In local news today...

Big stuff happening in our little community! The King is coming for a visit. Preparations have been underway for some time, now, with our gazillion imported laborers working 24/7 to get everything in tip-top shape. Big kudos to them all - they really, really have been working very hard under conditions most of us - and certainly none of the "locals" - would not even dream of working under. Thankfully, it isn't the middle of summer yet, and with temperatures only in the low 100's [today the high is expected to be 103 degrees (Fahrenheit ) with clouds - although MSN Weather says it is already 104 degrees outside] the heat is not unbearable. [It is a dry heat; it truly does feel different than a humid heat. That would be absolutely miserable!]

Buildings have been painted, flowers planted, tents erected, giant megatron television screens are being constructed... It should be quite an event. I may try to walk up for the parade which is being held only a half dozen blocks from our house. I've not made up my mind about whether I will go or not. I do have some mixed feelings about attending such a spectacle. A friend of mine who is involved in some of the planning that has gone told me yesterday that they are asking spectators to dress in their "national" costumes. Okay. So we can expect to see hordes of people dressed in their white thobes and red-checkered gutras or fully covered head-to-toe in black. What would the American "national" costume be? Jeans and a tee-shirt with sneakers and a baseball cap? Yeah. That wouldn't stick out like a sore thumb. Can you say "target?"

In other much, much less important news... The Saudi Gazette has a report of cleaning worker being killed by a dump truck. There is no such thing as OSHA here, in The Sandbox, and the unfortunate deaths of laborers are not an infrequent occurrence.

Today's Saudi Gazette also has a report detailing the ingenious method three Indian workers devised to knead dough. [Because you just can't make this stuff up...]

While I continue to contemplate whether or not I will try to attend the parade, I think I'll go work on my tan for an hour or so, and think about what is in hanging in my closet that would be representative of an American's national costume. Any suggestions?