When the Power is Out

  And there it is! A 20 pound bag of white rice, just sitting there on the lowest grocery store shelf minding its own business. But somehow, maybe from some future universe, it called to me. Several years ago there was a book topping the NEW YORK best sellers list of a true story of a particular Japanese POW camp during WWII. Interesting enough, but in this tale the Japanese POWs captured were entitled English women on vacation on an island in the south China sea . Japan made the decision to jump into the war in a blaze of glory by taking the wives and daughters of various high ranking English military officials before the women could secure arrangements to get off the island and make it home safely. The book was called “ Guests of the Emperor .” Hearing that there were important people on an island belonging to the English Monarchy, the Emperor ordered Japanese soldiers to snatch up these women and hold them hostage and put them on a inconspicuous Japanese sea vessel. Two torrent...

    The  year is 1962, civil rights protests are in full swing. Black people are beginning to stand up and be heard. Sit-ins were trending and on the rise. Gas at the pump was 32 cents a gallon. The following y ear, 1963, sets off a series of assassinations beginning with JFK.   Newspaper sales and TV ratings were skyrocketing as people were hungry for instant news. In my child's eye view, the whispers of neighborhood gossip was only second to all the adults gathered around the black and white TV breathlessly waiting for the national news. Buzzing in the background in that adut gathering, like a swarm of flies, was the talk of Mother and Dad's pending divorce. That gossip traveled faster than Walter Cronkite's "We interrupt this program to bring you breaking news". He debuted as head anchor of CBS in April of that year. Vietnam war was the first time Americans had the horrors of war brought into their own living rooms and by 1971 Nixon imposed price control...

"The two most important days in your life were the day you were born and the day you find out why." Mark Twain May 17, 2020 - Day 64 of the great American lock-down      It's still pretty chilly where I live, about 100 miles north of the 45th parallel. The night temperatures crawl down into the mid 20's, while the day time temps settle in at about 45 degrees with dark clouds and icy winds. Not very agreeable for the middle of May. Weatherman says we are headed to a warm up, yea!! I was waiting for the coffee maker to finish it's cycle the other morning just about dawn, when my attention drifted over to the patio door. There on the other side of the glass was a shivering red squirrel. The icy wind driving exposed skin patches in his thick fur. Mr. Red Squirrel was begging the cat to let him in. It was cold! I felt a moment of sympathy for the little fellow, filled my cup with the bitter brew and headed back...