Tonight's diary is something of an experiment.
As I said in last week's BSBTG diary, I've picked up a real! genuine! job! doing what I love best. I'm not at liberty to reveal all the details quite yet, but my portion of the work (which will subsidize my share of the rental on the Garret for a third of the year) involves polishing, proofreading, and otherwise whipping something into shape for a friend who's up against a deadline. It's incredibly rewarding, and exciting, and I was practically jumping up and down at the prospect of actually being paid a decent wage for my creative work.
The only downside is that to finish on time, something had to give. And since my company is nearing the end of its fiscal year, and I'm a Responsible Adult most of the time, that means that the paying work has to come first, whether this entails working late at the office or staying up all night to get lucky to finish a chapter.
I'm sure everyone reading this understands. We all have responsibilities, and bills to pay, and mouths to feed. Sometimes what's enjoyable has to step aside for a little while to make sure that the checks don't bounce and the lights stay on...but after nearly three years in this space, I feel crummy disappointing those who have come to expect these diaries every Saturday night.
That's why I'd like to welcome you all to what I'm calling Rewind December.
The next four weeks will collect past diaries, complete with links, each on its own theme. I hope this will whet your appetite for January and the New Year, because I have plans.
Oh boy, do I have plans.
cackles evilly
And now, for our first installment, cue the tinkling harp music, blur the picture, and return with me to those thrilling days of yesteryear as we.....
REMEMBER PEARL HARBOR!
Pearl Harbor was one of the those events that shapes a generation, like the Kennedy assassination or 9/11. It was the reason America finally got off the fence and jumped into World War II, and I am convinced that one reason there are still so many books and films and references to the events of seventy years ago is that we are far from working our way through the aftershocks and echoes of those years. Our technology, our approach to war, our foreign policy, our relations between the sexes...everything changed during and immediately after World War II.
Tonight I bring you links to diaries I wrote that touch in some way on World War II and its aftermath. One is a tribute to a man who went into the war a callow student and came out an adult, a couple of others touch on the war in some way, and others directly address some of those who fought in or caused it:
Walt Evans' War - this one is very dear to my heart, because it's a short biography of my father, with particular attention to his service in the 66th Infantry during World War II. He was only 19 when he was drafted and had just turned 22 when he sailed for home, but the experience shaped the rest of his life.
Nazi, Schmazi! - the Nazi regime was evil to the core, and men who headed it were as close to inhuman as it's possible to get. But in many ways they were every bit as ridiculous - "Aryan science?" Goosestepping? Perpetual uniforms? - as they were appalling. This diary discusses Allied mockery, a comic book that pissed off a pro-Nazi group so much they threatened the creative team, a Three Stooges cartoon that put the actors on a Nazi death list, and (of course) two ludicrous books that touch on everyone's favorite group of race-obsessed madmen.
Jack Ryan, By Jingo! - the main subject of this diary is the literary legacy of the late Tom Clancy and his descent from writing solid technothrillers to outlining ghost-written doorstops, but the first section is about my uncle Lou's service in World War II. My dad saw some horrible things, but Lou, a tough, profane little steelworker, was part of the advance guard that liberated Dachau. Need I say more?
Mama Me-a, That's-a One Speecy- Spicy Story! - the saga of the so-called Spicy Pulps, their value to a Greatest Generation that had severely Un-Great Sex Education, and how George Washington died of VD in my high school health class. Remember - Prophylaxis Can Help Beat the Axis!
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So...do you have fond memories of these diaries? Fond memories of Spicy Stories? Do you live near Jack Ryan? Own a copy of "Der Fuehrer's Face"? Are you a veteran? Did you ever want to punch Hitler in the jaw? This is the time and place to confess to any and all of the above, so don't be shy....
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