Women in Dangerous Jobs.

That was our theme at Saguaro Romance Writers last Saturday.  We had a toxicologist from the crime lab,  an A-10 pilot from Davis Monthan, who flew missions over Afghanistan and a detective in sex crimes with the Tucson Police Department.

Interesting stuff about how they dealt with male colleagues risks in flying and risks on the street.  For people who want to write about them, it was great.

 

G20

It used to be the G7.  Something like 80% of the world’s population is in the 20 countries belonging to this group.

The conference was supposed to be in New York, but with the U.N. session, it would be too much, plus, Pittsburgh is considered a modernizing city being reborn.

I wish Jack were alive to bounce this off.  People I know from Pittsburgh say many of the long term residents have not benefited from said boom.

Americans normally do not think of Pittsburgh being a city to host that sort of thing.  In the U.K. it would have been held in Birmingham, I reckon.

I watched the tape of the protesters.  What are they protesting for?  They are not going to be able to get what they want.  As we grew up saying in Brooklyn, the fix is in.  It is going to happen.  Deal with it.  How do we expect to change this?

Pittsburgh’s Mayor must have loved the attention and money coming in.  Pittsburgh’s Police Chief probably silently took some aspirin and Tums and got to work on how, the leaders would be protected and demonstrators could protest legally.  As if the Police Chief was going to tell the Mayor, Mr. Mayor, this is a very stupid idea.

Bonnie Prince Charlie, Update.

I did the speech again for TV Toastmasters last night.  Marcia, our camera person and Division Governor thinks I should do it for the Intl Speech Contest in the Spring.

Much of what I learned is from a great book by Arthur Herman called How the Scots Invented the Modern World.  The prince landed  July 23rd, 1745 on the Herbrides island of Eriskay.

The first person to greet them was a man named Alexander MacDonald, who said, “Go back from whence you came.  The country will not rise with you.”

There were only seven landed by the French ship with no supporting French army.  An intelligent person would have departed at once.  While Bonnie Prince Charlie was charismatic, intelligence was not one of his strong points.

He managed to get a Jacobite uprising going, get his invasion as far South as Derby, England until his generals realized the rebels could be cut off and brought them back to Scotland.

Against better advice, he chose a terrible place to fight.  Culloden.  Wide open.  Only when he saw the Redcoats, did it finally dawn on him, just HOW MUCH trouble he was in.

And so ended the Forty Five.

Health Care Debate, The Silly Take.

We don’t need a health care system.  You aren’t supposed to get sick in our great country.  If you get sick, you are not being productive for our nation.  You can’t get sick.  Sick days?  Not being productive?  It is not the American way.

If you aren’t productive enough in old age, there is the ice floe, that invention from the Inuit.  We’re Americans, we don’t get sicl.

Health Care Debate.

Something needs to be done.  No question there.  How are we going to pay for all this?  That is another question.

In European nations, yes, you do get government health care, but it is not as though you are not paying for it.  In exchange your taxed at a much higher rate.

Where then, is the balance?  People who contribute to our society should be taken care of medically, so they can keep contributing.

I don’t really know what will work best, this is just how I see it.

1st Turning Point.

Great online resource.  They published an essay of mine called Public Speaking for Shy Writers. The link is for my essay, but please be sure to read the other excellent writers who have posted.

Mary Poppins with My Silliness

I have been driving my family and friends mad with this for two days.  For those who remember the Mary Poppins movie, she gives the children tuppence to pay for bird seed to feed the pigeons.  (I grew up in New York City.  Feeding the little buggers is not really a good thing, because of the end product.  Hopefully I do not have to explain).

Well anyway, the father takes the children to his employer, Bank of England to deposit the tuppence.  The kids have not told Dad what the real motive for the money was.

The aging bank director coughs and chokes, “When stand the Bank of England, England stands, choke choke, gasp.  When fall the Bank of England, England Falls!  Choke choke gasp.”

“All for the lack of Tuppence.”  The young lad does not hand over the Tuppence.  In my version, the next person you see is Queen Victoria with the Household Guards.  “Young man,” she intoned.  “That tuppence is the difference between success and disaster.”

“I am sorry Your Majesty, but the tuppence is to feed the pigeons.”

“WHAT?!  Why you young brat!  We have Zulus and Fuzzy Wuzzy’s in the Sudan to keep in their place.  I’ll have that tuppence now!”

With that, the Queen ordered her Household Guard to get the tuppence.  They picked the lad up and shook him upside down.  The tuppence clattered on the floor.  Dad scooped it up and placed it with the clerk.

And thus, Mary Poppins was sternly disciplined,  and the realm and empire were saved.

Cuba 46 Years Later.

As a child, I enjoyed watching Luis Tiant, known as El Tiante.  With his unique pitching windup, skilled pitching, and off the mound with his moustache laughter and cigars.

Last night, ESPN showed a documentary about the NOvember, 2007 visit Luis Tiant made to his native Cuba.

It was hard to see him have a hard tme, because so much in the lives of those he left behind had changed.

An interesting insight into a country so close and yet so far.

Why Every Experience is Important

I was once a librarian, but am not now.  Doesn’t matter, every experience is a learning experience, if you pay attention.

Bonnie Prince Charlie.

Many who know me know my love of history.  There is a great book by Arthur Herman called How the Scots Invented the Modern World, where he spoke briefly about the ‘45 Jacobite rebellion.  Mr. Herman mentioned about how when the redcoats set battle lines at Culloden, only then did the prince realize just HOW much trouble they were in.  Pretty dim, the Prince was.

Then again, congressmen and their wives had picnics on the battlefield at First Bull Run.  You have to woner about people.