I Feel Kind of Laos-y

So, I was anxiously awaiting the season premiere of No Reservations last night. For those of you that haven't caught this show, I recommend you do so (you might also really enjoy his book; for that matter, you might try the restaurant as well).

Anyway, in the episode last night, he went to Laos. Before the show, I knew next to nothing about this country other than where it was on the map. As it turns out, this may be one of the coolest countries out there, and it definitely made its way on my list of places to visit.

But let me tell you what sucked about the episode last night. Apparently, American bombers during the Vietnam War were encouraged to dispose of the their unused explosives in Laos when making their way back from bombing missions in Vietnam. As a result, the Laotian people were forced to deal with in excess of 400 million bombs dropped in their country. 15% of those remained active (didn't blow up). So now there are over 60 million live bombs all around the country. The Laos government had to create a special organization that goes around with metal detectors to try and find them before the farmers accidentally do.

Then he visited the home of a small family. The father was missing an arm and a leg after detonating a bomb with a shovel while making repairs to their home and dug a 2 foot hole for a new post. Thirty years after the war, some guy who wasn't even alive while the fighting was going on, in a country that wasn't even "involved" in the conflict has to live his life with half of his appendages because soldiers from our country were ordered to "litter."

Then, when an American shows up on his doorstep, he, his wife and three kids, put together an elaborate spread of fish, vegetables, fruits, and rice to share with him on their dirt floor.

I hope I can learn to be that forgiving in my life.