Even though we could not verify that the long-awaited critical items had arrived in Kabul, we had anticipated the celebratory cake. Armed with several other reasons for a cake . . . a staff birthday and public holidays in the next week, we purchased the cake.

Television antenna shaped cakes had no appeal. The final choice was a standard cake with an old advertising slogan from the manufacturer of the cameras that were in the shipment. I might be the only one that recalled the “no baloney” phrase from Sony’s Walkman-era ad campaign.

The cake was very tasty and we are working on a reason for another cake as soon as possible.

In 2010 I found out that I was living on the opposite side of the world from one of the world’s most amazing places . . Bamiyan. Not opposite as in a line through the center of the earth but opposite along 34.5 degrees North Latitude.

Prescott (Arizona) is about 112.46 degrees West and Bamiyan is 67.5 degrees East.