Another Vietnam War book

Finished this morning an excellent memoir of the Vietnam War, this one by Philip Caputo called A Rumor of War. The author landed in Vietnam just about the same time I was part of the creation of the first Marine supply base at Chu Lai (I returned home three months later at the end on my US Navy service). Caputo was up the road a bit as part of the Marine forces trying to defend an airport outside of Danang. His memoir does an excellent job of putting you right there in the heat and the dust and the rain and the terror and the fear and the horror and the love and the loyalty and the muck of battle in a strange land. His final two chapters, written in Montana while he was recovering from war wounds he suffered in Lebanon ten years after his tour started in Vietnam, are exceptional. But then, the preceding chapters set the stage. Excellent writing, excellent book. Now it's on to Herman Wouk's The Glory, a book that will take me to Israel and life after 1967's Six Day War.

A couple of son suggested books

-recommended by Marty: Patriotic Grace, what it is and why we need it, by Peggy Noonan. Just finished it this morning. Ms. Noonan, a speech writer for a couple of Republican presidents, is suggesting that maybe we need a little more grace in the way we are treating each other, especially in the world of politics. Hmmm. Now that the Democrats are poised to sweep the Republicans off of the table and into the backrooms of history, it's suddenly time to be nice? My initial reaction was hey there, wait just a minute, not so fast, a little payback is in order. But on reflection, I'll back off on that and agree that grace is needed. However, grace is not turning a blind eye to all the shenaginans that have been going on these last eight years (97 days and counting). Grace, yes, but continued investigations into crimes that have been committed and jail time and ignominy for those who have done the illegal. We are a nation of laws - actions have consequences - and not for just the little guys. A memorable item from the book (non political!):

Lawrence Ferlinghetti, a Beat poet from the '50's and '60's, remembering that the message in the '60's was 'Be Here Now'. In today's world, with all the electronic gagetry, the cell phones, the internet, the apt description might be 'Be Somewhere Else Now'. (paraphased from page 185-186 in the book).

Made me chuckle. Which reminds me, golf is one of those things we do that is a Now kind of thing though I have seen golfers young and old on both the tee box and around the green with a golf club in one hand and a cell phone in the other. Multitasking, I guess.

-from Eric: Tales from Q School, inside golf's fifth major, by John Feinstein. Haven't read but two of Feinstein's books: the one about Bobby Knight, and the 'good walk spoiled' one about golf. Looking forward to this one that follows golfers trying to get through Q school and on the professional golfers tour - and stay on it.

Still reading about WWII (Prisoners of the Japanese) and also enjoy taking Stephanie Plum to the bedroom for a nap every now and then. You remember when Diane was besotted with Harry Potter and kept retiring early with him? That wasn't so long ago. Page turns and we go on to other things...

A book: J.A.Jance's Until Proven Guilty

I have been very remiss in my book reading this summer because of all the goings on at the golf course. However, I did just finish a dandy, a detective story set in Seattle (remember, we lived out there way back in the '60's). The book: Until Proven Guilty. Has a lady in a red dress, surly detectives, a surprising amount of love, some violence, a detestable newspaperman, and an ending that the author handles extremely well. And one of the good things about this introduction to J.A. Jance: she has been very prolific in her writing. This particular book was her first of now 18 in the J.P. Beaumont detective series. Got some catching up to do...

Lorena, RFK, Nagasaki

Pictures: Bird apartment complex at Stoll's Lakeview Restaurant.

-Watched some of the women play at the Ginn Open. Lorena leads but only by a bit over a youngster from Taiwan - Yani Tseng. Those two will be joined by Teresa Lu, another young lady from Taiwan, in the final pairing today. Ochoa is always impressive but Tseng was as well yesterday. Expect a good game today - in fact, though five, the Oriental lady has jumped to a one stroke lead over the Mexican lady. Love the international flavor in the LPGA.

-Got a new book going, in fact, two. Ray E. Boomhower's Robert Kennedy and the 1968 Indiana Primary is one which I am reading - how appropriate since once again Indiana is in the political news what with the Hillary-Barack battle for Indiana's delegates. Wasn't living here than (was in Bellevue, WN) but several local golfers remember RFK's visit here in Loogootee. Somebody told me that Joe Allen might have a picture of himself with the candidate - maybe Joe can send me a copy to post - that would be neat. Second book just arrived - from Diane's paperback book swap club: First into Nagasaki, George Weller's long lost account of his censored reporting from that city a month after the dropping of the 2nd atomic bomb there. Each book covers a couple of fairly momentous times 40-60 years ago.

The Ghost, Sam Walton

Afternoon movie: The Ghost. A 'terrifying spine-chiller from South Korea' kept us engrossed for a few hours this afternoon. We both got confused with who was who but in the end, with some careful attention and by comparing notes, we figured out what was going on. Our own confusion probably reduced the suspense and terror some but it retained sufficient horror and 'what's-going-to-happen-nextness' to keep us on the edge of our seats, scrunched up, biting our nails and holding our breath all at the same time. Well, not really, but it was entertaining.

Earlier in the day, finished Sam Walton's Made in America, the book written by the guy who made Wal-Mart (he did have a write helping him - John Huey). Down home guy makes good. As with Dave Halberstam's book, when I finished this one, I wanted to sit down and continue the conversation with Sam. The book was completed shortly before he died back in the early '90's so a lot has happened since then and most notably with Wal-Mart. Would love to have his comments on what his little store has become. From wikipedia.org:

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) is an American public corporation that runs a chain of large, discount department stores. It is the world's largest public corporation by revenue, according to the 2007 Fortune Global 500.^[3] Founded by Sam Walton in 1962, it was incorporated on October 31, 1969, and listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 1972. It is the largest private employer in the world and the fourth largest utility or commercial employer, trailing the Chinese army, the British National Health Service, and the Indian Railways. Wal-Mart is the largest grocery retailer in the United States, with an estimated 20% of the retail grocery and consumables business, as well as the largest toy seller in the U.S., with an estimated 22% share of the toy market.

I think he would take it all in stride and be mildly impressed as he was with his success from the opening of his first store in 1962 to it's 2000 plus store in 1991 (6500 by 2005). I'm impressed.

Halberstam, Siegelman, Tiger

Finished David Halberstam's The Next Century this morning. A book he published in 1991 about Japan, America, education, establishments and oligarchies, business, national security and nationaly security states, Russia, Mexico as a threat and a lot more. As I was finishing it, I very much wanted to sit down with the author and carry on the conversation especially in light of the 17 years that have passed and the very different geopolitical climate that exists now - think the American economic success in the '90's, the rise of China, the 'war on terrorism'. More later on this book which does talk about the next century, the one we're in now, by never talking about it. Very much worth a read - it's a quick read since it is a small book, very much unlike most of his books.

60 Minutes last night had a segment on the Don Siegelman story. tpm.com has a summary, a comment (surprised?), and a clip of the full segment. That story, according to tpm, is:

the prime example of selective prosecution in the Bush Justice Department

and, might I add, a pretty darn good example of justice run amok. Certainly these guys, Rove, Bush, Gonzales, and all their minions, will someday pay the price for their misuse of power.

And on a lighter note: Tiger and Stewart had a nice walk in the park yesterday, didn't they? No pressure on TW, maybe a bit of embarrassment for SC.

Time to get something to eat...

Friday Follies: Obama, Clinton, Woods, Wie, Sampson, LST1166, Halberstam

This and that from around the world of news and sports:

-1st time ever in the US a global primary - voting by mail, fax and the internet. Hey, what a grand idea! Obama won this one, too!

-visited with Jim and Wilma and Erin and Colin yesterday afternoon at Jim's place while Tiger and Michelle were doing their golf thingee in sunnier climes. Hurray for the sterling showing by Mz. Wie! Would love to see her get a win and quiet the critics not to mention boost her own confidence about a gazillion percent.

-Hillary and Barack had a debate in Texas last night. What little I've read indicates that they were very civil to each other. Good for them. Hillary's closing statement - a good one and one in which she refers to her life as a public servant. Bless her.

-Sampson story at IU gets complicated. Players reported to have given ultimatum: Coach goes, we go, too! Oh boy... In the poll at cbssports.com (see linked article), 48% say fire him now.

and other stuff:

-a picture of the USS Washtenaw County (LST1166) off loading troops at Chu Lai in May or June, 1965. I'm probably on that ship somewhere. That landing was the first of many after the folks in Washington decided to go big in Vietnam - turned out to be a very bad decision. Discovered the picture while looking for more information on Di An, Vietnam. Good neighbor Jack Lents was there in 1966 and 1967.

-did finish The Coldest Winter. It's a goodie. Some of the notes I took while reading it:

-MacArthur's G-2's job is to prove his boss is right.
-the decision to go north of the 38th parallel by MacArthur in July of 1950 kind of the opposite of what the elder Bush did in Iraq War I when he chose not to go to Baghdad some 40 years later.
-MacArthur's life up to Inchon: luck on his side; post Inchon: luck ran out.
-the Cold War era closed out the Colonial era.
-General Ridgeway wanted a grinding war, a war of attrition, one in which the Chinese would pay dearly. Sounds like something tried in Vietnam, too.
-Maxwell Taylor, who later played a major role in Vietnam, told his troops to abandon Pork Chop Hill, a little piece of Korea that had seen both sides win and lose and suffer high casualties. The truce was signed a few weeks later. Good neighbor Jack Lents arrived in Korea the day the truce was signed.
-One of the many consequences of the Korean War: NSC-68 came to pass and the United States became a National Security State; when Eisenhower left office several years later, he warned the American people of the dangers of the Military-industrial complex.
-Another consequence: Democrats were labeled as weak on Defense and soft on Communism which led both Kennedy and Johnson to make decisions about Vietnam that had more to do with standing up to that charge than the reality of the situation.

The book is another good one from Halberstam and I highly recommend it.

Time for breakfast and more of Halberstam - The Next Century. Do you remember something called the peace dividend?

Getting ready for the photo shoot; MacArthur's G2

Picture: Korean War: Chinese crossing the Yalu River (link)

The boys have put in their requisite time on the computer - that would be with all sorts of games usually having to do with armor and weapons, thrusts and slashes and chops and gunslinging. Lucas getting something to eat; Ian brushing his teeth (I think).

I've had time to do some more reading on the Korean War, my more advanced (?) fascination with armor and weapons, thrusts and slashes and gunslinging. Halberstam has just been talking about MacArthur's intelligence crew (G2) skewing the data to give him what he wanted: the Chinese will not enter the Korean War, and if they did, MacArthur believed, the air arm of the UN forces would destroy them as they crossed the Yalu River. Nobody told him that the Chinese already had 250000 to 300000 troops already in North Korea. The author likened it to later manipulations of intelligence that ended up in comparable military disasters: LBJ and the Tonkin Gulf and Vietnam; GWB and WMD and Iraq.

Sun is shining and climbing; temperatures, too. Good time for a walk on the wild side.

After five: Halberstam's The Coldest Winter

My Monday has been partly filled with Halberstam's book and partly with personal taxes and partly with good walking exercise up and down St. Mary's Road. The evening hours are still to come.

On Halberstam and the Korean War - just finished a section on the fall of China: the rise of the China Lobby and the blame game - the author makes it clear that America didn't lose China but rather it collapsed from within, that Mao Zedong and his merry band of followers won rather easily against the inept and greedy Chiang Kai-Shek and his not so merry band of followers - Mao Zedong referred to Chiang Kai-Shek as his supply officer, alluding to the fact that many of the American provided supplies to fight the civil war going on in China intended for the Nationalists ended up with the Communists (sounds like Vietnam and Iraq...). The author opened his book with a long section on the early battles of the Korean conflict, going into much detail. He almost lost me as that is not what I wanted to read - descriptions of battles drawn to a fairly fine detail. Fortunately I skipped ahead and got into the conversations that deal with the personalities and the policies and the events that go with that time period. George Marshall, Harry Truman, MacArthur, Dewey, Stilwell, Roosevelt, Eisenhower: just a few of the characters. The Depression, WWII, the Cold War, the Atomic Bomb, the demobilization after WWII: a few of the events. It's good, about what I would expect of one of my favorite authors.

Ask the Dust, Drugs and Profiteering, Dome Dollars

Picture: Yesterday's sunrise from the north side of the house.

Finished a whale of a book last night: Ask the Dust by John Fante. Learned of the author for the first time about a year ago from a pbs program about him. Put the request on Diane's paperback book swap club and it eventually got sent her way by another individual who had read it. Small, sparten, set in the late 30's in Los Angeles; young wannabe writer in from Colorado falls in love with a waitress who in turn loves another. Lots of Catholic references and allusions - someone even called it a 'Catholic' book. Great read; pick it up.

Not too much golfing yesterday, like zero. Do want you to know that it did get up to 50 degrees around here - about 10 pm. Pointed that out to Diane; her comment: 'golf weather'.

From the Indy Star: Has to be something ironic about the fact that during these not so good economic times Eli Lilly is reporting fantastic 4th quarter earnings. Reason: "...solid sales of its antidepressant Cymbalta..."

Also from the Indy Star, word that it is going to cost 3.5 million dollars to tear down the Dome. Wow! Wonder if I can get someone to pay me for tearing down some buildings that are no longer useful?

Time for breakfast with Diane and then maybe a trip up to the golf course.

David Halberstam

Was reading some commentary in reaction to this posting by Kevin Drum:

January 24, 2008

WHAM! BOOM!....Did Barack Obama have a "testy" exchange with a reporter on Tuesday? No. Did Hillary Clinton almost let loose with a "Dean scream" on Wednesday? No. Do reporters routinely inflate minor campaign trail incidents in an effort inject color and conflict into their coverage? Yes indeed. The lesson of the day is: Always remember to take conflict stories with a great big shaker of salt until you see the video, the full exchange, or corroborating testimony yourself. There will be a quiz tomorrow.

—Kevin Drum 3:14 PM Permalink | Trackbacks | Comments (28)

when I came across this suggestion to read David Halberstam's last book, The Coldest Winter: America and the Korean War. You remember, he died last April 24th in an automobile accident at the age of 73. I remembered that I had meant to put that on a list of must reads since Halberstam is one of my all time favorite authors but then promptly forgot. Not today though. I immediately called Mary at the Loogootee Public Library (great place!) and had her oder the book for me. She is doing just that which is just great. Then I went back and read some of the commentary on the book at amazon.com and found this really touching remembrance of Halberstam by Anna Quindlen. To quote just some of it but do go read the whole thing; Halberstam was apparently not only a very good writer but also a very good human being. From the remembrance:

Much has been made of the fact that he was on one last reporting trip when he died. But he was also on one of his patented David-Halberstam-explains-it-all-to-you tours. I got an email from a woman who heard him speak at Berkeley on that trip. She wrote: "I wasn't prepared for the degree of grace and kindness he exhibited. He would listen intently as the question-cum-statement rolled on, then pause, take an extra step, and deliver, in its brevity and precision, the most generous response possible. I just couldn't help smiling while saying to myself--Mary K, remember this lesson in human kindness and practice it."

And another note: The tone of the comments at The Washington Monthly, Kevin Drum's blog, is so much more humane that it is at dkos and tpm. Bicker, bicker, bicker - gets old real fast. Digby at Hullabaloo must of felt the same way the other day when she had everybody take a breather and shut down the comments section. In the end, a hat tip to 'cleve' who took the time to suggest a good read by a good writer and a good man.

It's a cold, sunny day up here on the hill. I've been for a walk int he cold, have did a little work on the taxes and even finished a book. Asne Seierstad's The Bookseller of Kabul is a pretty good primer on Afghanistan as it exists these last several years. Lots of information but the real fascination is the description of the male-female dynamic in the Afghani culture. Think I have mentioned this before as Diane read this book and had quite a few comments to make, out loud, about the way the women were being treated by the *#%@&* men. And, my oh my, those poor women over there do live a life comparable to a slave's. Completely under the thumb of the male, the husband, the father; and when he's not around, number one son is the authority. Things are changing now, maybe. Taliban has been sent packing. Of course, a lot of the warlords and tribal leaders really don't want things to change that much. At least the burqa, the clothing that covered the women from head to toe with but a slit for the eyes to see and worn whenever the women left the sanctuary of their home, has been put back on the hook for the time being. (Go here for a strongly worded condemnation of the use of the burqa.) Did you know that Afghanistan was once a desirable destination for backpackers and the like? Did you know that Afghani hash was once considered the best? Back in the '60's and 70's....

Time to go get ready for the rest of the day. The Bookseller of Kabul is an excellent read. Highly recommended.

Current and Recent Readings List from 2007

Enjoyed them all and was surprised to see how many fiction books I read. Diane's influence.

Current and Recent Readings

• A Thousand Splendid Suns
• Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress
• Blackwater: the rise of the world's most powerful mercenary army
• Boom!
• Catfish and Mandala
• Divisadero
• Follow the Money
• Goodbye, Darkness, A Memoir of the Pacific War
• Shadows and Wind a Modern View of Vietnam
• State of Denial
• The Book Thief
• The Crossing
• The English Patient
• The Final Days
• The Piano Tuner
• The Road

La Vie En Rose, The City of Joy, and Golf

Enjoyed a very good movie tonight: La Vie En Rose, a story of Edith Piaf, a French singer from my Mom's generation and who died young at 47 in 1963. Worth your time; get it. Gets a five star rating from me; from Diane, a six, no, a ten... I think she liked it.

Also finished my first book of the new year, one which took my breath away. The City of Joy by Dominique Lapierre. All about life in a section of Calcutta that is home to the poor and the destitute. Made me tear up more than once.

At the golf course for the afternoon and did play nine holes with Doug Denson. A couple of 36's - pretty good for a January day with ground that was very wet. Doug is a very good putter and more instinctive than analytical in his approach to putting. He does use a couple of 2x4's to groove his putting stroke when it gets out of whack on him. Expect the 2x4's serve the same purpose as this putting track system, making sure that one's stroke is on a line both backwards and forwards.

Alan Swayze pulled up as I was leaving to enquire about the start of the Senior League. His partner last year, Charlie Sheetz, wanted to make sure Alan was on board. Alan is a brand new grandpa and enjoying his new status though would love to see the new granddaughter more than he does - she's way down south in Atlanta.

Pretty mild winter so far - knock on wood. Think we've had more playable days here in January in the first nine days than we had in the entire month of December. Please knock on wood again. And yes we would love to have some more.

So it goes.

Christmas Wednesday: Golfing Day! Books: Blackwater and Jesus

Should be able to get out and unbend, meaning play some golf, a little today with the temperatures getting into the high 40's. Might be a little wet but we don't care, it will be good to get out 'neath the blue sky and feel the wind on our cheeks and the good earth beneath our feet. Not to mention hit a ball or two.

Hope your Christmas was jim dandy. At our place, Diane was the only one to make it through the day unscathed by ill feelings, that would be in the literal sense of the phrase. Marty brought a cold down with him with hopes of feeling better; he did feel very good about being the agent of change with his mom and pop with the hook up of broadband; but his body failed to improve in any measurable way, felt worse in fact. And then I came down with what looks now as if it was a bit of food poisoning, a very uncomfortable headachy nauseous trembly condition that thankfully only lasted for about four hours. Fine now, thank you. Diane sailed on through the day, spending most of it taking advantage of the high speed internet connection.

Have started a new book (surprise there, right?), one which has done a pretty good job of keeping my hackles raised from the very get go. Blackwater: the rise of the world's most powerful army by Jeremy Scahill. It's the story of Eric Prince and Blackwater, that security firm which has received so much attention with it's wild and unruly actions in Iraq, the firm without oversight and seemingly operating outside the law of any country with zero oversight from its employer, currently the State Department. Briefly, if you're in need of a right thinking, God fearing, mercenary group of guys to go fight a crusade for you, this may be the out fit for you. Of course, at the moment it is busy putting down the infidels in their own back yard but am sure that some sort of arrangement could be worked out. But you had better have a lot of money; it's pricey getting a security force theses days especially with a blackwater name attached to it.

And then there is PBS News last night closing its report with an interview with Peter J. Gomes, the author of The Scandalous Gospel of Jesus. Among the questions: just who would Jesus be hanging out with if he were among us today? According to Gomes, it wouldn't be with the Christians but rather with the same people he hung out with 2000 some years ago, the Mary Magdalenes (read prostitutes), the poor, the downtrodden. Hmmmm... Food for thought, especially on a Christmas Wednesday.

Best hie myself hither and get ready to head to the piece of green up the road and around the corner. Guess it will be ok to leave the turning of the orb called Earth to others for the moment. (Which reminds me - caught the NOVA broadcast of the December 25th tsunami of 2004 again last night; one of the scientists said that that undersea earthquake that brought on the tsunami actually sped up Earth's race through the universe, what with the tectonic plates collapsing into each other a bit, getting closer to the core which resulted in an action similar to a skater doing a twirl with her arms extended and then dropping them to her side which, as you know, makes for a faster spin (which reminds me of Frank Sinatra, Peggy Lee and that marvelous spin I'm in, or going to be in if I ever get out of here...)).

Sunday: The English Patient

Finished The English Patient, another Michael Ondaatje humdinger. As he did in Divisadero, he has stories in stories but this time comes back and finishes the one he starts with, at least with two of the four main characters. And that would be Kip, the Indian Sikh, and Hana, the nurse from Canada. They were the youngsters, each right around twenty. Then there were the old guys, the English Patient himself; and Caravaggio, a friend of Hana's father, a thief by inclination. Each of them in their forties. Unlikely setting - a monastery in Italy in 1945. Kip is the sapper, a demolition man, who is in the area defusing unexploded bombs. A couple of love stories here; a bunch of periphery characters who are interesting; a little history of the '30s and the research going on in the deserts of North Africa. All terribly interesting. One of the interesting items: the English Patient and one of his associates would carry but one book with them as they headed off into a desert on some kind of trek. The books: the English Patient had Herodotus; and Madox, his associate and fellow researcher, took with him Tolstoy's Anna Karenina.

From amazon.com and the links above:

In The Histories, Herodotus chronicles the rise of the Persian Empire and its dramatic war with the Greek city-states. Within that story he includes rich veins of anthropology, ethnography, geology, and geography, pioneering these fields of study, and explores such universal themes as the nature of freedom, the role of religion, the human costs of war, and the dangers of absolute power.

Persian Empire - hmmm, that would be like Iran. Might have some insight for those dealing with problems in that area today. And

Married to a powerful government minister, Anna Karenina is a beautiful woman who falls deeply in love with a wealthy army officer, the elegant Count Vronsky. Desperate to find truth and meaning in her life, she rashly defies the conventions of Russian society and leaves her husband and son to live with her lover. Condemned and ostracized by her peers and prone to fits of jealousy that alienate Vronsky, Anna finds herself unable to escape an increasingly hopeless situation.

Have read Anna Karenina several times and can vouch for Madox's good taste. Herodotus received some of my time in college but not enough to remember. Might have to give Herodotus another try.

As for Michael Ondaatje. Two thumbs up on his story telling.

Romney and Sports, The English Patient, Comma Noting

Speaking of Republican candidates for president, this note seen at tpm:

For my money, the real time bomb for Mitt may be his comment last night about seeing "the Patriots win the World Series." Heck, they haven't won a Series since Yastrzemski was quarterback.

--Josh Marshall

Oh oh. Not good for the Romney man though I can understand getting a few details mixed up here and there. Anyway, he has lots bigger things to think about than sports figures and teams in a crazy-with-success sports metropolis.

Word of the day: Sapper (long answer). Kept coming across it in The English Patient and finally looked it up in the dictionary (short answer). Do you know 'sapper'?

Almost mid way through The English Patient and it has finally grabbed my attention. Funny the way it happened: Hana, the female character in the book, a twenty something nurse staying with and treating a badly burned pilot in an Italian monastery, is reading from a Kipling book, and at one point kind of runs through a paragraph. The pilot, the English patient, stops her and tells her how to read Kipling, slowly, with patience, noting every comma, thinking about him sitting there at his desk and looking up and watching the birds and then returning to his writing, writing done with ink and pen, slowly, deliberately. So, being one who pays attention to not so subtle suggestions from authors, I slowed my own reading down and paid attention to the words and the commas.

It's turned out to be a nice change in pace and maybe not such a bad suggestion for expansion outside the realm of reading. For instance, while playing golf or walking with a grandchild, or watching the antics of hungry birds of a morning. I can hear Rex and Jack encouraging me to get on with it as I stand on the tee box and remember one more thing I want to share with them, or even Diane hinting just a little that I could go just a little faster. Come to think of it, guess I have lived my life with that 'not-so-fast-johnny' attitude. Doesn't mean I can't slow down a little more, does it? Will have to remember to take the time to smell the flowers along the way; that's what they said back in the '70's. Or, as Michael Ondaatje would have it, pay attention to the commas. (What are the 'commas' in life? in your life? Commas: little marks that help establish rhythm and meaning?)

So it goes on a misty Friday morning in Loogootee, Indiana.

Meanderings of a Monday: Pictures, Boom!

Pictures: A variety.

Finished Boom! I recommend it if you are at all interested in wandering down memory lane or even visiting some of the major events and personages of the Sixties, the Sixties being defined by the author Tom Brokaw as the period from JFK's assassination to RMN's resignation. Interesting times we lived through. Brokaw ends his tome with James Lovell, one of the astronauts who circled the moon in December of 1968, which mission sent back some startling pictures of Earth, one of which was used by Stewart Brand and his Whole Earth Catalog. Remember that wondrous and extremely instructional book that guided those of us who were part of the 'back to the land movement'? Those raised in the country or on farms would think this as just a collection of stuff of everyday life. For the likes of me, it was an education and an entry to a world of self sufficiency. But I digress since it is reaction to the moon mission on which I wanted to remark - that being messages to Lovell and the other astronauts that thanked them for 'saving 1968', the year of the assassinations of MLK and RFK. Indeed.

A Few Days of Winter

Pictures: A little winter in our neighborhood.

Watching Tiger stumble and catch himself: seven shot lead reduced to two and now back up to four. They are on the back nine; sure looks nice out there in Southern California. Switched over to see the Colts stumble in the red zone and settle for three out in Oakland.

Continuing with Boom! The author is running through a series of brief discussions with and about many figures from the Sixties from a variety of lifestyles and perspectives. For instance, Bob Kerry, maverick Vietnam vet who has served as both a governor and a senator from Nebraska, and now as a college president in New York City. Dick Cheney makes an appearance and is substantially rounded out for me by the additional information that Brokaw provides including the fact that many people wonder what happened to him after 911 - a very different individual has emerged and not in a necessarily positive one - remember, he's the guy who said we would have to visit the dark side now that our homeland had been visited by terrorists. Also John McCain, notable because once released from his POW status in 1973, he was given several binders of news clips to help him catch up on some of the things that had happened during his imprisonment and forced ignorance of what was going on in the world. That would be from October of 1967 to sometime in 1973. He spent a long time catching up and trying to figure out what had happened (still got people trying to do that...).

Am enjoying it.

World turns. Looking forward to the middle of the week and the warmer temperatures. Golf weather? Maybe. In the meantime, more Brokaw.

Done with Follow the Money and Back to Boom!

Picture: Snow scene early this morning.

Finished John Anderson's Follow the Money earlier today and yes the bad guys, at least some of them, have seen some sort of justice come their way. Mostly about Delay, who ends up jobless and facing lots of time in court, and Abramoff, whose high living came to a sudden halt and who now finds himself in prison.

Back to Brokaw's Boom! where I found out that Donald Segretti, who spent time in prison after being convicted of conspiracy and dirty tricks in the Watergate mess back in the early '70's, had someone working with him during the 1972 campaign who found fame and fortune in years to come plying his own dirty tricks in a number of elections both local and national. That would be that rascal, Karl Rove, Bush Brain, now also out of a job though a voluntary decision on his part (or so we are led to believe).

Snow and rain today. Tiger and others on television this afternoon. Tiger doing well; others not so well. Colts playing Oakland tomorrow and should do well as they are doing well these past several weeks.

So it goes...

Oh, almost forgot. Bill Clinton on Charlie Rose last night. The former president impressive as usual. Catch a recap from Editor & Publisher.