Walking freely

Last night with friends in Temecula, California, USA.
Why was that a most enjoyable evening?
First dinner together.
Delicious vegetarian food, no alcohol and good conversation.
No competition but gently siding opinions and sharing conclusions.
Next, there is the tradition to play a game.
A game that each person takes 16 tokens on which is a number.
The trick is to put on the table a series of numbers and the first person to get rid of all the tokens is the winner.
It is a game that depends partly on luck: what tokens do the player grab out of the bucket?
What numbers do the other players put on the table to combine with?
And partly on being concentrated and making intelligent combinations and decisions.

It was noticed last night that in fact two games were going on.
One to try to be the first to get rid of all the tokens.
A not so interesting part of the game actually.
But the other dimension was the comments each person was making inspired by how the game was going.
That was often pretty hilarious and in fact the best part of the game.
To be with good friends and to laugh.
That is a highlight in life.
Celebrating joy, happiness and total absence of problems and conflicts.
A stairway to heaven.
Republican contender for the Presidency of the USA John McCain has the same kind of talent to inspire a good laugh.
Recently he was visiting the country where a war has been lost and was strolling through a Baghdad marketplace wearing a bullet proof vest, accompanied by more than 100 soldiers in armoured Humvees while attack helicopters flew overhead and next he declared to the international press that his experience proved there are parts of Baghdad where you can walk freely.


Within 150 miles the scene changed.
Travelling from happy Temecula to Riverside.
Back into one of the most heavily polluted areas of the world.
To Santek Trailers who have build the Fuso Santek.
After two months in Mexico the friends of Santek Trailers were met again.
Paul Westphal, the owner and manager of Santek Trailers.
Roberto Millan, the chief engineer, Gail Harris of internal and external contacts and all the Mexican friends working hard on the many trailers being build at Santek.
How good it was to see them again.

It took not much time with Roberto Millan to go over the different issues having come to the surface while testing the Fuso Santek in extreme circumstances in Mexico over the last 2 months.
During the next three weeks, while travelling in Europe, Santek Trailers will work on the expedition vehicle and improve and sophisticate the RV.

This night is again on the premises of Santek Trailers before tomorrow morning a shuttle bus provides transportation to a hotel near Los Angeles International Airport.
A last night therefore in the Fuso Santek.


While again the desperate dogs are barking for their lives in the adjoining animal shelter.
Something impossible to get used to.
More so because of the inability to be a spectator as Osho, Gurdjieff and William Paff have been insisting to be, of the current developments.
Having to leave the Fuso Santek behind for three weeks and going to travel to Mexico again, the Netherlands, Poland, France and Spain.
This is confusing.
How many pair of socks to take along?