Group Writing

Member Post

Vince Guerra
By Vince Guerra
Vince Guerra Member
Vince Guerra is a member of Ricochet.
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12 COMMENTS
 

This tale begins on Sunday, November 11th, 1990. My sister, stepbrother, and I sat on the sofa watching the greatest single-game performance by a linebacker in NFL history. Derrick Thomas of the Kansas City Chiefs kept sacking Seattle’s quarterback Dave Krieg as the day progressed. We expected the first sack, also the second. The third […]
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Quote of the Day: “Not a Single Hint”

WillowSpring
By WillowSpring
WillowSpring Member
Retired Manager/Engineer/Programmer. I specialized in embedded systems – that is, systems where it isn't obvious there is a computer. Willow Spring is the 1803 log home where we now live (Wife, 1 remaining Deerhound out of our pack of 3)  The picture is of Leap (Flying Leap, officially) on the porch looking towards the Apple orchard where the deer sometimes come.  Behind here is the corner of the Summer Kitchen, a separate one room building with a VERY large fireplace for cooking.
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11 COMMENTS
 

“Know what I was most proud of?” former Vice President Joe Biden said last week during a campaign event. “For eight years, there wasn’t one single hint of a scandal or a lie.” Or from “The View,” “not one single whisper of scandal.”

Both of these are fairly recent quotes from Vice President Biden – and of course, they echo the Obamas saying there wasn’t a “smidgen” of scandal in his administration.

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The Colors of 9/11

Clifford A. Brown
By Clifford A. Brown
Clifford A. Brown Contributor
Retired from the U.S. Army Reserve as a Colonel after 30 years of active and reserve assignments. M.A. Political Science, M.S. Strategic Studies, Army War College, JD. Served in 1st Armored Division in West Germany when the Berlin Wall came down, in 2nd Infantry Division in South Korea during the regime of Kim Il Sung, and commanded a logistics battalion in Iraq 2003-2004. Wide-ranging public policy interests. Occasional home brewer and infuser of alcohol spirits.
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10 COMMENTS
 

Blue were the skies that early September day.

Silver gleamed the towers in the morning sun.

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Green Vegetables and a Groaning Table

Clifford A. Brown
By Clifford A. Brown
Clifford A. Brown Contributor
Retired from the U.S. Army Reserve as a Colonel after 30 years of active and reserve assignments. M.A. Political Science, M.S. Strategic Studies, Army War College, JD. Served in 1st Armored Division in West Germany when the Berlin Wall came down, in 2nd Infantry Division in South Korea during the regime of Kim Il Sung, and commanded a logistics battalion in Iraq 2003-2004. Wide-ranging public policy interests. Occasional home brewer and infuser of alcohol spirits.
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17 COMMENTS
 

Mulling over food color themes from Red, White, and Blue Labor Day U.S.A. and Colorful Cooking, a family food memory came front of mind. The tale has long been told of an important family dinner. It was one of those occasions when the prospective new family member meets the prospective parents-in-law. One of my aunts had come to my maternal grandparents’ home, and was seated at the family table when it happened.

All heads were bowed as my grandfather completed the prayer of thanksgiving and blessing over the meal. Suddenly my aunt heard a loud gasp from her mother-in-law-to-be. My aunt thought “Oh no, I’ve just met her and she’s having a heart attack!” Then she heard my grandmother exclaim in dismay: “There’s no green vegetable!

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Member Post

Suspira
By Suspira
Suspira Member
I'm a writer, new grandmother, and reluctant techie. My blog is wordcrank.blogspot.com, where I stay away from politics and talk about the important things, like how you pronounce the adjective "consu
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15 COMMENTS
 

Now that it’s September, fall colors are burgeoning around here. I don’t entirely approve. More
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Quote of the Day: Receipts = Rope

Clifford A. Brown
By Clifford A. Brown
Clifford A. Brown Contributor
Retired from the U.S. Army Reserve as a Colonel after 30 years of active and reserve assignments. M.A. Political Science, M.S. Strategic Studies, Army War College, JD. Served in 1st Armored Division in West Germany when the Berlin Wall came down, in 2nd Infantry Division in South Korea during the regime of Kim Il Sung, and commanded a logistics battalion in Iraq 2003-2004. Wide-ranging public policy interests. Occasional home brewer and infuser of alcohol spirits.
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9 COMMENTS
 

Receipt is Rope“The capitalists will sell us the rope with which we will hang them” — Unknown (attributed variously to Lenin, Stalin, and Marx)

As quotable as some of these old communists may be, it turns out that this quote cannot be definitively sourced to any of them. The meaning, nevertheless, is clear. People acting in their own short-term interest will fall into the hands of those with the will to power. While both the White Russian liberal reformers and the majority “moderate” wing of the Reds, the Mensheviks, dithered and acted as if they were in normal political space, the Bolsheviks acted decisively, initiating a 70-year reign.

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Member Post

Susan Quinn
By Susan Quinn
Susan Quinn Contributor
Retired consultant, avid biography reader and meditator
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7 COMMENTS
 

Although I grew up in California, my favorite autumns were in Massachusetts and Colorado. That first crisp morning, where the light seems to dim, as it contemplates the months ahead, resting in anticipation of the fury and beauty of winter. More
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Member Post

Stubbs
By Stubbs
Stubbs Member
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3 COMMENTS
 

Despite what some folks say, we do have seasons here on the Central Coast of California. They are not Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall; but rather Rain, Wind, Fog, and Sun. Albeit, Rain season requires a parenthetical (sometimes, and sparing) attached to it, and beneath each season’s signature veneer, there is a very marginal temperature […]
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Falling for the Fall

James Hageman
By James Hageman
James Hageman Member
BSEd - Concordia Teachers College, Seward NE, 1980 MDiv - Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, 1985 Pastorates: Northglenn, CO - 1985 - 1987 Billings, MT - 1987 - 1992 Glendive, MT - 1993 - 2014 Overland, MO - 2014 - present
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6 COMMENTS
 

Autumn is transcendent and prescient; I’ve felt and known this since my youth.

That was in Central California, where the summer lasts well into September, gradually and grudgingly giving way to the damp, dripping and darkening third of the year, grapevines waiting to lose their leaves so they can endure the pruning shear.

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Member Post

Cow Girl
By Cow Girl
Cow Girl Thatcher
Mother of five Elementary school teacher Farmer's daughter Grandmother of four Navy wife and mother I've lived in a variety of places around the U.S. Most elementary teachers are conservative, I
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4 COMMENTS
 

Aspen tree yellow is the first hue that comes to mind when I’m contemplating the colors of autumn. Aspens grow along the lower part of the mountains in the West, and when the sunlight hours become fewer, the leaves respond by turning from green to yellow. It made the mountains all around our farm look […]
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Member Post

Vectorman
By Vectorman
Vectorman Thatcher
Vectorman is a member of Ricochet.
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0 COMMENTS
 

August was busy for many of us, with both vacations and the start of the school year, but we had another full month of Quote of the Day posts, with many making Main Feed. There are plenty of open dates on the September Quote of the Day Signup Sheet. We make it easy to “Start […]
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Raining in the Solar System

OmegaPaladin
By OmegaPaladin
OmegaPaladin Moderator
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35 COMMENTS
 

Venus lightning and clouds
Lightning and clouds on Venus – an artist’s impression.
Earth is not the only place in the solar system where it rains.

Venus takes acid rain to a new level. In the clouds of Venus, it rains pure sulfuric acid, which is better known for being in your car battery. NASA probes have also confirmed the presence of lightning – not surprising, given just how thick the clouds are. Not to worry, though, the rain doesn’t actually reach the surface, which has such insane heat and pressure that the battery acid rain evaporates before hitting the surface. The surface of Venus is a volcanic hellscape (you could have pools of molten lead, and the carbon dioxide atmosphere becomes a hybrid of liquid and gas called a super-critical fluid), so the acid rain is the least of your concerns.

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Colorful Cooking

Clifford A. Brown
By Clifford A. Brown
Clifford A. Brown Contributor
Retired from the U.S. Army Reserve as a Colonel after 30 years of active and reserve assignments. M.A. Political Science, M.S. Strategic Studies, Army War College, JD. Served in 1st Armored Division in West Germany when the Berlin Wall came down, in 2nd Infantry Division in South Korea during the regime of Kim Il Sung, and commanded a logistics battalion in Iraq 2003-2004. Wide-ranging public policy interests. Occasional home brewer and infuser of alcohol spirits.
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6 COMMENTS
 

Asian Slaw and Corn MuffinsOn Labor Day morning, I made a quick trip to my local grocery store to grab a few ingredients for two celebrations. For the first celebration, at my VFW post, hot dogs were the base. I signed up to provide Asian slaw and cornbread muffins. For the second celebration, a pool party at friends’ house, I was committed to provide the Asian slaw as the veggie.

A bit more context:

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Member Post

Clifford A. Brown
By Clifford A. Brown
Clifford A. Brown Contributor
Retired from the U.S. Army Reserve as a Colonel after 30 years of active and reserve assignments. M.A. Political Science, M.S. Strategic Studies, Army War College, JD. Served in 1st Armored Division in West Germany when the Berlin Wall came down, in 2nd Infantry Division in South Korea during the regime of Kim Il Sung, and commanded a logistics battalion in Iraq 2003-2004. Wide-ranging public policy interests. Occasional home brewer and infuser of alcohol spirits.
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0 COMMENTS
 

We have lots of open days this month. While munching Labor Day left-overs, if any, kindly turn your mind to ideas you might share within the loose framework of the theme. We’ve already had poetry, television history, and food posts. Perhaps someone will answer with a photo essay, or seasonal music. Or share a few […]
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Member Post

Samuel Block
By Samuel Block
Samuel Block Member
Finished with school, but still student-ing! Used to be quite the knucklehead. Now, less so.
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4 COMMENTS
 

Bad lovers face to face in the morningShy apologies and polite regretsSlow dances that left no warning ofOutraged glances and indiscreet yawningGood manners and bad breath will get you nowhere But even presidents have newspaper loversMinisters go crawling under coversShe’s no angelHe’s no saintThey’re all covered up with white wash grease paintAnd you say: More
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Quote of the Day: “How About a Co-Cola?”

WillowSpring
By WillowSpring
WillowSpring Member
Retired Manager/Engineer/Programmer. I specialized in embedded systems – that is, systems where it isn't obvious there is a computer. Willow Spring is the 1803 log home where we now live (Wife, 1 remaining Deerhound out of our pack of 3)  The picture is of Leap (Flying Leap, officially) on the porch looking towards the Apple orchard where the deer sometimes come.  Behind here is the corner of the Summer Kitchen, a separate one room building with a VERY large fireplace for cooking.
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15 COMMENTS
 

My mother was born and raised in the small town of Ridge Spring, SC on a large farm with a huge columned house. My older brother was born there shortly after our father went off in WWII. When I was growing up, my family would often go down for several weeks during the summers and sometimes, my father would drive back home to work for several weeks and then come back to get us at the end of the summer. For most of the summer, all we did was play outside.

Even though there was a lot of shade from the trees, there was no air conditioning and us kids would get pretty hot in the mid-afternoon after playing outside all day.

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Group Writing: Autumn’s Rainbow

Arahant
By Arahant
Arahant Member
Corporate governance, process management and change management consultant, poet, alchemist, and writer.
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10 COMMENTS
 

There was no rain. There was no wind.
A sunny day’s bright, piercing sky,
And colors that refuse to blend
In trees that wear each hue and dye.

The sky scalded with skeins of crimson:
Sweet sugar maples sing of red,
The green of leaves long left behind.
And excreted over all: the oil of blood.

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Quote of the Day: How to Get Killed

Arahant
By Arahant
Arahant Member
Corporate governance, process management and change management consultant, poet, alchemist, and writer.
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38 COMMENTS
 

…One night a wild young cowboy came in,
Wild as the West Texas wind.
Dashing and daring, a drink he was sharing
With wicked Felina, the girl that I loved.

So in anger I challenged his right for the love of this maiden.
Down went his hand for the gun that he wore.
My challenge was answered in less than a heart-beat;
The handsome young stranger lay dead on the floor.

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Member Post

Clifford A. Brown
By Clifford A. Brown
Clifford A. Brown Contributor
Retired from the U.S. Army Reserve as a Colonel after 30 years of active and reserve assignments. M.A. Political Science, M.S. Strategic Studies, Army War College, JD. Served in 1st Armored Division in West Germany when the Berlin Wall came down, in 2nd Infantry Division in South Korea during the regime of Kim Il Sung, and commanded a logistics battalion in Iraq 2003-2004. Wide-ranging public policy interests. Occasional home brewer and infuser of alcohol spirits.
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4 COMMENTS
 

Labor Day, in the USA, is a creation and celebration of the American worker. It stands in stark, deliberate contrast to May Day, the international “workers” day, the center of the communist calendar. I have, once again, hung out an American colors bunting, with white stars in the blue band. The first Labor Day celebration […]
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Member Post

Vectorman
By Vectorman
Vectorman Thatcher
Vectorman is a member of Ricochet.
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2 COMMENTS
 

I came across this delightful short poem while searching for a Quote of the Day. Since it includes a cat and water, it seemed appropriate for the Group Writing theme of Raining Cats and Dogs. The final line of the poem contains a common phrase in use today, made popular by Shakespeare in The Merchant […]
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