Why I Disdain “Safe Spaces,”especially on D-Day

When you hear someone whinging about needing a safe space to shelter them from the trauma of hearing speech they don’t agree with, refrain from the urge to slap them silly, and have them read this article instead.

 
“At Boat No. 2, Lieutenant Tidrick takes a bullet through the throat as he jumps from the ramp into the water. He staggers onto the sand and flops down ten feet from Private First Class Leo J. Nash. Nash sees the blood spurting and hears the strangled words gasped by Tidrick: “Advance with the wire cutters!” It’s futile; Nash has no cutters. To give the order, Tidrick has raised himself up on his hands and made himself a target for an instant.
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Godzilla, King of the Monsters Mini-Review

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Saw “Godzilla King of Monsters” with my son last night.  There are only 2 possible reviews of this alleged cinematic masterpiece.
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Shakespeare: “Full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.”

 

Calvin and Hobbes:
Calvin:  “Two big rubbery monsters slug it out over major metropolitan centers in a battle for world supremacy.”

Hobbes:  “And people say that foreign film is inaccessible.”

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Advantage:  Hobbes.
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Update on my spirit

My mood (“spirits” as they are sometimes called) is a bit subdued.  If you saw the previous post about Mother’s Day, pretty sure it seems reasonable.  But add to that the lingering bedamned cold and the fact I have a gall-bladder removal scheduled (after about ten years of mysterious double-me-over pain striking at random intervals), then yeah, I could be excused for feeling less gleeful than usual.

On the other hand, my lovely wife has been planning a new office for me at the historic home we are renovating, and it was finally revealed in all of its Coast Guard-themed glory this week.

 

Above, I’m standing beside a “Quilt of Valor” made by a dear friend in California.  In …

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Mothers Day in a nursing home

Mother’s Day this year was spent in a nursing home with my mom. She fell and broke a shoulder last week. Once stabilized, she was moved to a nursing home for rehab.
 
My father has been doing his best to keep mom in her home, comfortable in familiar surroundings, but it may soon exceed his capacity to manage without substantial help. He turns 80 next year.
 
My brother, who lives a mile away, has been heroically pitching in. He visited daily, engaging with my mom and taking her for walks. That may no longer be possible due to a blood pressure problem that causes her to pass out when she stands.
 
My mom spent most of her time sleeping, some
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Life in our small East Texas town

4H day is tomorrow, so the kids are walking their animals.

 

This is Kaylee and Waylon the lamb.

 

And then from the other end of our street came Kalan, who was in a play with my son, Cameron.

I don’t know much about goats, but I was pretty sure of this young fellow’s breed.  Anyone who’s read “By the Hands of Men, Book Five: Robert The Wrath of a Righteous Man” learned a bit about that particular breed of goat.

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Got a helluva nice review for Book Six

 

 

Can’t I give it more than 5 (stars)?

I read a LOT, probably about one novel per week on average. “By The Hands of Men” is without question the best historical fiction series I have ever read. In these meticulously researched books, the characters quickly come alive to the reader, and soon feel like personal friends. As you read you will share their successes, disappointments, near-death experiences, horror, and satisfactions. They speak in period language, and their values and sense of honor are recognizable in any circumstance. You will truly CARE about them.

Not all of the characters are good people. As the series title hints, all manner of horror and atrocity can come from the hands of …

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“Ringside at the Circus of the Fallen” is released today

Ringside at the Circus of the Fallen is the sixth and final volume of the By the Hands of Men series.  Historical fiction by Roy M. Griffis, this epic saga sweeps across four continents in a gripping tale of fate, loss, redemption, and love.

Robert and Charlotte fell in love amid the mud and blood of the Great War, before human duplicity tore them apart.  Two decades and thousands of miles later, fate gives them another chance.  Is the memory of young love enough to make the two weary travelers dare to risk heartbreak once more?

Robert has carried Charlotte in his heart ever since they first met near the front lines in France.  All the long miles he traveled, …

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Books Four and Five Released.

By the Hands of Men, Book Four

The Blind Machinery of the World

She saved her friends from a life of imprisonment and escaped to the safety of England, but the shadow of modern fanaticism looms over Britain and the continent.  What future awaits Charlotte when murderous madness stalks Europe?

 

After escaping her enslavement by the Bolsheviks, Charlotte Braninov begins to build a new life in London.  She hoped to leave the insanity of Russia behind with the help of her family of refugees, but a dear friend and benefactor goes missing in France. Journeying to post-war Paris, she once more works as a nurse, confronting disease and danger.  With communist zealots prowling Europe, will peace forever elude Charlotte?…

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