Paladin_HGWT: Blog

"SNOWMAGEDDON!!!"
Yup a couple of inches of snow are on the ground and sticking...the "Emerald City" (Seattle) and the Socialist Soviet of Cascadia is in even greater chaos than normal for the 21st Century.

If you know how to cope with a bit of snow. In particular if you are skilled in the art of driving in the snow, the "recent arrivals" (people who arrived here after 1973) will provide entertainment galore!

Since 0600 hours the "news" radio stations have been providing "breathless" reports of CHAOS on every stretch of road that is not perfectly flat. (In Western Washington that is approximately 1.3 miles; in Seattle, about 13'...

"Experts" project "Weather Chaos" until "Global Climate Change" has ceased, or the Energy Death of the Universe...

Snow, up to 1" to 5" for the next 72 hours, then "more" on Wednesday and Thursday. (There are few things Less accurate the a "weather report" in the Great Pacific North Wet)

Anyone north of Tallahassee may titter & chortle. Except you folks in Alabama. I have witnessed you folks in 1/4" of snow. How you could get a vehicle 300' off a stretch of flat paved road in such "frigid artic conditions" C'mon! The dusting of snow was not over the sole of my "low quarters" (Army issued shoes for my Class-A uniform).

{From my phone; at least I can read SOL while I am in hibernation.}

I will probably not post a new chapter until the first week of 2022.

WD-40 who has recently volunteered to Proofread for me has returned the Character's List, and now I must make corrections. I intend to post it before New Years.

I have left my Proofreader to slog through a Glossary for Aztlan Portal. That is the project that we are each working on over the next two weeks.

I am also writing several chapters ahead, then self-edit a chapter a week, then send that edited chapter to my volunteer proofreader. Most of the delays are on my end, because I don't have internet where I live, and must drive in to send documents from me, to my proofreader, then get them back in a day or two, make corrections, then come back in to the "big city" to post a chapter.

I try to coordinate my posting to SOL with my time volunteering at a not-for profit in the city. I won't be posting until 2022, because those offices will be mostly closed for the next two weeks.

I have been dealing with some technical and other issues. These have inflicted delays upon my volunteer Proofreader. He has completed going over errors on some previous posted chapters (18-21), as well as a new Chapter 22 that should have been posted last Sunday.

I got all of them back, and they are all in the que. I have also sent Chapter 23 of Aztlan Portal for Proofreading.

I just found out they will be doing some electrical work on our building this Sunday. I should be able to post Chapter 23 Sunday evening, but I cannot be sure.

Meanwhile, I am editing Chapters 24 & 25 to finish 2021.

Chapter 26 should be out in early 2022 (probably the 2nd week, weather permitting).

I have also have ready to post a Character List and Glossary. My volunteer proofreader may not wish to slog through them. Whatever the situation, I should have them posted around Christmas Time.

Both the Characters List and Glossary are very abbreviated versions of what I use as reference. They are NOT needed to enjoy the story. If a reader is curious about the characters, the Mexican state of Chihuahua (and some general information about Mexico, Mexico City, the Mexican Federal Police and Army; as well as the US Armed Forces, then enjoy.

I intend to tone down some the military detail, because now it will be available in the Glossary for those who are interested.

All the information is from Open Sources, some of them official, other published books, with a few comments from my personal experiences. (In particular about the M1917 Trench Gun; one of my favorite weapons to have fired, out of several hundred.)

When the Character List and Glossary get posted, I would appreciate if you communicate with my by PM, and NOT in the Feedback section of the story. The Glossary in particular is a Work In Progress, and will revised numerous times.)

Thank you and I hope you enjoy Reading Aztlan Portal.

I appreciate the efforts of my volunteer Proofreader, and I make a serious effort to edit my chapters before I send them to him. Still, we will make errors, and I appreciate PMs advising me of errors, or even suggestions.

I have been delayed by technical issues. Proof reading is ongoing. I got back chapters 19 and 20, I should be getting back chapters 21 and 22 soon. However, I lost power where I post stories from (an office where I do volunteer work some 50 miles from my home).

Posted from my phone.

I plan to be back in the office mid-week to finish what was interrupted, as well as to repost corrected chapters and new chapter 22.

I appreciate some constructive criticism from several readers and some other authors. In addition to the contributions of my proofreader.

Meanwhile I am continuing to write new chapters, and edit before asking my proofreader to look them over.

I hope the better quality of writing makes up for the delays in posting.

Ultimately, if I decide to offer this on Bookapy, etc. This story will require editing to tighten it up.

I have the basic outline, and time-line, I try to be writing several weeks ahead, and finish editing 1 chapter a week. Unfortunately, other commitments have been interfering.

Posted from my phone.

I apologize, I thought I had posted on my blog in mid-October that I would be otherwise occupied from mid-October to Mid-November.

Veterans Day has been a nearly two week celebration for me, this year. Fund raising activities starting in late October. Auburn, Washington state has what I am told the largest Veterans Day parade, west of the Mississippi River. In 2020 it was severely cut-back. In 2021 it was held the weekend before Veterans Day, and despite considerable rain, it had good turn out of veterans and other patriots marching, historical vehicles, folks along the parade route; even a couple of helicopters and other aircraft performing fly-overs.

The VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars) Post, of which I am a member, relocated, and we are still getting settled in, and making needed improvements.

The 246th Birthday of the United States Marine Corps, on the 10th of November. (I am not a Marine, but one of my deployments to Iraq, I was assigned to the US 1st Marine Division, and have the distinct honor to have the "Guadalcanal" patch as one of my authorized SSIDFWT. (AR-670-1: Shoulder Sleeve Insignia Denoting Former Wartime Service aka: "Combat Patch"). I have numerous comrades who served as Marines, and enjoy celebrating with them.

Activities continued into the weekend after Veterans Day. Including a board meeting of a not-for-profit I volunteer with, and other responsibilities.

Last week I read a PM that clued me in that I had not posted in my blog I was going to be very busy for several weeks.

Compounding all of this, the weekend when I thought I had posted the correct Chapter 19, and new Chapter 20 of Aztlan Portal, we had a storm that knocked out electrical power to numerous locations, including where I upload the chapters of my story. Situation permitting, I will upload Chapters 19 & 20, etc. on the weekend of Nov 20-21. (More on that in another blog post.)

Among the many veterans and other folk I had the opportunity to meet with (an odd circumstance that resulted in me feeling quite uncomfortable; I have only been around two-dozen people since February 2020); were several fellow authors. Several of those individuals post on SOL; one of them has not posted for more than a year, due to health issues. We are collaborating to provide him a laptop computer so that he may start writing again.

During this interregnum, I have acquired several hundred new books. More than a year ago a friend passed away, two weeks ago we were able to sell his collection of books and wargames with the proceeds going to charity.

Boxing up older books, to make room on my shelves, and reorganizing my bookshelves has consumed more time than I anticipated. I have been able to donate some of my books to the lending-library of my VFW Post, to several friends, and some to the Seattle VA Hospital.

People who come to SOL are readers. Some, like me may have extensive collections of printed books. If you have books you no longer read, consider donating some to a local veterans group, or VA Hospital. I don't know if all have a lending-library. The Seattle VA Hospital does. Unfortunately, Covid protocols and government regulations have complicated matters.

Veterans Day 2021 is past, however, I urge you all to remember my fellow veterans, in particular those who struggle, throughout the year. Stolen Valor, those who Claim to be veterans, but never served is an issue! Many scammers pretend to be veterans, in particular "homeless veterans" so be aware if you are charitable. The DD-Form 214 is the "Gold Standard" for establishing that a person actually served. Veterans Service Organizations will assist a person to obtain both electronic and physical copies of their DD-214 if they don't have one.

If you have any questions, or know any Veterans in need in western Washington State, PM me, and I will follow up.