President chases Squirrel

In which our Hero is not dead, but isn’t very interesting either

The title of my entry is a fact; a true and somewhat amusing statement from a naval “encounter” of March 1809, where the USS President was in pursuit of the HMS Squirrel, in one of the flashpoints that eventually developed into the war of 1812. Lost in the noise of the greater Napoleonic conflict, the war between the fledgling United States and the British Empire is a difficult piece of history because I feel uncomfortable calling either side “the good guys.” I think the Americans had legitimate issues, yet again, but then they also decided to invade Canada, which had nothing to do with their more legitimate complaints, but did have a great deal to do with the White House getting razed.

All of which goes to say, you make tell some very funny stories if you and your opposition pick interesting enough names for your ships.

I’ve been away from my post long enough to get inquiries about the condition of my aliveness. So, let me report with confidence and shallow breath, barely. I’ve had a weird convergence of work and work and home and stuff. Culminating in an extended period of physical stress with no margin for rest. Which brought me to this past weekend where I spent my days cocooned in my blankets, my rich counter-tenor voice shedding treble until I spent Saturday speaking in a mix of stentorian roar and rasping whisper with no options in between. The treble balance on my voice remains the barometer of my health, and I’m currently breathing uneasy and speaking low.

Interesting things that have happened in the intervening two weeks? Well, I’ve started reading a naval history of the war of 1812 (What you think I know ship moments from 1809 off the top of my head?) and I’ve finished reading a sequel to a novel that I didn’t realize had hit me quite so emotionally and the sequel isn’t… even. It’s very good, it’s very clever, but it’s not even. What else?

Went to a wedding, but that’s a whole other separate rant.

(sigh) I’ll be back. Wonder if I have any questions tucked away, maybe that can be a less boring entry.