Morale Hazarding

Earlier in the week my son called tor report that he would be returning to his Marlboro office once a week from his new project in Portsmouth.  While this returns, at least once a week, his ponderous commute, it also enables a weekly morale lunch for me.  We’re getting on short final for the big August event and yesterday’s lunch was consumed with talk of tables and chairs for the rehearsal dinner as well as the Labor Day family fantasy football draft.  I’ve never done that before but the “kids” assure me I’ll love it.  I’m teamed up with my wife so at least I’ll have her encyclopedic knowledge of football to fall back on.

It Also Means I Get to Inflict These Photos Upon You Once a Week!
My Son and I Yesterday

Yesterday also saw the final fitting for both my wife’s gown for the wedding as well as my uniform pants she insisted needed to be tailored.  The time spent doing it was worth just seeing her in the gown which is nothing short of spectacular.  Until the wedding you’ll just have to make do with a picture of me in the uniform pants (spousal orders).

I'm Told the Trousers Fit Much Better

I also finished my latest W.E.B. Griffin book, Hazardous Duty, which was a major disappointment.  I’ve loved Griffin’s work since the early 1980s when I breathlessly read his Brotherhood of War Series followed by the excellent The Corps series.  He’s an incredibly prolific writer and once those series ran their course he started several new ones which were good if not up to the original’s standards.  Hazardous Duty is the latest in the Presidential Agent series and continues the saga of LTC (R) Charley Castillo who also happens to be a German nobleman.  The earlier novels were fairly action packed and enjoyable.  That certainly cannot be said for this one.

This was written as a very labored attempt at humor with a complete buffoon as US President.  A full 43% of the book (thank you kindle) is spent rehashing all of the different story lines from earlier books in the series.  If you’d already read them this was a complete waste of time, especially when he does it three or four times for the same character.  I’ve never had trouble getting through one of Griffin’s books but this was actual work.  When the climactic moment is the head of Russian intelligence falling in love with a porn star you have officially jumped the shark into abject silliness.  This isn’t why I pick up a Griffin book and I may not pick up another.