He took about three steps and dropped dead. We stood there for a few seconds and both of us were shaking like a leaf. It was as good as a deer hunt can get.

I positioned with my rifle on a tripod and waited. Marc told me that two deer were about to come by a small opening in the brush. The second buck was the one we were after.

Marc is an expert at scoring racks on the hoof. We were passing up bucks that he scored at 155, 160 and more. But Marc was after a particular buck, one that he estimated to score in the 170-class.

We started pulling on the line, and this huge gator pops up on the surface. Martin was armed with a .22 magnum pistol. He shot it a few times in the head, but the gator kept submerging and resurfacing. Then the main line snapped and the gator was free-lined. It took about 21/2 hours for us to subdue it.

President Bush has made some statements suggesting the US would accept whatever democratic outcome comes. Should the US be willing to do that, it suggests a major change in their position. But I think it is a little premature to assume that any real decision has been made. I think what they -- in the US administration -- are hoping for is a more gradual reform process in the Arab world, a more gradual expansion of political participation which Islamist groups do not use as an opportunity to come to power. So while I think there has been a shift in the US Middle East policy we will all have to wait to see how great that shift has been.

anything else that the evidence leads us to.