Gilbert M. Stack's Blog, page 103
March 27, 2019
Legionnaire 7: The Bridges of Morganita Is Available for Pre-Order
I'm happy to announce that the seventh book of my Legionnaire series, The Bridges of Morganita, is now available for Pre-Order.
25% off if pre-ordered by 4/25/19. Marcus has defeated the smaller half of the army of Thegn Chilperic by the skin of his teeth, but now he must rally his legion and its allies to stop the Thegn’s main force from rolling back all of his victories. Yet even as he fights for control of the strategic bridges on the Rio Rocoso, Marcus’ allies remain as fractious as ever. The rebellious Gente of Morganita continue to fight among themselves for leadership of their cause, while the Gota also violently question the leadership of Marcus’ friend, Evorik. As if all of this weren’t bad enough, the mighty Thegn of Granate still tries to walk the middle path in this war, telling both Marcus and his enemies that he is loyal to them. Too soon now, Marcus will find out which side Granate betrays at the Bridges of Morganita.
Here's a link to Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07...
Amazon UK:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bridges-Morg...
March 26, 2019
Today in History: Pope-Elect Stephen Died
On this day (March 26) in 752 Pope-Elect Stephen died after suffering a stroke. He may be the only man properly elected pope not to become pope. When elected, he had not yet been consecrated a bishop, and he died before the consecration took place.
March 25, 2019
Today in History: Britain Abolished the Slave Trade
On this day (March 25) in 1807, the British government abolished the slave trade in its empire. The Slave Trade Act followed the American Act Prohibiting the Importation of Slaves passed on March 2, 1807. Neither Act ended slavery, merely the importation of new slaves. The British went further than the Americans, actively seeking to get other European and African powers to end the slave trade. They decided to treat slave traders like pirates and they established fines of up to 100 pounds per slave for the captains of ships caught transporting slaves. (Unfortunately, this led captains to throw slaves overboard when they thought they were going to be boarded.) The Royal Navy’s West Africa Squadron seized some 1600 slave ships and freed some 150,000 kidnapped Africans between 1808 and 1860.
March 24, 2019
Today in History: The Quartering Act
On this day (March 24) in 1765, Great Britain passed the Quartering Act which became one of the Intolerable Acts that helped to spark the American Revolution. The “need” for the Act came out of the French and Indian war (1754-1763) in which British forces needed to be fed and quartered while fighting the war and the colonial governments were often slow to provide such quartering. In response, the British authorities took over private homes, forcing the owners to feed and house soldiers. This was illegal, but in the midst of the war the British generals frankly didn’t care about legalities.
After the war, the British government decided to leave troops in the colonies and demanded that the colonial governments pay for them. The colonies understandably asked why a standing army was needed in the American colonies now that the French threat was gone. Most refused to cooperate, leading to the Quartering Act that once again put the burden of supporting British troops on private citizens.
March 23, 2019
Today in History: Gemini 3
On this day (March 23) in 1965, the United States put Gemini 3 in orbit. It was the first time the U.S. had put a two-man capsule into space. (The Soviet Union had already put a two-man and three-man capsule into space.) And it was the first time anyone had changed a capsule’s orbit (they maneuvered to a lower altitude). Up until this time, capsules had been dependent on the orbit established by their rocket boosters when they were launched into space.
March 22, 2019
Today in History: A Peace Treaty
On this day (March 22) in 1621, the Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony forged a peace treaty with Massasoit of the Wampanoag. The treaty stated that neither side would harm the other and if one did do harm, that person would be turned over to the harmed side for punishment. Thefts by either side would be restored. Both sides would render military aid to the other if they were attacked and they would publicize this fact. And finally, neither side would bring weapons into the other side’s settlements. The terms of the treaty were straight forward and simple and helped to cement an alliance which lasted through the first generation of the Plymouth Colony.
March 20, 2019
Today in History: The Republican Party
On this day (March 20) in 1854 the Republican Party was organized in the United States in opposition to the Democratic Party. Early Republicans were drawn from anti-slavery advocates, modernizers, ex-Whigs (who had pushed westward expansion during the 1840s but collapsed over the slavery issue), and ex free soilers (a single issue party opposed to the expansion of slavery into the western territories). Their original slogan--free labor, free land, and free men--summed up their early focus on ending the corrupt economic system then dominating the southern economy and southern politics. They successfully burst out onto the national stage with the election of Abraham Lincoln to the presidency in 1860.
March 18, 2019
Today in History: Hawaii
On this day (March Eighteen) in 1959 the Hawaii Admission Act was signed by President Eisenhower. The Act followed a referendum in Hawaii on whether to make the islands into a state. Out of a population of 600,000 people, 155,000 were registered to vote and 140,000 voted in favor of statehood.
March 15, 2019
Today in History: Michael Makoe Died
On this day (March 15) in 2009, my father-in-law, Michael Makoe, died. It was the sad and painful end to an even sadder and more painful decade of his suffering. It was the conclusion of an important phase in my family’s life and the beginning of a hard period in which we struggled to discover the shape of our future without the man who had been so central to our lives for so many years.
Michael Makoe was an exceedingly good man. He’d offered years of service to his family and his country, worked to provide for his wife and daughters, volunteered his time as a soccer coach and generally helped out his neighbors whenever they had need. He was strikingly intelligent, well informed and articulate. He obtained a patent for a garage door opening device which he invented. He always had a joke or a story to share and he made friends very easily.
He was sick with cancer most of the years I knew him. He had been exposed to agent orange while serving in Vietnam and compounded the damage those chemicals had done with a lifetime of smoking cigarettes. The cancer changed him, limiting him physically even as it offered him the opportunity to demonstrate his incredible will power and his strong desire to live. He endured chemotherapy and experimental drugs and defied doctors’ predictions of a quick end, fighting on for nearly a decade. He wanted desperately to return to work and his old life and was frustrated and depressed that this was not possible, but he found new ways to enjoy life mostly through his two grandchildren.
Michael’s illness forced his wife and daughters to find depths of strength I’m certain they didn’t know they had. Their care for him was admirable, inspiring, and touching at every level. They gave him love, comfort and dignity and kept him by them in our home so there would be no chance that he would die alone.
Ten years later Michael is still interwoven in our lives. His name continues to frequently filter through our conversations, proving that he’s not far from anyone’s thoughts. The majority of those memories are happy ones drawn from the years long before the cancer intruded into our lives and it goods to hear the laughter they bring. This is the Michael Makoe I would have liked to know better and through the memories of his wife and daughters, his grandchildren and I have enjoyed becoming better acquainted with him.
March 12, 2019
Today in History: The Girl Scouts
On this day (March 12) in 1912 the Girl Guides were founded in the United States. You may know them better as the Girl Scouts. The Girl Guides were a direct response to young girls being prevented from joining the new Boy Scouts organization. The Boy Scouts justified their ban on girls by pointing to cultural expectations of girls in their 1909 manual: “If a girl is not allowed to run, or even hurry, to swim, ride a bike, or raise her arms above her head, how can she become a Scout?” After receiving intense negative publicity for his anti-girl stand, Boy Scouts founder, Robert Baden-Powell, asked his sister, Agnes, to form the Girl Guides to give young women the same opportunities that Boy Scouts gave to young men. Today the Girl Scout organization is angry at Boy Scouts for having finally reversed themselves to accept girls as members.
