THE STORY SO FAR: PART 235

BURNING THE MIDNIGHT OIL—AND CONSIDERABLY BEYOND

It makes no sense at all to work ridiculously late—because writing when tired is never a good idea, and you end up exhausted the following day. Nonetheless, I plead guilty to such foolishness. In fact, I have worked to beyond 3.00 am twice (so far) this week—and late practically every evening.

Why so? Well, at a certain point—if you are lucky—you really get the hang of a project, understand it in all its complexity, and know what to do; and when such a magic time arrives, it is hard to let go. Your creative juices are flowing and you know that period of insight will pass. But, if you don’t get enough sleep, there are consequences.

Damn stupid? Damn right!

Still, it is vastly satisfying to be making such progress. I just hope I can keep it up until my screenplay revision is finished—or this phase is. I say “phase” because screenplays have a habit of being re-written near endlessly—and not always for good reasons.

Speaking of weapons—which we weren’t—I’d like to add a footnote to yesterday’s remarks about the Broomhandle Mauser.

In 1916, a small group of the Irish rebelled against the British in an attempt to end the British occupation of Ireland. As part of that rebellion, the Irish seized various buildings around Dublin. One, in Dublin itself, commanded the principal route from the port of Kingstown to the city center (see extreme right of above graphic). The Irish garrison nunbered only 17, but many were armed with Broomhandle Mausers.

They were opposed by the Sherwood Forresters, and other troops—over 1,000. In the subsequent combat, the Irish lost two dead. Sherwood Forrester casualties, either dead or wounded, came to a staggering 240.

I’ve never shot one, but I have had the privilege of examining one in a private collection some decades ago. It’s a fascinating weapons which just feels right in your hand. It’s dominating feature, apart from its long barrel, is the fact the the magazine is in front of the pistol grip. To load it, you push down on the stripper clip, the clip falls away, and the rounds enter the magazine. It’s a rapid process.