Bush’s War on Terrorism seemed like a good idea in the shock of the post-9/11 tragedy. But as the air around the Trade Tower and Pentagon sites has cleared, and as I’ve watched the President talk and develop his “plan” for a post-Al Qaeda, post Saddam world, I’m concerned that while we may “win the war,” I’m not sure about “winning the peace.”

Finally! See below.

If this is your first time at the Fret List, the following will bring you up-to-date:

Can’t find my second set of car keys. I think I hid them when we went on vacation last summer but have forgotten where. Have searched 1st and 2nd tier places. Cost to replace: $250.

Update: I think I might have hid them behind one of my books in one of my bookcases. But which case and which book?

Further Update: I’ve started feeling for the keys behind selected books. Am doing this in my spare time so this could take a while.

More Update: Two rows completed. No keys.

Final Update: I finally found them! After almost 3 months of looking and fretting, I decided to check every bookshelf in the house this morning. Enough was enough. While my inability to find my second set of car keys had turned into “background fretting,” this had gone on too long.

I started by removing a few books from each row and shining my boyscout flashlight into the dark recesses. But, as sweat formed on my tentative brow (is this worth the trouble—and the allergic reaction to all the dust?), the thought of having to spend $250 pushed me onward. I cleverly devised a new methodology: rather than take each book out of the case, I could simply push each book to the back and listen for it hitting “something.”

Nothing. What now? I went back to my first tier hiding place (the first place I thought they might be): the closet. My sunglasses! I found my long lost aviator Ray Bans. Cool. I was just about to buy another pair. But my keys were nowhere to be found.

I headed down to the basement. First pushing books on those shelves, I slowly turned in a circle, surveying each nook and cranny. I opened my mind and took a deep breath. It had been so long since I initiated my search, I couldn’t remember if I’d even looked in all these places. My file cabinet #1, the one with the lock. A poor man’s safe. Four drawers of possibility.

In drawer two, I found my watch! I’d just began wondering where that was (not quite fretting but it was only a matter of time). And wait. What was that? Something red at the bottom of a pile. How appropriate: it was the red panic button on my car keys. And there they were.

Eleven weeks of fretting melted away. It was as if I’d never lived those 77 days. It was hard to believe I held these keys in my hand. They didn’t look like I had remembered them. I had dreamed of writing of their discovery and now I’m am. What a way to begin my birthday week celebration!

Verisign sold Leslie Harpold’s domain, Hoopla.com, to someone else before her registration expired! After five six seven eight weeks (and counting), they still haven’t returned it to her. The loss of her possession is causing me to fret big time (and the reason for this “Code Red!”). Cost to replace: irreplacable.

Update: after remaining on the Fret List for two months, it doesn’t look like there will be a resolution soon so I’m downgrading the Fret O’ Meter to Level Orange: not that I think Leslie’s problem is less important. Au contraire. It’s just hard for me to maintain this level of fretting over such a long period of time. Leslie, I hope you understand.

Further Update: The company that unceremoniously resold Leslie’s domain decided the buyer was fraudulent. But rather than return it to her, they simply put it back on the market without telling her. A third “person” now owns it.

Do you have a domain registered with Verisign? Take a look at Verisignoff.