Springtime in Africa

It's a wonderful thing, springtime. here we were in North Africa, on the edge of the largest desert in the world, and there were flowers everywhere. Our guide said they'd never had so much rain, and it really brought out the green. The ruins at Leptis Magna were much the same. We saw snapshots of many of the locations from thirty years before, and it was amazing how much they'd fixed the place up. The central arch was complete, in nearly pristine condition - the bloom of spring was even in the stones.

Moamar's guards were everywhere, and they seemed to be enjoying the wonderful weather too. Sure, they were watching us, just in case we managed to slip a thirty-foot collumn into our back pockets, but they spent more time soaking up the sun and the cool breeze. Even the sentries posted at the topmost point, at the back of the temple to Saturn, seemed half-asleep in the gentle flow of spring.

Elsewhere in the city, and in the museum of antiquities, Moamar himself was even more ubiquitous than his guards. With his upturned face and triumphant expression, I finally concluded that spring must have arrived on Presidential order.