May 08: On the road to our daily work site at Bala Hissar in east Kabul City...caught this pix of an Afghan vendor selling balloons...a welcome bit of color and fun in the midst of the daily struggle for survival here among the city people. The balloons are arranged on a lightweight frame that this man is toting around...quite a sight. I wish we would have been able to stop and buy a balloon from him. Just to the right, out of the picture, is the old hotel building from which the Taliban attempted to assassinate Afghan President Karzai this past April 27th during their annual Independence Day celebration...prior to that day, the Taliban had been operating in this very neighorhood securing rooms and getting set up for the assassination attempt. Needless to say, we keep a very low profile every day when we drive thru this neighborhood...