What a masterfully understated piece! This is one of my favorite Transom finds and its good to see it offered here. From the first sentence, the listener is aware that they are in for some keen humor. The piece mixes a subtle narrative with occasional pauses to savor a scene, or point out something human, yet unexpected. The piece moves along well, returning every minute or two to an ongoing count of the number of (alcoholic) beverages consumed during the visit to Krautsand. Its comedy isn't obvious, which works for and against the piece (it's easy to lose some of the jokes because the production is so smooth--it would be nice to change up the pacing every once in a while to give the listener a chance to laugh without missing something). This piece would make a nice unexpected surprise for a magazine program.

Greeley daftly highlights the absurd humor in the people of Krautsand without making fun of them, which is an achievement in itself.

Buried in here is a great lesson, that democracy and freedom are not things you can take for granted. They require nurturing and care. If you truly value them, you need to sometimes do some apparently ridiculous things--simply because you can.