Jim reenacting his Airborn Ranger days. Thanks for serving your country James, then and now. Universal Weather and Aviation's ramp agents in Korea, great job! Mountain flying into Sapporo Japan. Really beautiful! Crossing the International Date Line. Don't know if I am comming or going! There are some gifts that can't be described. Bob being welcomed home by grandson Evan

Not another Chicken Head I think I ate one chicken head too many Bob and his snuff box or is that a -----nah Chris and Earl- Things looking up ???? Is it me, or does this taste funny to you?

Jim and his great buddy Earl in Shanghai Shanghai, Beautiful! Reclining Budda, very peaceful! The boys in front of the world's largest cemetary. The great wall of China. They just plastered you in if you died on the job. Thousands did Is that a gun or are you just happy to see me, Mr. Clinton?

Mercer’s view from Sapporo to Atlanta Interesting how messed up you can get blasting through time zones and international date lines. On top of that my trusty Blackberry and computer decided not to work in China, Korea and Japan which put me further behind than I had hoped. Bob did a great job covering for me and keeping this Blog up to date. I have demoted myself from trip Scribe to Scribbler. I just can’t compete with my buddy Bob. Thanks Bob you are the best in so many ways! Bob has given you all of the amazing statistics for the trip. One statistic I would like to elaborate on is the generosity level of my new great friend, Jim Pugh. Jim is a remarkable person in so many ways but allowing me to come along on this incredible journey is way over the top and leaves me forever thankful and appreciative. I had a lot of one on one time with Jim as we toured performing arts centers in every town that had one. (Agra India did not have one, all performances are done in the street with the sacred cows and monkeys). Orlando is extremely fortunate to have Jim. He and his beautiful wife are devoted to making life better for everyone, especially for those who are challenged. It is really pretty neat traveling with Jim. In Asia everyone thinks he is Bill Clinton, especially very old Chinese women who like getting their picture taken with him. Whatever you may say about Bill and Jim; they are popular with the gals. Bob did a great job of thanking all the wonderful people who made this trip perfect. I also thank them, and remain in awe of the professionalism and courtesy of everyone involved. Truly amazing, from the Showalter crew to the Universal Weather and Aviation ramp babes and boys (actually great women and men who greeted us at every stop) it was all perfect from my seat. Our mad rush home from Sapporo to Orlando in three days is a blur. I did get to add one more leg to my copiloting from Portland to Little Rock. I was perfect. I did not touch a thing and Bob kept a watchful I out to make sure I did not get carried away and play with any of the Gee Wiz stuff in the front office of Jim’s wonderful CJ3. Jim greased it on to the runway at ORL with majestic dignity. My great friend and pilot, Frank Mutz proclaimed it the best landing he had ever seen; knocking Bob and Chris out of the top spots. Earl and I were barred from the competition for some reason. Speaking of Earl what a great guy! We were all so grateful that he was able to catch up with us on the second leg. His humor and general contributions to every great day were sorely missed from Dubai and to Shanghai. Earl could always be counted on to pour oil on the turbulent waters when political discussions got too hot. And he always took Jim’s side no matter how “RIGHT” I was. Thanks Earl for help making this trip so special. Chris Hall, phenomenal pilot, peacemaker, logistician and all around great guy to be around. He was always on top of everything and never ruffled. Well, the chicken head in his soup did ruffle him just a bit but he was quickly over it and on to the next whatever it was. Having seen the complexities of this trip, looking into the front office from my leather recliner in the back, I know that the perfection of our adventure would not have been possible without Chris. Thanks so much! As great as this trip was, there really is no place like home. Pulling up to the ORL new administration building and seeing the great crowd of well wishers, reconfirmed how incredibly blessed I am. I have so much and others in the world have so little. Very humbling! And then, there she was, delivered by my great friends in their Baron from Atlanta was my beautiful bride Mary. She never looked so good. What a great lady to let me take this trip! How fortunate I am. There it is. Signed sealed and delivered. I wish there was a way to share all of the pictures and experiences with you faithful blog followers and well wishers. I look forward to trying as we meet in the future. Cheers Mercer