Fate

Here I am, same place and same time, but without much inspiration. Sometimes the daily news just runs together; didn’t I read that story yesterday? Or was it last Thursday? It’s far too much the same. I suppose if there is an upside to the bitterness of political campaigns, it’s the fact that no matter which side wins, we’ll have a new name and face in the news. Change is good!

I have been reading an interesting book this past week; Adopted Son, by David Clary. It’s the story of the relationship between George Washington and the Marquis de Lafayette. It’s always good to read a book about Washington that’s free of the ‘cherry tree’ nonsense and reveals George to have been a real person. As a young officer he was actually incompetent at times. Whining and sniping at his superiors.

The book also revealed a fact that had escaped me; the Revolutionary War attracted attention all across the European continent and general officers from many nations sailed to America, looking for a fight. The majority was French and their resumes numbered in the hundreds. Since France was at peace at the time, what was a professional soldier to do but to search out a war for their talents? Duportail, Von Steuben, Pulaski, etc. All were from the continent and fated to be part of American history.