halfway back to tripoli, the magnificent ruins of leptis magna.an city in the world. it's worth noting that the at one time, the emperor of all rome was himself libyan. that's pretty amazing. born right here. someone chipped off all their dicks, not that i was looking. anywhere else in the world, this place would be overrun with tourists, but look, no one. you're free to wander as you wish. quite a backdrop, you know? you're seeing a little dinner theater production of "our town" a couple of thousand years ago. not bad. the only other visitors today are a troupe of libyan boy scouts. bizarrely enough, gadhafi himself was once a scout and this was one of the only organizations allowed to remain independent of the government. maybe i ought to go down there and introduce myself to some former comrades, exchange some boy scout lore. yes, yes, i was once a boy scout, too. hello. drilled into their heads is something that was long ago drilled into mine. i promise to be trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty,