7 Min read Sylvanus Thayer Award On a Strong Military and Secure Nation Toolbox: Speech and Rhetoric * AVAILABLE ON PODCAST SPOTIFY * The evening with the 44th POTUS (President Of The United States) went about as planned. He was all business, in and out, no meal just...
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Horses & Handwriting: A Dying Era?
4 Min read 1 short story with full text 1 book rec 1 luxury stationary rec 3 pen recs * * I would lose my hat at the races, which is OK because I didn't wear a hat. I did lose my bet on "Writer's Regret" at Saratoga Springs last week. I liked the name. I'm not sure I...
“These United Colonies…are Free and Independent States”
5 Min read 10 Min read AND study 30 Min group discussion On the 5 distinct parts of the Declaration, in a table for reference On how Declaration signatures are categorized * AVAILABLE ON PODCAST * The moral foundation of the Constitution is in the Declaration of...
Degree of Separation
5 Min read Social connection on Earth in 2023 Network theory U.S. Army and Armed Forces Math geek special, logarithm AVAILABLE ON PODCAST Spotify iTunes * Thought exercise for the day. How many friends between you and anyone on the planet? In popular culture this...
A Day with the Night Stalkers
8 Min read 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne) The Soldier and the Citizen Nashville Ides of March AVAILABLE ON PODCAST SPOTIFY iTunes * On a lonesome stretch of road north of Nashville, we turned onto a farmer's path. Strains of Johnny Cash and the...
Charlie Munger and the Art of Swearing
5 Min read EXPLICIT language, Ages 13 to 103 True Story, investing Toolbox Essay and book rec, Ursula Le Guin Patton's Speech AVAILABLE ON PODCAST Spotify iTunes * Charlie Munger was making the rounds with investors. A living icon in the investing world, he was some...
The Meaning in Music
4 min read Song and Story Rachmaninoff Rybnikov AVAILABLE IN PODCAST (Listen to this letter to hear the piano music) Spotify iTunes Anchor.fm/emelle Your job will change, where you live will change, the people in your life will change, but you will always have your...
Books as Trophies? the Bibliophile vs the Bibliophagist
6 Min read 2 Book recs Music in Prose Funniest passage in modern literature Toolbox, Ages 9 to 99 Word Nerd Special AVAILABLE ON PODCAST iTunes Spotify anchor.fm/emelle * * I have a book problem. It's a good kind of problem because books teach me a lot and I get to...
On Becoming Sheepdogs, a Modern Fable
AVAILABLE ON PODCAST Anchor.fm Spotify iTunes * This letter has been updated to relate my own experience and the role of the brave men and women who are called to the profession of arms. These citizens have taken an oath to support and defend the constitution against...
Why Scout Finch Hates School – the Best Novel of the Century on Education
"Scout” Finch’s first day in school exposes the pretentious and often hollow ambitions behind progressive education in the 1930s and today. The beloved characters from Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird provide timeless insight on public education. Scout’s father...
More Than a Vietnamese Folktale – the Goddess of Compassion
9 Min read 1 Folktale and true story 1 Book rec Quan Am, Kuan Yin, Guanyin, Avalokiteshvara * “To my mind, Kuan Yin’s gentle form is a worthier symbol than the figure of a tortured being hanging from a cross or of an awesome father god.” John Blofeld * I’ve known Kuan...