Firstly, my apologies for being so lax in keeping this journal up to date. Naturally, I condemn this unspeakably inhuman act, and naturally I want the perpetrators caught and punished. But I urge everyone in the world to refrain from violent forms of warfare that leave worse scars and usually end up killing the innocent. We've seen how horrible it is to have innocent people blown away. There is no need to do the same to innocents elsewhere in the world unless we want to help fuel the flames of anti-American hate.
War has no winners.
The events of September have taken their toll on my family just as with everyone else. We had snags such as my wife Nora having to drive back from a conference in San Diego, my older daughter Anna having to postpone her visit from Holland and my missing a festival in Pennsylvania. But these were small inconveniences compared to the general pall of shock and depression that has settled on so many of us. As always, then, my basic aim as a singer will be to try to uplift our spirits and bring people together. Thanks to 31 fine people from all over the US, our guide and driver, amazingly good weather and the singers of Scotland that we met, all went wonderfully well.