LITMIR.BIZ

      As spring arrived, I was putting plans together for my dream ride up the old Silk Trail. The Sizzler, who took me at my word and eventually showed up in Afghanistan, and Montreal Michael began gearing up for the ride. I knew we needed a gun for protection so I completed an application to hunt Pamir sheep in the foothills of the Hindu Kush. It cost $2,500 for a license to shoot one of these beasts, which I had no intention of doing, but it allowed me to import a gun for the purpose of hunting and, in our case, protection.

      Alejandro, of Goa, also turned up in Afghanistan and was healthy and effervescent. Tory let him borrow her horse and German Ted and I had a ride with him that broke out into a dead run race. Later that night we heard he was arrested during the first known drug squad sweep in Kabul. Tory and Rebecca made immediate contact with the Spanish Embassy and discovered it was true that Alejandro had been caught with 29 grams of golden pollen. There was nothing immediate I could contribute to the situation.

      On one of my trips to see Dutch Bob in Amsterdam I purchased an over-and-under rifle – 30-30 on the bottom and a 20-gauge shotgun on the top.

      The planning and preparations for the ride were complete. I had also, on a previous visit to the States, arranged shipment to Afghanistan of some much better saddles that were designed for the U.S. Mounted Park Rangers. These are fine saddles, very light and practical. The wooden, carpet-covered saddles of Afghanistan were yet another illustration of how far back in the centuries we were actually living. The horses were fit and freshly shod as we rode out – me, Sizz, and Michael with Kachook dogtrotting along.