An assortment of comments and observations.

The Independence Referendum election is now less than 10 days away. The two sides are more aggressive now. I've seen some defaced billboards of the Pro side. I actually have not seen any Pro Unity signs. People routinely drive through town in their cars honking and waving flags...either the flag of Montenegro (Pro Indep) or the flag for Serbia/Montenegro (Pro Unity).

Electricity shortages. Montenegro apparently has some electricity shortages in the summer, as demand for air conditioning increases. I guess the old Central Planning Committee never imaged that the masses would have air conditioning.

Lunch. People don't seem to take lunch breaks....or if they do, it's to discretely step away and have something quick and cheap from a bakery...pizza rolls are a good example. There actually aren't very many places where lunch is a purchase option. At 4-10 Euros, even at a modest restaurant, it's a big part of a typical worker's paycheck. Yesterday, I sneaked out of the station and bought some sort of roll with a fruit filling. Today, at 8:30 PM, I've had nothing since breakfast except coffee, fruit juice, and a couple of small pieces of taffy. Will get a pizza in a few minutes.

The drive. I've been at TV-Radio Niksic everyday except Tuesday. The station drives me back to my apartment and picks me up. It's been a good experience although they desperately need to downsize the staff--or, more properly, right-size the staff. My driver knows only a few words of English but knows his car horn well. He's from the nearby community of Daniograd and uses his horn to both greet friends and warn not so attentive drivers and walkers. He's a good driver...he slows down early, doesn't tailgate, actually slowed considerably on Thursday when it was raining heavily...and he only scared the heck out of me two or three times with some wild passing moves.

Utility Trailers. Today, coming back, my driver passed a small station wagon pulling a trailer...the sort of two-wheeled, open and lowside utility trailer you once commonly say in the U.S....before everyone decided they needed a pickup truck. In the trailer were two cows. I marveled that they would stay in this small trailer. Then I saw that their heads were pulled all the way to the bed of the trailer and the halter was tied securely. They had no choice but to take a ride.

Rides. My driver stopped this morning and picked up a woman who was a teacher and dropped her at the school. She was someone he recognized as we passed. It was a nice gesture. Then he picked up a policeman he knew. Also a nice gesture in a country where cars are few and buses are often crowded. This afternoon, he picked up three women. I could tell from the conversation he told them he was going to Podgorica. They climbed in. I was dropped off first but I wonder: he didn't seem to know these women. Did he charge them a Euro for the trip? That would have been cheaper than the bus and he could pocket a little extra money. I'll never know.

The fig trees are covered with plump green figs---it will be a couple of months, I'd guess, before they're ripe. The grape vines have bunches of grapes--each grape looks smaller than a pin head. AND, best of all....some of the vines that looked like grape vines when they were dormant and actually kiwi vines! And, they're covered with fruit, also.

Media Blackout. There's no First Amendment/Press Freedom concept in Montenegro. Before the election--I believe it is 48 hours before the election--there will be a media blackout of all referendum coverage. At least there's supposed to be. There's no way to keep Serbian newspapers, sold in Montenegro, from publishing stories. The Montenegro papers and broadcast media can be sanctioned. There's also nothing to prevent websites from covering the story, either. We'll see how it goes.