150 Or So Places Not To See Before You Die

THIS ISN'T KANSAS ANY MORE, DOROTHY

Fall was beautiful here in NE Wisconsin...as it usually is. Today, however, reminded me of the last few hours of the men's lives who worked the Edmund Fitzgerald: the wind literally howled,and rain drove horizontally with such force that I actually refused to bike to work! In fact, it was so windy that three slightly-built people blew in from Minnesota and left posthaste for Michigan...all without benefit of a vehicle of any kind. So I sat daydreaming about places to visit during the semester break when the weather is sure to be worse, and other than Australia, I found out that I'd be taking my chances anywhere! This rude awakening was called to my attention by the folks who put together the CPI.
Never heard of it? Well, frankly, neither had I, but the people who put together the Corruption Perception Index perform a valuable service by telling people which countries are least (and most) likely to suffer from governmental corruption: something important to know when I'm using a passport! So why did today's report bother me?
All the places that are least corrupt will be colder than, say, Wisconsin when I want to go there...with the exception of Australia which I would discount as being too far away.
In total, 178 countries were rated on the bases of the ease at which one could bribe public officials, be forced to pay kickbacks for public procurement, and see public funds embezzled. Governments and their agents who would do such things are best avoided, I would guess. God only knows (Beach Boys,1965) what devious things they might do to me. Anyway, each country was graded on a 10-point scale with Denmark, New Zealand and Singapore rating the highest at 9.3. Denmark? too cold when I'm free. New Zealand? too far. Singapore? Uh, wake up...they CANE people there for minor offenses, and I'm always committing some kind of minor offense. So, that's the top three. Perhaps there's some great locale left in the top ten? Let's look:
Finland and Sweden are next in line at 9.2. I've been to both, but not in the winter when the sun never makes it over the horizon: SAD, SAD, SAD (Beautiful in the summer, though).
Next at 8.9 is Canada...been there, but again, not in winter.
The Netherlands follows at 8.8 but with the ice caps melting, who knows how long it will still be above water?
Australia and Switzerland follow with a score of 8.7. I'm not a big Swiss cheese fan, and there are too many trees on the ski mountains for my taste. Australia? I can get Foster's down the street...but it WOULD be warmer (the country, not the beer).
Norway rounds out the top ten, coming in at 8.6 on the corruption scale. Like the other two Scandinavian countries: pretty in the summer, pretty dark during winter.
Want to consider the emerging powerhouses? China ranked 78th with a paltry score of 3.5 and India was even worse, scoring 3.3. Warmer, yes, but definitely not on my vacay list.
At the very bottom of the pile (and not a surprise, I might add) is Somalia, a country that hasn't even had a government in something like 15 years and which has lately given even piracy a less-than-romantic name.
Of course, I could stay home and go to Alberquerque (yes, originally, it had an extra "r"), but I'd have to keep in mind that the U.S. barely cracked the top 25, coming in 22nd with a score of 7.1, trailing both the U.K. (7.6) and Japan (7.8).
Ah well, if today's rain had been snow, I would have been stranded for six months anyway...
Too much knowledge can be a trail, that's for sure.