Toys For Tots & "The Fort"

Lovey is walking all over the keyboard, but I hope to rectify any misspellings before I get this up and published... It was 55 here this afternoon - and I have to admit I fell asleep in the Snow back yard for a short time, with the sun shining down upon me, the breeze a bare murmur, and the four dogs sacked out in various postures of repose. Nedi and Lovey are having a ball running in and out - but I'm having to keep an eye on Lovey, as she has developed a liking for threatening an indoor cat in the next building. I keep telling her she needs to be nice. I got together my stuff to give to Toys for Tots today - I'll hand the big bag over to Larry, one of my usual bus drivers, so it can go in via the American Legion post. I donated a regulation-size Youth basketball (with a pump), a stuffed zebra that's about 30 inches long, a Bratz doll, and a talking construction truck. I hope that those items will make a few kids happy.
Today would have been Ray Walston's birthday. I loved him when I was a child in My Favorite Martian, and in later life as Judge Bone on Picket Fences. But I will always remember him best as Luther Billis from South Pacific. As a Navy brat, he became my favorite Sea Bee.
I just finished reading Bernard Cornwell's The Fort, which totally captivated me. I had, of course, known of Paul Revere from school and history. In doing some of my historical background research for my family tree, I had read of Revere's being court-martialed for cowardice in what was referred to as "the Penobscot Bay fiasco." Wow! This novel is fantastic! It explains why there was such a fiasco, and gives a very clear view of all of the characters' personalities. I have always enjoyed Mr. Cornwell's books, and once again, I doff my hat to him for writing such a cohesive tale. He did change a few things, and he admits that in the historical note at the end of the book, but it takes nothing away from the story. One of the main characters in the book is Brigadier-General Peleg Wadsworth, who likes and supports Colonel Revere in the beginning of the book, but whom Revere directly disobeys in the final chapter. Peleg Wadsworth was not impressed with Colonel Revere as a soldier or an artillery commander. Both were family men, and Peleg's daughter Zilpha was the mother of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, who wrote the poem making Paul Revere such a well-known patriot. ... It deserves a pondering.