mmm...good

**** News flash from Kampala - Gloria Baker Feinstein ate a fried grasshopper yesterday. Yes, it's true, but don't you think for a minute that grasshoppers are now going to replace her favorite snack which is edamame, but she didn't choke on it and she didn't throw up and, in fact, she rather liked it!

I'm still alive and well, in spite of the grasshopper incident, and am winding down my stay in Uganda. I'll be sad to go, but am looking forward to getting reacquainted with my tempurpedic bed and the man with whom I share it - as well as my children, the rest of my family and many friends.

The cryptic calls concerning the laptop continue to come in. Thatcher received three yesterday from a man called Charles. Each time they were disconnected, but Charles did manage to say that he lived far from Kampala (?!) and might be able to deal with this on Wednesday. Of course, Thatcher left this morning, and I leave at midnight tonight, so I'm concerned that "Charles" may not call back in time for me to actually speak with him. If that's the case, I'm going to take out another ad in the paper and direct whoever may have any information for me to the folks at the hotel and ask the manager to deal with the reward, shipping the computer back to me, etc. That is, IF things unfold the way I'd like them to.

We had a great dinner last night at the Blue Mango and made a quick visit to the casino. Thatcher and I stayed for about an hour. Lady luck was definitely on my side, as I won $140! (Eddie, you wouldn't have believed it - #14 came up 3 out of 5 times at one point!!!) It was fun... and very interesting to see that side of Kampala life. Most of the gamblers who were there were Indian men. Apparently, the Indians help comprise the wealthier element of the population. They were expelled by Idi Amin in the early 70's (after having settled here generations ago) but were invited by the current president - Museveni - to return and reclaim their property. They have done well, own a lot of the hotels, other businesses, etc. The picture of Kampala residents I saw last night was, obviously, quite different from what I have seen thus far.


More on the mystery that has now been dubbed "did Charles call back yet?" later...