Stupid Luck and Happenstance, Thread II
- Thread starter Peabody-Martini
- Start date
As the new year looms, there comes the question,
with China, Russia and the USA being bigger in geography and or population, is there a drive to bind Europe into an economic block?
with China, Russia and the USA being bigger in geography and or population, is there a drive to bind Europe into an economic block?
Well, considering Manfred von Richthofen was the head of the Luftwaffe (I don't remember if he was retired or not at the time, but he would still be a person of interest in the Intelligence community) and Albrecht was a test pilot, if I remember correctly the timeline, flying the tip of the spear, technology-wise, of German aeronautics, it seems like a smart precaution to take.
If i had to bet i would say she "encouraged" Gloria to look into Nancys friend...
And found something substantive to act upon or something to ease Nancy’s heart. A fake death for example
Or possibly evidence that'll get her an uncontested divorce that takes her husband to the cleaners, on grounds that he wouldn't want bought up in open court. A legal version of being "left bleeding in a ditch somewhere."
I would have loved to hear the conversation between Gloria and Kat. That would be... interesting to say the least.
In the loosest sense. Germany has done something like the Gemini missions, and I assume all sorts of probes that we haven't heard about are being launched
They've also done comsats in Clarke (geosynch) orbits. Yeah, no mention of probes; I'd think that at least a lunar orbiter would be attempted.
Edit: Earth orbit is 27,359 kph (17,000 mph) while escape velocity is 40,270 km/h (25,020 mph), so getting to another planet is significantly more difficult.
Right. It's roughly 1960. The Mariner probes were sent to Venus in 1962 OTL. Since space programs are a bit more advanced, I could see probes being sent soon
Part 87, Chapter 1352
Chapter One Thousand Three Hundred Fifty-Two
4th January 1960
Tempelhof, Berlin
It might be a new year and a new decade, but the same old problems persisted. Kiki was feeling particularly pensive as she sat down for lunch with Doctor Berg. Much to her annoyance, Berg had made a comment that suggested that she kept track of Kiki’s moods by saying that Kiki would be wise to simply care for herself that afternoon. It was a major difficulty of having her Doctor being her mentor, Berg kept track of such things because she felt responsible for Kiki’s health. Instead of talking, Kiki kept her silence because she didn’t trust herself not to say something that she might later regret.
Focusing on the copy of The Mirror that she had in front of her, she was reading about the formation and continued activities of the Hundecorps. The sidebar article caught her eye. It was a story about the Friedrich II Medal and how the first recipient had been a Pitbull Terrier named Reisser who had been one of the first dogs trained to sniff out explosives. The dog had prevented a Japanese fanatic from blowing up the SPz-2 APC that the Squad he was attached to was riding in. It also mentioned that Reiser had been retired from the service at the age of eight and lived with the family of his handler for the remaining six years of his life. The photograph was of him among the members of the Squad. To Kiki’s eye they looked like a rough lot which was what expected of Panzer Dragoons. A Pitbull was a perfect mascot even if he served an important function.
“You’ve been accepted into the University’s War Academy” Berg said, “As if anyone had any doubts.”
Kiki most certainly had plenty of doubts about the whole matter. The entire application process had been a minefield and she had been fretting for weeks over whether or not she might have missed some important piece of paperwork. Or some functionary would suddenly decide that a Princess should not be doing something like that and pitch the whole application into the nearest bin.
“That’s good” Kiki said, just feeling drained. As she was in the middle of the second year of training to be a Field Medic, things had grown more intense. The prior few days had been a shock to her system after spending much of the Christmas Holiday just resting.
“Major Armbruster would like to make your acquaintance as soon as can be arranged” Berg said, “You should be excited, it’s another first for a woman from your family.”
“I’m just tired” Kiki replied.
“You ought to be, you’ve worked hard for this Fahnenjunker” Berg said with a smile, seeming to not really understand what Kiki was saying.
Wunsdorf-Zossen
The Doctor’s edict was that Horst had to cut all sugar and starches out of his diet and Nina was ruthlessly enforcing it. They had told him that if he didn’t make those changes then it was going to lead to the loss of a lot more than just his seven remaining toes. Having to stuff rags into his boots so that they fit right was constant reminder of that. Horst could still remember how in the mad scramble after the Battle of Verdun his Regiment had marched from dawn until well after dark as they had flanked the British offensive on the Somme river. As an Oberfeldwebel, Horst had been one of those tasked with pushing his outfit forward and he had been there every step of the way. These days it seemed like just walking from his car to his office was a lot to ask.
Fortunately for him, the Heer didn’t have him on to be a soldier, not for a long time. Instead he came up with strategies as a Theoretician, though he knew that he wouldn’t be around much longer even in that capacity. Erwin Rommel had been to see him in December and Horst had realized that he was speaking with his replacement. Learning that Emil had begun the process of transferring Command of the High Command to his Deputy had been a bitter pill for Horst to swallow. Emil had always been the youngest among them and he was retiring. Over Christmas Sjostedt had come to Zosen to spend time with Horst’s family, he had been surprised to notice that Sjostedt’s hair had gone completely white. Horst knew that Sjostedt would continue on in his Ministry until the day he died, he had the growing awareness that unless Sjostedt walked in front of a train, Horst would be unlikely to see it. How had the “Boys from Verdun” as the press had dubbed them when Lang had become Chancellor become a bunch of old men? Considering the sort of lives that they had led, they should have all been dead a thousand times over.
Age and his failing body weren’t the only thing that that consumed Horst’s mind. Over the holidays, Nizhoni had told Nina that her and Stefan were expecting again. After Nizhoni had suffered a miscarriage a year earlier, the two of them said that they were taking a break. That apparently had not have lasted for long though. It wouldn’t be Horst’s first grandchild, but so far, his sons had only had boys. Nina’s fondest hope was that it would be their first granddaughter. It was also in keeping with what Nina’s grandmother had said about how Nizhoni’s daughter would be special. Horst could have told her that, even without her absurd claims having some sort of special insight. Astonishingly, that crazy old bat was still alive though she was well into her ninth decade. Regardless, if it was a girl then news of Nina’s matriarchal line continuing would make the Aunts happy.
4th January 1960
Tempelhof, Berlin
It might be a new year and a new decade, but the same old problems persisted. Kiki was feeling particularly pensive as she sat down for lunch with Doctor Berg. Much to her annoyance, Berg had made a comment that suggested that she kept track of Kiki’s moods by saying that Kiki would be wise to simply care for herself that afternoon. It was a major difficulty of having her Doctor being her mentor, Berg kept track of such things because she felt responsible for Kiki’s health. Instead of talking, Kiki kept her silence because she didn’t trust herself not to say something that she might later regret.
Focusing on the copy of The Mirror that she had in front of her, she was reading about the formation and continued activities of the Hundecorps. The sidebar article caught her eye. It was a story about the Friedrich II Medal and how the first recipient had been a Pitbull Terrier named Reisser who had been one of the first dogs trained to sniff out explosives. The dog had prevented a Japanese fanatic from blowing up the SPz-2 APC that the Squad he was attached to was riding in. It also mentioned that Reiser had been retired from the service at the age of eight and lived with the family of his handler for the remaining six years of his life. The photograph was of him among the members of the Squad. To Kiki’s eye they looked like a rough lot which was what expected of Panzer Dragoons. A Pitbull was a perfect mascot even if he served an important function.
“You’ve been accepted into the University’s War Academy” Berg said, “As if anyone had any doubts.”
Kiki most certainly had plenty of doubts about the whole matter. The entire application process had been a minefield and she had been fretting for weeks over whether or not she might have missed some important piece of paperwork. Or some functionary would suddenly decide that a Princess should not be doing something like that and pitch the whole application into the nearest bin.
“That’s good” Kiki said, just feeling drained. As she was in the middle of the second year of training to be a Field Medic, things had grown more intense. The prior few days had been a shock to her system after spending much of the Christmas Holiday just resting.
“Major Armbruster would like to make your acquaintance as soon as can be arranged” Berg said, “You should be excited, it’s another first for a woman from your family.”
“I’m just tired” Kiki replied.
“You ought to be, you’ve worked hard for this Fahnenjunker” Berg said with a smile, seeming to not really understand what Kiki was saying.
Wunsdorf-Zossen
The Doctor’s edict was that Horst had to cut all sugar and starches out of his diet and Nina was ruthlessly enforcing it. They had told him that if he didn’t make those changes then it was going to lead to the loss of a lot more than just his seven remaining toes. Having to stuff rags into his boots so that they fit right was constant reminder of that. Horst could still remember how in the mad scramble after the Battle of Verdun his Regiment had marched from dawn until well after dark as they had flanked the British offensive on the Somme river. As an Oberfeldwebel, Horst had been one of those tasked with pushing his outfit forward and he had been there every step of the way. These days it seemed like just walking from his car to his office was a lot to ask.
Fortunately for him, the Heer didn’t have him on to be a soldier, not for a long time. Instead he came up with strategies as a Theoretician, though he knew that he wouldn’t be around much longer even in that capacity. Erwin Rommel had been to see him in December and Horst had realized that he was speaking with his replacement. Learning that Emil had begun the process of transferring Command of the High Command to his Deputy had been a bitter pill for Horst to swallow. Emil had always been the youngest among them and he was retiring. Over Christmas Sjostedt had come to Zosen to spend time with Horst’s family, he had been surprised to notice that Sjostedt’s hair had gone completely white. Horst knew that Sjostedt would continue on in his Ministry until the day he died, he had the growing awareness that unless Sjostedt walked in front of a train, Horst would be unlikely to see it. How had the “Boys from Verdun” as the press had dubbed them when Lang had become Chancellor become a bunch of old men? Considering the sort of lives that they had led, they should have all been dead a thousand times over.
Age and his failing body weren’t the only thing that that consumed Horst’s mind. Over the holidays, Nizhoni had told Nina that her and Stefan were expecting again. After Nizhoni had suffered a miscarriage a year earlier, the two of them said that they were taking a break. That apparently had not have lasted for long though. It wouldn’t be Horst’s first grandchild, but so far, his sons had only had boys. Nina’s fondest hope was that it would be their first granddaughter. It was also in keeping with what Nina’s grandmother had said about how Nizhoni’s daughter would be special. Horst could have told her that, even without her absurd claims having some sort of special insight. Astonishingly, that crazy old bat was still alive though she was well into her ninth decade. Regardless, if it was a girl then news of Nina’s matriarchal line continuing would make the Aunts happy.
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Lets see what is happening in the United States about this time.
Vice President James Burr V Allred has died in September 1959 making this the second time that a Vice President has died in office in the past ten year and now people are making jokes about how the Vice Presidency is a graveyard in more ways then one.
There will be calls to amend the Constitution to allow the appointment of the Vice President due to vacancy.
President Harriman is going to be in a big fight over who his choice is going to be his running mate for his reelection bid.
The 1960 Winter Olympics will be held at Squaw Valley California in February, and the United States and the State of California will go all out trying to prove themselves as great hosts to the world with Walt Disney amazing the world with the Opening and Closing Ceremonies that he is producing .
Vice President James Burr V Allred has died in September 1959 making this the second time that a Vice President has died in office in the past ten year and now people are making jokes about how the Vice Presidency is a graveyard in more ways then one.
There will be calls to amend the Constitution to allow the appointment of the Vice President due to vacancy.
President Harriman is going to be in a big fight over who his choice is going to be his running mate for his reelection bid.
The 1960 Winter Olympics will be held at Squaw Valley California in February, and the United States and the State of California will go all out trying to prove themselves as great hosts to the world with Walt Disney amazing the world with the Opening and Closing Ceremonies that he is producing .
Bad news that Horst has diabetes. Good news that insulin was discovered in 1921, for which Banting and Best shared a Nobel prize, and quantities were available from the Eli Lily drug company. Diabetes just requires rigorous dietary constraints and constant attention to blood sugar levels.
Source: my mom was a type 1 diabetic and I lived with her for the last dozen of her years. Her endocrinologist said, "High blood sugar will hurt you, low blood sugar will just kill you."
Source: my mom was a type 1 diabetic and I lived with her for the last dozen of her years. Her endocrinologist said, "High blood sugar will hurt you, low blood sugar will just kill you."
Part 87, Chapter 1353
Chapter One Thousand Three Hundred Fifty-Three
6th January 1960
Edward J. Kelly International Airport, Chicago, Illinois
“Would you mind telling me why we are doing this again?” Jane asked as they waited to board the flight to Portland.
“Because I was asked to” Gloria replied as she looked up from her book, “And there is no we here, you came along because it sounded interesting.”
In return for a copy of Katherine von Mischner’s biography that Katherine herself had taken a red pencil to, providing key edits that she felt it needed. Gloria had agreed to travel to Portland, Oregon and investigate the death of a friend of a friend of hers in return. There was the promise of a further interview in the near future where Katherine would fill in some of the blanks in her biography. Gloria realized that the friend in question was Nancy Jensen, it was a small wonder why this matter was so important to the Countess. However, rattling around in Gloria’s mind was the warning from Sir Malcolm Blackwood, those who found themselves in Katherine’s debt often had a hard time discharging it.
“Oh” Jane said, and she went back to watching people walking past through the terminal, freeing Gloria to get back to her book. There were times when Gloria was certain that Jane had nothing but dryer lint between her ears. Any time she found a new cause to get into, Jane tended to get a little too into it. It was something that had gotten her into trouble in the past and Gloria found tempering Jane’s impulsive nature to be tiring at times.
The book that Gloria was reading was proving to be a bit involved. It was the English edition of The Windward Shore, the second book of the Corded World Trilogy by Annelies Frank that Kat had given her in Montreal, with all three books signed by the Author. Gloria had finished Daughter of the Stone Forest in only a few days despite how dense of a read it was. All the books were set on the shores of the Baltic Sea sometime in the early Bronze Era with the second book occurring roughly a century after the first. The central character a middle-aged woman who was apparently the great granddaughter of the protagonist of the first book. Themes of survival and endurance were found throughout both books, but most of all the idea that memory was the greatest weapon that women had was the message that Gloria was taking away so far. As soon as she completed this errand for Katherine, Gloria would need to contact Ms. Frank. She sounded like an interesting woman.
Looking up Gloria saw Jane smiling at two pilots who were walking down the concourse. One of them tipped his hat to her as they passed. The last time that Gloria had gone for a night out on the town with Jonny in New York, Jane had said that she would like to do that sometime except she didn’t want to be a third wheel. Jonny, being ever practical, had suggested a double date by fixing Jane up with one of his friends. That would undoubtedly be the dour, humorless Staff Sergeant Jameson “Whiskey” Parker. Gloria couldn’t think of anything that Jane might have done to warrant a punishing evening spent with a man who might say three words beyond “Have a good night” if she was lucky.
As she watched, the two pilots walked over, and Jane was shamelessly flirting with them. One of them mentioned that he had seen her in the minor role she had recently played in a film and Jane covered her mouth to hide a giggle. On second thought, a night with Parker was exactly what she deserved. Fortunately, the call for boarding the flight to Portland came over the intercom.
Washington D.C.
There were jokes flying around about how being Vice President was no longer worth a bucket of warm piss, instead it simply came with the cost of a quick burial. Because Vice President Allard had died in office what had been a simple matter of nominating a sitting President for reelection had aggravated the existing divisions within the Democratic Party.
It was particularly galling to Harriman was that many within the Party seemed to be more interested in fighting with each other rather than recognizing that they had a common purpose. With a decent economy and relative domestic tranquility, Harriman should have been cruising to an easy reelection. However, with the infighting, the Republicans saw an opportunity to reclaim power after twelve years in the political wilderness and nearly being extinct as a National Party just a decade earlier. If many in his own Party couldn’t get half a loaf with Harriman, why did they seem to think that getting nothing with whoever the Republicans nominate was would be a good trade?
Then there was the better “Dead than Red” crowd who seemed to have spun recent events in Cuba to their liking. They seemed to think that former Government of that island being bought off by the Mafia and stealing everything in sight until the people were so pissed off that they overthrew it was far better than the Langist Government that replaced it. Didn’t they learn a damned thing by what had happened in Mexico? Getting rid of a moderate government eventually led to a radical one even if the revolution was stomped out for a generation. The last thing he needed was for them to do something stupid and make a complicated situation worse.
6th January 1960
Edward J. Kelly International Airport, Chicago, Illinois
“Would you mind telling me why we are doing this again?” Jane asked as they waited to board the flight to Portland.
“Because I was asked to” Gloria replied as she looked up from her book, “And there is no we here, you came along because it sounded interesting.”
In return for a copy of Katherine von Mischner’s biography that Katherine herself had taken a red pencil to, providing key edits that she felt it needed. Gloria had agreed to travel to Portland, Oregon and investigate the death of a friend of a friend of hers in return. There was the promise of a further interview in the near future where Katherine would fill in some of the blanks in her biography. Gloria realized that the friend in question was Nancy Jensen, it was a small wonder why this matter was so important to the Countess. However, rattling around in Gloria’s mind was the warning from Sir Malcolm Blackwood, those who found themselves in Katherine’s debt often had a hard time discharging it.
“Oh” Jane said, and she went back to watching people walking past through the terminal, freeing Gloria to get back to her book. There were times when Gloria was certain that Jane had nothing but dryer lint between her ears. Any time she found a new cause to get into, Jane tended to get a little too into it. It was something that had gotten her into trouble in the past and Gloria found tempering Jane’s impulsive nature to be tiring at times.
The book that Gloria was reading was proving to be a bit involved. It was the English edition of The Windward Shore, the second book of the Corded World Trilogy by Annelies Frank that Kat had given her in Montreal, with all three books signed by the Author. Gloria had finished Daughter of the Stone Forest in only a few days despite how dense of a read it was. All the books were set on the shores of the Baltic Sea sometime in the early Bronze Era with the second book occurring roughly a century after the first. The central character a middle-aged woman who was apparently the great granddaughter of the protagonist of the first book. Themes of survival and endurance were found throughout both books, but most of all the idea that memory was the greatest weapon that women had was the message that Gloria was taking away so far. As soon as she completed this errand for Katherine, Gloria would need to contact Ms. Frank. She sounded like an interesting woman.
Looking up Gloria saw Jane smiling at two pilots who were walking down the concourse. One of them tipped his hat to her as they passed. The last time that Gloria had gone for a night out on the town with Jonny in New York, Jane had said that she would like to do that sometime except she didn’t want to be a third wheel. Jonny, being ever practical, had suggested a double date by fixing Jane up with one of his friends. That would undoubtedly be the dour, humorless Staff Sergeant Jameson “Whiskey” Parker. Gloria couldn’t think of anything that Jane might have done to warrant a punishing evening spent with a man who might say three words beyond “Have a good night” if she was lucky.
As she watched, the two pilots walked over, and Jane was shamelessly flirting with them. One of them mentioned that he had seen her in the minor role she had recently played in a film and Jane covered her mouth to hide a giggle. On second thought, a night with Parker was exactly what she deserved. Fortunately, the call for boarding the flight to Portland came over the intercom.
Washington D.C.
There were jokes flying around about how being Vice President was no longer worth a bucket of warm piss, instead it simply came with the cost of a quick burial. Because Vice President Allard had died in office what had been a simple matter of nominating a sitting President for reelection had aggravated the existing divisions within the Democratic Party.
It was particularly galling to Harriman was that many within the Party seemed to be more interested in fighting with each other rather than recognizing that they had a common purpose. With a decent economy and relative domestic tranquility, Harriman should have been cruising to an easy reelection. However, with the infighting, the Republicans saw an opportunity to reclaim power after twelve years in the political wilderness and nearly being extinct as a National Party just a decade earlier. If many in his own Party couldn’t get half a loaf with Harriman, why did they seem to think that getting nothing with whoever the Republicans nominate was would be a good trade?
Then there was the better “Dead than Red” crowd who seemed to have spun recent events in Cuba to their liking. They seemed to think that former Government of that island being bought off by the Mafia and stealing everything in sight until the people were so pissed off that they overthrew it was far better than the Langist Government that replaced it. Didn’t they learn a damned thing by what had happened in Mexico? Getting rid of a moderate government eventually led to a radical one even if the revolution was stomped out for a generation. The last thing he needed was for them to do something stupid and make a complicated situation worse.
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I know this is Jane Fonda, but as her father is Henry Fonda, I was actually curious if the relationship with her father is the same here as in OTL, given it really was not that great and a bit resentful - or not emotional enough.
Oh, I like that.
*psssxt*
Quickly nominate LBJ, he may die if Harriman is lucky.
Anyway, Democrats may lose 1960, but could bounce back in 64 - with LBJ.