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A couple of decades ago, my wife Susan and I worked as entertainers on cruise ships.  Often the entertainers sat together at mealtimes.  A common observation was that the job of being a comedian was the most difficult of all the entertainers.  Having to be funny for ten or fifteen minutes before a group of elderly strangers (as well as having to avoid any jokes that might be interpreted as obscene, irreligious, or politically incorrect) was difficult indeed...

I’ll never forget a conversation that occurred in Norway some years ago as Susan and I met retired hospital architect, Knut Bergsland, to tour his hospital in Trondheim, Norway.  Knut  said, “Welcome to Norway.  You should know that as long as you are in Norway, if you have any medical problem, you can go straight to the hospital, where you will be treated without charge.  We don’t care if you’re Norwegian or a foreigner, with or without a visa, all will receive treatments free of charge.” 

This blog will describe Southern Chile: Puerto Montt, two impressive glaciers, Punta Arenas, and our transit around Cape Horn, the southernmost part of Tierra Del Fuego, South America.

Chinese opera is a long-established unique Chinese cultural expression.  The stage and costumes are over-the-top.  The music is stunning...for non-Chinese an acquired taste.  

Pandas are China's cultural symbol of its diplomatic efforts to promote peace through cultural exchanges.  The US has hosted pandas on loan for many years, as well as pandas loaned to other countries.  They are so cute.  But we must remember that they are a species of bear.  They are not aggressive.  But they can be dangerous under certain circumstances.

I try not to think too much about the fact that I’ve reached that lofty milestone in age of having attended my fifty-year high school reunion. I graduated from Columbus High School in Columbus, Georgia, in 1966. My graduating class had around four hundred seventy. . .

As we traveled across the Denali Highway, the 105 mile dirt road through this incredible wilderness, with higher elevation came fresh snow.