May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the
most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds.
-Edward Abbey, naturalist and author (1927-1989)
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/506179204#.U4ELjmjtd04.email
Hi Colin and Yumi!Delightful to meet you two yesterday evening at Long Table! G&T's were wonderful and a great time was had by all, at least as far as I was able to discern. Just wanted to send along a few snapolas from the gathering and to remind you, if interested and available, about bbq with Pat and David Coffaro on Thursday, June 19th. If you can come I'll be in touch closer to date in question about time, directions, etc.
On the cycling front, CC Rider, I'd be delighted to join you out to Horseshoe Bay when we can arrange such an outing. In the meantime, if you are down at GI please feel fee to pop in and say hello and have a java or something stronger. Give me a shout beforehand just to make sure we'll be home or else just late Kismet works its magic ways. Until our paths cross, all the best. Fondestos and Cheers, Patrizzio!
PS: Had the distinct pleasure of attending a fab rum tasting at the Wedgewood Hotel this afternoon. Tito
Cordero, Master Blender from Dusa
Distilleries of Venezuela, representing Diplomatico Rum, led the tasting
of Anejo, Reserva,
Exclusiva, Vintage (New), Ambassador and Saruro Liqueur. Tito described
each rum’s distilling process as well as the history of Dusa
Distilleries. What made it even more interesting was the fact that his
presentation was translated, on the fly, by a lovely young woman from
Peru, living in Vancouver since 2010. I had a chance to chat with her
before event began. She didn't know anything about subject matter and
had not met with Tito beforehand so it was quite a considerable feat for
her to provide the translation for a fairly technical, at times, and
subtle subject. The President and North American Sales Manager were
there, as well, and did help out, when necessary, so it was quite a
show, aside from the simply astounding lineup of rums that were
presented.
Hi Katelyn! Delightful to meet you and your friend yesterday evening at Long Table! Until our paths cross, all the best. Cheers, Patrizzio!
Pics: Long Table, Colin & Charles; Yumi & Colin; Cora Lee, (my wife), Yumi and Elly, friend from Brisbane; Antonio.(Elly's husband), and Colin; Sarge, (my friend), and Charles' wife; Tito and translator.
[Sending this twice to make sure you receive message!]
Hello Donna Maria and Herardo!
Trust you are both well and new residence is looming closer! After Diplomatico event, I was walking into the hotel foyer and another couple were coming up a small set of steps towards me. I heard the woman say, "But they don't have snow like we do in Terrace!
From The Most Dangerous Man in America by Mark Perry. Perhaps the most critical
job in fighting the Germans and Japanese in World War II was insuring
the cooperation and managing the considerable egos of some of America's most senior American commanders
-- a list that included Douglas MacArthur and George Patton. This most
delicate job regularly fell to the top general of them all: General and
Army Chief of Staff George C. Marshall, who kept a little black book of
the most talented military leaders, which
he used as a reference in addressing the war's acute global need for
combat leadership:
"As [Marshall]
scanned the list of senior officers capable of higher command [to be
stationed in Australia and lead the war against Japan in the south
Pacific, General Douglas] MacArthur's name stood
out. While MacArthur was 'shrewd, proud, remote, highly strung and
vastly vain,' as a British senior officer later described him, he was
also experienced, courageous, imaginative, a brilliant organizer, and
the sole senior American officer who had actually
commanded large formations in wartime.
"As Marshall
scanned his list of potential army, corps, and division commanders --
Dwight Eisenhower, Mark Clark, George Patton, Omar Bradley, Courtney
Hodges, Robert 'Nelly' Richardson, and a half dozen others (all of them
listed in the little black book he
kept in the drawer of his office at the War Department) he noted that
none of them had [MacArthur's] experience. Eisenhower was untested,
Clark a sniveler, and Patton a marplot; Bradley had never heard a shot
fired in anger; Hodges lacked ambition; and Richardson
was unwilling. MacArthur was the only one who wouldn't have to learn on
the job and who had the experience necessary to reassure the frightened
Australians...
"In fact, MacArthur was much less of a headache for Marshall than other
American commanders, such as Eisenhower subordinates George Patton and
Mark Clark. Patton, a bombastic showman, cultivated public acclaim and
feuded with nearly everyone he met. His ego
might have been unrivaled -- except for Clark's. Despite being
Eisenhower's best friend, Clark trailed a coterie of worshipful
reporters and regularly disparaged anyone whose fighting qualities
garnered public acclaim.
Patton and Clark weren't the only problems
Marshall had. Cultivating public attention was a virus among American
commanders, sparking constant inter-service and inter-Allied feuding:
[Fleet Admiral and Commander in Chief, United States Fleet, Ernie] King
despised Patton, Hap Arnold couldn't bring himself
to speak to King, and Eisenhower thought British commander Bernard Law
Montgomery 'conceited.'
The animus didn't end there: Patton held all
British commanders in disdain, Clark stewed over the headlines given his
peers, and General Omar Bradley plotted ways
to take advantage of Patton's antics. Meanwhile, General Terry de la
Mesa Allen, one of the best American combat leaders, described Bradley
as 'a phony Abraham Lincoln.'
The Most Dangerous Man in America: The Making of Douglas MacArthur, Mark Perry , Basic Books, 2014 by Mark Perry
"Among all
these interpersonal rivalries, MacArthur's efforts to push himself into
the limelight stand out. He failed to publicize his subordinates'
demonstrations of perseverance and valor. For example,
when the Australians caved in the right flank of the Japanese position
at Buna, MacArthur's headquarters remained silent, and when [General
Robert] Eichelberger's soldiers were assailing the Triangle (rotting
Japanese corpses were piled so high that the defenders
wore gas masks), MacArthur issued a Christmas circular to the press:
'On Christmas Day our activities were limited to routine safety
precautions. Divine services were held.' ...
"MacArthur praised Eichelberger in a personal letter, awarded him the
Distinguished Service Cross, bragged about him to visitors to his
headquarters, but was irritated when Eichelberger was featured in the
pages of the
Saturday Evening Post and Life. 'Do you realize I
could reduce you to the grade of colonel and send you home?' he asked,
but then relented: 'Well, I won't do it.' "
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