Thanks...

[garvik@groupenet.com (Oddmund Garvik)]

...to all of you sending me your compliments. It is nice to be back, and it
would be nice to give you some entertainment as well. But I am afraid I am
not in the mood. It is too hot here in Chinon, and I am decompressing after
the field work. Roger's continuous, obsessional references to my "political
agenda" don't bother me. After all he likes wine, and cannot be THAT bad!
He is even welcome to have a glass one day, if he wants...

Wine is wine. Politics is politics. Photography is photography. (Leica is
Leica, of course). What is nice with this forum is the richness and range
of topics. I like this diversity, even if I keep only a few messages. Some
flame wars every now and then don't make any harm. It would be rather dull
without them. We are all human beings with different backgrounds, cultures,
and languages, but here in the LUG we are equal. If this is a new aspect of
ur-kommunismus, it is a pity that so few may participate...
Computers,E-mail, Internet, Space Flights, and other Hi-tech still excludes
over 90% of the humanity. I know that we cannot change anything here in the
LUG. But mentioning such matters from time to time is not a crime, is it? 

Tonight I went to a mess in one of the churches here. I just sat down
resting my eyes, listening to the monks singing. I didn't bother about the
words, or the message. I just let their voices flood into me. Their songs
belonged to another age. The time when Chinon was Kaino, and the Count of
Anjou built the church. The Count later became Henri II Plantagenet, King
of England, but still continued living in Kaino most of the time. His son,
Richard Lionheart, grew up, and also prayed in the church. They both died
here, and are buried together in a monastery not far away.

I didn't pray. I thought about Columbus, Santa Maria, and the destruction
of America. I should like to go back to the West Indies. I should like to
understand the spirit of the remaining Caribeans, which is probably a very
complex and difficult matter. I know there are a few left on Dominica, and
at some small islands closer to the continent. Did any of you ever go there
with about the same intentions? 

I always had a great respect for peoples and civilizations just passing
over the earth, not being possessed by the delirium of grandeur and
conquest. There are still some of them left, but I am not sure if it is a
good idea to disturb them. It is probably better to support them otherwise,
or just defend their right to exist. I consider these civilizations as one
of the most exemplary heritage in human history. But that is another story. 

Oddmund