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A SHOCKING SPIN
TO A TOP STORY

It was March, 2003, a day or two before George Bush started an unjustified war with Iraq. We really didn't believe he would exercise his Texas-presidential muscle, flexing his abs across the global scene as the world leader infected with mad cowboy disease. Neither did anyone in Rangoon, Burma, where we were staying at the time, trying to "pretend" we were not Americans.

When we arrived in Mandalay, in the central part of the country, a month before the war started, we were given the usual welcoming reception: "Ah, Americans Great country, America! Very great people..." We had begun denying some of it, smiling indulgently to those less in-the-know, pointing out our fervent disbelief in the war...but becoming suspicious of what The Man might actually do.
Our president was, in fact, about to blow everyone's mind! He was on the dangerous verge of antagonizing people all over the world who once loved, even worshiped, America. Six weeks later-two weeks into the war-when asked where we were from, we added a bit of mystery to the answer: We're from the worst country in the world, we said. "Ah, America," they announced, knowingly.
But it was just days before Bush brightened the nighttime sky over Baghdad, launching his first star-spangled attack, and we were on our way to Bogjoke Market in downtown Rangoon.
Burma (actually, Myanmar) is a predominantly Buddhist country; temples abound, dating back through centuries of devotion; religion is actively practiced by most people, even in the capital city of Rangoon (Yangon).
Rangoon (population, four million), bustles with the seemingly-chaotic activity of any large Asian city: Constant trafficcomplicated by the torrents of people who cross the street at any given pointair pollution, noise, etc. Yet, it is also a peaceful city; its warmth massages you like a soothing coconut-scented balm; relaxation greets you at the airport and escorts you throughout your stay.
Some of the city's softness is due perhaps to its physical beauty. It is situated on two lakes. Shwedagon Pagoda, sort of the Vatican of Burmese Buddhismwithout the figurehead "pope"sits majestically on one of them; its soaring gold stupa, layered with 68,000 tons of gold, is a gleaming beacon, a reminder to all of its mother-like ever-presence. Rangoon's downtown is crowded with fast-moving people and crumbled narrow streets, but many of the main thoroughfares are landscaped, overflowing with bougainvilla and other tropical flora

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