Our sympathies to the people of Paris!

My wife and I send our thoughts and prayers for the people of Paris, and all of France. 

Thank a Vet! Veterans Day 2015.

Thank you to all of our veterans, those who have served and those who are now serving.

History of Veterans Day.

Happy 240th Birthday U.S. Marines!

U.S.Marines celebrate their 240th birthday.

The Martian - (movie)

The Martian, starring Matt Damon, is a wonderful science fiction movie. If you haven’t seen it yet, please do. From the panoramic beauty of the film’s Mars to Mark Watney’s (Damon) pithy, wise-ass remarks, I became enthralled and lost in the movie (the good kind of lost). 

It’s a smart movie and accurately depicts the science, which becomes, in effect, a character in the movie, too. The audience is respected as being intelligent enough to follow along, which is a welcome change from Hollywood.

 

Go see this movie!

Thanks for stopping by.

Sgt, Dunn number 4 - first draft is done!

I finished the first draft of the new Sgt. Dunn novel (number 4) on Friday night, 10/2/15. Now the editing process begins.

My fascination with military stuff

My fascination with military stuff probably started when I was about nine or ten. My mom was a WWII Spar (the Coast Guard’s version of the Waves). She had a 1944 copy of Bluejackets' Manual, the Navy’s training manual that she’d been given at boot camp, which was in Florida, a long way from the farm in central Missouri. I read that whole thing, all 500+ pages of it. Granted, my little boy brain probably didn’t really understand all of it, but I clearly recall doing something interesting with my new found knowledge.

I wanted to start some sort of club, I have no idea what kind now, and wanted something to identify us in a hierarchy (although I doubt I knew that word then). I had a six-pointed sheriff’s star (maybe it came with a six-gun and holster outfit I had?). I got some stiff card paper, maybe the thickness of two index cards, and traced the star shape on the paper, about eight stars to a sheet.

Next, in pencil, I painstakingly labeled each star with a Navy officer’s rank from Ensign to Admiral. Finally, I cut those things out, which must have been exhausting with those goofy “safe” round-tipped kids’ scissors. It makes my hand hurt to just think about it.

Whether the club ever really got off the ground is hard to say. I think I was the only one interested in being an admiral. Sometimes, great kid ideas just die a natural death.

I signed that book at some point in the long-ago past and included our home address. My handwriting was a lot better then.

I still have that manual. It sits on the bookshelf with all of my WWII history books. Who knows, maybe I’ll start writing a series about the Navy in WWII.

Happy Father's Day!

Wishing all fathers everywhere a Happy Father's Day!

Warm wishes for a wonderful day,

Ronn