Timing is everything

Oscar decided to paddle his kayak from his native Germany to Australia. I’m guessing he wasn’t your classic underachiever.

It would take years, but he did it. Along the way, he was subjected to attack, robbery, disease, imprisonment and other atrocities, primarily in the more backward countries along his route (India, Sumatra, Java, etc.), where he was also somewhat out of touch with the civilized world.

Given these years of trials and tribulations, imagine his relief when the coast of Australian territory finally came into view. Share in his joy when a cadre of police rushed to meet him. And feel his surprise when they dragged him off to prison where he would languish for more years.

He landed September 20, 1939, proudly flying the flag of his homeland (complete with swastika). That was just three weeks after Germany attacked Poland and came to be at war with Australia. Timing is everything.

How would you like to have been an Iraqi kayaker who crossed the Atlantic and landed at Battery Park at the end of September 2001?