Author Archives: Charlie Hudson

About Charlie Hudson

Off with my combat boots and onto writing best describes Charlie my two careers. Born in Pine Bluff, Ark., and raised in Louisiana, I count myself as a military veteran, wife, mother, freelance writer, and author. What was intended to be a quick two years in the Army became a 22-year career instead, and somehow in the process, I discovered that I was an inadvertent pioneer by serving in several positions that had previously been held only by men. By the time I was in Desert Storm and later Operation Uphold Democracy in Haiti, women in leadership assignments was more widely accepted. My love of writing never left me though whether it is a short article that highlights an animal rescue group, penning the stories of a female police detective in the Florida Keys, or presenting issues about aging that Baby Boomers need to address, or working on a corporate proposal. When my husband, Hugh, also retired from the Army, we relocated to South Florida where we can both enjoy the underwater world in dive sites all around Key Largo. We do break away though to still travel, and especially visit the Washington, D.C. area where son Dustin is a professional dancer and lives with his wife, Samantha.

Mostly Leftovers….

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Well, in a bit of an unusual week, we had extra leftovers. That was mainly due to having larger portions of protein because of the way things were packaged. We started last Sunday with Hubby’s Father’s Day dinner being these terrific steaks and enough left to plan those for slicing up the steak and cooking it in a mushroom sauce. Easy to do because we use either a brown gravy mix or a jar and add mushrooms, simmer everything together for like 20-30 minutes. In this case, Publix also had the gourmet mushroom mix which is what I look for. I scheduled that for Wednesday.

Hubby did grill swordfish on Monday (frozen from BJs) and the pieces were large. I had a plan for them for Thursday.

We had done lamb osso bucco on Saturday using lamb shoulder piece which were “meatier” than at times so there some leftover there. Now it happens we also had a little leftover pork chop from a previous meal. That led to a bit of a “mixed grill” in having the two together on Tuesday. In this case, I wanted the pork chop slices to became a little more tender and I put them into chicken broth and white wine to simmer for 40 minutes before I added the leftover osso bucco. I did plate them separately even though they were now all in the same sauce.

Okay for Thursday and the salmon. We always keep frozen shrimp on hand and often a small package of frozen langostino tails. I picked up a jar of rose sauce and that gave us “mixed seafood” in rose sauce over pasta for Thursday. And yes, the fridge is pretty well cleared now and it is Friday and therefore pizza night.

Happy 250th…. (Serious Content)

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No, not the huge celebrations planned for next July. Many people know June 14th is Flag Day; most don’t know it is also the U.S. Army’s birthday. Well, people know this time because of the big parade and other events publicized. As I was reminded when I found the below site, it is actually the birthday of the Infantry as well.

Wednesday, 14 June 1775

The resolutions being read, were adopted as follows:
Resolved, That six companies of expert riflemen, be immediately raised in Pennsylvania, two in Maryland, and two in Virginia; that each company consist of a captain, three lieutenants, four serjeants, four corporals, a drummer or trumpeter, and sixty-eight privates.

That each company, as soon as completed, shall march and join the army near Boston, to be there employed as light infantry, under the command of the chief Officer in that army.

That the pay of the Officers and privates be as follows, viz. a captain @ 20 dollars per month; a lieutenant @ 13 1/3 dollars; a serjeant @ 8 dollars; a corporal @ 7 1/3 dollars; drummer or [trumpeter] @ 7 1/3 doll.; privates @ 6 2/3 dollars; to find their own arms and cloaths.

That the form of the enlistment be in the following words:
I ____ have, this day, voluntarily enlisted myself, as a soldier, in the American continental army, for one year, unless sooner discharged: And I do bind myself to conform, in all instances, to such rules and regulations, as are, or shall be, established for the government of the said Army.2(https://www.lineofdeparture.army.mil/Journals/Infantry/Infantry-Archive/Spring-2025/14-June-1775/)

Anyway, with all the current turmoil in the world, it’s easy to forget those who most want peace are men and women of the military. That does not of course include the “death cult” countries/groups, and people who profit from never-ending conflict, but is the hallmark of everyone else. The truth is while I do believe human nature will some day evolve beyond the territorial and other greedy motives at the core of most conflicts, we’re probably 800 or so years from that time. Until then, the reality is a strong military – or in the case of small countries, strong alliances for protection – are needed.

One of the themes of the only overtly political novel I have ever written (To Play on Grass Fields) is about accepting the harsh reality of human nature even in striving to break away from the worse parts. In weaving the story of a king determined to move his country from it’s blood-soaked past, one of the measures is to restructure the military from an offensive force to one of defense and collaborative with stronger allies. Like all the other solutions described in the book, this is grounded in fact. A number of smaller nations have adopted this model.

And so, a day late, here’s Happy 250th Birthday U.S. Army and Infantry!

 

 

REEF Ocean Exploration Center….

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There are special moments in writing for the local paper. I’ve mentioned before about how at times, I am reluctant to cover certain stories, yet 90% of those turn out to be uplifting or informative. On many other occasions though, I routinely cover events in organizations I am familiar with. One of those is R.E.E.F., Reef Education Environmental Foundation in Key Largo (https://www.reef.org/). We have been members for years and watched the “campus” grow from the single relocated wooden old Florida house to what it now is. Several years back, they built a second structure where they can have lectures, workshops, etc., and have a number of wonderful floor-to-ceiling underwater photographs to allow you to “be in the water” without getting wet. Next, they created a small park on the grounds with lovely landscaping, overhead fabric shades, a few picnic tables, and information boards about reefs and marine life. All of that has been good and the latest addition is definitely a “knock it out of the park home run”.

I was invited as part of the “sneak preview” two days before the grand opening of the Ocean Exploration Center. It is a two-story building adjoining the little park. In keeping with the concept of enjoying a reef without getting wet, rather than a big aquarium, the downstairs features three “patch reefs” with 51 different species. Everything is scientifically accurate and created by specialist fabricators. There is a card guide to take to check off the species as you find them. Some of course are quite easy to spot and others require a bit of looking. Behind this is the lab where classes and workshops will be held. Upstairs are multiple interactive areas and other exhibits plus a pleasant spot to just sit, and a small conference room. There are more huge photographs covering the walls and more fabrications. In all, a little over 100 species are displayed.

It was a great experience and will most assuredly be on the list for when the kids visit during the holidays.

REEF Ocean Exploration Center Key Largo 2025

 

Time for the Rainy Season….

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Although we were in the rainy season in May, it was intermittent and many of the plants and pools were in need of water. Apparently Mother Nature has decided to make up for it as we’ve had pretty much continuing rain for almost 24 hours and I guess it will keeping going through today. Tomorrow will have some as well. At least the big outdoor events for the weekend were spared and this is why we have umbrellas and rain jackets.

We don’t usually get full days or rain; the pattern tends more to be a daily deluge for a while, then steam as the sun comes out. This pattern, however, can occur more than once in a day and there are times you can be outside and literally watch as it approaches. That’s always an interesting sight. Then of course there are the out-and-out thunderstorms with lightning making huge, scary streaks and booms of thunder to get your attention. I have no idea if it is true from a scientific point, but local lore is the more rain we get early in the season, the less chance of a bad hurricane. I can’t say I’ve tracked that over the years, but in truth, we have only been hit three times here and close calls several times when others in Florida bore the real damage. As I have said before, the Atlantic is a very large body of water with lots of empty space. It would be great if all the hurricanes could just swirl around off shore until they dissipate. Not that it works that way, but at least it happens with some of them.

About That Snorkeling….

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Okay, just to clarify. I think I mentioned in the past few months, I have dealt with back issues. Not spinal; muscular. I have three different spots in my back from lower up through my right shoulder that seem to be extra vulnerable. I have also come to recognize the things I’m doing to cause these flare-ups which can last only a day or two or up to a week. I’ve never been one for gardening as I have also explained, so the fact I can’t do much now in the way of bending over for long isn’t the kind of problem it would be for some friends who are avid gardeners.

On to scuba. Because I’m still fat, I use 14 pounds of weight. With that and the rest of the equipment, it’s about 30 pounds on my back. Even though you are “weightless” in the water, the weight doesn’t “disappear”. When I dive, I tend to move around a fair amount, looking under, going over, and often twisting into different positions. The twisting motion is where I get myself in trouble and it simply isn’t likely that I will change my style after all this time. So while the dive boat crew is great about offering to take my gear off in the water to keep my from limbing the ladder with it on, that won’t alter what I’m doing underwater.

Our reefs are shallow enough to make for good snorkeling and in general, I will see plenty of cool stuff. Wednesday was an exception because the current had been tricky all week and we went to two more protected sites that aren’t as good for snorkeling as the usual places. I did see some of my small favorites and even though I didn’t see them, there was a turtle and a couple of rays. Had I been in the correct spot at the correct time, I would have seen those as well. And speaking favorite smalls, here are my pretty blue chromis.

Chromis are seen on most of the local reefs.

 

So Much for Less Busy…

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Ah well, I knew this week wouldn’t be any less busy as I had to take care of regular tasks, plus a few I had put off while working on the Celebration. It went well and we will modify a few things for next year. I wasn’t expecting to have two extra events thrown in and not that they were arduous or unpleasant, merely took time. Then, notwithstanding the thought I would get a gap after covering the Memorial Day ceremony, no such luck. I now have a nighttime annual event for Tuesday, the day after Memorial Day. I enjoy the event; it’s just usually earlier in the month.

Okay, with that “poor me moment” out of the way, let me move on to say the event I participated in Tuesday night with high school students in the Mexican-American Council program College and Career Prep was a delight. Seven teams worked for a few months to create a “travel agency” putting together a trip for two adults and two teenagers (boy and girl) with a budget of $6,000. Trip could be up to a week and they had to research every aspect, cost out each item and do a visual presentation supporting everything. Some teams chose to duplicate the Powerpoint with a complete packet for we three judges and others did a summary. They were all impressive, and as usual there were a few very poised and comfortable with speaking in public. Two families were sent to Cancun, one to Orlando, one to Puerto Rico, one to Dominican Republic, one to Toronto, and the final presentation split the trip to Costa Rico and Cartagena.  Seven presentation with questions from each judge did make for a packed stretch of a little more than three hours, but like I said, a good experience in that it was nice to see the students engaged. Oh, and one of the other judges and I did go for wine after.

Good Evening and One More Week……

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Well, the Celebration of the Arts was a good event last evening. Not quite as many people as last year, however, a nice mix and everyone enjoyed themselves. The team that brought it together worked hard and I sent an extra thanks out to them this morning. I still have a few hours work with returning some items we borrowed and getting things out of bags and put away. A few leftover extras need to also be distributed and I won’t have to buy bottled water for a couple of months. We don’t drink bottled water here as we have a whole-house filter system, but I take it into the museum and we do have one more HCA meeting next month. I take snacks and beverages to that as well.

I would like to say next week will be better and in one sense it will. I have multiple obligations all the way through Memorial Day – well actually through May 31st – although none are overly stressful. At least none are supposed to be; keeping fingers crossed. There is something brand new which will also likely result in newspaper article for the last week of May. I have been invited to be a judge for a first-time exercise with some students – not sure if high school or college – in the field of hospitality and tourism. I haven’t had time to look at the packet yet and think it is a simulation of the students putting together vacation packages. Hospitality is of course a huge industry in Florida and I have traveled extensively, to include some far-flung places. I am interested in the details of what the tasks are and then to see how the students do. Several of the high schools have Hospitality and Tourism as Magnet Programs and all the colleges and universities have degrees.

 

Little Bit of an Oops….

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Okay, had a bit of an “Oops” with the blog getting swapped over, but seems okay now. And speaking of things, with the multiple organizations and situations I am involved with, there is always and I mean always, odd requests that come my way. The other day is a perfect example. I think I previously posted about the annual Celebration of the Arts we have brought back for Homestead Center for the Arts. There are of course multiple tasks to handle and one week out, we’re in pretty good shape for those tasks. There is also, however, the big ArtWalk the city puts on – well, one specific councilmember – and while we usually have one of our artists who participates and I always go by for a while, we have an unusual request for this time. The initial call to put art in trees did take me completely by surprise. Say what? Then in talking through it, the request (from a non-artist by the way) is really more about having color and shape at the entry to the event to draw the eye upward. We’re working a couple of different ideas to make this happen.

Moving on the our HCA Celebration, things hit a little dip in trying to get certain aspects lined up, but I think those are now under control. It will of course be a busy afternoon into the night although by having a reception 5:30-7:30, we should be able to be cleaned up and cleared by 8:30 or so. Unless someone wants to go out to dinner somewhere, I’ll probably call for pizza for us to pick up on the way home. We’ll see how it goes.

Making Me a Little Crazy…..

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Okay, the hassle in changing website and email continues. As I have said on many occasions, tech is not my thing and I get frustrated very easily. I do feel badly for my friends who don’t have anyone at home to help and Hubby and I have worked out an arrangement for trying to keep me from screaming too much at the computer. (I didn’t say I had that perfected yet.)

So, despite the fact the Domain Registration and the website and email hosting are through the same company, they are separate. After going through a somewhat painful process I am told yes, the Domain is registered, but now I have to do a different account for the others. In trying to follow those instructions, I did try – honestly I did. I gave up and asked for help before it got too bad. Hubby of course took care of it. Or at least I thought so. Turns out there is yet another step. This time the guy sent step-by-step instructions. Okay, even I should be able to manage. Except step 3 didn’t seem to work. After the third try I decided to click onto the Chat function. Let’s just say it did not go well. I then calmly asked Hubby to come up and explained. He takes the directions and sure enough, it didn’t work for him either. I felt a little better about that. He goes to the chat and gets a different tech. He can also explain better what the issue is and this time the tech acknowledges there seems to be an problem on their end. Well, that helps except of course I have to try again tomorrow. Sigh!!!!

Part of an Answer…..

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I suppose there has been a level of progress in this transition I have to do with my webmaster retiring. Turns out the first step was only to change Domain Ownership. Even though that and web/email come under the same company (maybe group), they are totally different sections. The guy I finally got to explain it to me via email also sent a recommendation for what package to get. So, okay, I print out the instructions. Except when I go to the site, what it wants me to do doesn’t exactly match what the recommendation is, and there are other terms I don;t understand. Then in trying to proceed, I get a thing that says I can’t have charliehudson.net because it’s already taken. Yes, I am aware, but it’s taken by me. Fine, I will need once again to try and find a human to talk to. Ah, but this is Sales and they only work Mon-Fri, 9:00-5:00 East Coast time. Uh huh. Monday is totally jammed for me, but things are still working and I can try Tuesday afternoon.

Speaking of Tuesday.  As I said, Monday was jammed and I have an important meeting Friday afternoon. That’s okay. Then I get an email with a notice of something that sort of involves the museum which includes a meeting on Thursday. Preparing for the meeting on Thursday might also mean having a meeting prior to that, but I won’t know until I can find and talk to the correct person. Then yesterday afternoon, I get a call which has now resulted in a meeting Tuesday morning which is why I can’t tackle the web/email thing until Tuesday afternoon. Oh, and none of this includes a couple of fairly important tasks I have already pushed into later May because they can wait.

Oops, I almost forgot I also have an issue with one of my prescriptions (actually one of only two I care about) and I guess I will have to tackle that on Tuesday as well since I can’t seem to resolve it through the on-line means. All of this is why I tend to roll my eyes when People say, “be sure and take time for yourself”.