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.