Immediately after my last column I left town but with a feeling of hope.

We had recognized that in the slow evolution of democracy in Afghanistan, we could have done a lot worse than end up with Hamid Karzai.

Also the small country of Honduras had told Obama, Hillary, and the OAS all to go "stuff it," that they were going to support their constitution and their legal system and for better or worse hold the planned election Nov. 29 when their citizens could make their own choice undictated by Hugo Chávez or the U. S. government. Even the feuding parties in Iraq finally got together and cleared legislation so that once again they can have an even more democratic election in January and continue their building of a constitutionally managed country.

There was even good news locally (Washington) as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was forced to soften her dictatorial powers in order to get her disastrous, but modified health bill passed in an unheard of Saturday midnight pressure vote. Even left-wing columnist John Cassidy of The New Yorker magazine wrote "The U. S. Government is making a costly and open ended commitment...creating a new entitlement program which once established will be virtually impossible to rescind."

With these thoughts in mind, I left for my increasingly pleasant playground, namely beneath the surface of the ocean. It is a delightful spot. No TV, telephones, radio, or even newspapers. The peace is profound and the fish activity is both beautiful as well as vibrant with diversity. The varieties of teeny, to big, to huge is amazing. On any single dive there are over 100 species less than an inch to 6- to 10-foot sharks, ever circling, ever curious.

The fish demonstrate little fear from man's presence and actually have more to worry about from their hungry brethren in the food chain. And in the Bahamian environment there is a new and fast growing invader called the lion fish. Fantastically beautiful and bizarre in appearance, sort of a floating bouquet of flower petals or a swimming bird with wing feathers spread out, this fish possesses venomous spines, top and bottom. Common to the Pacific Ocean, it has suddenly found its way into the Atlantic where it seems to have no enemies.

It is multiplying fast and is overwhelming many existing fish stocks, and no one has come up with a reasonable solution. It is like an invader from outer space taking over planet Earth. There is no wall high enough to repel this invasion. Is there something to be learned here?

After 15 dives in six days, my log book is full of adventure and spectacle. It reminds one of the vitality of nature we so easily ignore. It also reminds us of the treasure we have under the sea which so many people treat as a dumping ground for trash, or even worse, for natural and unnatural contaminants that destroy not only its beauty but also its incredible productivity.

The oceans remain one our finest potential resources for raw materials, for energy, and for sustenance. The latter has suffered severely from overharvesting, just like putting too many sheep or cows on too little grazing land. We have yet to rationally maximize use of available resources, nor have we exploited the enormous energy from waves and tides, all of which can be done with acceptable and realistic environmental protection.

But now it is back to the real world. Arriving home a couple of hours ahead of my column deadline, there is no chance to get up to date on Afghanistan, Honduras, or Iraq, where it is possible that all the favorable progress noted above as I left town may have turned to rubble. As for the machinations of party wars in Washington, there continues to be less ability to accommodate and seek compromise for the benefit of all our citizens than even the fish of the Caribbean seem to be handling with greater skill.

Unfortunately I must turn to the media to learn who has steam-rollered what new economically unsupportable atrocity onto our great Republic. Since our elected officials know everything there is to know, especially what is best for us, we can't expect them to learn anything from nature or the lovely and varied life under the sea.

Santa Fean Gregg Bemis is an industrialist/adventurer and concerned senior citizen.