Perspective from the 19^th Hole is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf.  Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon (Les AuCoin), as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist.  This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.  I could have called this blog “Middle Ground,” for that is what I long for in both politics and golf.  The middle ground is often where the best public policy decisions lie.  And it is where you want to be on a golf course.

If you had told me several weeks ago that my wife and I would be on a bus tour down the Danube from Bucharest to Budapest, I would have opted to stay home.

But that’s what happened.  We went on a “bus cruise.”  Not a “river cruise.”

A day or so before we left our home in Salem, Oregon, we were told by our cruise company, Viking, that water in the Danube was low, which meant our first day would be by bus.  But, then, we would get on the ship.  At least that’s what we thought.

No.

The day we arrived in Bucharest, we were told the entire trip would be by bus.

So, on to the headline on this blog – Making the Best of a Bad Situation.  That’s what we did.

Below is a summary of a couple highlights to illustrate our approach, though, I add, quickly, that the leader of our enterprise to find something good out of something bad is my wife, Nancy, who also is my tour guide on international travel.

Without her, I’d be lost.

First, I cannot help myself, so I’ll cite a bad situation.  It involves the country of Serbia, which is not part of the European Union.  So, when we came to the border to get into or out of Serbia, it took us, on our bus, about five hours to make the transit over what must have been about 500 yards – yes, five hours!

No reason was given for the long delay.  Just a waste of time.

But, on to the highlights.

FIRST HIGHLIGHT:  In Belgrade, on a private tour, our guide took us and two other couples to a cave where we had a feast of wine and food.  Everything was very good.  Not everyone gets to do this and it was an evening to remember.  First, we had to walk down a dark path to get to the station for our wine and food, a path that, without phone flashlights, would have been difficult to navigate.  

The wine – we had at least six tastes – was great.  So was the food paired with the wine.  Lucky we didn’t have to drive back to our hotel.

ANOTHER HIGHLIGHT:  I covered this in a previous blog, but just a note here to say that it was stirring to hear how residents of Bucharest, Romania rose up to get rid of communism about 40 years ago.  Selfish communist rulers had left residents high and dry. 

Literally.  Little food.  Little heat.  Little water. 

In communism, the saying from the government was this:  “What’s mine is mine, and what’s yours is mine, too.”

The residents who risked their lives to get rid of the tyrants deserve lasting praise.

AND, A THIRD HIGHLIGHT:  In Budapest, we attended a concert at St. Michael’s Church given by a seven-member string orchestra.  Up close and personal, it was impressive to see the supreme talent by all those who played for an hour before a crowd in a small church.  

I won’t list all the musical selections the orchestra played, but it was clearly a highlight for us as we listened with amazement and appreciation.

So, this bottom-line point:  It is possible to make the best of a bad situation if you set your mind to it.  Again, my wife led this successful effort.

Even as I write this, we are planning our trip home and it will be good to get to the United States and our home in Salem, Oregon.  There, as we learned in the last 10 days in Europe, we need to treasure our freedoms because we there is no guarantee how long they will last, even in America.