We’re now officially in Spring. The trees continue to bud, while the daffodils are now past their best, and lawns are turning green. Not a good time for those with seasonal allergies!
The NCAA’s March Madness kicked off this week, with sixty-four team vying to move forward. My two teams are both in the South bracket and have started out with wins. Michigan (5) beat UC San Diego (12) 68-65 in round one, while Michigan State (2) slammed Bryant (15) 81-62.
Michigan continued in round two with another win, this time over Texas A&M (4) 91-79. Michigan State plays New Mexico (10) in round two this evening.
Michigan is now in the Sweet Sixteen, were they’ll face Auburn (1). All being well, Michigan State will move into the Sweet Sixteen as well.
The Detroit Pistons are now 39-32, with five regular season games remaining. Right now, they’re still in the top eight in the conference and will continue into the playoffs.
The Detroit Tigers played six Spring training games this week, splitting 3-3. They are now 12-12, but still in second place in their division. They’ll begin the regular season on March 27th against the LA Dodgers.
“When all else fails, write what your heart tells you. You can’t depend on your eyes, when your imagination is out of focus.” – Mark Twain. Compliments of https://press.barnesandnoble.com/bnpress-blog/inspirational-quotes-writing/.
So who was born on this date in history? Let’s find out who in the writing world was born on March 23rd, the twelth Sunday of 2025 and the fourth and final one for March. (Compliments of https://www.onthisday.com/birthdays/).
Jeronimo de Bosch Kemper, Dutch sociologist and historian (Statistic yearbook); Alekey Pisemski, Russian novelist and playwright (A Bitter Lot); Eduard Schlagintweit, German writer; Uchimura Kanzō, Japanese religious writer and pacifist (How I Became a Christian); Roger Martin du Gard, French novelist (Les Thibault, 1937 Nobel Prize for Literature); Frank Sargeson [Norris Frank Davey], New Zealand short story writer and playwright; Akira Kurosawa, Japanese director and screenwriter who was posthumously named “Asian of the Century” in the “Arts, Literature, and Culture” category (Rashomon, Drunken Angel, Seven Samurai, Ran); Francis Berry, British poet and academic (Shakespearean scholar); Jimmy Edwards, British comedy writer and actor (Take It From Here, Whack-O!); Barry Cryer, British comic, writer (The Kenny Everett Show; Ross Abbot; The Two Ronnies), and actor (All You Need Is Cash); Alan Bleasdale, English author, playwright and scriptwriter (Are You Lonesome Tonight); Kim Stanley Robinson, American sci-fi author (Mars Trilogy); Gary Whitehead, American poet; Mitch Cullin, American novelist (A Slight Trick of the Mind); Judith Godrèche, French actress (The Man in the Iron Mask; L’Auberge espagnole), and novelist (Point de côté); Randall Park, American comedian, writer, and actor (Fresh Off the Boat); and Jayson Blair, American journalist and author.
Any names familiar to you? There weren’t any for me this week. Whether you recognize anyone on the list or not, if today’s your special day I hope you have a great one!
My Work In Progress
I completed chapter sixteen of Vendetta, the sixth novel in my Bedlam series this week. It’s now posted to the two online subscription writing sites I use. There were another six reviews this week, bringing the total to 226. As always, plenty of suggestions to improve my writing.
Here’s another snippet:
Evelyn glanced around the otherwise empty office. “Ahem. We’d like to make some flight reservations, please.”
Dolores eased her glasses over her eyes as she continue to blow bubbles. “Where to and when, hon?” She spoke with a New York accent.
“Well, my dear. If you could pull yourself away from your bubble blowing, we’d like to book three tickets from here to Johannesburg.”
Dolores frowned as she spit her gum into a wastepaper basket. “Don’t get uppity with me, hon, or I’ll find flights that take the longest to arrive.” She smirked. “Come back in a day or two, and I might have something for you.”
“Ahem. Our trip is rather urgent.” Trevor introduced himself. “I am Colonel Trevor Franklin, Retired. Lady Evelyn and I are on our way to meet with South African officials who requested the meeting.”
“Spaz. And I suppose Miss Smart Mouth here is the queen of England.”
“Not quite, hon. But I am a cousin of the king.”
“So? Unless the ambassador tells me to kiss your butt, you’ll wait like everyone else.”
“Perhaps we’ve gotten off on the wrong foot.” Evelyn glanced at Trevor as if to keep him quiet. “It’s imperative that we depart as soon as possible.”
Dolores popped a new piece of gum in her mouth and chewed. “Well, hon. Since you sorta apologized for your rude behavior, I’ll see what I can do.” She pulled her keyboard closer as she squinted at the screen. “You said Joburg, right?”
Evelyn bit back a retort, electing to give the woman the benefit of the doubt. “Yes, but I suspect it will be listed as Johannesburg.”
Dolores began blowing bubbles as she used two fingers to peck at her keyboard. “No direct flights.” She continued to type, tilting her head. “It looks like you won’t be able to depart for at least a week. All the economy seats out of Tocumen are booked.”
“That won’t work.” Evelyn sighed. “What about business class or first class?”
Dolores used a long fingernail painted bright red to pop a bubble. “Hon, no one, and I mean no one, gets a business class ticket without the ambassador’s prior authorization.” She laughed. “I’ve been here ten years, and I’ve never booked a first class ticket—not even for the ambassador.”
“Well, our boss authorized us to travel ASAP, even if it meant the higher-priced tickets.”
“What your boss says has no merit in this office, hon. You might as well get used to the idea you’re not going anywhere right away.”
Evelyn sighed as she pulled her Hyperion encrypted cellphone from a back pocket. Thumbing through her contact list, she selected the number she wanted and dialed, turning on the speaker phone.
Moments later, a high-pitched female voice answered. “Gosh, Lady Evelyn. It’s so great to hear from you. What can I do for you?”
“Hello, Georgia.” Evelyn chuckled. “How soon can you get CC, Trevor, and me to Joburg?”
“CC called earlier and told me to expect to hear from you, so I dug right in. I have you booked first class, which Admiral Blakely authorized, for tomorrow morning, departing at 09:30 for Washington Dulles. After a brief layover, you’ll fly to London. Here’s where it gets tricky—you’ll have a twelve-hour delay before your flight to Johannesburg.”
“Not a problem, Georgia. We can spend the day with Sir Alex. What’s the overall flight time, including layovers?”
“Let’s see.” The clatter of Georgia’s fingers on her keyboard echoed through the speaker. “Tomorrow’s Tuesday. You’ll reach South Africa on Thursday morning. The total number of hours for your trip is—holy smokes! It’ll take thirty-nine hours. I’ll arrange for transportation from Joburg to the embassy in Pretoria. CC said you’ll be meeting with Hendrik Webster, the director general of the State Security Agency, so I’ll request the embassy set up an appointment with him.”
“Many thanks, Georgia. You’re a gem.”
“Just doing my job, Lady Evelyn. Although I do wish I was going with you. I’ve always wanted to visit Kruger National Park and the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden. By the way, each ticket costs just over fourteen thousand five hundred dollars.”
Evelyn laughed. “Both locations are on my bucket list. Perhaps one day we can visit them together. Glad we’re not paying for the flights, although I could use my AMEX Black Card.”
“That would be a trip of a lifetime—save your card to cover our personal flights.” George chuckled. “I just sent the flight info to your phones.”
Pings came from Evelyn and Trevor’s phones.
“Just came in, Georgia. Many thanks.” Evelyn glanced at Trevor, who gave her a thumbs up.
“Anything else I can do for you today, Lady Evelyn?”
“No, that’s all. Thanks again for your help. Talk with you soon.” Evelyn broke the connection, put the phone back in her pocket, and faced Dolores. “You could learn a lesson or two from Georgia on how to deal with customers.”
Dolores popped more bubbles but didn’t reply.
Evelyn turned and walked out of the office, followed by Trevor.
As they walked along the corridor, Trevor chuckled. “I expected some resistance from the travel office as they always think they’re a law onto themselves. Good job in dealing with her.”
“Typical plebian. Let’s find CC and Rufus. As Robin Williams once said, “How about you and me blow this Popsicle stand?”
They both laughed as they entered the almost-empty canteen.
CC and Rufus sat at a table in the corner, nursing coffee cups. They stood as Evelyn and Trevor approached.
“I see you got things sorted.” CC tapped his shirt pocket from where his phone protruded. “The canteen is about to close. Why don’t we head to the hotel, get checked in, and find a place for dinner?”
Evelyn nodded. “You know how to talk a girl off her feet. Lead the way, my shining knight.”
Rufus stuck a finger in his throat as if he was going to puke.
More next time.
This brings us to an end for another week. I hope you found something of interest. If you have any suggestions for a topic you’d like to read about, please let me know. Until the next time, thank you for reading and hope you drop in again.
© Copyright 2025 Randall Krzak. All rights reserved
