Hi, everyone.
I hope your 4th of July was a special time spent with friends and family (and hot dogs and hamburgers and potato salad and beans and chips and cookies, etc. -- all the major food groups). We’re doing a hot dog/hamburger fiesta with several sets of neighbors. Weather permitting, all of us will watch neighborhood fireworks from the comfort of lawn chairs in the backyard – the best kind of a day. Rain is a possibility though, so we may have to adjourn inside for the burgers and dogs and other essentials.
We got back from our trip in the wee hours of the June 28. I will try not to over burden you with touristy details nitty gritty. Beginning in Budapest, Hungary, the trip took us down the Danube to touch parts of Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, and Romania. Our family had previously been to Hungary, and I had been to Croatia (Zagreb and Split) during the Balkan War. So, this trip took in new territory in Croatia, and none of us had been to Serbia, Bulgaria, or Romania.
We saw some delightful places which we thoroughly enjoyed even though our visit coincided with the presence of a ‘heat dome’ over Southern Europe. Nita called them “two shower” days – some 100+ temps which doesn’t often happen there.
Just a few quick comments on places that especially fascinated me. Perhaps you will find the backstories associated with them to be of interest. (If not, skip immediately to the ‘puns’ section.) I will try to keep them brief.
During the Balkan War, Vukovar, Croatia, and the region around it was the scene of the Serbian Army’s furthest advance. The Croatians were outgunned and outmanned by the Serbians whose forces were equipped with weapons and material supplied by the Russians. Vukovar was subjected to a prolonged siege – 87 days from August until September 1991 – under horrific conditions. The city was destroyed by an avalanche of shells and rockets. Still, week after week the defenders held on. The part of the story that intrigued me the most concerns an enclosed cement water tower that is visible from all parts of the city. Every day of the siege, the Croatian flag was flown from the top of the water tower as a signal that the city was still resisting. Every night, two Croatian townsmen climbed to the top of the shattered tower to raise the flag – thus making it the first thing the townspeople, and the Serbian attackers, saw each morning. Eventually, the Serbians took the city. However, it turned out to be a pyrrhic victory. The Serbian forces were exhausted, overextended, and under pressure from fighting raging in other locations. A cease fire was finally declared. Later, when the Croatians resumed control of the city, the first thing they did was to raise the flag on the water tower where it remains today as a symbol of Croatian independence. The Vukovar story reminded me a bit of the Fort McHenry, “rockets red glare” narrative in our own history. If you google up ‘Battle of Vukovar’ there is an excellent color photograph of the tower.
Also in Vukovar was a very good military museum that displayed dozens of pieces of Soviet equipment – including among many others a MIG -21 fighter and a T-34 tank (thought by many military historians to be the best tank of WWII – better than the U.S. Sherman and the German Panzer). I enjoyed seeing – up close and personal – those items and many others that I had been reading about for so long.
For me, at least, the biggest surprise of the trip was the city of Bucharest, Romania. The downtown area is extraordinary – “the Paris of the East,” purposely modelled after the original in France. Among many other things, it has a Romanian Arc de Triomphe and a grander version of the Champs Elysees – wider and more ornate than the Paris version (it has more than a mile of fountains in landscaped center ‘islands’ that divide the opposing lines of traffic). The architectural style of the government buildings is stunning. The centerpiece of the downtown area is the monumental Palace of the Parliament Building. It is the second largest office building in the world (only the Pentagon is larger.) Photos of the building are googleable (is that a word?) also.
Altogether, it was a very good trip – and despite the less than preferred weather and traveling through three time changes in Europe, we seem to be recovering.
Just a tiny bit of writing news before turning to the really important material.
I haven’t yet received official confirmation from the British publisher, but it appears that the final changes to the fiction manuscript may at last be ready to go to print. When we got back from the trip on June 28th, a draft was waiting for my review. It correctly captured the last of the changes that I had asked the publisher to make. So … we’ll see. It has been quite a journey. I don’t know what the remaining timeline will be. I’ll let you know.
The work on the military history is ongoing. Before leaving in mid-June, I received a note from the editor that the text and proposed photos and maps had been passed to the senior editor for his review. I suspect that I may get feedback on all those things, but especially perhaps on the maps, where the publisher’s specialized equipment might enhance the presentation.
And now, another round of medical terminology for Aggies
Node Was aware of
Coma A punctuate mark
Tumor An extra pair
Urine Opposite of you’re out
Varicose Veins Veins which are very close together
/////
Have a great summer, everyone.
Best always,
Tom
I hope your 4th of July was a special time spent with friends and family (and hot dogs and hamburgers and potato salad and beans and chips and cookies, etc. -- all the major food groups). We’re doing a hot dog/hamburger fiesta with several sets of neighbors. Weather permitting, all of us will watch neighborhood fireworks from the comfort of lawn chairs in the backyard – the best kind of a day. Rain is a possibility though, so we may have to adjourn inside for the burgers and dogs and other essentials.
We got back from our trip in the wee hours of the June 28. I will try not to over burden you with touristy details nitty gritty. Beginning in Budapest, Hungary, the trip took us down the Danube to touch parts of Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, and Romania. Our family had previously been to Hungary, and I had been to Croatia (Zagreb and Split) during the Balkan War. So, this trip took in new territory in Croatia, and none of us had been to Serbia, Bulgaria, or Romania.
We saw some delightful places which we thoroughly enjoyed even though our visit coincided with the presence of a ‘heat dome’ over Southern Europe. Nita called them “two shower” days – some 100+ temps which doesn’t often happen there.
Just a few quick comments on places that especially fascinated me. Perhaps you will find the backstories associated with them to be of interest. (If not, skip immediately to the ‘puns’ section.) I will try to keep them brief.
During the Balkan War, Vukovar, Croatia, and the region around it was the scene of the Serbian Army’s furthest advance. The Croatians were outgunned and outmanned by the Serbians whose forces were equipped with weapons and material supplied by the Russians. Vukovar was subjected to a prolonged siege – 87 days from August until September 1991 – under horrific conditions. The city was destroyed by an avalanche of shells and rockets. Still, week after week the defenders held on. The part of the story that intrigued me the most concerns an enclosed cement water tower that is visible from all parts of the city. Every day of the siege, the Croatian flag was flown from the top of the water tower as a signal that the city was still resisting. Every night, two Croatian townsmen climbed to the top of the shattered tower to raise the flag – thus making it the first thing the townspeople, and the Serbian attackers, saw each morning. Eventually, the Serbians took the city. However, it turned out to be a pyrrhic victory. The Serbian forces were exhausted, overextended, and under pressure from fighting raging in other locations. A cease fire was finally declared. Later, when the Croatians resumed control of the city, the first thing they did was to raise the flag on the water tower where it remains today as a symbol of Croatian independence. The Vukovar story reminded me a bit of the Fort McHenry, “rockets red glare” narrative in our own history. If you google up ‘Battle of Vukovar’ there is an excellent color photograph of the tower.
Also in Vukovar was a very good military museum that displayed dozens of pieces of Soviet equipment – including among many others a MIG -21 fighter and a T-34 tank (thought by many military historians to be the best tank of WWII – better than the U.S. Sherman and the German Panzer). I enjoyed seeing – up close and personal – those items and many others that I had been reading about for so long.
For me, at least, the biggest surprise of the trip was the city of Bucharest, Romania. The downtown area is extraordinary – “the Paris of the East,” purposely modelled after the original in France. Among many other things, it has a Romanian Arc de Triomphe and a grander version of the Champs Elysees – wider and more ornate than the Paris version (it has more than a mile of fountains in landscaped center ‘islands’ that divide the opposing lines of traffic). The architectural style of the government buildings is stunning. The centerpiece of the downtown area is the monumental Palace of the Parliament Building. It is the second largest office building in the world (only the Pentagon is larger.) Photos of the building are googleable (is that a word?) also.
Altogether, it was a very good trip – and despite the less than preferred weather and traveling through three time changes in Europe, we seem to be recovering.
Just a tiny bit of writing news before turning to the really important material.
I haven’t yet received official confirmation from the British publisher, but it appears that the final changes to the fiction manuscript may at last be ready to go to print. When we got back from the trip on June 28th, a draft was waiting for my review. It correctly captured the last of the changes that I had asked the publisher to make. So … we’ll see. It has been quite a journey. I don’t know what the remaining timeline will be. I’ll let you know.
The work on the military history is ongoing. Before leaving in mid-June, I received a note from the editor that the text and proposed photos and maps had been passed to the senior editor for his review. I suspect that I may get feedback on all those things, but especially perhaps on the maps, where the publisher’s specialized equipment might enhance the presentation.
And now, another round of medical terminology for Aggies
Node Was aware of
Coma A punctuate mark
Tumor An extra pair
Urine Opposite of you’re out
Varicose Veins Veins which are very close together
/////
Have a great summer, everyone.
Best always,
Tom
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