PAIN
Pain? My wife says I am insensitive. I guess I am not as sensitive as most people. An indication of this is that I am continually doing inadvertent damage to myself: cutting fingers, or bumping into things. But I do heal fast. (more…)
Texting while driving is another of the long list of driver distractions that are dangerous. Why have a law against texting without covering all the other distracting activities? We should consider a law against Driving While Distracted: DWD. We drivers are all guilty on occasion. (more…)
A few years ago I was searching for a firm footing for my religious beliefs.
My 1953 Chevrolet pickup had died on me half way between Big Spring and Abilene, so I was standing in the hot sun beside the road with my thumb out. (more…)
How does a book get to the top of the “Best Seller” list?
It isn’t always because it is a good read. (more…)
GERMAN BRUTALITY
Readers of my novel, Amour et Vengeance, (Love & Revenge) have questioned my depiction of brutality by the German soldiers. Is it exaggerated or is it historically accurate?
I know immediately that these people have not read accounts of WW 2 and descriptions of what some German soldiers did during this time. (more…)
ENGINEER’S GUIDE TO
DIETING
Engineers don’t diet. At least not willingly.
It usually involves their POSSLQ. That’s an old acronym that is not in fashion anymore that meant your spouse or someone you were living with.
Anyway, my POSSLQ often goes on a diet when she thinks something makes her look fat. This is usually the latest diet in fashion. It’s always a new, different diet. But the new eating menu affects me, of course.
Now why don’t engineers diet? Because they are too organized, structured, focused. We have to be to produce dependable designs.
I’ll give you an example. (more…)
If you like stories about clandestine actions against the Nazis while they occupied Europe for four years, you should read “Agent For The Resistance.” This is a true story told by Herman Bodson, a Belgian resistance fighter, from 1941 thru 1945.
His exploits of sabotage against the Germans in Belgium with his band accomplished as much as any small group that I have read about. Also amazing is that he didn’t tell his story until fifty years later, and it was printed in English by Texas A & M University Press.
I have borrowed from his story in my novels about WW2.
Any new author who wishes to sell her book realizes in this new publishing world that ultimately only the author will be able to get her book sold. An author (even those who have an agent and publisher) will eventually realize that she must take an active role in selling her book. (more…)
Engineer’s Guide to Firefighting
(or how to burn down your house)
My neighbor must have laughed all the way home after he saw me in my chain saw outfit. Over my ears I had two consume cups stuffed with socks held in place under my knit cap with duct tape.
I should have called a tree expert, but we were on a tight budget. Times had been tough.
We had a remnant of a Hackberry tree in front of the new house, actually old, just purchased. This ugly stump had to be removed. No problem. I rented a chain saw and set to work cutting it off at ground level. (more…)
ILE DE NOIRMONTIER
Gégé’s parents had a house on the resort island of Noirmontier off the French coast near St. Naziere. The Germans had a submarine base there which was frequently bombed by the Allies.
Gégé could identify airplanes by the sound of their engines. British bombers had a lower tone than the German fighters. But the British Spitfire had a distinctive whine/whistle that she knew.
Gégé and her sister swam the in surf in front of their house. Many boats had been hit in the area with sunken vessels and hulks floating all around. It was shocking for them to discover bodies floating up to the beaches. Some of the bodies appeared fresh but some were bloated. They would tell a soldier who would send people to gather up the latest corpse.
The Germans took over most of their house. It was a two story, stone structure with a balcony in front overlooking the beach and the Atlantic ocean.
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