Friday, May 05, 2006

Viva el 5 de mayo!

It's May 5th, and that means... Cinco de Mayo. Break out the margaritas!

In 1862, French troops under the direction of Napolean III, invaded Mexico. On May 5th, at Pueblo, Mexico, 4,000 Mexican troops beat the snot out of the 8,000-strong French and traitor Mexican army. This essentially kept Napolean III from supplying the Confederate army in the U.S. with supplies, which allowed the Union army to build the greatest army the world had ever seen. 14 months later, after the Union troops defeated the Confederates at Gettysburg, ending the Civil War, Union forces were rushed to the Texas/Mexico border under General Phil Sheridan, who made sure all Mexicans received all the weapons and ammunition they needed to expel the French. American soldiers were discharged with their uniforms and rifles if they promised to join the Mexican army to fight the French. The American Legion of Honor marched in the Victory Parade in Mexico City.

What would the U.S. (and Mexico) be like if those brave 4,000 Mexican soldiers hadn't faced down and won against a force twice their size? Hmm. We might all be speaking French today! Instead of English and Spanish.

Viva el 5 de mayo! (Which, interestingly enough, is celebrated more by Mexican-Americans than by Mexicans.)

I'm having my own celebration today. Yesterday, my critique partner and I plotted out the rest of Beyond the Beast, making sure it made sense and the story arc followed character motivations logically. Phew! Such a relief. Now I can forge forward. If I can stop focusing on my physical discomfort. Swollen eyes from allergy problems, bloating and cramping from, um, female problems, and fatigue from lack of sleep I attribute to both.

A margarita's looking better and better. . .

7 comments:

T.A.Chase said...

Those nasty allegeries and female problems...sorry to hear you're suffering both. :(

Hurrah for plotting out Beyond the Beast. I'm sure it'll be awesome like your other books.

Me..I'll have tequila and some body shots.

Anonymous said...

Margaritas make everything better.

Sherrill Quinn said...

Thanks, T.A. You're a sweetie. Another couple of days and I'll be fine. Man. It's pretty sad to be looking forward to menopause... of course, then there's the whole hot flash/night sweats/lack of concentration to deal with. Phffft. Sometimes it really sucks to be a woman.

Enjoy your body shots! :)

Sherrill Quinn said...

Jenna, don't you know it! LOL

T.A.Chase said...

I have friends who say the same thing, Sherrill. :)

Oh I will. I think Cinco de Mayo is the perfect reason to break out the tequila and lime.

For The Trees said...

I like Cinco de Mayo because it gives me the sense that there's a culture different from our WASP one. And I like a LOT of the aspects of that Hispanic culture. I BETTER like it, I live in Texas!

Congratulations on getting the plot worked out. Now I need my critique partner to sit down with me and help me get this mess with Avie figured out. But right now she's swamped, just got promoted at work. So I'll have to bide my time.

Congrats, again! NOW! Get To Work! Um, no, it's Cinco de Mayo. Run off to Molina's and have some margaritas and relax. The work will be there tomorrow, and you NEED the break, after all the allergies etc.

Sherrill Quinn said...

Thanks a lot, Forrest. I've actually spent the morning doing some promo stuff, and most of the afternoon so far working on my RWA chapter newsletter. I'm about ready to start back on Beyond the Beast, though, so don't come after me with a whip or anything. :)