Greetings.

Your intrepid explorer has arrived at the crossroads of civilization; the heart of the Empire, where once the sun never set, but today it sets at around 2130.

London.  City of my imagination, brought into reality by this plane ticket, opened up by the use of this really cool looking money.

Those that know me, my good friends and comrades from days and wars gone by, know that I present a jaded facade to the world; but that false face crumbles when presented by the world made real.

My first vocal expression upon seeing this city for the first time from the air:  "Wow."

Even from high above, the dichotomy is evident, and almost heartwarming to know that the old can exist within, beside, and despite the desire for the new.  The streets keep their cramped quaint quality, while housing KFC and Burger King.  The Tower looms high over the river, and yet not far from there is the Eye, that strange and popular version of Ferris' Wheel.

If you'll indulge my giddiness, and my occasional lapse into the small-town boy I've been and hope to be again, I'll randomize some thoughts....

I haven't seen anything yet of the city; that comes tomorrow, of course.  But the hotel is charming and small; my room is, in fact, a hallway with a closet, a WC, and a bed.  Thank God for Wifi, because my Blackberry has NOT lived up to it's promises.

I stood in line with a couple of men, waiting to board the plane in Minneapolis, and they were returning to this country....I was allowing the ladies to step ahead of me in line, and all of a sudden, I was doing ten minutes of Music Hall banter with these two Goons.  We got laughs.  I was tired.  And they were clearly better at it than I was, but I held my own for a good three minutes before they took off the kid gloves.  I really enjoyed that.

The flight was, by any standard used to measure, abysmal.  A note to Delta:  you take an awful lot of my money...you charge me for bags, your markup for drinks is obscene, and you regularly overbook flights....could you perhaps take a few seats out and give some leg room to a fella?

Got a chance to watch some things on a little television in the seat in front of me.  I watched a couple of episodes of Nurse Jackie, starring Edie Falco.  I have a long standing crush on Edie Falco.  Long standing.  So, it more than makes up for the fact that the writing is okay, but take away the gratuitous cursing and the equally gratuitous sex, and it's another very special episode of ER.  But I'll need to watch more.  Y'know...for Edie.

Watched The Green Hornet.  I've been a fan of the Green Hornet since I was a kid.  The Green Hornet was created at WXYZ (I believe) in Detroit.  I resented the fact that they turned Britt Reed into a well-meaning idiot.  I liked the fact that Kato was more than a 'houseboy'.  I thought the villain was cleverly created.  But I really want to punch Seth Rogen in the nads.

Turned some dollars into pounds at the bank; I compared it to Las Vegas....I give you money, and as a reward, you give me less money in return...which is pretty much the story of my life in Vegas.  But it's pretty money.  And the coins make a very satisfying jingle jangle in me pocket.

The idea of seeing my old friend has gone by the wayside, sad to say.  After our initial connection, I reached out and did not receive a reply.  He's busy, being a composer of a hit show.  Still.

I'll go see his show, anyway.

I am here, by the way, with my two Brothers and my Father, and the various Sisters-In-Law and the Niece and the Nephew will arrive on Sunday.  I'm still on track for the Globe, the Tower, the Holmes Museum....and anything else I can get from the Red Bus Tour.

The summer rain is lovely and cold.

Monday morning is a train ride to Cornwall, where we'll go to Truro and rent a car.  In the event I have to drive, please somebody tell my wife that I love her......

More as it happens.....