Christmas Day

Last year it snowed here. A rare white Christmas in central Texas. No snow this year. In fact it was like a Spring day in the 70s on Tuesday. Then yesterday it turned rainy and cold, more typical for this time of the season. Today, Christmas, the sun is out and it's a beautiful day.


As a warm weather guy I just as well do without snow or ice. Can't walk in it. Don't want to drive in it. Making my way back to central California is the best way to avoid lousy Winter cold and rain.

I began reading Robert Heinlein's "Starship Troopers" last night. The 1959 controversial bestseller was made into a movie, of course, but I had never read the book. He gets right into the story with a mobile infantry attack on a town of creatures eight feet tall called "skinnys" because they evidently don't gain much weight eating people. He tosses out a reference to the Bugs, giving a hint of what is to come.

I'm just about finished with Stephen Sears "Chancellorsville" as I continue my study of civil war battles and military history. A lesson to learn from General Lee: when you're out numbered two to one by an enemy, don't run. Look for a way to impose your will and take the initiative.