So, I've been going on and on about the world getting smaller and the cultural gaps growing tiny in the modern world ...

Here was a shop IN SEYCHELLES that had: potato chips, pancake mix AND syrup, disposable diapers NOT from China, 50 kinds of shampoo, 20 varieties of olive oil, real yogurt, a huge selection of breakfast cereals, Oreo cookies, cake mixes, nuts, raisins, all sorts of dishwashing liquids, razors WITH extra blades, fresh asparagus, real cheese in more than one shape, smell and color, and on and on and on.

The goods were arranged on shelves with prices indicated! The aisles were wide enough for shopping carts that really rolled! There was staff answering questions and being helpful!

Gay and I kept looking at each other and asking, "Where the heck are we?"

The question all over the country is, "How long will it last?"

But if this is our future, my question is, "How do I really feel about this huge change?"

On one hand, I'm thrilled with the idea of being able to hunger for something, then satisfy that hunger without having to get on a plane and travel for twelve hours (or 36, if it's Mexican food I'm craving ... but that won't change any time soon, as there were no tortillas to be found). Knowing there will always be formula or other necessities available would be a relief, and I'm sure people would eventually stop hoarding. It's nice to think that recipes could once more be a part of life with ingredients obtainable, and more variety in spice adds spice. Sam and Cj can be exposed to many different flavors and foods from all over the world. We may even be able to prepare Cambodian-style dishes.

On the other hand, the thought that the very products I've been missing all these years will be making it this far on a regular basis disturbs me. The world feels too small, in a way, and this place less special. Marketing is an equalizer, and a homogenizer, and although equal is good, homogenized may not be when it's the whole world we talking about. Is there a positive aspect in having children everywhere able to start their day with a bowl of Frosties?

So, me, a quivering mound of ambivalence, tries to decide how I feel about all this. The one point it's taken me all this writing to come to, however, is that it makes no difference at all ... matters not a toss, as Gay would say.

These are the years my kids are kids ... this is their childhood ... and like it or not, this is their world. I can no more turn back the clock for them, halt 'progress', stop change, than I can make the sun rise or set on command.

And that's a good thing, considering the fact that I still don't know if I'm happy about all how things are going ... or not.