Read 4 Fun

There is no place like home as our caped hero found out on his return from his all planet tour. It had been years since he had been back. Even at the speed of light, things take time. Things had changed and he missed the comfort of a full-body wrap-around phone booth. Lois Superwoman was now a member of the Crusader team and they were back from their honeymoon to defend the American Way. First, he had to check in to see what was needed. Several elements of the American Way had changed. He wanted to meet the Boss but even that had changed. Springsteen never had orange hair.

Image by Michael Gaida from Pixabay

In a previous life, I had the opportunity to spend a year in El Paso. Stationed at Biggs Field while studying the Vietnamese language, we were preparing to assist in a war far away from mainland USA. If we fight them there, we won’t have to fight them here. That was the claim of a corrupt president who was brought down not by the war, but by his lies. We were US Army soldiers and we followed the orders of the man in the White House because that was our duty. We followed them up to the time there was a genuine fear that illegal orders were about to be issued. At that point, a directive was issued. For those who want to know more about that directive, read the memoir written by Robert McNamara.

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay The Twittering Tale for this week is about regrets. I found the picture very…

Photo by Nareeta Martin on Unsplash The photo prompt for this week has high buildings that seem to enclose lots…

“Clothes don’t make the man.” In the generation according to PC, I suppose I should include women somehow in a revisionist modern statement. But if I were a woman, I would hate to have someone throw a statement like “Clothes don’t make the woman,” at me. It just sounds disrespectful to a group of folks who spend a couple of hours a day prepping to meet the world. I just change out of the T-shirt and jeans I slept into my other T-shirt and pair of jeans. For me, that is formal. I could have worn shorts. As you can see, there are dogs that dress more formal than me.

My “coronation” picture is by Charles 🇵🇭 on Unsplash

It’s playtime with another great prompt from Kat for you to create a story in 280 characters. A few weeks ago we had a prompt with nothing but pillows, a blinding white background. The prompt this week is very dark and thus very appropriate for our UK colleagues as they face a gloomy but imminent future with “The Continent.” But remember Winston and Dunkirk and the Air Battle for Britain. And afternoons of putting the kettle on no matter what the crisis. Somewhere in the background, there is the ultimate secret weapon (referred to in my tale). That weapon, backed by British grit will conquer all. Except for the rain.

For this week’s Twittering Tale, I was reminded of ivory tower academics divorced from reality who for whatever reason tend to overthink every possible facet of a problem so that in the end there can be no practical solution acceptable to those charged with implementing a solution. The person who comes to mind is National Security Advisor John Bolton. I always thought of him as a scary person, someone too rash to be trusted next to the good china (nuclear weapons). His condemnation of North Korea was in line with what I thought of the Hermit Heretic. But his views were expressed too harshly in a binary way that I considered dangerous (We win, You Lose, Accept it). I never considered him an ivory tower academic. These days, he is trying to disguise himself as one. Just as he was a danger when he rattled sabers, he is now a danger as he defends the loving sentiments of a Commander in Chief who finally was persuaded to go to Vietnam. Democracy Don would visit the Hermit Hero to deliver a belated Valentine. They would have lunch. They would make nice.

On the not-so-fake-news (‘cause we can see it with our own eyes) we have been treated recently to scenes of the aftermath of wars. One of the least gruesome views has been of the staggering amounts of material left behind in the countries where wars have taken place. As I looked upon a huge store of abandoned US military equipment, I couldn’t understand why the military had not destroyed equipment they could not take home.