?"Jes askin'"?

The ?lede? asked, in effect, "how come"? Why, in other words, (to quote you) "is foreign policy always about machismo?"

Waal, this is early for the comments section here but might I ask -- someone? Whoever? -- why is it that, so far, the only comments here are (if I read aright) from ... um ... gender-defined "men"?

Need "foreign policy always [be] about machismo"? Seems to me a lot is a matter of who and what point of view gets media coverage. Quiet diplomacy; small but effective acts, don't get much coverage.

But I'm whistling in the dark. Literally (getting dark here now as I write). Wishing ... hoping (vainly?) there might, as this thread continues, be a few people -- whatever your chromosomal ?identites? -- who will maybe continue this discussion.

If so -- in advance -- Thank You!!

I only now have had the chance to read the second part of your post. I'm sorry that my first post here only spoke to the ?"objective"? how-to-do-things part of air flight which is, of course, what I particularly look to you for.

But -- Moms and Massachusetts?!

I spent many of my ?"most precious"? years in your geographical area, Patrick, and am homesick for 'your place' still. But I grew up in Western NY State and was marriage-defined ?"transplanted"? to the west coast many years back and I guess a part of my ongoing interest about air flight inheres partly in the fact that it was only because of its availability that I was able to be with my mother when she died -- ~3,000 miles distant from where I was by then living.

On the plane as I was returning I had an aisle seat ... and a lot to ?ruminate on?! It was about a five hour flight so at one point I struck up a short conversation with the guy in the aisle seat opposite me, telling him that my mother had just died. I'd never seen the guy before and never will again, but that short airborn conversation was one of the most helpful events for me during that whole rough time.

He said, simply, about when his mother had died:

"I never felt so alone in my life before".

Patrick ... I'm stumped right now. I just wish I could know how to use this computer to send you ... something. But not an excess of words!

?"Go well"?

salonmarte

I post here less and less often these days, cuz I'm OLD, and in no league to keep up with cybertalk. [My new of-the-moment-word.]

But seeing -- for once? -- I managed to find your post here before too many other comment-ers, I just want to tell you THANK YOU! I kept watching the other varying news media coverages, and waiting till I could find a post of yours here.

Relieved and grateful to now find your post here. I'll be following this thread! ;-)

salonmarte

I don't know (nor know who else might or might not know) whether or not I'm ?'nice'? nor how often or little or by whose decisions.

I'm a 79 (well, in a few more weeks) y.o. woman with friends and family where you live (when you're not travelling!) and medical friends and professional associates you name it where, in the world. [Sorry -- didn't mean to be ?"showing off" ... just trying to get a few words here written at a miscellaneous hereabouts moment].

Yesterday I finally navigated my way onto "Open Salon" but it's a losing battle for me and I know it.

So?

I enjoyed having my brief "blog" here at Salon (even though I don't yet know how to call it up!) and, Garrison (given my family there in Minneapolis/St. Paul and a few other connexions) I've particularly appreciated all your posts all these years, so thank you for that.

As for everyone else here ...

well, I haven't yet had the chance to read some one hundred or more posts but I suspect there'll be the usual amount of rehash about Garrison and political stances and all that, ?"eh?" ("as the Canadians don't want us to say the Canadians like to say").

But though politics and attendant responsibilities have been a ?Big Thing? in my life since never MIND how long ago, Salon did at least partly start in the traditions of the not necessarily reactive/politics of earlier days' ?"literature"? (for that maybe overly ponderous word?).

So it was happy for me that yesterday I was able to join Open Salon, but today I can't even find my own posts.

Oh well.

Good cheer, nice or not so nice 67 y.o's, male or female.

I'm just being admittedly 100% narcissistic posting all these words here right now, O.K.?

[If NOT o.k. -- do please for sure "advise immediately".]

Sept. 16 pacific northwest time 6:27 p.m., ?"caution to the winds"?

salonmarte

After a rather horrendously disheartening couple of days (for reasons having nothing to do with anything being discussed here) and a rather horrendously disheartening couple of days with Salon.com (because of the tenor of so many posts) I am "re-heartened" by this follow-up post of yours. To save everyone time space and annoyance I'll ?"say no more" (for now) except to add that for your last word ("silly") I'd be the more inclined to say "dangerous".