An Army In Skirts

Monday, November 2, 2009

I have finally managed to get the camera to work, and to locate the cord that I need in order to load the pictures onto my computer (which sadly has been missing for the last several months) - and so, as promised I will share my Halloween pictures. And, I've decided to make a bold move and reveal slightly more than I normally do in the mystery pictures. Are you excited dear readers? Are you on the edge of your seats waiting for the extra clue in the "What Does Angie Look Like" mystery to be revealed? Or (much more likely) are you only humoring me in my unnatural need to believe that I am far more important than I actually am? I'm guessing it's the last one. So, without further ado, here is a little more of me than you are used to seeing dear readers:

So tell me dear readers, do you feel like you know me much better now that you have seen the hands that write this blog? Well, you know one thing about me that you didn't know before seeing this picture, I am even more dramatic than you ever realized. It's true - I can take the drama to levels you've never seen before, and in a twisted sort of way, I'm kind of proud of that. This picture was taken while the rest of the family raked leaves - and let me tell you, watching people rake leaves is exhausting. I barely had energy left to read my book for the day.


Here is Oliver, all dressed and ready for an exciting evening of passing out candy to the Trick or Treaters. As expected, his costume was greeted with a great deal of excitement by the kids (which is exactly the kind of reaction that Oliver was hoping for.)


And here is Oliver at the end of Halloween night, because whining and barking and clawing at the floor every time a Trick or Treater comes to the door is totally exhausting.

Today's book, "Over 150,000 women served in the Women's Army Corps (WAC) in World War II. Although the majority of WACs were assigned to duties in the United States, several thousand received overseas assignments. More than 7,600 WACs served in the European theater of operations (ETO), mostly as communications workers, stenographers, typists, and clerks. Frances DeBra was born and raised in Danville, Indiana. An Army in Skirts contains the letters that Frances wrote to her family and letters from family and friends to Frances. The letters vividly detail her World War II service."

Retro thoughts:

  • I've always loved reading about the 40s (and watching movies from the 40s and listening to music from the 40s and dressing up like it's the 40s . . . well, you get the point) - so I'm sure it'll come as no surprise to any of my dear readers that I loved today's book. Not just because of the time period it involves, but also because I am the kind of person who is uninterested in the cold facts of history, I want to know what it felt like to live then. I want to know all of the tiny little details that might bore some people senseless. If you are not a fan of those little details, then you might not enjoy hearing such details as how the food that Frances missed the most was potato chips. But I enjoy hearing about that kind of thing (which is odd, because if someone was telling me that kind of detail about their life now I would be rolling my eyes and trying to hold in the sarcasm.)

  • Being in the army is yet another thing that probably wasn't interesting or exciting at all, that old movies make look really fun (along with cleaning, going to school, working in a department story, and being quarantined.) But, after reading today's book it seems that it's not the old movies that make those things fun, it's all in the attitude. Frances wrote, "I started out scrubbing garbage cans and ended up washing dishes and mopping floors. I keep telling myself that I am being improved in some way when I scrub a garbage can." - I personally am grateful for those cheerful Brady Bunch kind of people who can find something good in scrubbing out a trash can, because it balances out those of us who spend 90% of our time whining about how much life sucks, but I just can't even fathom how a person can be positive enough to see something worthwhile in scrubbing a trash can. There are just some things that my really vivid imagination can't even wrap itself around. Oh, but good for Frances.

And here's your fun fact for the day dear readers: sinus problems are often worse in Paris. - You might be wondering why I told you that, or how that's going to enhance the quality of your life in anyway. And I'll tell you, it won't. What do you think, that I'm trying to change lives here? You've come to the wrong blog if you're looking for information that will enhance the quality of your life or enlighten you in some way. No siree Bob, because I'm Lieutenant Wetzel, reporting for Shallow Duty (it's a tough job, but someone's gotta do it.)