by Trish MilburnIt's our policy here at the Romance Bandits not to discuss politics on our blog. It's one of those hot-button topics that can turn friends against each other, and that's the last thing we want. I say this up front because when I mention Barack Obama's recent election as at the 44th president of the United States, I don't want anyone thinking I'm starting a political discussion. In fact, I want to talk about it in a historical context, and how there are certain times in our lives when we are truly witnesses to big moments in history, good and bad.
I had that witnessing-history feeling at 10 p.m. Central Time on Nov. 4 when the TV network I was watching announced that based on the vote tallies in the closing polls in the West Coast states, Barack Obama had been elected the next president. Not only the first black man to be elected to the top office in the land but the first minority of any kind. It wasn't huge because of the switching of political parties in the White House, but rather the fact that the country had come far enough to elect someone whose skin color at one time in our history might have made him a slave. I heard members of both political parties acknowledge what a huge moment this was for our country, how it was a positive step for our country's evolution.
In the days since the election, I've thought about other big moments in history I remember during my lifetime. I was born the year after man landed on the moon, so I have no memory of that huge event, or the Kennedy assassination or even the Vietnam War. In fact, the first big news story I remember was the Iran hostage crisis. I was 9 and 10 years old during the 444 days the U.S. diplomats were held captive. All I remember is seeing the day count on the news each night. The evening news always seemed to start the same way, just with a different number day.
Two months after that crisis ended, the new president, Ronald Reagan was shot by John Hinckley Jr., and barely survived. I remember my fourth-grade class being ushered across the hall into another classroom that had a TV so we could watch news coverage. It was just odd to watch this type of thing on the same TV that usually brought us episodes of
The Electric Company and
Nova. I was still young enough that going into that other classroom is basically all I remember.
It was a different case entirely when I was 15. That January, I watched in horror as the Space Shuttle
Challenger exploded 73 seconds after takeoff. It was shocking and incredibly sad. It would have been horrible no matter which astronauts were on board, but the tragedy hit an extra sad chord because of the loss of Christa McAuliffe, who was selected from more than 11,000 applicants to be the first teacher in space. It seemed incredibly wrong that these modern-day explorers died trying to explore space for the rest of us, and some before they'd even had the joy of seeing Earth from space.
Thankfully, the next big historical moment I remember is a positive one, when the Berlin Wall came down in late 1989. In high school, I took three years of German, and I remember having a T-shirt that said Deutschland on it and a map that clearly showed a divided Germany. The wall came down during my first semester in college, reuniting families that had been separated for 28 years. Germany had been divided my entire life. I remember in the years to follow, I'd sometimes see people claim they had a chunk of the wall. It was kind of like when people had little bags of ash that came from Mt. St. Helen's after it exploded in 1980.
While I have memories of all of these events, the first historic moment where I can say specifically where I was when it happened was the first attack of Sept. 11, 2001. I had just arrived at work and was near the breakroom when one of my co-workers came in the front door and said, "Did you all hear a plane just hit the World Trade Center?" Thinking it was an horrible accident, we filed into the conference room and turned on the TV. I can still remember the numbness and disbelief when it became apparent that it wasn't an accident, rather something much, much worse. I worked at a magazine, and we were on deadline. Even so, we'd work for a few minutes, then come back to the TV. The day just got more unbelievable as it went on.
I know that for the first several space shuttle missions after the
Challenger explosion, people inside and outside NASA were nervous each time a new mission launched. We held our collective breath and prayed for the safety of all the astronauts on board. But over time, we all got used to regular shuttle missions again, and much of the anxiety went away. The launches even began to not make big news anymore.
That all changed with yet another tragedy when the the Space Shuttle
Columbia broke up on re-entry after a mission in February 2003. I remember sitting in my den listening to the newscasters talking about how Mission Control had lost contact with the shuttle, thinking, "Oh, no, not again," praying that it was just a communications problem and that the shuttle would appear on the screen, intact and safe. But when the debris appeared in the sky, I cried. I didn't know these people, but it was heartbreaking nonetheless. And again, there was a first among the casualties -- Ilan Ramon, the first Israeli astronaut.
I wish more of the big, historic moments in my memory were ones of joy instead of sadness, but even before my time I think it was that way. Events like the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the stock market crash of 1929 that led to the Great Depression.
But there are positive historical moments too -- the moon landing, the end of World War II, the passage of the Civil Rights Act. And so I'd like to come full circle and leave with a positive image, one that hopefully heralds a new era in which race relations in America will only improve.
What about you? What are some of the big history-making moments you've witnessed? Do you remember where you were and what you were doing when they happened?
Thanks to everyone who posted on my Birthday Blog. The winner of a copy of Not Without Her Family and a choice of one of Tawny's books is...
Picture the scene ... a lovely sunny day in the centre of Cambridge ... a quaint tea shop set on a cobbled street, in the shadow of the majestic architecture of King's College. A traditional English tea is served - fruit scones, jam and clotted cream. [clotted cream, by the way, isn't something you put in your tea - it's a spread, made from cream, for your scone].
Boiled eggs, for example. Do you smash or slice?
And, of course, the ever-popular ... how do you eat your Oreo? (or for those of us who live in countries without Oreos, Bourbons, Custard Creams or other 'cream sandwich' type cookies).
Come on, you can tell us. And to tempt you into sharing your habits, I'll even sweeten the pot with a prize of some Cadbury's chocolate ... the real stuff ... from England ... to eat any way you please [I haven't forgotten last month's prize winner for the best collective nouns - I'll announce the prizes together!]
Beth: Tawny and I are thrilled to welcome awesome Harlequin Intrigue author and dear friend Kathleen Long to the Bandits' lair! Welcome, Kath!
I have mega-booty to announce tonight! Thanks in advance to everyone who stopped by. If you didn't win, better luck next time. For now, the winners are:
Everyone who has spent more than five minutes in the Lair knows that yer olde Aunty is NOT a morning person. Anything that happens before 10 a.m. West Coast Time is not something Aunty needs to know (unless, of course, it is a flight to a vacation destination)! You can imagine Aunty's chagrin when last Thursday, she was awakened from dreamland at 8:30 by someone pounding on the front door.
arrive when said obstacles are not in attendance, they will receive Aunty's Nasty Lecture Number 23B which references the "No Solicitors" sign in plain view on the front gate, IF Aunty deigns to answer at all.
I opened the door just a crack and he reintroduced himself and said, "My wife locked me out. Can I use your phone?"
Jo-Mama had done it again. She obviously had a far better handle on my new characters than I did! Then she made a comment, just ONE LITTLE DESCRIPTION of my heroine that made the proverbial light bulb go off inside my head!
No, not those heroes. I'm talking about the wonderful guys we love to read and write about. 
naires to firefighters to accountants. Today’s heroes can be an alpha or a beta or even a mix of the two. My personal favorite is the mix that some people call gamma. I have a hard time writing a man who’s too alpha even though I write historical and know it would be completely accurate. I need a man who shows his softer side before the end of the story. At the same time, I find writing a hero who is more beta also difficult. I need the hero to be a little angsty, moody and willing to do what it takes to win the heroine.
that touch of softness, I really have a hard time believing they will find that happy ever after.
This is my favorite time of year. Autumn is in full swing, the leaves are off the trees, there is a chill in the air and my favorite holiday is just around the corner. No, not Christmas (though that is fast on our heels): Thanksgiving.
My favorite is old-fashioned pumpkin pie (secret ingredient: molasses). Not store bought, which are always pale imitations of pumpkin pie. Not sweet potato pie, which you often see in North Carolina (the largest producer of sweet potatoes in the USA). Sweet potato pie is a whole other animal. I am often in charge of baking and bringing the pumpkin pie, which is my kids' favorite as well as mine. I have been given some serious, well-intentioned advice from my mother about how the pie should be. With all due respect, I take some of this advice and ignore other bits. The pie always gets gone so it must not be too bad.
Thanksgiving is more than pumpkin pie, though. You will recall my rave from last year about cranberry chutney, which entered the family lexicon of 'traditional Thanksgiving foods' about ten years ago. I make that each year and it is highly anticipated. I have also experimented with a number of cheesecakes, which are always well-received. But the foods I look forward to most are the ones other family members make.
My mother's cornbread dressing (heavy on the sage), angel biscuits, cinnamon apples, green bean casserole and orange product (ask the kids, it's a cream cheese/Jell-o thing). My older sister's turkey (brined in salt water and roasted herbs for days before baking) and marinated shrimp. My younger sister's roasted root vegetables, scalloped potatoes and corn casserole. My brother's barbecue (he smokes it himself and makes his own sauce). I was trying to think of my oldest sister's signature dish, but she's really more a follower of the nuts, cheese and wine school (always the best and most sinful of everything). My aunt and cousin usually turn up with their own gourmet additions just to round out the best meal of the year.
Before and after dinner are congenial times of conversation, games and more laughter than some folks experience in a year. Okay, sometimes the games get a little cut throat (especially Scrabble), but we don't talk about that. *ahem* The worst part is when it's over and we have to finally admit defeat and toddle off to bed. This year, Thanksgiving is late. It heightens the anticipation and gives me more time to get the ingredients bought and food prepped. 
I am taking my last remaining day of vacation the Friday after the holiday, because Saturday is my beloved mother's birthday. I cannot imagine a more wonderful end to a marvelous holiday weekend than celebrating my mother's birth and life. If I have a spare minute, I will also get to rip into my TBR pile and Aunt Cindy's fabulous The Wild Sight. It may end up tainted with pie stains, Aunty!
days until it was over or mourn the loss on graduation day? 
clerk who keeps sending out the wrong costume to our heroines. My story is written around the premise of a class reunion and the heroine has to show up in a costume that represents her current lifestyle. She'd have been happy with a Jane of all Trades, or even a Wonder Woman type costume, but instead gets a dominatrix one. 
moving to my own place. Hey! I’ve used the screwdrivers….a few times…in eighteen years.) and fix things. But I do wish I had a better understanding of what DOES need to be done, how it IS done and how much it should COST to get done.
ed the Handyman services too and most are just as expensive. Had a guy come by and had to pay a flat rate for 1 ½ hours AND charged for any items used. Very expensive just to get some vents fixed and who knew a simple nail cost almost $3? 
oom…by herself!! I wish I knew how to put down a hardwood floor like I want for my kitchen, hang new cabinets too. Heck, I’d like to know how to hammer a nail straight!
On Sale October!
