"Travel Itinerary" Moss Beach by 7ContinentsOrBust

Is For Good Men To Do Nothing
By Chris Verrill

3/20/03
12:18 am
Moss Beach, California, USA
After seeing The Producers at the Orpheum Theatre in San Francisco, Sammmyjujubunnykins drove me back to Shake's house here in Moss Beach. Sam is in her mid 20's and has a contagious spunky attitude. We met about ten years ago when she--was it really ten years ago? Wow. Doesn't seem that long ago. She assistant directed the play I was in. The play, Dead Man's Hand, was very poorly written, unevenly acted, and paced too slow, but I met Sam so I'll chalk it up as a good experience. She's now asleep on the sofa and Shake and Goldi and I are watching war news on CNN. It appears W started his war against Iraq a few hours ago. While we watched The Producers and sang Springtime for Hitler, W started dropping bombs. I guess it's springtime for Saddam, too.

I still hope to go to the Middle East as part of my trip. My flight to Kuwait is booked for a month from now. We'll see how this conflict progresses. My flight for DC leaves San Francisco tomorrow morning, in just six hours from now. It's a little nerve-wracking flying on the first day of this conflict. But life must go on. We can't let terrorists disrupt our lives. So, fly I will.

The hilarious The Producers had me laughing throughout. Extremely funny. I highly recommend it to anyone. I walked out of the theatre uplifted and happy, Sam and I humming music from the show as we walked to the car. Then sobered up quick upon hearing the NPR news when the car radio automatically came on. Thirteen of us went to dinner and saw The Producers tonight: Shake, Heidi, Sammyjujubunnykins, me and many more. On the sidewalk on Market Street in front of the theatre in downtown San Francisco I said goodbye to all these friends. A couple may meet me in during the course of my travels. Sammykins will take me to the airport in the morning.

I also said goodbye to Heidi tonight. That hurt. That was the hardest. She gave me 191 rupees to spend when I get to India. Is that a lot? I don't know. I'm glad The Producers kept me in good spirits. It distracted me from the fact that I had to say goodbye to her. I hugged her goodbye in the cool downtown San Francisco evening. She said a bunch of stuff to me. But I don't remember what she said. I just couldn't believe I wasn't going to see her again. Not for a long time.

We're still watching CNN and it appears the full thrust of the war hasn't actually started. It looks like W took a stab at going after Saddam. I have to say for the record this war is a bad idea. I don't think we have the moral authority to oust Saddam Hussein. Yes, he's an evil tyrant. Yes, he should go. But the only way we get the moral authority to topple him is if the world wants us to. Only the UN can sanction such action. As I consider this issue, I keep thinking about the people of the former Warsaw Pact who would have loved us rescue them from evil dictators for 50 years of the cold war. If I were the Cameroon ambassador at the UN, I would vote in favor of overthrowing Saddam. Twenty two million Iraqis deserve freedom. The cold war is over and world should unite to liberate them. But until the world unites, the US should not act without UN blessing.

How's that for a dose of politics? My guess is, given where I intend to travel and my self-imposed mission of learning about how the world perceives America since September 11, there will be a lot more where that came from.

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Is For Good Men To Do Nothing
By Chris Verrill

3/20/03
12:18 am
Moss Beach, California, USA
My travel itinerary is such that I'll have ample opportunity to learn what the rest of the world thinks about our little brouhaha in Iraq. Not filtered through the news media, but first hand. I'll start by spending a couple of weeks in on the East Coast followed by another East, this time Africa, where I'll take a couple weeks to see Kenya, Tanzania and Ethiopia. Then I'll head over to my third East, this time Middle, and take in Kuwait, Egypt, Jordan, Israel, Syria and Lebanon. Am I really going to all these places while there's a war on? While SARS is scaring everyone?

Then, I'll fly to Pakistan and Afghanistan to work on my Rotary club's September 11 inspired international service project. Finally, I'll get the full impact of living overseas--not just playing tourist--by settling in India.

How's that for a plan?

Yesterday at my Rotary club meeting in Pacifica, the last time I'll attend in person for a very long time, I briefly brought the club up to speed on the international service project in Pakistan and Afghanistan. In June and July I'll be in Jalalabad and Peshawar. I'll be talking with non-government organizations, NGOs--what the rest of the world calls non-profits--and working with some of them as well as the Pakistani Rotarians to provide vocational education to Afghans and Pakistanis. We'll teach them, primarily women, the skills needed to rebuild their country and make a living themselves.

To think, all this came about because of how I reacted, and how our entire club reacted, to September 11. Together with my fellow Rotarians, fiddling with but not really eating our breakfasts at the restaurant at the Sharp Park Golf Course in Pacifica that solemn morning, watching the twin towers fall on TV. Right in front of our eyes.

Since that horrible morning a year and a half ago, I have meet with leaders of the Afghan community across the bay, exchanged emails with NGOs in Peshawar, and communicated with Rotarians in Northern Pakistan.

The leaders of the Bay Area Afghan community told me not to send food. Don't send blankets. All those things are worthwhile and bless the people who do them. But what people in Afghanistan need is education. Not literacy education either. Vocational education. Vocational education will help Afghans not only earn a living, but help rebuild their war ravaged country. As important as literacy education is, they told me that's not what we need now. They need practical skills. Teach Afghans how to rebuild roads, sew clothes, construct irrigation systems. Thus the Afghan leaders gave Rotarians focus. Gave me focus.

I don't know if this project will ever come to fruition. Heck, I really don't know. But I am optimistic. I'm optimistic I can make a difference, if even a small one. I'm optimistic the Rotary Club of Pacifica will make a difference with people in a country far away. Some might argue I should spend my time working to help people at home. Why not provide scholarships to Pacifica high school students? My answer is simple. I define the world as my home. All right, so Pacifica is really home. But the world is my extended home. Doing good deeds in Pacifica is my first priority. Doing good deeds in Pacifica will always be my first priority. But it shouldn't be at the expense of not helping people in other parts of the world. I think it is important we all leave this planet a little better than we found it. The Running Water Campground Theory. We don't have to solve all the world's problems. Just make the world a little better than when we got here.

Besides, what we do in Pakistan affects our lives in Pacifica. Anyone who doesn't understand that slept through that fateful morning.

• Pros:Just down the coast from Pacifica
• Cons:There aren't any.
• In a nutshell:Shake and Goldi live here.