Return to Paradise

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So for the third year in a row, we're heading down to Virginia's Eastern Shore, staying at the same place, with the same people. The Nuke and her tribe and The Missus Herself and Your Humble Scribe. To say I love it down there is an understatement.

Juvat has Medal of Honor posts scheduled through part of next week and I plan to let those flow. After that he'll revert to his normal Monday schedule. I dare say, if I hit a bump in the road, posting wise, he'll have a whole bunch written up and ready to go.

Good wingman, that.

For the vacation I plan on doing vacation-type posts, ya know, today we went swimming, then we threw some meat on the grill (well, Tuttle does that, the boy LOVES to grill and I'm not one to stand in the way.), ate that meat along with whatever sides were prepared, then we drank some beer. Er, um, well, I drank some beer. Tuttle will join in on occasion, but he's more of a wine/liquor kind of guy. Must be the fighter pilot in him, Big Time is the same, though he's all about rum and whiskey, though not at the same time. Only old maintainers make that mistake.

Stop looking at me like that. (See Matthew 7:1 for further guidance.)

I'm not sure if I'm going to finish the Franco-Prussian War tale, I'm almost done with the second book I've read on that conflict and, while fascinating, it's also rather confusing.

It all goes like this:

• France invades Germany, just a little poke really, then falls back
• Germans (think Prussians, Bavarians, Saxons, Württembergers, various Hessians, and a few others of that ilk. Germany was, at the time, a concept, not a country) swarm into France and start kicking ass
• French and their "Emperor" (I put that in quotes because the man who held that title wasn't worthy of shining his uncle's boots, if'n you catch my drift) get surrounded at Sedan, the army there and the "Emperor" go into the bag. So basically the Imperial government is vacant at the head (though the Empress, note, no quotes, the lady kicked ass, did a creditable job of trying to carry on)
• Then the remaining professional army also goes into the bag after yet another siege
• The "Government of National Defense" is formed and the French hope to fight on, with thousands of semi-enthusiastic untrained (for the most part) volunteers, a few "voluntolds" in there as well
• The French "strategy" is to save Paris, which is surrounded, and that is pretty much the only strategy
• Most of the French populace doesn't live in Paris, but the government does and ... Well, you can guess the rest.

It's all rather confusing, both sides had a plethora of incompetent generals and both headquarters in the field had lots and lots of toadies and minor nobility clogging things up - remember, Prussia had a king at the time, he was the HMFIC. Though not everyone listened to him.

So for the time being, that story will sit idle. Rather like a TV show that gets stopped in mid-season while the execs try to determine if it's worth bringing back.

I won't regale you with politics, as I abhor that topic and most of those who participate in that "sport." I'll leave that to Tuna, Beans will wax political at times as well. Not sure how they get through it without vomiting on their keyboards.

Anyhoo, that's all for now, the Chesapeake Bay beckons and I cannot wait to stand on her shore once more.

Sarge, out.

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