Aristo! Aristo! A la lanterne!: Saturday evening....

Saturday, January 9, 2010

Saturday evening....

'Tis a quiet evening, and chilly. It's in the 20's now, and headed to bone chilling 9 degrees* tonight. Wind chills in the negative numbers give me precious little reason to go trekking this night.

So, it will be a peaceful evening, with a fire in the stove and the wolves at bay. My partner in crime is off being special for a few hours, so the entertainment will be

my sole choice. Tonight, some war stories. Specifically, 'Hell in the Pacific', a historical documentary on five DVD's.

I have always been interested in history, with the WWII era holding a special fascination. My father and I, for all we seldom got along, did build model airplanes together. It was one interest we shared, one of very few.

We not only built model planes, but also entire airfields to scale. A British field from WWI, and allied field (European) from WWII, and an American fighter base from the pacific campaign.

Doing this with my father ignited an interest in the history of the time that lasts to this day. It was one of the things my father gave me.... that I never thanked him for. Thinking about it today... I never said a whole lot to him really... and certainly not that I loved him, or cared about him. I never really tried to understand him as a human being, he was just 'Dad' with all that meant or didn't mean.

Now, as life smacks me around with a will, I understand better how he felt and what he thought. He was human, with the flaws that come with the title. Just a man... not an oracle or some pillar to be clung to... just a man. He tried his best to provide and care for his family and friends, but I realize more each day how little gratitude I had back then. All the days he was up at 5am, and headed off to work... the evenings he snored in the recliner, exhausted from the day.

Yes... as I get older I understand him more each day.

*The normal temps for this day historically run in the mid-20's. Tonight will not set a record, but it IS about 1/3 the average temp for this date. To Algore and all his BS spewing climate cult twits.... Bite my big, hairy, frozen rump.

1 comment:

Paul Banbury said...: How was the video? The war in the Pacific for me is the theater less familiar, and it holds new discoveries.; January 13, 2010 at 4:20 PM

Post a Comment

Robert Heinlein

"Do not confuse "duty" with what other people expect of you; they are utterly different. Duty is a debt you owe to yourself to fulfill obligations you have assumed voluntarily. Paying that debt can entail anything from years of patient work to instant willingness to die. Difficult it may be, but the reward is self-respect.

But there is no reward at all for doing what other people expect of you, and to do so is not merely difficult, but impossible. It is easier to deal with a footpad than it is with the leech who wants "just a few minutes of your time, please — this won't take long." Time is your total capital, and the minutes of your life are painfully few. If you allow yourself to fall into the vice of agreeing to such requests, they quickly snowball to the point where these parasites will use up 100 percent of your time — and squawk for more!
So learn to say No — and to be rude about it when necessary.
Otherwise you will not have time to carry out your duty, or to do your own work, and certainly no time for love and happiness. The termites will nibble away your life and leave none of it for you.

(This rule does not mean that you must not do a favor for a friend, or even a stranger. But let the choice be yours. Don't do it because it is "expected" of you.)"