It was a simple little thing. It may have taken 10 minutes to write, but I doubt it. I didn't even keep a personal copy. It just seemed that my friend could use a bit of encouragement. The response was interesting.

"I am just not used to people being nice to me."

I thought, "How sad, that someone would not be accoustomed to people being nice." Pretty quickly, and in the usual fashion, I responded to myself.

"E., it's not as uncommon as you immediately conclude. Take a moment to re-think your statement."

Once again, I hate when I do that.

It's true, unfortunately. We seem, as a rule, to have forgotten the art of kindness. It seems odd to me, as I have observed that kindness is generally easier than the alternatives, more rewarding, and costs almost nothing. And yet, in spite of what would appear to be simple logic to the contrary, people are at best indifferent to those around them, or at worst, deliberately cruel.

You may acuse me of being naive in the extreme. I should advise you that you would not be the first. I, too, have the capacity to press onward in the foce of logic to the contrary, my vocation being a fine example. I have had to cultivate kindness over the years, but it is no more difficult than any other habit. One must simply make the conscious decision to do something kind, every day, and make sure there is some method of reminding yourself to do so, even when you aren't in the mood.

If you are at all considering kindness as a lifestyle, you will also, eventually, want to consider a specialization. There are some, for example, who specialize in "Lofty Generosity". They donate time, effort, and finances to causes that advance the greater good. Through their activities, they have assisted in curing disease, feeding entire populations, and sustaining endangered species, all without doing any harm to anyone.

I have written very little in the way of original work in the past two weeks.

Not that I haven't done quite a bit of writing. I have been very active in keeping various people informed on my location and activities, making observations and recommendations on various aspects of my business, and generally letting a number of people know that I am not, in spite of enthusiastic efforts by a number of people, dead.

In addition, I have been giving critiquement and advice to a number of aspiring writers and poets. I have a great deal of fondness for new writers, and I enjoy helping them get started, although I am careful to point out that one's own vision of what a poem or story should be should always supercede advice, especially the advice of an anonymous stranger.

However, the biggest reason that I haven't generated much on my own lately is that I am just tired. I haven't taken a day off since the "101 days" entry, and it seems unlikely that I will any time soon. The work that I do is far from mindless, but it requires a different sort of creativity than writing. I don't believe that I have lost my edge yet, but I have people watching me, just in case I start to slip.

I would dearly like to write about something besides the Occupation. Lately, when I do actually have dreams, they are about ordinary life events. One night, I dreamed of rain. There was nothing spectacular or dangerous about the rain. It was perfectly ordinary rain, as one might seen in any number of places throughout the world, other than the Antarctic. More recently, I dreamed that I was at a resteraunt, of no particular orientation. I told a child sitting near me that, if he would take a few more bites of some food, about which he was being obstinate in defiance of his mother's pleading, I would do some silly thing. I believe it involved putting pickles in my nostrils and dancing around the table, an activity that I can assure you is not outside of my limited level of dignity.

Where was I?

Antarctica, with pickels in your nostrils.

Yes, I remember now! Thank you. I say all of that in order to illustrate this: I am still alive, I am staying very busy, and I will write something coherent as soon as possible. And when I do, I will be as amazed, if not more so, than any of you out there.

The significance of this is not lost on me. The idea that there are people of faith, who take the idea seriously, requesting that the Almighty take action on my behalf to preserve my life and health is, to say the least, humbling. As one who shares that faith, it is not a thing I treat in a casual manner. If you are not a person of faith, it would be akin to asking the United Nations to pass a resolution to protect you, except France, Germany, and Russia would agree.

And so I find myself asking questions about this chorus of prayer that rises on my behalf. I can't deny that I am, indeed, both safe and healthy. It is true that this could have been the case regardless of the requests being made, but my current environment does not assist the odds of that being the case. Travel of any sort is a dicey proposal as of late, and my own travel, and the business I conduct while traveling, make it more so. My faith, besides being the canvas upon which my perception of the universe is painted, serves also as a comfort to myself, my loved ones, and those in my immediate company. It provides me with a serenity in times of adversity, and even danger, that, if nothing else, gives other people one less thing to worry about.

Will I share my faith with you? If you like. Will I demand you agree? Frankly, I won't even ask that you grant that I am sane. I am convinced that the Answer I have found is faithful and true, and equally convinced that you must do the same. I do not condone any answer but my own, any more than a teacher of mathematics would accept a different value for pi, but in the same fashion, I will ask that you prove it yourself.

So, what do I pray about? Some might call it presumptuous to ask, but I am willing to share. When I go to bed at night, I pray in this manner.

"God, thank You for today, and that I was neither killed, wounded, nor captured, and that I did not fail in my work. Thank You for protecting my family, and for keeping them together and at peace in my absence. I ask You, as far as it coincides with Your wisdom and Your plan, to keep them again tomorrow, and show them Your Personal interest in their well-being in some form that they will recognize, in order to build their faith and trust in you. Please, God, be merciful to both Angelina and Jennifer, who are each expecting a baby soon, and grant that their new families would be strong in these difficult times.

"As for myself, I ask nothing other than what you granted me today; that you keep me from harm, illness, and capture, and that you grant me strength and wisdom, so that I may be strong enough, and smart enough, to save the world again tomorrow."