I've had about a dozen around the world trips, all by air going west.  The first was around 40 years ago on  Pan Am 1 .  Since then, perhaps a dozen or so with Star Alliance. I thought I'd do one more, so this spring I'll be heading west again on plane and ship.  Three cruises will be part of my global adventure.   The way the itinerary settled, with United and Star Alliance now a shadow of what they once were, I selected flights from whatever airline had the best time in business class, for in going west, it's best to leave in the late afternoon, so you can get to your destination before it gets dark.  You can't do this in an eastward direction. Plus, Emirates Air could take me from Bangkok to Dubai, with a nice three hour rest in their lounge, then on to Munich, all in First Class, at a fabulously low cost.  6773 miles for $3675.  In comparison, a one-stop Lufthansa flight from Munich to San Francisco, a distance of 5862 miles, costs $8000 in first class.  But mor

From  Worldometer  (new  COVID-19 deaths yesterday):          DAY     USA     WORLD     Brazil       India    South Africa June     9    1093     4732         1185       246       82 July    22     1205     7128         1293      1120     572 Aug    12     1504     6556        1242        835     130 Sept     9     1208      6222       1136       1168       82 Oct     21     1225      6849         571        703       85 Nov    25      2304    12025        620        518     118 Dec     30      3880    14748       1224       299     465 Jan      14       4142     15512        1151         189     712                  Feb      3       4005    14265       1209       107     398           25       2414    10578         1582        119     144 Mar     2        1989    9490         1726        110     194           31         1115   12301          3950       458      58 April   6         906   11787           4211         631      37 May    4         853   13667          3025      3786