Heart-warming Tale (incredibly, from 9/11)

 

One of the best pics I've seen of the Vehicle Assembly Building. (I hear an even bigger one is under construction.) 

 

"Florida Storm" - Photo by Ed Saternus

 

 

 From the Reale Family's cruise to Cozumel . . .

 

Plus Riley's & Cassidy's boyfriends

 

On board - Cassidy's 20th birthday

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I have been saving two stories posted not too long ago to Facebook, one a heart-warming tale from that awful day we recall as "9/11" (just as those my age recall the fatal date, "December 7th.") The second story is definitely political, so, this week, in keeping with our country's 250th anniversary, I am posting the heart-warming one. I have to admit I'm not sure I ever heard this story, but I am very pleased to share it here with my international audience. The Facebook poster was Frantz Jorgen Nielson.

Grace note: Despite looking perfectly normal in my copy, "Preview" shows a lot of sentences broken in the middle. Sorry about that. The words, however, remain the same. 

Marines - 9/11

I  BET YOU DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT THIS: AFTER FLIGHT 77 HIT THE PENTAGON ON 9/11, THE FOLLOWING HAPPENED.

A daycare facility inside the Pentagon had many children, including infants
who were in heavy cribs. The daycare supervisor, looking at all the
children they needed to evacuate, was in a panic over what they could do.
There were many children, mostly toddlers, as well as the infants who
would need to be taken out with the cribs. There was no time to try to
bundle them into carriers and strollers.

Just then a young Marine came running into the center and asked what they
needed. After hearing what the center director was trying to do, he ran
back out into the hallway and disappeared. The director thought, "Well,
here we are, on our own."
About 2 minutes later, that Marine returned with 40 other Marines in tow.
Each of them grabbed a crib with a child, and the rest started gathering up
toddlers.

The director and her staff then helped them take all the children out of
the center and down toward the park near the Potomac .
Once they got about 3/4 of a mile outside the building, the Marines stopped
in the park, and then did a fabulous thing - they formed a circle with the
cribs, which were quite sturdy and heavy, like the covered wagons in the
Old West.

Inside this circle of cribs, they put the toddlers, to keep them from
wandering off. Outside this circle were the 40 Marines, forming a perimeter
around the children and waiting for instructions. There they remained until
the parents could be notified and come get their children.

The chaplain then said, "I don't think any of us saw nor heard of this on
any of the news stories of the day. It was an incredible story of our men
there.” There wasn't a dry eye in the room.

The thought of those Marines and what they did and how fast they reacted;
could we expect any less from them? It was one of the most touching stories
from the Pentagon.

It's the military, not the politicians that ensures our right to life,
liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It's the military who salutes the
flag, who serves beneath the flag, and whose coffin is draped by the flag.
If you care to offer the smallest token of recognition and appreciation for
the military, please pass this on and pray for our men and women, who have
served and are currently serving our country, and honor the memory of those 
who have given the ultimate sacrifice!                                                                                                                                                               
  God Bless The USA!
Never forget!!!

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 An odd fact has finally filtered through my aging brain. Every month, year after year, one particular Regency Romance always crops up, usually among the very first listed on Amazon's "sold" list. Needless to say, I've frequently asked myself "Why?" The book:  Lady Silence. The only answer I've come with: it may be the irony of the title. Readers find the idea of a silent female intriguing. (Grin.) In any event, Lady Silence is Book of the Week.

 

A snowy night; a waif on the doorstep, who doesn't talk. After agreeing to grant her shelter, Damon Farr goes off to six years of war, returning determined to be a recluse, only to discover the girl is still there. And still not talking. Is "the girl the cat dragged in" destined to be Damon Farr's Sinful Temptation or his Salvation? The odd pair walk a rocky road before the answer becomes clear.

Reviews:

"Blair Bancroft can always be counted on to deliver exceptional characters and/or settings, historical accuracy, unusual plots, and flawless writing. LADY SILENCE is one more sterling example." Jane Bowers, Romance Reviews Today

"LADY SILENCE by Blair Bancroft is a splendid Regency romance! The creative intrigue and alluring characters make this novel a must have." Nadine St. Denis, Romance Junkies
 

 

 

Gallery - from Amazing to Just Plain Weird

 

This week's blog is devoted to amusement, both yours and mine. The first gallery pic is recent; the others, from my Pictures Archive, dating back, lo, these many years. To find these photos, I had a ball scrolling through umpteen years of family history, travels as far-ranging as Singapore and the Arctic Circle, book covers, masks from the Covid era, the handicrafts I've made, etc., etc., looking for the most amusing or outrageous examples of bad grammar, weird English, etc., etc. 

There were, of course, far too many for one blog, but I hope you enjoy this week's choices, as they will be up a couple of weeks as I plan to take next weekend off to celebrate my birthday. (At my age, I feel fortunate to be able to have yet another birthday!)  

GALLERY 

 

Interestingly, pic is from 2019

 

   

 

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 No Book of the Week. I refer you to my website blairbancroft.com to discover the variety of books I've written over the years—Regency Romance, Regency Gothic, SciFi Fantasy, Contemporary Mysteries, plus one lone Steampunk and one lone Medieval. 

~ * ~

 

 For a link to Blair's website & editing info, click here. 

For Archives, see the menu on the right. 

 For recent blogs, scroll down.

 

More on Pronoun Abuse

 

Three Reales & Cousin Lionel rooting for Argentina at The Capital Room Bar. Why Argentina? Both Mike and Lionel were born there, brought here as babies. (They are always quick to point out their families emigrated through proper application & approval.)

Susie, Hailey, Lionel, Riley

 

 

Storm over Sanibel Island.  Photo by Jorge Perez

Cape Coral, FL.  Photo by Ed Saternus

  

Last but not least - our Cassidy, exiling herself to the staircase due to a strep throat -  watching her mother open birthday presents. (That's the top of my head at the dining room table below.)

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MORE THOUGHTS ON PRONOUN ABUSE

 Since my blog on "Pronoun Abuse" proved to be so popular, I thought I should dredge up a few more words on the subject. And "dredge" is the apt word, as I find examples really hard to create! 

When I say that Pronoun Abuse is a product of the 21st century, I can safely state that I know what I'm talking about, for I remember well over half of the Twentieth Century, and we did not talk like that. (At least not in New England, Nebraska, or the West Coast of Florida where I spent my 20th c.) Nor will I attempt to speculate on how Pronouns began to be mangled since the turn of the 21st c. All I'm attempting to do is make people aware that it's happened and that I hope more than we "oldsters" find it abhorrent. This is a deviance from American English that needs to be rooted out before it changes our language forever.

In this follow-up post I want to show examples of how correct use often deviates from a simple substitution of  "she" for "her" or "he" for "him." The way we said the same idea in the 20th c. might be quite different from the phrase in Pronoun-abuse English. For example . . .

It's them.

There they are. They're here.

 

Him and Me

He and I.  Bill and I 

 

Ben and her

Ben and Betty

 

Them's the right words! (Both "them" & singular verb incorrect)

You got it! You said it! 

 

It's me.*

It's me.

 

*The exception to every rule. This expression has been around so long it's definitely here to stay, although I do recall, "It is I" being used as an intentional "hi-falutin'" joke.

 

Below, examples of the CORRECT use of "him," "her," and "them." As OBJECTS of the verb.

 

I like him.

 

He ran past her.

 

The careless driver hit them with his car. 

 

SUMMARY.

Yes, as seen in the gallery pic above, language usage changes, but Pronoun Abuse is such a huge deterioration of American English that I'd really like to see it nipped in the bub. Crying in the wilderness? Very likely. But please, pretty please, think about it and, hopefully, catch yourself before you say, "Me and him" or "I can ski better than her." (Groan.) Please . . . . . . 

 

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 Books of the Week

Many books in my Regency Warrior series and in my Regency Gothic series feature heroes devoted to their country. I managed to pare the choices down to two for this weekend's celebration of our 250th Anniversary. Both feature soldiers who truly sacrificed for their country—one, a leg; the other, the noble life he was born into.  

 Major Courtland Randolph, after losing a leg at Waterloo, abandons the world of his birth for a hops farm in Kent. He is not pleased when his former commanding officer maneuvers him into returning to society as protector of a lady who once termed him, "The Abominable Major." Yet in the course of dealing with a dashing Russian countess, political unrest, his ex-fiancée, an importunate prince, a mysterious young man from the London slums, a high-born runaway, and a dramatic change in his private life, Court finally accepts that he is still a man. Man enough to love and be loved.

Author's Note: Each book in the Regency Warrior series is a stand-alone story, but The Abominable Major has so many cross-over characters from The Lady Takes a Risk that you might want to read Lady  first. There is also a spin-off series—the three novellas about the adventures of Matthew Wolfe (mysterious young man from the London slums). 

 

 When the uncle of a six-year-old marquess threatens to take him from his widowed mother, as well as urge her to marry his rakish son, Victoire, Marchioness of Brynthorpe, hires a war-weary band of ex-soldiers as bodyguards. The resulting clash reverberates from Wiltshire to London as Captain Fox, the Stone Soldier, turns out to be far more than his military rank implies.
Violent conflict, an unexpected and rocky romance, close-held secrets—all to the tune of comments and advice from five resident phantoms. Yet even when our hero and heroine see sunny skies at last, one more problem rears its ugly head. 

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 For a link to Blair's website & editing info, click here. 

For Archives, see the menu on the right. 

 For recent blogs, scroll down.