100 Word Challenge - March

The following is in response to the 100 Word Challenge authored by the always in step Velvet Verbosity. The word is 'March'.

"I can't do it, Sir."
"What do you mean you can't do it, son? Of course you can. You just get up and dust yourself off and get in line. It's just that easy."
"But, General, there's an awful lot of Yankees up there, and there's so few of us left down here."
"Are you afraid, son?"
"No, Sir, General Pickett, Sir. I ain't afraid. But I don't want to die. There ain't no way we're gonna bust that line."
"We have our orders, son. We have to follow orders. Now get in line."
"Yes, sir!"
"DRESS RIGHT!! FORWARD ... MARCH!!!"


Legend has it, that after "Pickett's Charge", General Lee, while planning furtherance of the days operations, asked of General Pickett, "Sir, where is your Division?", to which Pickett is said to have replied, "General, I have no Division."

Oh. In military parlance, the command, "DRESS RIGHT" refers to the process soldiers are taught to use to line themselves up properly while in formation. Your left hand goes to your waist, your left elbow then sticks out to contact the man next to you, and your head turns to the right to line yourself up with the man next to you on the right. Simple. And tight.

In the early 1920's, at a re-enactment of Pickett's Charge in a day long event marking the anniversary of the Battle at Gettysburg, the aged and tottering Union veterans refused to fire on the Pickett re-enactors, but instead, threw down their weapons and came down the hill to embrace the few of their old enemy who were left. They wept openly at the memory of what was done on that day, so many years before.

We are now going to go to a completely different subject - and given that I don't know how to manage a segue, I just thought I'd tell you.

The systems at work continue to be problematic. I am taking a more relaxed and longer view of these issues, now. I don't seem to be able to get ahead - so I'm just going to pick 'em off, one at a time, until I run out of targets. It isn't hardware anymore, now it's software - mostly communications stuff. But these little niggling things COULD drive me nuts if I let them, but I'm beginning to realize that I'm dealing with the computer version of "Group Theory" and it's just going to take a while.

What do I mean? I'm SO glad you asked.

"Group Theory" says, essentially, that a group that has been unchanging for any measure of time achieves a certain 'harmony'. And the group functions well as a group. However, if you make changes - additions, deletions or replacements - in the form or structure of the group, there will be a measure of time where the group will be 'unsettled' and have the 'jitters'. That's what my stuff is going through these days. The jitters. Things will calm down - harmony will once again be achieved. And I will once again be free to do the many other things I love to do besides my job.

Someday.

Ndinombethe.