My first grandson, Ezra, was born October 24 at 3:45 in the morning. He is a big beautiful boy with a full head of hair. My happiness overflows! Mom, dad and Ezra are doing fine! And grandmama is on cloud 9.

I just saw that Senator Barack Obama was going to be on Larry King tonight. I'll be sorry to miss it. I saw him on Oprah yesterday almost by accident and he was phenomenal. For the first time in a long time, I was proud and gratified to be an American in this century. He just wrote a book titled The Audacity of Hope which was the name of his galvanizing speech at the last Democratic National Convention.

I’m not talking about blind optimism here -- the almost willful ignorance that thinks unemployment will go away if we just don’t think about it, or the health care crisis will solve itself if we just ignore it. That’s not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about something more substantial. It’s the hope of slaves sitting around a fire singing freedom songs; the hope of immigrants setting out for distant shores; the hope of a young naval lieutenant bravely patrolling the Mekong Delta; the hope of a millworker’s son who dares to defy the odds; the hope of a skinny kid with a funny name who believes that America has a place for him, too.

Hope -- Hope in the face of difficulty. Hope in the face of uncertainty. The audacity of hope!

In the end, that is God’s greatest gift to us, the bedrock of this nation. A belief in things not seen. A belief that there are better days ahead.

you can read the rest and even listen to it here

China, being hesitant to take stringent measures to contain North Korea's nuclear activity has parted the tent for the camel's nose. Condi Rice has now promised the full complement of American defense --what's left of it-- to Japan and other Asian allies if they will take on North Korea's nuclear development (or support proposed U.N. sanctions). To Japan; imagine the irony of the U.S. defending them against nukes.

"The United States has the will and the capability to meet the full range, and I underscore full range, of its deterrent and security commitments to Japan," Rice told a news conference in Tokyo, the first stop on a quick tour of North Asia.

Though the U.S. may well have less than mighty military heft these days, the situation may provide a face saving excuse to cut and run out of Iraq. One of the nightime TV wags (I think it was Jay Leno) remarked last week that of course the Bush administration won't intervene in N. Korea because they do have weapons of mass destruction.

Korea's first nuclear test may have been a dud, but the announcement that they'll try again a few times have a lot of hackles up. Asian powers, always professing be eager to diminish American influence on the area, should be stepping up to the plate here. They well may be, in the Asian manner of quiet behind-the-scenes diplomacy. Chinese State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan is reported to be visiting North Korea today.

The response to the Secretary of State's proposals will reveal whether or not Asian nations, particularly China and Japan, will take or support action to influence North Korea's nuclear development. It was an inspired move in the deadly game. Condi was in top form. However, Asians tend to operate in a more moderate and face-saving manner and are offended by big-stick pronouncements. The question is, can moderation and face address this hornet's nest effectively? The answer to that question will define the balance or imbalance of power in the East.

North Korea's Kim Jong Il is a dangerous nut case with a loaded bomb. Since CBS is reporting that the situation between Taiwan and Beijing is at a measured detente, with China tolerating the status quo with its biggest investor, it appears that Beijing could now deal difinitively with Korea. If it wanted to.

If you're not familiar with the geography, take a look at a map: Korea is a peninsula off China's eastern seaboard. P'yongyang and Beijing are only about 500 miles apart. Last week the Chinese army erected a barbed wire fence along the border, presumably to prevent refugees from entering China if North Korea collapses.

Now that China is a global player economically, does it have the political will to deal with its own neighbor and beneficiary? If it leaves it to Japan, S.Korea and the U.S., we should brook no more Chinese complaints about American hegemony.

Follow the money on this one.

You are one of the most beautiful and smartest New York women I have ever met--and that's going some!

All the best to you, Madame Tiger. And thanks for the tip, RVP!

Fall color over Penobscot Bay greeted me with the tides and the crisp clean New England autumn air. I write from an upstairs room with a water view through lace curtains, space to finally unpack and unwind and begin again. Life is new, life is fresh, all is well. Fall colour is about to peak, and, so it seems, am I.

What a long distance I have come. Each mile over land, over air, over sea has enriched my soul beyond measure. Each day, is as precious as a golden crown, with each person, place and family that welcomed, comforted, wined and dined and helped me a jewel. I know joy and peace don't always last, but it's important to cherish them when they surround you. A dozen safe harbors around the world is true wealth. My cup runneth over. Thank you all and humble thanks to the powers that be.

More fall color as it develops. And doubtless, some exciting news to come in the not too distant future. My journey is never at an end, but the stopovers get longer and and more meaningful as time goes by. I wrote a song in the seventies that goes:

It puts me in mind of the changing of seasons
and how we are all just like leaves in the wind...

When you are a writer, your own words come back to guide--or haunt you. One of the most constantly amazing things about life. L'chaim.