fabrisse

March 25, 1975

2026-03-25T15:51:46Z

I hadn't seen dad since August the year before when he'd been brought home from Saigon for a week. Sis and I got three days out of summer camp to see him. It's how I got to see Nixon's resignation on TV (we barely had radio at summer camp). It wasn't until 1986 that I asked Dad if that's why he'd been brought back. Turns out that he'd been brought back to brief the National Security Council at Camp David and had been in the White House (not the Room Where It Happened, but close) during the resignation speech.

But today's date was when he came back, end of the tour of duty. I greeted him with "We just heard on the radio that Da Nang fell." His response was "That's the end, then." At that point we hugged and said "love you" and "missed you," but we were a military family of a particular time and culture.

The official date of the Fall of Saigon is April 30, my parents wedding anniversary. Between March 25 and April 30, dad took quite a bit of his saved leave. It had been planned, but he took more than originally planned because I got a virus.

Now the virus is interesting. The doctor suspected mononucleosis -- which panicked me because there used to be PSAs about "the kissing disease" -- and cultured me for it. My fever was dreadfully high. But when the doctor called that night about the culture -- he'd fast tracked it due to the fever -- he stated they'd never seen anything like it before.

I think things might have been easier for Dad if he'd been going to the Pentagon a couple of times a week. There would have been others who understood better than we could.

There was a project to get as many of the mixed-race kids out of there that they could. They were reasonably certain that non-Asian children would get the mothers killed and might get the children themselves harmed.

It mostly went well.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1975_Tan_Son_Nhut_Lockheed_C-5_crash

One plane crashed. We saw it on the news and were, of course, deeply saddened by the 138 people killed. About two hours after the news, Dad got a direct call. His secretary, Loni, had been one of the people killed on the flight. In the ten days-ish that he'd been home we'd heard stories about her helping people get in to see him or keeping people from seeing him or just about her general good humor. After that week, I heard her name maybe a dozen times before his death. He just couldn't tell stories, not humorous ones at any rate, about that time.

If you subscribe to Prime Video, you can see "The Last Days of Vietnam" for free. It helped me pull a few things into perspective. If you're on the close enough filter that you know my real name, the January 14, 2021 entry on this blog has an interview with my father about this time in his life.

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She's Recovering

2026-03-20T00:37:08Z

Elle's operation went well. She's having no pain, but she's also mentioned good drugs.

As suggested, we're communicating via text or via Kay.

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Live Performance

2026-03-16T18:40:36Z

Weighing in on the Timothee Chalamet remarks.

First of all, I understand what he was trying to say. Live Theater, Ballet, and Opera (and Jazz, in some cases) have become so expensive that it's hard to see much of it, especially at a high level.

On the other hand, as someone who has given up food to see a Royal Shakespeare Company production (and that's not including things like waiting in line for hours for the cheaper same day tickets or the armchair proms), nothing touches being in the same room as the performers. There is an alchemy that occurs.

If it's made for a screen, there can be some question about whether the human body or human voice can actually do what's being portrayed. If you're in the same room -- even if you're getting a nosebleed up in the gods -- you can tell that everything is possible.

In some cases, people are told "oh, you wouldn't like it" and believe what they're told. I had a colleague who quietly asked me, "Do you know anything about opera?" We went to see The Girl of the Golden West by Puccini within the week. There were cheap tickets available because it wasn't a full house. She enjoyed it. We ended up seeing Faust and another opera, I think Manon by Massenet, together, and she continued attending operas.

She'd been told Opera wasn't her type of thing, but she heard an aria somewhere and decided to try it.

I was lucky. When Dad was assigned to London, the USO had tickets available for various performances. Once Dad found out about it, he took Mom to see her first Opera -- Madama Butterfly -- and they ended up in the area of the Grand Balcony reserved for Princess Margaret. She released the tickets when she knew she wasn't attending, and they often ended up as USO tickets. Mom insisted that her kids weren't going to wait until they were over 30 to see an opera, so we attended Hansel and Gretel at a matinee.

Ballet was an easier sell, though I think Sis and I are among the very few kids who saw Swan Lake before they saw The Nutcracker.

Modern Dance was something that I explored on my own thanks to high school dance classes.

But being dismissive about the lively arts doesn't get more people into the movie theater. It's not an either/or proposition.

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My Friend Elle

2026-03-13T20:27:55Z

I've mentioned Elle in other posts. [https://fabrisse.dreamwidth.org/2016/12/04/ is the most important one] We've known each other since high school. She would hate me for stating that we graduated in 1979, even if I am keeping her pseudonymous. She's rarely on time for anything. She has an opinion on everything -- which granted is a shared trait. She regularly frustrates me, but she has been my most faithful and generous friend for 48 years (and that's a number that will kick a person in the head).

Elle called me on Wednesday because she's having surgery next week. About a month ago, she called her dentist to mention a sore on her tongue which hadn't gone away. They had her at an oral surgeon's office very quickly, and the sore was excised. It was also sent for biopsy.

It was a squamous cell carcinoma. They think they got it all, but the nature of squamous cell means that they can't be sure. A larger area will be removed on Tuesday, and the surgeons will check for lymph node involvement. If they find it, Elle may end up having her tonsils (and possibly adenoids) removed. The surgery is supposed to be in and out on the same day.

Our friend Kay will be looking after her. Elle can't talk for a week to ten days and will be on heavy painkillers for that long. I can't imagine her keeping quiet for that long, especially with what's going on in today's world.

Keep her in your thoughts, please. We've known each other since high school in Brussels, and there's literally no one else in my life, other than Sis, whom I've known as long.

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How do I...

2026-03-04T18:39:11Z

upload a private video? It's just ten seconds of Nora doing PT, but I think the cuteness should be shared.

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RIP Dan Simmons

2026-03-02T20:32:14Z

I didn't like the Hyperion series, but I am happy that I've read it. His civilization, and its pilgrims, were alien in the best sense. The Shrike will feature in my nightmares for years to come.

While it may not have been to my taste, I recognize that we have lost another original voice in science fiction and that's sad for the communities of fans and writers.

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Doggie PT

2026-02-06T03:31:24Z

The first appointment was on Tuesday. I had Nora in her stroller, clipped in, and had just gotten out the front door. I set the brake and turned to close the front door behind me. When I turned back around, Nora was swaying to propel the stroller.

Sadly, it worked. We had the world's shortest reenactment of the Odessa steps sequence, and Nora landed with the stroller on top of her. A workman saw it happen, helped me get her back into the stroller,and stayed with her for a minute while I threw away the poop that had also been thrown from her stroller.

I talked to the emergency vet while she had her appointment. We're keeping an eye on her, but other than some heavier panting, she doesn't seem to have suffered ill effects from it.

Today, I held onto the stroller while shutting the door. As I bent to grab the front of the stroller to carry it down the steps, she lurched. Nora was fine. The stroller landed upright on the sidewalk. I, however, managed to tweak my right ankle, both knees, and bruise my ribcage from the fall.

I have applied CBD oil as appropriate. I know the vet prescribed the valium for her, but I think it makes more sense for me at the moment.

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Whew!

2026-02-01T18:39:36Z

There are power outages in Savannah, GA. We know because there were some odd thumping sounds as our backup generator came on. We won't lose food because the refrigerator/freezer cut out like we did with Hurricane Helene.

Our backyard got just under an inch of snow. Nick won't go out in rain, but he frolicked (sic?) in the snow.

Nora is restless. She thinks she should be frolicking, too, and doesn't understand why we keep drugging her. Fortunately, her physical therapy starts on Tuesday. We're helping her stand correctly a couple of times a day and giving her legs a bit of massage. I don't know that her right leg will fully recover, but the left stands strong.

Nora rocks back and forth in the stroller because she's worked out that it will propel it. Trying to push it out to the car or to Sis's room has a degree of difficulty added by her efforts.

Stay warm everyone. If you're not used to cold, wear one more layer than you think you need and remember that gloves and ear coverings are NOT optional.

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Nora held her own weight!

2026-01-21T17:42:21Z

Just for as long as it took me to wipe and Desitin her little butt, but she is able to feel her back legs enough to help.

She's on a different antibiotic tailored to her infection. We still need keep her sleepy so that she doesn't injure herself.

Nora will have a Physical Therapy evaluation next week.

Nicky is still enjoying his morning walk, but it was cold enough this morning that when I said "home" he trotted down the middle of the street to get back to warmth faster.

We're trying to build my headboard. My new mattress and adjustable frame arrive on Friday.

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Vet again

2026-01-13T19:09:43Z

The little doggie stroller is worth its weight in gold. I used it to take Nora to the emergency vet. I have to put down the back seats to fit it in the trunk/boot, but not having to carry 30lbs of squirming dog in my arms is so helpful. We also got a second soft top loading crate. It's so much easier.

Nora has a UTI. Heavy duty antibiotics, once a day, have been added to her drug regimen. They also gave her a sanitary cut to make it easier to clean her.

I feel so guilty. I've tried to clean her bedding as soon as I realize it's needed, but it can be less obvious than you'd think.

Anyway, doggie duty is easier with top opening crates and a dog stroller.

I'm still walking Nicky at 6 a.m. as his own special treat. Sis is giving him extra cuddles, too. He still takes over Nora's guard duty, but he also naps close to her crate to protect her.

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A Little Venting

2026-01-09T12:45:04Z

I'm looking after Nora ~ 15 hours a day.

Sis, has night duty.

Nora had soaked through her heavy duty pee pads and managed to poop in her crate without Sis doing anything about it. Apparently, the bedding -- which was wet to the touch and reeked -- "looked dry."

I love Sis. She's working hard and paying most of the bills. But I offered to take Nora's crate in my room or switch bedrooms with her, and Sis said no.

Anyway, baby dog has had her morning pills. I've gotten the house ready for the cleaning ladies (I strip the beds; they make them and then they clean all surfaces. Bless them.)

ETA: I took Nora out of the crate to change her bedding. She was on a small lined doggy bed. I walked to my bathroom to dispose of things and found that she'd managed to drag herself to the front door (at least 8 feet) in that very brief time.

She's a determinator.

ETA 2: Nora's breaks for freedom are, per the vet, bad for her recovery. We're picking up a new prescription for her that should keep her docile and prevent her speeding around dragging her back legs.

Also, I know that science has yet to find the graviton, but I think they should interview Nora. She's pulling something to herself to make 30 lbs of dog feel like a Great Dane.

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Nora is home

2026-01-07T03:27:13Z

Nora's rather gnarly scar is something to behold.

At one point this morning, I thought that I had locked her crate, but she managed to get out and pinniped herself ten feet across a room. She's a determined little thing. We're getting her a smaller soft crate that we can keep in one room, so that Sis and I don't have to carry the big one from one room to another. The pet stroller, even if we only use it in the house, has already been worth it from my point of view. Getting Nora from one end of the hallway into the family room is so much easier with wheels. Carrying the big crate on my own was what convinced Sis that we needed one for her room and one for the family room.

Nicky has taken up Nora's usual spot in the window at the front of the house, barking at anyone coming up the street. It's so unlike him. When he wasn't in the front window, he was outside her crate looking in at her.

I would also like to say two things:

a) thirty pounds, low to the ground and not cooperating, is heavier than I thought.
b) I didn't expect so much poop.

My goal for tomorrow is to be able to have a shower.

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Nora update

2026-01-05T17:37:28Z

After major surgery for a ruptured disc on Friday, our intrepid 30 lb heroine is, as of this morning, beginning to get sensation back in her legs. We're going to have to help her pee for a bit. We may be able to bring her home today, but they could also try different medications to see if she can do most of it on her own.

Heavy duty pee pads and a doggy stroller were purchased for the recovery period. There will, if the recovery continues well, be physical therapy to help her get her strength back.

I will see if I can figure out how to get a picture or two up.

In the meantime, I took Nick out for a walk around the block as his own little treat. He was very happy to see her on Thursday afternoon, but he hasn't been allowed to see his sister again because she's in the surgical recovery area and not able to go into a visiting room.

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Violation of Venezuelan Sovereignty

2026-01-03T21:11:40Z

Here is a link to my statement at This Fine Crew:

https://thisfinecrew.dreamwidth.org/319169.html

If you are a U.S. Citizen, please contact your senators and representatives. If you live in a state where you expect the President's agenda to be followed, call senators and representatives in other states whom you believe will support impeachment and express your support for them.

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Happy New Year?

2026-01-01T18:22:56Z

Sis and I are back from our South American cruise. I'll write more on that later, but let it suffice that we were confined to our cabin for two days (sea days, fortunately) thanks to bad colds. I would also like to shout out LATAM airlines for having a really comfortable business class and multi-lingual stewards.

I was awakened by my sister this morning because Nora's back legs weren't working properly. She's not paralyzed, per se, but she can't walk right, can't jump at all, and was clearly in great pain. Sis took her to the emergency vet -- I carried her to the car, since Sis has a bad shoulder -- and I looked after Nicky. Nora will be at the vet overnight, have an MRI tomorrow, and, possibly surgery to help her bulging disc, which is what they think is the cause.

Not the best New Year's beginning.

Nicky is sad because his sister didn't come home with my sister. I'm sad because no one wants to see an animal in pain. And Sis is sad because she loves her dogs.

We have pet insurance, so most of the expenses should be covered, but the fact is the bill has to be paid and the insurance reimburses rather than the insurance taking it directly.

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Vacation

2025-12-14T20:23:13Z

I am waiting in the VIP lounge for my flight to Sao Paulo which connects to Rio. This is my first time south of Mexico -- and even back then we only went from Calexico to Mexicali.

We have one night in a hotel before boarding our cruise. I don't know how good my WiFi will be, so Happy Winter Gift Giving Holiday. I hope to report a bit on my travels.

I am heartbroken to read about the two mass shootings. I know my Boston friends may have friends or loved ones who are attending Brown or are alumni. It's terrible. My uncle was around for the shooting at Virginia Tech, and there are still reverberations being felt on that campus ~ 20 years later. I hope Brown finds a way to heal.

Bondi Beach is a different heartbreak. Australia did so well with gun violence in the ~ 30 years since it's last mass shooting. It must have been such a shock in a way that the U.S. just isn't shocked any more. Hurrah for the police who found and disarmed the IED that was due to go off. And the stories of help and heroism from ordinary people is touching. But, as is true of any civilian shooting incident, it should never have happened.

May the rest of 2025 be better and lead into a 2026 that's kinder.

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Well, that happened

2025-11-11T06:48:42Z

First of all, everything is fine.

About 40 minutes ago, I smelled smoke in the house. I woke my sister and we checked the whole house. We could both smell it strongly (exception the new extension, praise be), and my eyes started watering in our family room.

Sis thought we should just go back to bed, but I called 911, told them we couldn't see any smoke or flames -- and that I'd checked outside to make certain we weren't smelling a neighbor's house -- but we could smell it.

Now, Savannah rarely drops below 45F, but tonight we're having a hard freeze. So, Sis put on slippers and a fleece. I put on my winter coat, bless 14 years in Boston, and I gave her some gloves. We were inordinately happy that we'd put the dogs in their sweaters on Sunday, so we didn't need to worry too much about their being cold.

We had three fire vehicles here in under 15 minutes, possibly under 10. They went through the whole house twice. No hot spots. The conclusion is that it was the first time the heating had come on and dust or other minor detritus had singed.

I'm somewhat embarrassed, but I think I did the right thing. The firemen were all very kind.

What occurs to me now is that neither of us thought of grabbing our wallets, car keys, or the very nice little box with most of our relevant insurance and mortgage information. It is flood and fire proof. I got it for the folks the Christmas that they moved to Savannah, and it surprised me how difficult it was 5 years ago to find a box the right size that was both.

So, next time -- and I really hope there isn't one -- grab box, grab purse, maybe grab medications?

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My aching head

2025-11-06T19:59:39Z

I haven't been breathing well for a couple of weeks, but over the weekend the coughing got so much worse. Also, when your exhalation sounds like a bike tire with a slow leak, it's not good. I called my Pulmonologist on Monday afternoon, got a call Tuesday morning, and mirabile dictu got an appointment for an hour and a half later. Praise be for living within 15 minutes of two of the three major medical centers in the Savannah area. Seriously, if I felt better, I could have walked it in 20.

I'm on prednisone again. Now there are three main ways to get prednisone: a shot in the toches, a weekly plastic card with titrated pills (which I find harder to deal with when I'm sick), or a bottle of pills. Many times, it's been the shot and one form or another of pills. So the good news: it doesn't hurt to sit.

I got the second form of pills which is just easier, but all forms of prednisone give me headaches on the higher doses. I took six pills yesterday (two batches of three) and the first batch for today. My head aches. It will probably continue to ache through tomorrow which is still six pills and then ebb Saturday-Monday when it's four pills and go away completely Tuesday-Thursday when it's two pills.

*whimper

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Three more Savannah Film Festival Movies

2025-10-30T23:37:45Z

Merrily We Roll Along won several Tony awards in 2024. It also was filmed and is being released theatrically on December 5. If you like Daniel Radcliffe or Jonathan Groff or the music of Stephen Sondheim, then go see it. It's 2 hours and 25 minutes long, so use the restroom before you find your seats.

I didn't like some of the choices made. One thing I love about theater is that you get to choose where to look. The first scene of this production didn't allow that. There sounds like there's a lot going on in the background, but all we see is a close up on Jonathan Groff. Sometimes another person is in the frame with him, but the bulk of the opening section is him in medium close up responding to what's being sung or occasionally singing himself. It just didn't work for me.

Daniel Radcliffe's patter song "Franklin Shepherd, Inc." is really well done. You can tell that the character is just letting out a whole bunch of stuff that's been building and he didn't intend to do it publicly and he can't stop. It's painful, well sung, and the entire scene becomes devastating.

The years 1960, 1958, and 1957 pay off a lot of what we saw earlier in the play and later in their lives.

Hedda starring Tessa Thompson is excellent. It's not really Ibsen's play; it's more of a fanfic update of the play. Thompson's performance is amazingly good. The character is definitely chaotic, but whether the alignment is neutral or evil is up to the watcher. I don't think anyone could seriously argue for neutral good. Everything is well cast. They made one change toward the end that I think diminished the impact of the movie, but it's also been years since I read the play (on a trip to Norway when I was 20), so I may be misremembering the impact from the play. There are Ibsen plays I've seen performed, but Hedda Gabler isn't one of them.

I don't know if Hedda will have a theatrical release. I hope so because there are potential Oscar nominations if it is. I do know that it was paid for by Amazon Prime Streaming, so at some point we'll be able to see it there.

The last one we saw was a documentary called Natchez. It's an interesting one to compare the southern attitudes of the past to the way the history should be taught now. It was thoughtfully put together. It's supposed to have a theatrical release in February and will show on PBS next May.

There was also a short film shown before it called Beyond Silence. One of the lead actresses is Deaf. I was also very shocked at how much I understood. I didn't think my Dutch was that good, but from the beginning I was following the spoken parts in real time and rarely needed the subtitles. I don't know where this might be seen, but it was very well done.

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Film review

2025-10-28T19:22:10Z

On my list of Savannah Film Festival entries that I never want to see again -- in spite of their excellence -- is the documentary The Alabama Solution.

Two people went to an Alabama State Prison -- Easterly, I think -- to record a revival. An inmate stopped them and said, "you think we eat like this all the time? You've got to find a way to see inside." He pointed out that it was hot that day and asked them how hot they thought it was in a tin roofed building with two hundred prisoners. That one encounter led to a multi-year project that was absolutely devastating.

Two prisoners, Robert Earl Council and Melvin Ray, are our primary entry into the prison system. They talk about a project dating from the Civil Rights days called Hallifax (sic?) County which taught inmates law, beginning with the Constitution, and taught them to think for themselves in a more organized way. The filmmakers note that "contraband" these days is predominantly cell phones, and these illegal cell phones are the primary way the filmmakers are able to communicate with the prisoners.

And then word gets out that a prisoner has been beaten so badly that he was taken to the ICU at a university hospital. When the filmmakers arrive, they use a break in the curtain to try to see the inmate and realize he's already in a body bag. It gets more and more devastating.

One person reasonably high up in the Alabama Government -- I think an elected official -- said that the best way to guarantee the safety of the law abiding citizens of Alabama would be to "execute anyone who's sentenced."

Every single government photo has, at best, a token black person in it. Most don't even have that. Yet the prisoners are very clear that it's not just black and brown people suffering from this system, it's the poor white people, too.

I cannot recommend this highly enough. I spent a good part of the film in tears or wanting to walk out thanks to the blood and death that we're shown. But sometimes, all we can do is witness.

If you have HBO, it's part of their new movies for October. See it. You may need to take breaks from it, something I couldn't do in the theater without missing things, but it is a well made documentary with something to say.

The Guardian's review is here: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/oct/12/documentary-the-alabama-solution

And I'll be trying to figure out what I can do to better the system in Georgia.

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Savannah Film Festival

2025-10-27T02:57:46Z

The Savannah Film Festival started yesterday. So far, I've seen two films.

The first was Blue Moon starring Ethan Hawke and directed by Richard Linklater. I knew enough about the lyrist Lorenz Hart to want to see it. It would be a better movie if it were between 10 and 20 minutes shorter. At the risk of sounding somewhat bitchy, I don't get Margaret Qualley's appeal. The supporting cast is excellent, including Patrick Kennedy as E.B. White. Hart comes across, possibly correctly, as someone completely charming and completely frustrating at the same time.

The second was Nuremberg. I keep going back and forth in my head about whether Rami Malek was really good or just OK as Douglas Kelley, the first psychiatrist to work with the first 22 men on trial at Nuremberg for war crimes. Michael Shannon as Justice Jackson was a standout as was Richard E. Grant as Sir David Maxwell-Fyfe, the British prosecutor.

The outstanding performance is Russell Crowe as Hermann Göring. The man is charming. He is also a drug addicted egomaniac who is aware of how his manipulations come across. It's thoroughly creepy and yet a very warm, disarming performance.

I would have liked more about Hess or Speer -- two of the seven not sentenced to death -- as a contrast to why some were and others weren't. I know Speer admitted wrong doing and even shame -- whether he actually felt it is anyone's guess.

I highly recommend Nuremberg even as I recognize that I'll probably never watch it again. It shows documentary footage of the concentration camps, so be prepared for it.

As a side note to Hess, by 1987 he was the last prisoner in Spandau. I didn't realize until today that he committed suicide, though I'd known he died, at the age of 93 on May 12, 1987.

From 1983-1987, my parents spent four months of the year in West Berlin while Dad taught at the local American military base. In 1987, Dad was due to start teaching in Boston in August, but he had to complete his last courses in Berlin. My 26th birthday was May 29 that year, and I discovered that Modern Jazz Quartet would be playing in Berlin on my birthday. Dad invited me to join him to celebrate my birthday.

On the two previous years when Sis and I joined our folks for Christmas in West Berlin, we had, at least once each trip, had a reason to go by Spandau. This time when Dad drove us by Spandau, around a quarter of the building was gone. As soon as Hess's death had been confirmed, the Soviet Union began taking the prison apart brick by brick. The prison no longer existed by the end of August that year. It was a disturbing site.

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Heavy Month

2025-10-22T20:14:14Z

I attended a wedding with neotoma to see her niece marry. It was a lovely wedding in a beautiful German Catholic church. The reception had good food and our table had good company in the form of neotoma brothers and offspring.

My highpoint was getting good deli food on the first night. I have complained about Savannah's dearth of Jewish Delis -- any delis, frankly -- so it was nice to have a chance for great chopped liver and excellent garlic pickles.

Actually, going to the Columbus Museum of Art was excellent, too. Had the Artemesia Gentilleschi exhibit already opened, I have no doubt it would have surpassed good deli. There was a fascinating Monet which was darker than most of his works. https://5095.sydneyplus.com/final/Portal/DefaultOld.aspx?component=AAFG&record=9bf03cf5-8038-4c90-8235-a00267f63b47 It says that it's not currently on display, but we saw it. I got a chill on the back of my neck when I realized it was painted in 1918. Giverny was close enough to hear the guns, if the wind was in the right direction.

The other piece that struck me was this one:

The dipper and north star are hidden in the skirt. She has a small room to herself now. She represents the road to freedom pre-Civil War. Columbus had many stops for the Underground Railroad.

Ohio State University was having a ~~religious ritual~~ Homecoming game, so there were some interesting detours when driving.

Two nights before I left, there was a call from a cousin in Texas telling me that the cousin mentioned in this post ( https://fabrisse.dreamwidth.org/2024/03/11/ ) was in her last days. Two thousand dollars and some very long phone calls later, I got a flight from Columbus to Dallas via Detroit [In what world does that make sense?] on the Sunday after the wedding.

I got to see her twice on Monday. I don't know if she knew I was there in the morning because she kept drifting out of sleep. The cousin who called us said she was praying that Elder!Cousine made it to the next day as that Monday, October 6, was her birthday.

Elder!Cousine made it to Thursday. Her funeral was Friday, October 17. Sis and I managed to get direct flights from and to Savannah which helped. We stayed through Saturday and was able to see the last surviving Cousine from that generation. At 93, she still had a sharp mind and was a good conversationalist. But it's tough. How long until we will be going to her funeral?

The Savannah Film Festival is next week. I'm seeing five films definitely and I'll be waiting in line for several other films, in case the "sold out" doesn't actually fill the theater.

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It's Yuletide

2025-10-16T03:00:12Z

The fandoms I've chosen have all given me joy. None of them is light or fluffy. I apparently don't need good special effects to enjoy something either. All of these fandoms are ones that make me think and feel in about equal measure, and I like that sensation.

General nos: Extreme or explicit violence. Rape or Dubcon. A/B/O. AUs unless requested. There are certain acts which just don't turn me on: scat, blood play, golden showers. Any BDSM must be safe, sane, and consensual.

General yeses: Exploration of emotions and the consequences of actions, even if those consequences are negative. I'm fine with explicit slash, het, or threesomes (or moresomes). I like a happy ending -- it's Yuletide; let's celebrate -- but I completely understand if it doesn't make sense within the story. A well-written fic with a sad resolution is better than something jammed in to make it happy.

Yuletide Requests:
The Champions (TV 1968)
Rotherweird (series) -- Andrew Caldecott
Harlequin (1980) aka Dark Forces
The Illusionist
Etoile (TV)

( “Onward” )

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Death and Politics

2025-09-29T14:11:08Z

My philosophy of death comes from John Donne, specifically from the poem beginning No Man is an Island, and the line:
Any man’s death diminishes me,
Because I am involved in mankind...

I cannot mourn Mr. Kirk for what he said; his rhetoric was abhorrent to me. I hate that I have a minor amount of schadenfreude because he said that the second amendment was worth all the gun deaths we have in this country every year. But I can say that his death diminishes me -- diminishes us as a country -- because he never had a chance to grow or learn and because he leaves young children behind.

I also have to say that ever since I learned about his roll recruiting the young to the more extreme sides of nationalism, I have had dread, the dread of recognition, tickle my historian brain.

Basically, I am worried that we may have collectively witnessed the origin of MAGA's Horst Wessel. (I really don't want a link to his wikipedia page in my blog, so feel free to look him up yourself.)

The myth of a young man, one who could reach out to other young people and draw them to 'the cause,' dying by violence was one that the Germans would recognize. The second that I heard of states and school boards putting Turning Point USA groups in all their high schools -- though whether they can if the students don't want them is anyone's guess -- the name Horst Wessel started knocking at my brain.

I worry. I think this is one where we should, collectively, be more worried. Every man's death may diminish me, but not everyone should be considered a martyr.

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Watergate and comedy

2025-09-18T14:39:38Z

Gather 'round, children. As an elder of the tribe, I must remind you of history, and the perspectives it can provide.

https://www.gocomics.com/doonesbury/1973/05/29

The above link goes to what is probably the most famous Doonesbury cartoon of all time. Many papers refused to run it. Many that did run it, put it on the editorial page rather than the comics page. The Washington Post ran an editorial about why it didn't run it. It was controversial because it violated the presumption of innocence for John Mitchell. Many papers cancelled Doonesbury, though most who didn't run it, just skipped that day.

And that was it. It was well known that President Nixon hated Doonesbury and, by extension, Garry Trudeau, but he didn't demand any retribution.

Watergate was a punchline. It was a punchline for Flip Wilson who ran at 8 p.m. on Thursdays. It was a punchline for local radio DJs. It was a punchline for Johnny Carson (who was scathing in some of his monologues). And no one got cancelled, suspended, or disappeared for the jokes, whether good or bad.

When Gerald Ford came into office in late 1974, he said [perhaps slightly paraphrased], "In Washington, we get our news from intelligence briefings, The Washington Post, and Doonesbury -- not necessarily in that order."

It never occurred to me that I would look back on the violent and discordant early 1970s as "the halcyon days." Still, say what you will against Richard Nixon, he believed in the Constitution and he understood all the amendments.

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