Broadsword calling Danny Boy: Iowa -- Minnesota post-mortem; Gagarin Park and Moscow rules, as season lock approaches External | Eastern North Carolina Now

Publisher's Note: This new series, from The Correspondent, will be an evolving fixture here on Eastern NC NOW, so keep your visits on a frequent basis, and we will keep you full of even a greater variety of knowledge.

    You've got so many dreams
    That you don't know where to put 'em
    So you'd better turn a few of 'em loose
    Your body's got a feeling that it's starting to rust
    You'd better rev it up and put it to use

    Stalkin' in the shadows by the light of the moon
    It's like a prison and the night is a cell
    Goin' anywhere has gotta be heaven tonight
    'Cause stayin' here has gotta be hell
    Dyin' in the city like a fire on the water
    Let's go runnin' on the back of the wind
    There's gotta be some action on the face of the earth
    And I've gotta see your face once again - J. Steinman


The "King" of Albania issues operational orders as an unidentified American technical advisor looks on, April 1996, Durres, Albania: Above.     Click image to enlarge.

    Gagarin Park, TYUMEN     Anatoly was grooving on this Third World War delta-spoofing gig some kind of beaucoup dinky dow. His whiz kids had been whipsawing the Dow and NASDAQ gamma something fierce the last couple weeks -- in anticipation of the approaching December quarterly-witching options-expiration on Wall Street -- and his soon to be brand new apartment in Kiev was still untouched by shelling; the local Ukie commanders given incentive to ensure such.

    And the scholarly kid Luke, the burrower, had found something in the archives. Not in the digital ones, but deep along the old musty underground warren of maze-like corridors and ante-rooms -- where the post-war handwritten files from the past guarded the Bear's deepest secrets.

    Luke was most pious and understanding the spiritual flow of the Eucharist -- from the Rite of Constantinople to the present moment -- gave his life balance and calm. He saw the eventual liberation of Kiev in similar terms to the Crusades of Jerusalem -- and felt God's message spoken to him.

    Anatoly lifted the sheet from the stiff manila folder. The coppery, old-school cursive, still legible more than a half century later, commanded the lined notebook paper. The blue ink seemed from another era.

    Vaeder had been recruited by the Centre following the Great Patriotic War. She, like thousands of other American school teachers recruited during the turbulent 1950's and 60's, had been sympathetic to the East. Like a few hundred other talent-spotters across the States, she reported on the younger folks that caught her eye.

    The first file's subject had been quite successful as a businessman, and his siblings had married well. Anatoly had a stack of thirty of these to go through before the counter-offensive Iron Hand programme commenced and -- with Val pestering him for the newly established Kherson People's Republic data-integration fractal -- he had to scan through them as quickly as he could. He read:

    Spring 1969

    Dogs and Suds, Ada, MICHIGAN     Scribbling this note in the car while the details are fresh in my mind. Subject Dan DeVo (DD) ran into the twins, Connie and Bonnie and shared a soft drink and hot dog. They all waved over to me and I waved back -- as all three have been quite active in the Fifth grade this year.

    DD was relaxed and projected his usual confident air. There had been concerns after the Amway plant caught fire; the resulting fireball had been the talk of the area for weeks -- but the family fortune seems intact.

    The twins will never see any of that despite their fawning. DD has a huge crush on Lori Lee Dutler now and the twins know that. In other words, he is a normal, well-adjusted American youth that will inherit a fortune. Recommend Centre continue his conditioning programming when he reaches Junior High School.

    The winter was cold and finally it is warming -- I miss the old country every day.

    V

    ***********

    What is this drivel? Hand-written notes from Soviet deep-penetration agents from the 1960s used to manipulate global affairs in 2022? Come on, Man. Let's focus on something real like football and the big Thanksgiving weekend approaching.

    Iowa bent but never broke as Minnesota rushed for 312 yards but could not move inside the red zone. Two late turnovers doomed the Gophers and ensured Floyd of Rosedale would remain in Iowa City an eighth straight winter. Weather once again a factor as we move to 3-2 and thus have surpassed the critical 54 percent mark.

    We will be looking at weather again as Thanksgiving weekend brings a rich, multi-day card guaranteed to provide as much action as any sports junkie could desire. Beginning with the Egg Bowl Thanksgiving night and continuing through PAC-10 after dark Apple Cup action, there are more rivalries going this weekend than you can count: Michigan -- Ohio State, State College -- Carolina, Florida -- Florida State, Georgia -- Georgia Tech, Clemson -- South Carolina and many many more.

    Most punters will end the holiday weekend in the hole from the wagering experience. They will play too many games and unless most fortunate will already be behind by Saturday. Then, of course, they will be playing to catch up -- playing not to lose instead of going right at it and picking solid winners.

    Those evening games Saturday will mean everything to a lot of folks. The Man knows this and he takes special pride in luring you into the wrong side at the wrong time with the wrong volume committed. Combined with the absolute foolishness known as wagering on NFL regular season games, and you can see why The Man salivates in anticipation of this weekend.

    His kid needs braces and school clothes, too. He is watching Food Lion lose control of the pricing narrative each week just like everyone else. He loves luring a desperate double-up-to-get-even player chasing the chalk on Saturday night to take the wrong plunge.

    In other words, go easy on the wagering this weekend, Pilgrim. Enjoy the time with family and friends and count your blessings. Always another game on the TV -- but Uncle and Auntie so and so might not be here this time next year and that turkey not going to eat itself.

    Alas, there are always a few that bury themselves with a little Rivalry Week losing streak and go into Saturday needing to win their big catch-up game.

    (sigh)

    Those fools are in luck (for once). Our Lock of Mortal Civilisation goes Saturday -- you're going to like it most bigly.

    Defence, defence, defence...