Author: alohawild

I rose on Saturday from my newly made bed after 7, having woken at 5:45, rolled over, and then woken again and again, finally rising after 7. I had only plans to play games at Richard’s at 6. Later, I learned we would play the board game Isle of Cats, not my favorite, but not a bad game for the end of a sunny and bright summer weekend, I decided. I would score third. I had forgotten how to play and did not focus enough on the cards, but I enjoyed fishing for cats. It goes for about $45 and is easy to learn, and is a pattern-matching and resource-management game with the usual Euro secret scoring cards. There are many add-ons now, and for $250, you could get all of them plus a storage solution. The basic game is good, and all I have played. Recommended.

I wrote the blog and made a pot of coffee. I was talking to Deborah when I was still waking up and forgot to put water in the coffee maker. I then added four cups of water, guessing that was about right, and withdrew a cup early in case I was wrong (there were no spills). I had too much coffee, using a larger cup, and consuming three before I recognized the bounciness of being overcaffeinated. Oops.

I ignored the news but did watch Stephen Colbert’s superb ending to his show, with dancing and singing, here. He went out singing with friends and the band. It makes you smile and cry at the same time. Recommended, highly recommended.

I was not in a hurry, and I did not really finish the blog until after 11. At first, the story was a mishmash of overcaffeinated wanderings, with Grammarly throw-up on most of it, but at least the AI could find spelling mistakes again. It has been out of its AI mind of late, but it seems to be back to being useful again.

I hate to plug the EV in during the day, as it consumes high-in-use juice instead of the sleepy, plenty-of-overnight grid power. I managed to add a few percent, but I would be around 40% and lower all day. I would get it home after returning from Portland, with about 35%, and again forgot to plug it in (yes, I plugged it in this Sunday morning).

I was not hungry and had the last banana and, for the first time in years, my lab results show potassium in the normal range; I credit years of bananas. I reheated the Popeye’s chicken (a breast and a leg) with the rice and beans and some mashed. I ate that while chatting with Deborah.

The scrub jays, a pair, have reappeared in the backyard, and the hummingbirds are busy, too. The roses are heavy with blooms. The longer days and sun (too much for our snowpack) have been lovely.

With lunch inside of me and the afternoon seemingly flying away from me, I jumped into the Air VW the Gray and headed to Beaverton. I had copies of the flyer for our new speaker series at the church (See below), salvaged from unused bulletins, and hoped to get them at coffee houses and the Beaverton Library. I spaced that it was Saturday and the Saturday Market was packed for the Memorial Day Weekend. Deborah was surprised as we chatted while I drove in heavy Beaverton traffic. Her experience is that Michigan seems to empty out as everyone heads to cabins or other getaways, but in the Greater Portland Area, I found traffic and packed events.

Unable to add to the crowd, I turned around, enjoyed the traffic again, and dropped off flyers at local coffee places nearer home. I stopped at Insomnia and did not get more coffee. I chatted with the barista, and she, too, had had too much coffee and recommended more hydration, approved the flyer, and sold me an excellent cookie.

I returned to writing my book and put in my earpods, which, unlike the EV, were fully charged. I managed to craft a few better sentences, but I still cannot get my groove back and just write. But with more practice, I am sure, it will return.

It is later now, and I drive to Beaverton again, this time park in the library lot, and even charge the car. The Saturday Market is over. I see the same woman who helped me on my last visit, and she approves my flyer and will put it up for me. I see that Cool Islam is meeting in the library’s basement. I think we missed out on an excellent name for a group: Cool Methodists. I head to Ava Roasters, add our flyer to their board, and grab a fruit tart to go (so yummy). I then return to my car, 46 cents and 2% charge, and head home. I have completed another loop!

I reheat some Indian food from a few days ago, and have the tart as dessert. I watch more Doctor Who, purchasing the Christmas Special from years ago, and I start to watch it. I head back out, again, with a 38% charge (enough for 120 miles of driving) and drive in light traffic (finally) to Richard’s house.

Laura and Chris join Ricard and me for a game of Isle of Kats. As I described, it was a fun game, and I only wish to play it again to get better at it. Once over, we chatted for a short while, but everyone headed out, and my drive was uneventful and mostly forgotten now.

I was going to write or read, but did little of either. I had a terrible headache and took painkillers (ibuprofen and Tylenol). I made a salad with ham (defrosted in hot water), cheese, olives, and Italian dressing, and while watching Doctor Who, the pain faded. Next, I headed to bed and closed my eyes, and soon fell asleep. I woke once for proof of hydration. I went back to sleep.

Dear reader, please consider attending if you are in the area. From the press release:

BEAVERTON, Ore. — [May 18, 2026] — A new public forum dedicated to ideas, culture, and civic dialogue is coming to Beaverton with the launch of the Beaverton Lecture Series, a community-centered initiative designed to spark thoughtful conversation and deeper connection across the region. The series opens on Thursday, June 4, 2026, at 7:00 PM with the inaugural lecture, “Indigenous Place Keeping: Learning from the Land,” featuring cultural leader David Harrelson. The event will be held at The Historic Downtown Methodist Church, located next to the Beaverton City Library at 12555 SW 4th Street, Beaverton, OR 97005. Admission is free and open to the public. Harrelson, an enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde and the tribe’s Cultural Resources Department Manager, will explore the Indigenous practice of “keeping place” — understanding land not merely as physical space, but as a living network of relationships connecting people, plants, history, and community. “No matter where you live, you are on Indigenous land,” Harrelson says, underscoring the continuing relevance of Indigenous knowledge and stewardship.

With more than 16 years of experience in cultural resources and heritage preservation, Harrelson’s work spans ethnobotany, Indigenous foods, contact-era Pacific Northwest history, and Western Oregon Indigenous art. In addition to his leadership with the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, he currently serves on the Oregon Arts Commission and previously served on the Oregon State Advisory Committee for Historic Preservation.

ABOUT BEAVERTON LECTURE SERIES
The Beaverton Lecture Series was created to provide an accessible and welcoming gathering space where residents can engage with important ideas shaping culture, history, identity, and civic life. Our hope is that this series becomes a trusted gathering point in Beaverton for learning, dialogue, and shared reflection.

HERE
What: Indigenous Place Keeping: Learning from the Land
Speaker: David Harrelson Date: Thursday, June 4, 2026
Time: 7:00 PM
Location: Historic Downtown Methodist Church 12555 SW 4th Street, Beaverton, OR 97005
Admission: Free and open to the public

Here is more information: David Harrelson Press Release.docx – Google Docs

Thanks for reading.

Friday was a good day with bright sun and the scent of my roses in the air. I enjoyed snuggling in my blankets as the house passed into the cool morning with the windows open and the ceiling fans running. The marine clouds come in some mornings and then burn off by noon. The sky is blue most of the day. But our snowpack is almost non-existent this year (we are missing the rains), the deserts will dry out, the wildlife will suffer, and fires are very likely to fill our skies with smoke. I have a spare filter for the AC/Funtnace and will ensure I have a spare all summer. If it gets too bad, I will drive to an open airport and try out NOLA for a while, I think, for this time. Or maybe Michigan.

I have a doctor’s appointment with my primary, Doctor C, and have nothing but a sip of water. I start the blog, and then shower, and all of that. I boarded Air VW the Gray, bringing the paperboxes of the creams to have them added to my prescriptions by my primary (they have to approve it). I am early, but they are running on time, and soon I am going through the usual blood pressure, A1C poke, and the usual questions. All good, and Doctor C was happy, and we agreed on a five-month period and not starting weight-loss drugs, though I qualify for coverage, but my weight is on a slow downward trajectory, and they are not needed. My A1C, while still good, had gone up, and I will work on that (that dessert a few days ago was a bad idea). No additional labs were needed, as Doctor B had covered that a week ago.

La Provence is nearby, and I sat at the bar and had cornbeef hash with poached eggs and a croissant with my coffee. I read more about the American Civil War (ACW), The Confederacy’s Last Hurrah: Spring Hill, Franklin, and Nashville, as the large battle is finally starting in the story. It is hard to put the book down. Though, were I to write it, I think I would have started here and focused less on the movements of troops for fifty pages. Still, it is a great read, as it includes entries from the letters, diaries, and writings of the survivors and some historians (especially those describing the delusions of the leading Generals).

I read this all day here and there and was struck by one comment about the Union troops behind the fortifications, that they thought it was payback time for Kennesaw Mountain, a battlefield we visited as part of the South trip. This is where Sherman took heavy losses for attacking prepared positions, and the Union, again, learned not to attack even recently built fortifications. As seen in World War I, counterattacks against a breach of a position were devastating to the attacker. Now General Hood (like Sherman and Lee at Gettysburg) knew that with enough men and planning, he could annihilate the enemy army (which was rushing North to join the rest of the Union forces). It is an interesting read.

With breakfast inside me, I returned to the house and wrote the blog, stripped the bed, and started the laundry. I completed the blog, and the laundry was moved to the dryer (more would be done later). I also updated my Dungeons & Dragons character to 4th level and made various corrections to match the Friday Adventure League constructs. Next, I created a license for salvage and for fighting enemies (unspecified) by finding the text of a letter of Marque online, revising it, dressing it up, and printing it on my printer using some cardstock. I added an image of a wax seal I found in the public space on the Internet to print along with the words. I did this instead of getting out the hot glue gun again to make seals, remembering it as a very messy process and not wishing to directly experience very hot glue (it looks safe to touch). In the game, Carter the Forger has provided documentation for various dealings in the Friday games, some of which are a bit shady. I thought some physical versions would be nice. They were well-received when I gave them out later in the game.

Lunchtime had already passed, and we were heading into the mid-afternoon before I was ready to head out (after the late and lovely breakfast, I was not hungry until later). Another McMenamins for another stamp in my Cosmic Tripper Passport. I am trying to fill the book, going page by page. McMenamins John Barleycorns was an excellent destination in Tigard, Oregon, and was new to me. I am always surprised by how little I know the local area, and I liked the pub and the area. I sat outside, and I will be back.

They had a chicken breast dinner on a bed of pasta with wonderful vodka sauce. I make that sauce myself, and there was no cream in this version. It was bright and tasted of fresh spices. It was fascinating to me. I had a Ruby Ale and read more ACW. The waiter was friendly, let me read for a while, and refilled my water several times.

Traffic was messy from rush hour and the holiday, and I left early, but it was the usual slowing, and soon I arrived too early at Rune & Board to play D&D. I wanted to be early as the game is limited to seven and was already fully booked with a waiting list. I met Holly, another player, and soon more appeared. The DM was nearly late, and there was some panic (though I volunteered to fill in, using my Scythe game for figures and my laptop for content, recalling M@ telling me stories where he did some ad hoc DMing for a no-show and once because he was at a castle). Lincoln set up, and we were off; no need for me to fill in. This time, I stayed more involved and also helped a few folks with their character features, and soon we were facing various large encounters. Combat filled most of our time, and we avoided splitting the party. I informed Lincoln that I was traveling soon and would miss the players who asked me to stay, and I agreed to another play. I will have to make some more documents!

I talked briefly with the owner, and later this summer I might want to try a game of my own. He was busy getting ready for Westside Comic Con this weekend, but we chatted for a few. More later.

With that done, I headed out and chose The 649 to hand out flyers for our first Speaker in a new series at my church. Kyle, the manager, thought it was great and will share it with her pastor at her church, a United Church of Christ (UCC). I had a beer and a hummus plate for a late dinner and/or snack, then returned to my writing and started back on my book using Scrivener (and installed an update). I managed to add another 100 words, and there were many revisions to the next section. I left after 10, but learned they are open to 1 on Fridays. I will not be up that late. I did run the completion process, and my paperback format already had 43 pages.

Back at the house, I put in the towels to run overnight in the Washer, and soon was in my bed reading for only a few minutes before I started to nod off (definitely not the 1AM-bar-closing guy).

Dear reader, please consider attending if you are in the area, from the press release:

BEAVERTON, Ore. — [May 18, 2026] — A new public forum dedicated to ideas, culture, and civic dialogue is coming to Beaverton with the launch of the Beaverton Lecture Series, a community-centered initiative designed to spark thoughtful conversation and deeper connection across the region. The series opens on Thursday, June 4, 2026, at 7:00 PM with the inaugural lecture, “Indigenous Place Keeping: Learning from the Land,” featuring cultural leader David Harrelson. The event will be held at The Historic Downtown Methodist Church, located next to the Beaverton City Library at 12555 SW 4th Street, Beaverton, OR 97005. Admission is free and open to the public. Harrelson, an enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde and the tribe’s Cultural Resources Department Manager, will explore the Indigenous practice of “keeping place” — understanding land not merely as physical space, but as a living network of relationships connecting people, plants, history, and community. “No matter where you live, you are on Indigenous land,” Harrelson says, underscoring the continuing relevance of Indigenous knowledge and stewardship.

With more than 16 years of experience in cultural resources and heritage preservation, Harrelson’s work spans ethnobotany, Indigenous foods, contact-era Pacific Northwest history, and Western Oregon Indigenous art. In addition to his leadership with the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, he currently serves on the Oregon Arts Commission and previously served on the Oregon State Advisory Committee for Historic Preservation.

ABOUT BEAVERTON LECTURE SERIES
The Beaverton Lecture Series was created to provide an accessible and welcoming gathering space where residents can engage with important ideas shaping culture, history, identity, and civic life. Our hope is that this series becomes a trusted gathering point in Beaverton for learning, dialogue, and shared reflection.

HERE
What: Indigenous Place Keeping: Learning from the Land
Speaker: David Harrelson Date: Thursday, June 4, 2026
Time: 7:00 PM
Location: Historic Downtown Methodist Church 12555 SW 4th Street, Beaverton, OR 97005
Admission: Free and open to the public

Here is more information: David Harrelson Press Release.docx – Google Docs

Thanks for reading and considering attending (if you are in the local area).

 

 

 

Let’s do this in reverse. Thursday ended with me reading about the American Civil War (ACW) until I nodded off just as General Hood ordered an attack on a reinforced position. Before that, I did remember to put on the evening dose of creams and stuff for the skin issues. Skyrizi seems to be helping, but the flakes are back, and thus treatment is needed. Returning to the ACW story, the Union troops at Franklin in 1864 had plenty of time to build fortifications and even rest. The armies are about the same size, and the Union has its baggage and artillery. Instead of flanking and forcing the withdrawal of the Union to a less strong position, or having to attack to break out. History records that Hood destroyed his army here and at Nashville just to the north, and it never went into the field again to pursue the Union.

I turn off the light and soon sleep.

Before this, I saw the new Star Wars TV show movie, The Mandalorian and Grogu. It was like a long grouping of a few episodes for the 2+ hour run time. It was a mix of comedy, action, and emotion that made the TV show work. Without spoilers, I would recommend it if you’re familiar with the TV show, “It is the Way.” I ate all the popcorn waiting for the show to start. I was twenty minutes early, and the credits and videos went on for forty minutes! I was shocked by how much time was wasted! Do not come early!

Before I got to laugh and enjoy the movie, I reheated some Goulash and had that while enjoying more old (but not Classic) Doctor Who with David Tennant. This one has name-calling between the Daleks and the Cybermen that I love (here and recommended). Darlek: “This is not war, but pest control.”

I only connected with Deborah a few times because we were both busy. We kept missing each other.

Before this, I had another SPRC Meeting (for those who do not speak Methodist Church, this is the HR committee). We spoke for about forty-five minutes, which I cannot include here. It could cover some items.

Before this, I rested and set an alarm. I was surprised that I did sleep and woke with the alarm to make the SPRC meeting. I was back on my game by the time the meeting started at 2.

Further back on Thursday, I met Scott W at Cedar Hills McMenamins, and we talked about travel, health, and investments, with some comments on politics. It was the last show of Late Night with Stephen Colbert, and I had caught some of it already on YouTube. Scott and both are disturbed by our investments that seem to rise and fall about the same amount, but there is no real forward movement. With yields moving to 5% on 30-year US Treasuries (the Bond Market was unhappy from what I read), it is hard not to just sign up for that and get out of the market. If, amid the chaos caused by the war and other pressures (like the large increases in insurance and energy before the war), the Fed decides to raise rates, 30-year bonds might start paying 6% (and Federal interest is not taxed at the local level). Corporations and municipalities would have to compete with that, and bond yields could flare up to even 7% for AAA. Hmmm.

After a beer, 1/2 sandwich, side salad, spicy chicken peanut soup, and a Hammerhead beer, we took separate cars to the nearby nature walk, walked a mile, and talked more about travel and investments. It was a lovely day and not hot yet, and the poison oak was thick and happy (don’t leave the path!). We even saw a small snake cross the path. It was an excellent day for a walk, and we will not see each other until June with both our travels. It is good to be busy!

Before this, I rose after 7, having enjoyed snuggling in my bed. It is warm in the afternoon and cold at night, making the bed seem an excellent place to remain in the mornings. Coffee was reheated from the previous day’s pot, and a bagel was sliced, toasted, and covered with cream cheese, joined by a banana for a fine day-starting repast. I spent the morning composing the blog. I remembered to put on all the creams and thus on while dressing after a shower and shave.

And that takes me full circle, thanks for reading!

 

 

Wednesday started with me enjoying the snuggly blankets and sheets until closer to 8 than 7. Another sunny morning woke me with sunrise, but I rolled over and soon slept again in snuggly happiness. I rose and made a pot of liberal coffee, moving to my last bag from the Portland-based shipment of Equal Exchange. While their coffee is good, it is not as great as our local beans, and I will think about it. I have a scone I baked a few days ago, orange cranberry, with a banana (my potassium is finally in the normal range in my last blood test, yay!). I discover my focus and apply it to writing. I am not time boxed, and I chat with Deborah for a while and deal with a double payment I discovered in my Quicken downloads; they refund it. I am proud that I caught it.

I do not finish the blog until noonish and make lunch, reheated goulash with a bit of leftover Popeyes and a biscuit. Most of my roses are blooming, with one still struggling with too much shade and too much water in the winter. Fertilizer has been applied, and it, like the others that are struggling, seems to be recovering. My English roses are loving the Spring/Summer we are having.

All day, I would be reading more of the 1864 American Civil War (ACW) and General Hood’s failed campaign in Tennessee, and the destruction of his army by about 50% from failed attacks on well-defended positions in Franklin and Nashville. Here: map. I am at the point where the Union has dug in at Franklin, and Hood brings up his army. It reminds me of Gettysburg: the Union is on the run, digs in, and is then hit, and the Confederates pay a terrible price for charging a reinforced position. But in this case, there is no chance of breaking the Union line.

Aside: The same publishers of my new ACW board games also have one of these battles, using the same rules. Solo play is an option. My theory, above, could be tested. Hmmm.

I headed to McMenamins Raleigh Hills Pub (with my ACW book) to get another stamp. There I get beer and read, I follow with a dessert (way too much sugar) and a coffee. I read. I pay my bill and go. I am still a few hours early for games with Z at church, and I park there anyway and head to the library.

The staff there can reset my password and replace my library card. I don’t have any eBooks, so this makes it easy. I remembered my earpods, put them in, and they cut out all sound except the music and the videos I watch on the second floor of the Beaverton Library. I do research on online role-playing games, with a particular interest in ShadowDark. I am disappointed that Roll20 has not invested in this system. I do find a Start Playing Games website with options. I also learned about a tabletop system called Owlbear Rodeo. These are low-cost buy-in systems, unlike Roll20, which means purchasing content at published prices (I have bought D&D 5E twice at the same price to use it during the Pandemic).

I look for World War I books, and it is hard to find them. I learned that the physical books listed in the catalog are held across all the libraries, and that The Guns of August has not been reshelved yet in Beaverton, but I could get an audio or eBook version. I will have to look into eBooks. I was thinking of reading it again. It is an excellent book, and even with more scholarship since it was written, it remains a good account.

The dessert and coffee caused a sugar crash, so I headed out of the library to get a chicken sandwich at the local coffee place, Ava Roasteria. With some water, I was feeling better. No more desserts!

Z and Dondrea met me at the church, and while the band and then the choir practiced, Z and I played games. We stuck with Raiders of Sythia as Z remembered it. A mostly set up, and soon we were off raiding, and Z was soon ahead of me, doing the easy raids that are worth a few points. I had noticed in previous games that these were not worth the cost for only two points. Z knows the game is a race and was raiding more. I went for the goals and the larger point raids (only doing one of the simple ones, as it was easy with the larger crew that I had). My crew took wounds, Z rolls were magical with low wounds and high points, and soon we were only five points apart with limited crew and beast points. I managed to make the last raid and trip the end-of-game condition before Z was ready for another raid and pulled off a five-point win. It was an excellent game, and we did not know who won until we took the final count.

I had Flip-7 in the car, and we played three games, and I managed to win all of them. Z is not sure about push-your-luck choices and went for the safer choice. I was lucky too. We both enjoy both games.

It was fun to play again. I returned home, watched another older Doctor Who, David Tenent’s Doctor, and soon was reading more ACW. I started to nod off and dream the battle (thinking I was still reading, but the story went odd with me seeing it), woke, put the book away, and slept.

Thanks for reading!

It is always, now that I have been retired, a surprise to be woken by an alarm. But it is a gaming day, and today I need to be at Richard’s house in Portland at 9:30 to play the cooperative board game and role-playing style SciFi game. I like games where you play a crew, like the board game Raiders of Scythia, instead of the four pages (or much more) of specifications you often get in Dungeons & Dragons. It is fun to do a crew. ISS Vanguard splits the difference and has you play one or two characters. And, like the Pandemic-like cooperative games, there is an event deck to drive the loss of resources and affect the player characters. Go fast and work together to succeed.

I start on the blog and talk to Deborah for part of the morning. It is always good to chat, as we miss each other, and it has been a long break since Utah. It is eighteen days until I head to California and twenty until I see Deborah. Jeanne LaFountain is joining us for the first week. After checking the transit times, I am quite happy to be driving the EV, picking up passengers, and serving as a taxi driver for the trip. The Uber fees would be large! More than the daily parking charges.

I dress, shave (having forgotten the day before), and forget to use the various creams (and later forgot to get my new prescriptions), but the one application has been more successful than I hoped. Less flakes and itching. I do not rush and find myself running behind, board Air VW the Gray a few minutes later, and this trip takes 45 minutes; I am five minutes late, but before James (headed from Washington State).

We are playing the other half of the demo and training story. We had a few minor errors, and we corrected them by getting more crew. We start mid-way, which is confusing, but I remembered much of the past play, and soon we are running through the process. I find these cooperative games rule-heavy and can see why DMs exist in earlier games. But with new gaming systems and apps, it is possible now to create a great experience.

Without spoilers, I play two characters this time, and it takes me a while to remember the rules and to play them both well. I did enjoy playing them and began to get them to work well together. We learned that you must finish all the objectives to be successful (something not stated in the rules), and we did (including an optional one). We get promotions and more dice for our play. Yay! I cannot say I enjoyed the gaming (it was not immersive), but it was fun to learn a new game (and all these systems). It was mostly rules and procedures this time, but I can see it may become immersive and interesting. We play again next week, and I think that will be more immersive.

James did have pre-painted minis this time (he found them in his ISS Vanguard various game add-ons he purchased on Kickstarter; he did everything). There are add-ons, we looked at one, and more adventures. I suspect we will be playing this for a while.

James is interested in the Gettysburg board games I have acquired, and we may meet to play a 2-person battle. I have two versions, both highly rated and newer designs. The two versions represent two design thoughts: play a simulation of the battle with hard constraints that fits the game into the model of history (Gettysburg: July 1-3, 1863), and another that lets you face all the challenges and figure it out (The Guns of Gettysburg, 2013). Both are valid, but are radically different takes on combat, movement, and maps. More to come.

We also talked about possibly Burning Banners as a break from ISS Vanguard. This is a fantasy wargame with armies of orcs, vampires, elves, and so on. Magic spells are also available. It reminds me of a modern update to Divine Right, which I also have a copy of. We will see.

With the save process done and the game ready to play again next week, I headed to the Broadway Grill and had a meatball and veggie calzone. I also finished the blog and chatted with Deborah. I enjoyed Mr. Toad’s Wild Red beer and then purchased our VIP tickets for Universal in California. I decided that with us getting older and various possible health issues, it is best to invest in the VIP. This also gets us valet parking, a tour, and dinner. I suspect all separate that this would total close to the number anyway.

I looked at Warner Brothers; there is a VIP tour there too, not cheap, but six hours seemed a long day, and I wanted to combine this with a visit to Hollywood and a diner somewhere in the area. I will chat with Deborah and Jeanne about this. That will be Wednesday. Thursday I think will be a beach. I enjoyed Huntington last time, but there’s also Long Beach near our hotel. We also have to see the Queen Mary again and do the night show.

With some tickets arranged and lunch done, I headed home. The day was already vanishing, and I had a 6:30 church council meeting. Corwin called and then came by at 6ish and relaxed with his dog Hank while I did the church Zoom meeting.

The meeting, which took an hour and was mostly an alignment discussion, I drove off to Popeye’s and quickly returned with a remarkably expensive ($57) supply of chicken and associated items (making up for the cheap Costco chicken of last week). This was dinner for Corwin and me, and Hank got a treat of some cheese. I split the leftover chicken with Corwin (it seemed rather precious to me), and he headed home with Hank.

I read more about lightning detectors, Pope Leo, and the SSPX, and watched a long video that offered an insider’s view of the election of the Pope. The story is that the cardinals, most appointed by Francis, turned away more conservative clergy and a rollback of the changes Francis made, and instead elected someone who would retain the changes and possibly press forward with more. This has ignited the SSPX and other anti-reform (in this case, Vatican II) groups within the Catholic Church to criticize and even claim the illegitimacy of Rome. The pattern is familiar to me, as the Methodist split over some of the same issues, and many of the same illegitimacy issues were used.

With Catholic Church words spiraling in my head, I picked up the American Civil War (ACW) and read the account of the Union army’s escape from Hood as it rushes to Nashville. And while there are claims that this was a missed opportunity to crush the Union forces and gain that important Southern victory, they needed to reset the war in their favor. What I glean is a Confederate Army dragging itself to another battle, short on supplies, using old-style guns, and the story is told with less legend. Hood had repeatedly crashed his Confederate troops into reinforced Union positions at great loss and had to withdraw. The Union mounted dropps have six-shooter rifles, healthy horses, and are well fed. They dismount, build a position, and let the Confederates come. The cost is terrible, and if the Union troops withdraw, the gray troops cannot catch them, except for a few stragglers. At night, the Union move is detected, but attacking at night into what may be reinforced positions is something the Confederate Generals or their troops want to avoid. Thus, I do not see this as a missed opportunity to capture a mismanaged and misdirected Union Army, but as a sign of an undersized army not taking excessive risks.

But that is my opinion, and I have the advantage of being an armchair general hundreds of years ago. With the battle avoided, I closed the book and will read the shock and awe of the results on Wednesday.

I soon slept, and I suspect I slipped by the Confederate positions in my dream world as I woke a bit tired on Thursday morning at sunrise.

Thanks for reading!