Women's Day
Mar. 8th, 2025 13:59![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bill_schubertAn apropos day to dump a book, the second in a series, based on the mischaracterization of what could have been a great female character. DCI Matilda Darke is a Brit character written by a guy, Michael Brooks. I've been on ships where women were in charge and not a single one of them was a hand wringing whiner that this woman is. She supposedly runs a murder squad but really could not run a short race. She has no leadership qualities and not much of anything to recommend her. I read the first book which had enough interesting other characters to make me read the second. Half of it. In the midst of one hand wringing tearful puddle of picture album hugging I turned it off. No idea why this guy things such a woman could work in a male dominated world.
Typically I'll read some safe palate cleanser after a book or book and a half like that. An old Reacher book or something but I reached out to my Author's Map and found what might be a gem in an author adjacent to Peter Grainger. Just at the beginning of the book but the character is already way more interesting just starting out in the first scene looking for a job with a police department in Wales. Harry Bingham's book Talking to the Dead from 2012. We'll see. There are half a dozen of them so I'm hopeful.
I went out to the Ranch today to deliver my own Women's Day present. There is a worker there who takes care of the big dogs. She gets up at 4:30, gets her own two kids going, heads out to the ranch and feeds the dogs, lets them out, and gets the place ready so that when the volunteers get there the dogs have eaten and are ready to walk and play. She is the first person in charge that has been able to make that happen on time. I gather that she is the battered spouse of a schizophrenic husband and is living in a shelter. Or something like that. I don't ask but have gathered that much. So she is doing better than any other person in charge of the big dog house while living in a shelter and taking care of two kids. Already pretty amazing.
She once said to me "can you test cookies if I do some experimenting and tell me what you think?" She's thinking of starting a business. I've heard that kind of wishful thinking from a lot of people. Just being able to make cookies is not much of a plan unless your name is Amos and you are very, very fortunate. I was encouraging but not hopeful.
But a couple of day ago I stumbled on her FB profile. Turns out she's a trained and experienced baker with a resume from a number of impressive sounding restaurants, mostly in Germany. ??? So many questions most of which I really shouldn't ask.
One day week before last she was filling out an application on her phone for spring break camp for her two kids. No idea how much it cost but we talked about it some and it basically wipes out her pay check. So it was rattling around in my brain and I though of contributing. So I asked the owner of the Ranch if it was OK with her if I anonymously gave this woman a hundred dollars to help with the camp. She thought it was a good idea and agreed to handle the transaction.
I drove out today and gave the owner an envelope with a piece of paper typed saying 'use this for spring camp or whatever you need' and put a hundred dollar bill in it. I've got a couple. The shoe rack in my closet. Second set of shoes from the bottom. Right shoe. Help yourself.
The anonymous contribution will help keep it from being awkward. And a decent house fire would have burned up the cash anyway.
So, that's my contribution to Woman's Day. Dumped one woman and helped another.
I try to stay in balance.
BTW, Khaleesi was doing great. She stood in this field in this pose for so long it seemed like she was wanting me to take her picture. So I did:
She is looking so much better. Fills my heart.
Typically I'll read some safe palate cleanser after a book or book and a half like that. An old Reacher book or something but I reached out to my Author's Map and found what might be a gem in an author adjacent to Peter Grainger. Just at the beginning of the book but the character is already way more interesting just starting out in the first scene looking for a job with a police department in Wales. Harry Bingham's book Talking to the Dead from 2012. We'll see. There are half a dozen of them so I'm hopeful.
I went out to the Ranch today to deliver my own Women's Day present. There is a worker there who takes care of the big dogs. She gets up at 4:30, gets her own two kids going, heads out to the ranch and feeds the dogs, lets them out, and gets the place ready so that when the volunteers get there the dogs have eaten and are ready to walk and play. She is the first person in charge that has been able to make that happen on time. I gather that she is the battered spouse of a schizophrenic husband and is living in a shelter. Or something like that. I don't ask but have gathered that much. So she is doing better than any other person in charge of the big dog house while living in a shelter and taking care of two kids. Already pretty amazing.
She once said to me "can you test cookies if I do some experimenting and tell me what you think?" She's thinking of starting a business. I've heard that kind of wishful thinking from a lot of people. Just being able to make cookies is not much of a plan unless your name is Amos and you are very, very fortunate. I was encouraging but not hopeful.
But a couple of day ago I stumbled on her FB profile. Turns out she's a trained and experienced baker with a resume from a number of impressive sounding restaurants, mostly in Germany. ??? So many questions most of which I really shouldn't ask.
One day week before last she was filling out an application on her phone for spring break camp for her two kids. No idea how much it cost but we talked about it some and it basically wipes out her pay check. So it was rattling around in my brain and I though of contributing. So I asked the owner of the Ranch if it was OK with her if I anonymously gave this woman a hundred dollars to help with the camp. She thought it was a good idea and agreed to handle the transaction.
I drove out today and gave the owner an envelope with a piece of paper typed saying 'use this for spring camp or whatever you need' and put a hundred dollar bill in it. I've got a couple. The shoe rack in my closet. Second set of shoes from the bottom. Right shoe. Help yourself.
The anonymous contribution will help keep it from being awkward. And a decent house fire would have burned up the cash anyway.
So, that's my contribution to Woman's Day. Dumped one woman and helped another.
I try to stay in balance.
BTW, Khaleesi was doing great. She stood in this field in this pose for so long it seemed like she was wanting me to take her picture. So I did:
She is looking so much better. Fills my heart.
no subject
Date: 2025-03-08 22:13 (UTC)Bingham rings a 'i liked that one i read, why didn't i ever got back for more???' bell.
no subject
Date: 2025-03-08 22:15 (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-03-09 17:47 (UTC)