Unlike Rome, this was built in a day.

It's a Monday - the beginning of the week.  The clouds were forgiving, the breeze was gentle and the ocean was calm. It was the perfect day to build a fort. A home. A sanctuary.   

It took over 200 pieces of driftwood and 1.5 hours to build. Unlike Rome, this kingdom was built in a day.  With each new fort I create, my passion for building intensifies...this one, in particular, I'm proud of.  It'll last through the winds and the rains and the tides - it'll be there tomorrow and the next day.   Feeling accomplished, I laid down in the sanctuary and closed my eyes for 1.5 hours - you get out, what you put in.  

It's hard to believe old, withered men are lusting for power like hungry drunks jockeying for a coveted spot in the 2am nacho line.  I speak, specifically, of Ahmad Shafi, the 93 year old supreme leader of Hifazat in Bangladesh. The Hifazat, disgusted with secularism, demand that Bangladesh be run strictly on Islamic precepts - one of which calls for a ban on the mixing of the sexes. Such a ban would tragically thrust women back behind the veil; a veil they've fought bravely to unravel.  My point, however, is much simpler, and I got the chance to express it via letter to Mr. Shafi: 

"You're 93 years old...where do you find the energy and passion and, literally, time to lead a religious uprising?  I mean, you're 93. I'm 24 and I just built this fort...it took a lot of work and planning and i'm proud of it, but, now, I need a nap. You should probably focus more on napping and less on awkwardly shoving religion into places it shouldn't be shoved.  What about you and I sit down for a nice, hot cup of tea and a game of backgammon? That sounds like a peaceful, calm thing to do, right? What do you say?" 

We are still waiting to hear back from Mr. Shafi.  Until then, I'll focus my attention on the forts...the sanctuaries....they are much more pleasant.