Dear Richard

Dear Richard,

I know it has been awhile since I last wrote, but I have been backpacking the Himalayas and I am sure you were trying to make yourself useful to the royal couple prior to their wedding. I trust they had the good sense to refrain from hiring your airline's catering company for their food. They must have, otherwise I would have already seen the reports of an epidemic of sick wedding guests and gales of laughter of the quality of the food.

Alas, as much as I would like to stop writing you, I just had to drop you a line after what happened to me on my most recent flight. I was transiting through the US on my way to Ghana for a bit of bird watching, and the most remarkable thing happened. I had just rested my weary head and was watching the inflight video system which, you might want to take note, actually works, when right before my eyes, two men suddenly broke into a fistfight. I do enjoy a good round of boxing. I did a little boxing back in my school days Richard. Well, this was new. I had no idea that United Airlines offered live boxing on their flights. Novel idea Richard if I do say so myself. However, one of the men must have broken the rules of the fight because the next thing you know, they are being restrained and the fight is making an emergency landing. As it turns out, the boxing match was not part of the inflight program, although I do think it is a marvelous idea, it seems that one of the men reclined back, and the other man took offense to it. So, a fight ensued and the plane had to make an emergency landing while being escorted by fighter jets. That is a few million dollars down the drain paid for by the American taxpayer.