Observations From Hadleyville: ANCHORS AWEIGH

Friday, August 17, 2007

ANCHORS AWEIGH

My friend, Commander Mark Schwartzel, USN, is preparing to take a detachment of troops to the Middle East Area of Operations. He is the prospective commanding officer of a customs detachment. (Expeditionary Logistics Support Group Customs Battalion TANGO) The command consists of 500 sailors performing Customs Inspections on sailors, soldiers and airmen returning home after serving in Iraq.

In the meantime, while Mark is in Virginia for pre-deployment workups, his family lives in California. Please pray for Mark and his sailors. Kuwait is not exactly in the war zone, but many Islamist Kuwaitis’ have begun to protest the US presence there. Also its HOT, and remember, that comment comes from a guy who lives in the Mojave desert.

Pray that Mark will make the right command decisions, that he will deal intelligently and wisely with 500 troops, that he and his troops will do their jobs—which protect us at home—in a professional manner. Pray they Mark will bring his sailors home safely. Pray that God will be glorified and Christ honored because of the lives and service of Commander Schwartzel and his troops.

Thank you, Mark. Give ‘em Heaven!

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WORDS OF WISDOM FOR WRITERS

The secret of becoming a writer is that you have to write. You have to write a lot. You also have to finish what you write, even though no one wants it yet. If you don't learn to finish your work, no one will ever want to see it. The biggest mistake new writers make is carrying around copies of unfinished work to inflict on their friends.

I am sure it has been done with less, but you should be prepared to write and throw away a million words of finished material. By finished, I mean completed, done, ready to submit, and written as well as you know how at the time you wrote it.
-Jerry Pournelle

WHAT'S THIS HADLEYVILLE THING?

Those of you familiar with Mark Twain’s works might recognize my blog title. As Samuel Clemons grew older, he became increasingly disillusioned with humanity. Towards the end he began referring to the Damned Human Race; employing the secular and religious epithet at one stroke.

I find I’ve not reached that level of despair myself. I still believe in redemption and I still see signs of nobility even among we fallen, damned creatures. So, I could not bring myself to call this blog “On the Damned Human Race.” I do however, resonate with another of Clemmons stories; “The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg.” And viola, there you have it. “Observations From Hadleyville.”