Rearranging the Deck Chairs

there were many outside conferences and meetings. I traveled to Virginia, South Carolina, Illinois, Texas, Utah, Alabama, New York and New Hampshire, hr California, which I sorely missed, I stayed briefly in San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego. The trip to San Diego involved a particularly interesting research symposium on the future of warfare. 

My paper on incapacitating agents was mostly a rehash of old material, but included a few new off-the-wall ideas of my own. I also met Joe Coates, a six foot seven inch, very brainy civilian with an Abe Lincoln style beard, who worked at the Institute for Defense Analysis in Washington, DC. We exchanged letters after the conference, but as with most chance meetings, the relationship was brief. 

Another incongruous event was the receipt of an engraved invitation, which read as follows  

The Fifth Anniversary of the Independence of the Republic of Zambia The Ambassador and Mrs. Banda request the pleasure of your company at a Reception 

Of course, I felt greatly honored by this invitation. It sounded like an important occasion, although in truth I did not have the faintest idea why I was on the guest list. I checked with some of the other senior officers. No one else had been invited nor did anyone have any idea what it was all about. 

---

Joan cannot conclude that this study has proven anything. She should get out of the tobacco production field. Cigarette manufacturers are under a very dark cloud of lying, hypocrisy, and financial catastrophe. Even thinking about new additives to enhance the quality of the smoke is equivalent to rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. 

---