achieve the highest political office of the land, and Americans have, on one level, overcome a history of profound racism to place you in that office.

I will be the first to admit that I am often cynical when it comes to the political process, to the realities at work in any political system based on a few people making decisions for the rest of us. But on this day I will not get on that soap box. I will instead just take the next few lines to call on you not to forget all the hope your campaign rode in on. And to remember:

REMEMBER the 50+ millions of Americans living without health insurance,

REMEMBER the other millions of Americans whose health insurance is more interested in profit than well being,

REMEMBER the level of greed displayed by our business community that provoked this massive, global, economic crisis,

REMEMBER all the Earthlings who now must stand in bread lines with no idea where the next paycheck is coming from or whether they will still have a roof over their heads at the end of the month,

REMEMBER all the Earthlings who are spending this cold winter with no roof over their heads and no food in their stomach,

REMEMBER all the Earthlings illegally imprisoned in Guantanamo Bay,

REMEMBER your own promise to seek some justice for these same Earthlings,

REMEMBER your promise to close down that place,

REMEMBER all the Earthlings who lost their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan,

REMEMBER your own promises towards those parts of the world,

REMEMBER all the people who lost their lives in the Levant these last days,

REMEMBER they are all Earthlings and entitled to a dignity long denied them, irrespective of ideology,

REMEMBER that you are a public servant, and for the next 4 - 8 years, you work not for your own interests or enrichment, but for the people of the United States,

REMEMBER that you asked for this responsability and it remains yours until the end of your mandate, and even when things get tough, the buck stops with you,

REMEMBER all this, and

REMEMBER to be honest at all times.

Yours, in hope and friendship,

David A. Brown

Earthling