It happened 3 1/2 weeks ago aboard a United Airlines flight from Vancouver to San Francisco.

The Republican National Convention in Tampa more than made up for its late start due to Hurricane Isaac. I was blown away by Tuesday night’s speeches of Ann Romney and Chris Christie. Ann not only touched the nerve endings of my heart, she also made a wonderful case for the humanity of her husband. Christie, I thought, succeeded in holding back a little of his notorious anger. At the same time, he delivered a powerful blast of common sense, which made me sit back and say, “Wow!”

My wife and I returned from our Alaska cruise ten days ago.

My mouse died today. Long live my new mouse!

Earlier I speculated on the things that would make me happy on the cruise I was about to take. Here are my reactions half-way through the cruise.

I really thought I enjoyed eating fish and chips. I often order it when I go out to eat. Sometimes it’s good – which means crunchy and not too chewy. And sometimes it’s awful – which means not crunchy and quite chewy.

In one week I will be doing what I thought I would never do in my lifetime: Take a cruise.

Last week I wrote about an experience I had that kind of blew my mind. I called it a “Duh” experience, since it was more than just a revelation – it was a shock to my system.

I returned to the Valley from a hospital in the city this afternoon, a bit dizzy (after getting up from the long drive), but otherwise happy.

When something happens that is – or should be – extremely obvious, the kids say “DUH.” “DUH” says it all. It’s like the old TV ad that said, “I should have had a V-8.”