On November 11th.

In Flanders Fields
John McCrae - 1872-1918

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

We have broken faith with those who die. The doctors and nurses who put their lives on the line on the front lines. The people who tried to keep themselves, their families safe. We've let the collaborators take over and they, not us, will determine how this all ends.

Another quote for today, one written by Camus, about a different plague, a different war:

Je dis seulement qu'il y a sur cette terre des fléaux et des victimes et qu'il faut, autant qu'il est possible, refuser d'être avec le fléau."

Translation by me:

All I am saying is that on this earth there are scourges and there are victims and we must, as much as possible, refuse to side with the scourge.

(For those who might want to look it up, Camus, _The Plague_ and it's one of the conversations between Rieux and Tarrou. Tarrou, of course, is the one who made that statement.)

Almost 50% of Americans have decided to side with the plague. Think about that for a moment. Half of us are Vichy.

Also, completely unrelated

Completely unrelated, but one of the characters in the novel I'm currently writing (LOL) has a birthday today.

So... Happy 25th Birthday, Jonathan!

Marshmallow fluff

I used to call Linnea my little girl made out of marshmallow fluff.

Remember, this is the kid who didn't ride a bike until she was, like 7, who hated any kind of sports, who did, to be fair, love to hike, but would certainly never volunteer to cross country or anything that might make her sweat.

Then she started rowing.

And my 5ft even 100lbs fluff girl turned into 5ft even all muscle 120lb gal.

It will never not boggle my mind that she is now an NCAA athlete on one of the best Div II women's rowing teams. W.T.F?

But here's my yipes for the day? My little nutlet can deadlift 165lbs. That's a Perry in lightweight form. It's a PR for her.

I am equally proud of, amused by, boggled with, and impressed by her.