I got up early this morning to try and write another blip of a short story, and naturally, half way through, I disliked it. It was one similar to others I’ve started: two guys on a bomber air crew get up early, meet after breakfast for preflight briefing, are soon on their aircraft (at some undetermined airfield which ended up sending them in to Poland) and flying east (which means they flew all the way across Germany to reach this particular target). The sun rose, the visibility was great, and… why are they flying east all the way over Germany to hit this target?

That’s challenge about trying to write about something historically plausible. You have got to know your stuff- with stuff being the story’s time period, geographic locations, age-specific clothes, military hardware, and cultural references, the significance of relationships, realities in history. When feasibility falters, the rest of the tale is gonna fold up on itself.

So we’ll see if I get back to it.

Trump was inaugurated today, though, and it is remarkable to see how polarized people are on social media about the guy, and his party, and the future. I am generally pretty cynical and unenthusiastic about most politicians- the modern political machinery in this country seems more often than not a highway for self-advancement and self-aggrandizing than a conduit for public officials who really get the meaning of “serving” and really want to serve their constituents. But that’s par for the times. Narcissism is the religion of post-modernity, and it isn’t unnatural to think leaders would be any different than most other folk, out to get what’s theirs. They usually just seem more direct and efficient about it.

I ramble, but I heard Trump said “I’ only three times in his inaugural address, and I hope that spirit of self-minimization guides his upcoming presidency. His recent Twitter tendencies don’t seem to support that humility I’d hope to see in him, but again, we’ll see.

I am guilty of standing too far away from any candidate so I won’t get splashed by the mud slung around them.

I had a slight earache all day, which was with me when I woke up this morning. It was rainy much of the late afternoon, and Tim said his joints ached. It was one of those days.

That’s a Friday afternoon in the office.

We’ll see if the rain of today turns into snow tonight.

College baseball kicks off in less than a month, I think.