THE TOUCH OF BREEZE (2023) – Last year Balladeer’s Blog reviewed Love of Rain, Indian authoress Pritilata Nandi’s brilliant and moving collection of short stories about Indian life. Nandi has followed that up with a novel about emotional upheaval and eventual atonement … to whatever degree is possible in life.
I’m fairly cynical and jaded but Pritilata has a gift for making even someone like me feel moved by the storm of emotions she conjures up. Through her characters Susmita and her granddaughter Silpa readers get introduced to a family from India who are about to travel to Hawaii.
Susmita, a teacher turned author (like Nandi herself) had hoped to take such a trip with her husband Arijit but unfortunately, he has passed away. The widow will be traveling there with Silpa and her parents, and we get some wonderful bonding between grandmother and granddaughter. Continue reading
THE ALASKANS (1959-1960) – The gold rushes in Alaska during the late 1890s and early 1900s provided the usual tableaus of boom towns, claim-jumping, gambling and gunslinging. Unlike such rushes in the Continental United States, the frigid temperatures and monumental snows of Alaska added unique twists to the wild west feel of gold-seeking. 
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THE FORGOTTEN LAND (1917) – Written by H. H. Knibbs. This writer was much better known for his poems about the American West. The Forgotten Land ventured into science fiction and “future history.” 
RIN TIN TIN (1918-1932) – Here at Balladeer’s Blog, I’m even fonder of dogs than I am of silent movies, so this post will combine the two topics. Sadly, most silent films have become so little remembered that few people even realize that there actually WAS a real Rin Tin Tin, adopted by American soldiers during World War One. 
CHARLIE SIRINGO – Like a real-life Harry Flashman of the American West, Charles Angelo Siringo, cowboy, bounty hunter and lawman, fought alongside or against some of the biggest names of his era. Siringo crossed paths with the likes of Billy the Kid, Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, the Wild Bunch, Tom Horn, Clarence Darrow, Kid Russell, Will Rogers, William Borah and many others. 
WIN IT IN THE FOURTH – The INDIANA FEVER (9-13) played host to the NEW YORK LIBERTY (17-4) yesterday. 
TUSSLE AT THE TARGET CENTER – In this game the MINNESOTA LYNX (15-6) welcomed the WASHINGTON MYSTICS (5-17) to their Target Center home court. 
CAPTAIN AMERICA Vol 1 #193 (January 1976) 
Frontierado is celebrated the first Friday of every August, so this year it will be marked on August 2nd. This holiday celebrates the myth of the old west, not the grinding reality. Here’s a seasonal post regarding the Pony Express, the much-romanticized messenger service across the west that lasted from April 3rd, 1860 to October 26th, 1861. 
PONY BOB HASLAM – One of the most famous Pony Express riders of them all, after Buffalo Bill Cody. (Wild Bill Hickok did not really work for the Pony Express, but rather as a teamster for its parent company.) Click 
JULY 4TH, 1788 – The Constitution of the United States is starting to come into full effect this calendar year, instituting the government we are still officially ruled by. First elections are scheduled for later in the year.
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