What is a Week end?

My Team Sergeant Ron said of this photo; "The Captain writing a report that no one cares about."

There is a great line in the first season of Downton Abbey when one character mentions that he is looking forward to the upcoming weekend. And the incomparable Maggie Smith, playing the Dowager Countess Grantham perfectly delivers the line; “What is… a week end?” She says this so convincingly that watching it one genuinely believes…

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I’d rather be busy

My best friend sent me a text message today. He was making a wry observation about his job and this led to the inevitable inquiries as to our weekends. We chatted each listing our weekend activities. Neither of us were slouches this weekend.  His involved a little travel and the building of a new deck.…

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Never Done

The work is never done. Writing, working, yard work, the basics of day to day keeping up a house and family. I don’t mind and can’t complain. In fact if nothing else I have doubled down on work. In addition to all the other stuff, Fred and I have started a podcast. Which is convenient…

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Deported to Sweden

So, the three of you that read this may have noticed I have posted much of late. I had to take some time off to finish a manuscript. When things get close to a deadline I tend to disappear. My family and friends don’t see or hear much from me.  I spent last week writing,…

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Last Saturday

There was a lot going on last Saturday. There was a Big, Beautiful, Parade in our Nations Capitol. There were No King rallies all over America. There were riots/protests in L.A. but that seems like a daily occurrence.  There was a lot of controversy on the internet about the poor Marching skills on display in…

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Memorial Day

Over on my Substack I wrote about people whom I served with in the Army who are now gone. I am at an age where I have lost friends and family and seem to go to more funerals than weddings. I also went into two professions where there seem to be more opportunities to shuffle…

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Phone Call

I complain about my house a lot. It was and still remains a fixer upper. When we found it my Long Suffering Wife and I had been looking for two years. We were living in a two bedroom condo, which had been great when we bought it. But two kids later we wanted more space.…

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Joan

We bought our house in September of 2013. It was kind of a fixer upper and mostly still is. Every year or two we spring for one of the big projects. Sometimes like the Ductless Air Conditioning they are planned and sometimes like the very expensive plumbing fix a few years ago they aren’t. The…

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Just like the Writer.

Last Saturday night I got all dressed up. I might have been singing along with Billy Idol’s “Dancing With Myself” while my fingers fumbled with the shirt studs on my Tuxedo shirt. Not being James Bond, or the leader of Brass Band I don’t wear a tuxedo often. When I do they are usually rented.…

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Before he was Quint

This morning we woke up. The boys were given their Easter candy and my Long Suffering Wife put the finishing touches on the strawberry tart she made. The tart was fantastic. While we were in our post-breakfast state, before I sat down to write my Substack my Long Suffering Wife said. “Who’s the actor in…

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