Friday, 5/10/13, the first day of lock down:  The Pakistan elections are tomorrow so we were to be in our houses by 2:00 this afternoon and will remain here till Sunday at the soonest.  So far the violence has all been outside of Islamabad, bombings in the FATA, shootings in Karachi… OK I’ll admit shootings in Karachi are not necessarily politically motivated any more than shootings in South Central LA were in the 80’s.  Ah, but my turf, last night I had to be at Nur Khan to receive an aircraft.  We weren’t finished with the customs clearance until perhaps 7:30 PM.  We then had to take the pilots to one of the houses to rest.  On the way we ran into mobs of mini-bikes and cars waving flags.  On the main boulevard we inched along between lights and finally took the “scenic route” past the city cemetery.  After all, no one excited about an election wants to be reminded of the dead on their way to a rally.  At one point we were heading south on 7^th Ave, now heading to my house, the pilots having been dropped at another place.  We suddenly saw a mob of perhaps 100 mini-bikes and dozens of cars heading North toward what turned out to be a political rally expected to draw 10,000.  People in America don’t get anywhere this excited about politics.  Sports championships perhaps, but politics… yawn.  It was a night of circuitous driving and patience. 

Today we only worked less than half a day, 8:00 till 12:30.  We had to be back at home before the dreaded hour of 2:00.  Why 2:00, who the fuck knows.  The State Dept personnel are simply being told to avoid rally’s and gatherings.  Us military types apparently need to be treated more cautiously.  Odd I know, but that is today’s military.  Hell back in the 80’s we’d be on liberty in South Korea during the student riots.  We would be told, just don’t go near any universities.  Which of course we would immediately do, out of curiosity, or because we were too drunk to garb the correct train to Inchon.  Oh, wait, perhaps that is why we’re locked down? 

OK, anyhow today was a good day.  I spend time cleaning the bike I plan to ride the hills on.  It hasn’t been well maintained.  The last guy to use it complained it shifted poorly.  No wonder the chain, sprocket and chain rings were all curded up.  All better now.  Then I smoked a stogie and read some more of “Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail ‘72”, a highly recommended book as a primer on politics and elections.  Everyone should read this book if you care how your country is run and how elections are managed.  Anyway the rest of the day has been equally relaxing.  It’s a nice change of pace.  Forced to take a real weekend off, a rather odd concept for most of you I imagine.