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| Mid-January, Little Rhody - and yes, that was taken Monday morning, this week - OAFS Photo |
Then it started snowing.
Now I've been through much larger snowstorms, what we had Sunday would be scoffed at in Buffalo. (A place I drove through in December of '75. There was probably a foot of fresh powder on the ground. When we stopped for fuel, the attendant admitted to having received "a dusting" in the night.) But Sunday's snow fall was heavy and wet. Nasty to be out in, nastier still to have to shovel. (I thank the Lord for my next door neighbors every day, they cleared the driveway for us and cut a path for the oilman.)
Anyhoo.
Another friend pointed out that for her, January is very much a giant Monday. She is also retired. Looking outside, I realized, it's the weather that makes January such a bloody Monday.
January in the northern tier is cold, snowy, unforgiving, and generally unpleasant as to its weather. So yes, I informed her, I now understood what she meant. Thanks, Helen!
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Having had a number of books recommended to me by a number of readers concerning subjects which lie within my "sphere of interest," so to speak, and having yet to be disappointed, my decision wasn't that hard. (I should also note that the author is brother to the late Princess Diana, a lady I much admired.)
Well, long story short, I started reading it Monday, I'm through the first chapter and am captured, enthralled if you will. The book is superbly written, history told, as it should be, as a fascinating story populated by real people.
Well done, THB! Thank you for the tip.
Now THB's blog is called The Forty-Five, and by his moniker and the graphic depicting the blogger, is Scots-centric, after a fashion. The lad is also an incipient samurai. So there's two things I like, the Scots-ness of him and his love of things Japanese, something I share.
(Uh, Sarge, where you going with this?)
Ah yes, the '45, not the blog but the uprising which took place in 1745 in Scotland. An uprising which wanted to put the Catholic "Bonnie Prince Charlie" on the combined throne of England and Scotland.
Now as a lad I grew up being all in favor of the Prince. Being "all growed up" now, I realize that the '45 was sold to me as a glorious and wondrous thing when it reality it wasn't.
Now I recalled having seen a documentary done by the BBC back in the '60s about Culloden, the battle which really ended the '45. So I went looking for it, and found it.
Now it's longish (over an hour) but very well done. I liken it to being on the field with a reputable news crew (i.e. not any modern network) covering the fight as it happens. And it's aftermath.
I'm thinking of posting it tomorrow, what say you?
We shall see.
That's it for now, enjoy the week. I need to rest up from an overdose of football over the weekend!
Ciao!
The history major in me is saying "Post it Sarge!" And another book, my credit card is weeping Sir. That first photo shows why so many consider snow a bad four letter word. TB has an interesting blog, nice write up Sarge.
ReplyDeleteI'm leaning towards posting it. It's an interesting video.
DeleteThat white stuff looks nasty.
ReplyDeleteAnd wet.
And heavy.
And cold.
Glad I've never lived in it.
Re: locals and weather. At a gas station in The Great Mojave, in a Force 7 Breeze, I heard a lady from Somewhere Else (Ok, I eas from Somewhere Else, but not far away) ask, "Does the wind always blow like this here?" "No, Ma'am. Sometimes it's from that direction (pointing N70E)" answered the attendant.
It's all that, and I would miss seeing it in the winter.
DeleteThanks for that first picture! I feel warmer already! 😃
ReplyDeletejuvat
I'm here for you! 😎
DeleteThe picture is amazing - it looks like the snow came straight down. Once in GFND, we were in a whiteout with visibility less than half a block. But you could look straight up and see blue sky. Even our postdoc (from Gotland, Sweden and who had seen plenty of snow) was impressed)
DeleteThere was no wind to speak of, pretty much came straight down.
DeleteSarge, I have no trouble the with idea of January as a Monday, every day of the month. Practical experience suggests this is an accurate description.
ReplyDeleteI am so genuinely glad that you are enjoying the book. "One off" books about a particular battle or war or movement can be hit or miss for me: if the author is good, they are engaging and one can become knowledgeable about a very specific point in history but if the author is not good, I may end up walking away from that era entirely. Luckily Spencer is an excellent historical writer and I met some characters (John Churchill, Eugene of Savoy) in depth where I had only heard of them.
Culloden...as it turns out, I am typing this in my kilt and accoutrement, getting ready to leave for work (It is a long story). So I am all for it. The Jacobite Rebellions are both fascinating and tragic. In the end, it was not just the loss of a battle but the loss of a culture and way of life that in some ways went back 2,000 years or more.
Thank you very much for the kind words! They brightened my Monday Lite (also known as Tuesday).
Monday Lite! Love it!
DeleteIf it is the one I saw long ago in a hotel in Fort Riley area, please post it. The bit with them being chased over a cliff was memorable. While I have read several bios of that John Churchill one of the things I took away from them was that all would have been lost if not for Anne and John's wife keeping her on his side. It was a fraught time.
ReplyDeleteI don't think it's that one, I didn't see any scenes with cliffs. Now I want to find that one!
DeleteAs to the Churchill thing, it was a very fraught time indeed! Divided loyalties, fractious family ties, quite an intriguing time in history.
Yes to the video on Culloden.
ReplyDeleteThe whole rebellion gave the English the justification for smashing Scotland into the ground, again, but especially hard this time.
"My Bonnie lies over the ocean." Yeah, idiot should have stayed in France, would have been better for all around (well, except for France who enjoyed the Scots and the English killing each other... again.
Yup, the wannabe king should have stayed in France.
DeleteMaybe it was an overdose of football, but a good high it was, even if one's team lost. I think I watched every minute of all 5 games and was entertained. Your Pats did well, as did your Broncs, but we'll see how the backup does in Denver.
ReplyDeleteYes, I'm now faced with two of my favorite teams facing each other in the conference championship. One daughter is a huge Broncos fan, the other a die hard Patriots fan. Good thing they live on opposite sides of the country!
DeleteCrusty Old TV Tech here. Ah, Bonnie Prince Charlie, at least we got a liqueur (Drambuie) from that whole mess! In SE Texas, August is the Monday of months, all month long. 31 days of brutal heat and dew points to match. The singing from its perch in the back yard of the Tufted Brown Condensing Unit cheerfully telling its tale of KWh's (and dollars) zipping into the ether. But, yeah, up north, I can see January taking that title. In Central NY, it was "The Dark Ages", November-February, sometimes October-March. Months with no sun, and multiple days a week with lake effect snow, at time. And this latest storm, you see the video from Rochester NY? Brings back (not-so) fond memories of driving down the Thruway behind a salt truck, just to avoid getting stuck in a drift!
ReplyDeleteFollowed a salt truck up over the Raton Pass going from New Mexico into Colorado during a big snow storm we had April 1st and 2nd 1987 and was glad of it!
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