We watch a lot of true crime television shows because even though they have a lot of inaccuracies; showing a picture of a revolver when they’re talking about a semi-automatic pistol, for example, I do occasionally pick up an idea to use in one of my mystery books. We were watching one last night showing […]
Well, it’s here again. Veteran’s Day. The day when we’re all supposed to honor our nation’s veterans and thank them for their service. As a veteran myself, I appreciate it when people thank me for my time in uniform, but I didn’t do it for any thanks then or down the road someday. I joined […]
Definition of potpourri – 1: a mixture of flowers, herbs, and spices that is usually kept in a jar and used for scent. 2: a miscellaneous collection. The second definition above pretty much describes today’s blog, a collection of miscellaneous thoughts and info that I’m sharing because I don’t have anything else to talk about […]
You can’t turn on the news right now without hearing about the cyberattack on the Colonial Pipeline operation that has disrupted gasoline deliveries in many eastern states. But why let facts get in the way of a good rumor, right? Just yesterday, I saw posts on Facebook saying that someone heard that President Biden had […]
I was on a lot of Army bases during my time in the military, either getting basic and infantry training, or attending different schools and taking cadets from West Point to different bases for specialized schooling. And besides the olive drab vehicles, olive drab uniforms, standard looking barricks and administration buildings, and close cropped haircuts, […]
Well, the big event is here. Stupid Bowl Sunday, or whatever they call it. I never understood why people get so excited about a bunch of spoiled, rich athletes playing ball. It’s just not my thing. Even when I was stationed at West Point, with our barracks just a short walk from Michie Stadium, I […]
A while back the very talented Elizabeth Mackey, who creates all of my book covers, made decals for my Bennington pontoon boat. But health issues and life got in the way, and they got put aside. We have spent the last two days getting the boat ready for the water, and yesterday Terry put the […]
Several readers have commented on my new book Tinder Street and the historical facts mentioned in it, saying they learned something new. One reader noticed I used the expression “Hun” and was curious where I came up with that, since only a limited contingency Hungarian regiment was involved in the Western Front in WW I, […]
I thought it would take me several more days but I got at it hard yesterday and by dinnertime, exactly a month and a week after I started, the first book in my Tinder Street family saga series is finished. Before edits, it came in at 105K words. But as I said in yesterday’s blog, […]
In my blog a week ago today titled A Couple Of Pinkos, I shared with you that Terry and I both got sunburns while we were down at our community swimming pool. I am a fair skinned, blue-eyed guy and I have always sunburned very easily, and some of them have been horrendous. This one […]
On a winding back road in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, we discovered the tranquil remains of Laurel Hill, once a thriving plantation and the birthplace of one of the greatest heroes of the Confederacy, J.E.B. Stuart. William and Elizabeth Letcher, the great-grandparents of J.E.B. Stuart, settled here in 1778, during […]
After reading my blog about all the fun we are missing at the Escapees RV Club‘s Escapade rally, which is going on in Tucson this week, I got emails from two different people who told me they had heard a rumor that I had been fired from the Escapade staff and that we are no […]
We spent a couple of hours Monday evening watching the old 1955 movie The Long Gray Line, starring Tyrone Power and Maureen O’Hara. It’s the story of Martin ‘Marty’ Maher, who is a legend at the United States Military Academy at West Point. Maher was an Irishman who immigrated to America in 1898 and found […]
I think one time I watched a football game on television all the way through, and then it was only because I was a guest at somebody’s house and that’s what was on. I’ve been to a couple of minor league baseball games when I lived in Tucson years ago, and when I was in […]
We love exploring America’s back roads and small towns and finding overlooked gems that the tourist brochures never cover. In a series of weekly blog posts we will be sharing some of America’s lesser-known small town museums, historic sites, and oddball attractions, on a state-by-state basis. We don’t have room to cover each and every […]
The Lee family has lived in and been a part of Virginia history since long before America became an independent nation. The first of the long line of Lees to help shape the region was Thomas Lee, who at just 21 years of age was appointed agent for the Proprietary of the Northern Neck, making […]
Longtime Gypsy Journal and blog readers probably already know that I am fascinated by those small world encounters that we have or hear about all the time. You know what I mean, those chance conversations with a new friend in a campground, where you suddenly realize that you both worked at the same company 20 […]
We spent most of the day yesterday playing tour guide at the RV Hall of Fame Museum to members of the Heartland Owners Club, who were in the area for their annual rally. It was a lot of fun. Here is a picture of Terry sitting with her new friend, Poker Alice. Poker Alice was […]