Southern hospitality

For the first time in months I was able to meet my best friend Mike and family - my adopted family on the Big Island - for a couple of beers after work. My schedule hasn't allowed it for a long time now. It was as if the the last few months hadn't happened.

They are from the south, Alabama to be specific, and it's always a strange evening when we get together along with our other friends. Tonight's conversation included working at the summit, the differences between US and UK education, the US election, what part of a person does one look at first, schnitzel, Mike's father being high on painkillers (he was there!), how to embarrass an Englishman, how intelligent the British are (!), poker, catchphrase (some game I think I understand), an invitation for thanksgiving, how many camels Mike's daughter is worth (she was there as well!), faked moon landings, whether hairy men are attractive or not, the Scottish Buffalo Wars (a long story) and what I need to wear when I finally get to sail on Mike's yacht. All in a couple of hours. The final discussion, what I should wear on the yacht, seemed to narrow down to something like this

as long as I also brought along one of those old Royal Navy telescopes you see in Pirates of the Caribbean.

It was good to get back to the real world again - I missed it.