Threads of history: Dealey Plaza

I just finished Hellcats of the Sea: Operation Barney and the Mission to the Sea of Japan, by Vice Admiral Charles Lockwood and Hans C. Adamson. It’s the account of the attack by the US submarine force on shipping in the previously inaccessible Sea of Japan late in WWII. (New sonar technology allowed the subs to […]

Washington, DC: the more it stays the same, the more it stays the same

I’ve long thought that nobody can go to work for long in Washington, DC, and remain a useful member of society. This story from the book I’m currently reading, Freedom’s Forge by Arthur Herman, about the industrialists and businessmen who went there in the 1940s to lead the manufacturing charge for WWII production, only helps confirm my […]

Interesting history: the connection between Benedict Arnold and Shippensburg, Pennsylvania

Today, at the urging of my younger son AJ, I read the very interesting young people’s book about the American Revolution, King George: What Was His Problem? It’s a hugely informative book and very interesting read – I recommend it highly. Along the way I read the story of Benedict Arnold, who was influenced in part in […]

Reviled “Old White Men” and 9/11

It was some months ago that I read a post on LinkedIn by a young woman company founder extolling her women-led workplace. Now, I have absolutely nothing against a women-led workplace – I’ve known a great many women who did or could lead a whale of a workplace. But this particular leader, as part of cheering […]

The Berlin Airlift: America the great

My LinkedIn friend Jim Rossi pointed out that this past Tuesday was the 70th anniversary of the start of the Berlin Airlift. It’s a vital piece of history I bet very few people under 30 years old have ever heard of. It shines even today, though, as an example of America at her very best. […]

A good time for heroes

It was just two days ago I wrote about avoiding victimhood by counting your blessings and finding heroes. I closed with a postscript about there being heroes all around us, easy to find if we pay attention. Last night our Boy Scout Troop did a timely service project at a local cemetery, clearing overgrowth and cleaning up […]

Another fascinating bit of WWII history, courtesy of Cornelius Ryan

After watching the movie A Bridge Too Far again recently, my thoughts turned once more to one of my favorite historians – the man who wrote the book on which the movie is based, Cornelius Ryan. Poking around on the Internet, I was pleased to discover a book of his I’d never read: One Minute […]

Two Scout heroes

Last week, in the Webelos Den I lead, we learned about heroism. One part of the program was to discuss a Scout hero. I figured there had to be some good examples among Eagle Scouts. Sure enough, Bing.com led me to the story of Marine Sergeant (later Colonel) Mitchell Paige, who won the Congressional Medal […]

In which I celebrate Godly masculinity

I was disgusted last Saturday to read about some virtue-signaling nitwit who said Hollywood should stop making movies like Dunkirk, because they reinforce a negative version of masculinity. Now, there’s stupid. We’ve always had lots and lots of that. Then there’s dangerously, malignantly, criminally stupid. We seem to have more and more of that. And […]

Winning performance: it’s the preparation, stupid

Yesterday I read this wonderful recap of the 1967 “Ice Bowl” game in Green Bay, in which the Packers beat the Cowboys with a touchdown in the closing moments of an NFL Championship Game played in temperatures even colder than we’ve had this week. This passage, a remembrance by Packers right guard Jerry Kramer, really […]