West Side Story in Rodeo Country

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

My daughter read this book as part of her assigned reading for 7th grade English. As I rifled through it before she began, (I had never heard of it) I was iffy about it. She went on to read it and really enjoyed it. She really wanted me to read it so I downloaded the audio version on Overdrive.

I was intrigued by the idea that it was written in the sixties by a sixteen year old girl. 

I was not disappointed. Set in Oklahoma, the book is written in the first person by a member of the "greasers" named Pony Boy- a wrong side of the tracks orphan. The book relates a series of events that pit his gang against a rival upper glass group of teenagers. The book has in depth dialogues and analysis of the boys that make up his group, two of which are his own older brothers who are committed to filling the place of the parents who died.

SE Hinton wanted to portray the true nature and similarities between kids of different classes in her own world. She unpacks the inner emotions beneath these tough exteriors. The narrator did a wonderful job with his Oklahoman accent and great emotional expression.

Some of the dialogues felt redundant but the author manages to convey tragedy with a sense of hope and a sense of bitter sweet camaraderie that prevents it from being a downer. 

I can't wait to PonyBoy, Johnny, Darry, SodaPop, and Dallas in the movie version!

Women: take a leaf out of the page of Mattie Ross

copyright 1968

When I'm sick or tired, I turn to westerns like some people swallow chicken soup. Let's not overly examine this.

I love the John Wayne version of True Grit and I probably love the new one but I can't remember or make a comparison because I only watched it once and before I had seen the John Wayne one.

This was my first reading of the book and I was amazed at how the movie so closely followed the book. The creators of the film did an incredible job of staying true to the text.

This read, in the context of national whining about feminine oppression, abuse, and harassment etc. (I am a woman so I can speak on this) (acknowledging that there can always be room for improvement in how we treat each other as humans) is kind of hysterical. Little Mattie Ross insists on being treated with dignity despite sexual harassment and discrimination. Now, you might ask, could Mattie Ross really have existed or exist even now? After all she is a fictional creation of Charles Portis? She could've gone to the papers and screamed or she could've chosen to sign a silence contract (you don't have to sign right? Those women chose to take money and be silent and then years later decide to jump on the bandwagon and cry when it suits them, when they have the crowd on their side. Who is going to want to hire a woman now? Excuse this tirade. One can only listen so long without speaking. "man UP!' ooops - "Woman up" people. 

I really can empathize. I have never been in the corporate world or the film industry. I am sure it would be very frustrating to realize that you can't advance without offering favors. However, I can't stand the notion that people don't have choices. They can punch the guy. Quit. Work for someone else. Choose to not take the money and stay silent. Start your own corporation. Or like Mattie Ross show up and insist that you go along on your terms and don't give up until you get your man even if you get thrown into a pit of rattlesnakes and discover that the brutal man who so harassed you ends up saving your life.

Rooster Cogburn isn't a sleaze ball, like some corporate film industry head honchos. He has some questionable approaches and a shadowy past, but one never gets that slimy chill up your spine clammy handshake ewk feeling about him. Ladies, you know what I'm talking about here. LaBoeuf is a little creepy. He threatens to kiss her (She's fourteen) and tries to spank her - which Cogburn prevents. But little Mattie holds her own and eventually LaBoeuf admits she has "earned her spurs."

The book is totally charming. Written in the first person from the perspective of no nonsense Mattie Ross. Full of humorous tidbits, real danger, characters and subtales that ring true to the time. The trail lore strikes one as accurate - down to the rope around Rooster's bedroll and the surplus of corn dodgers for trail grub.

Ladies, let's take a leaf out of the page of Mattie Ross. Plunge your horse into the river if they won't let you get on the ferry and come out the other side with your revolver by your side. Stop whining and complaining and earn your spurs and don't make it harder for the rest of us to get a job. If you want to be treated honorably, treat others honorably. Don't emasculate the men too much or you'll regret it. 

Men: don't be sleazeballs. Be honorable. Focus on your character. Pretend like your five year old son is in the office watching you. Treat every woman fellow employee like she's your sister or mother. 

Megalomania of church craziness

The Way of the Dragon or the Way of the Lamb

James Goggin and Kyle Strobel

These guys had some good things to say. It's hard to bear with two different writing styles in a book. I usually prefer to read just one and unless you read it multiple times, it's hard to keep track of their different personalities.

This book was packed with scripture references. This is one of my pet peeves with evangelical writers. They write like they're writing a thesis paper and you can tell that these guys are steeped in academia. Nothing wrong with that - it will get you a good grade on your paper and a pat on the back from your dissertation prof or whatever they call those guys - but it doesn't make for engaging reading for your average person who wants to quickly get to the guts of what you're trying to say.

This book could've been summarized in nice long blog post. There could have been a lovely intro about being humble instead of modelling the corporate world in the church with a few scripture references and examples. Then the following section could have been bullet point insights that they gained from the heroes of the faith that they interviewed.

That being said, the gist of their message is needed. The church needs to stop aping the business model and start aping Jesus. The evangelical model of church that reached its peak in the 80s with its attraction model hyper aggressive sell the gospel showdowns is on the decline. Many people don't seem to realize that though and won't for some time. I am deeply convinced that God works in and through all different kinds of church models. There is no "right" way to convene. However, the megalomania of church craziness is distasteful to me and I'm not alone. The clear message here is pastoring is about serving not spearheading. 

Civil War depictions and pathos

This is not the Winston Churchill famous for being Prime Minister of the U.K. 

However this book was the bestseller in the U.S. in the year it was published in 1901.

This book belongs to my grandma and came to me by way of my mom, with this effusive reference, "you might like it." As we were camping in remote Trona Pinnacles and the nonfiction book and trade magazine I had bought were less appealing, I sampled this one. The opening line was not  palatable, "Faithful to relate how Eliphalet Hopper came to St. Louis is to betray no secret." First of all it sounds like Yoda speech. Everything's backward. But as I was not tired because I had plenty of coffee and too late in the afternoon, I nestled my flashlight more closely into the crook of my overly bony clavicle and settled in to century ago speech and to wonder why nondescript and non heroic Eliphalet of the cumbersome name was chosen to be the protagonist. It turns out he's not. He's more of a minor character and mere foil for the hero. Eliphalet's inspid, opportunistic, sleazy machinations are in stark contrast to the noble loyalty and heroism of Stephen Brice. I've always wanted to use that word - machinations. 

I'm telling you this book has more romantic pathos than many books I've read by Victorian females. I would liken it to George Eliot - not as intense as a Bronte - more than Austen who glorifies the pragmatic sensible heroine. Maybe Winston Churchill was a female? However, he/she does have a tendency to go into war stuff details and such - which I tried not to skim over - oh yea - Tolstoy is a man and he has some romantic pathos - but lots of war, lots of war - and characters with more layers. Churchill's characters are somewhat one dimensional - and the love interests in particular. Anna Karenina has bad hair days, but I'm sure Virginia Carvel is always the perfect southern belle - fiery, beautiful, confident, poised, and I'm sure she's never had to wear deodorant. This book is remiss, because it never once explains how people and southern belles in particular can be so charming in steamy St. Louis in the summer without deoderant. She will hate or try to hate Stephen Brice for being a yankee but some irrepressible force - God or fate keeps them ever crossing paths, and when she reaches up to grab the bridle of his horse, thinking it is that of her cousin - and they are struck by the notion that there is a magnetism between them that they are powerless over. See what I mean ladies? Not to omit the fact that they are in matching colonial costume at the time. Do not judge this book by its cover. Not only that, she is struck by his sheer manliness and she didn't even know Yankees knew how to ride and he gallops away with utter possession of his steed. 

Ok, enough of that romance - blech, This book really transported me fully into Civil War St. Louis. The author does an amazing job of capturing the conflicting tensions between neighbors and friends as the controversy over states rights in regard to slavery escalated. Churchill portrays the dogmatic judge who is a fervent union man and Lincoln groupie but who is dear friends with Colonel Carvel the stately and generous southern man with his plantation and slaves who seem to be intensely loyal. (Dad to snippety but soft hearted southern belle previously mentioned.) Their lengthy friendship crumbles but does not sever as they have a deathbed reunion. There are the Yankees who have come to St. Louis for work (like Stephen Brice) who respect many southerners but support the north. Stephen has an encounter with Abe Lincoln (who is elevated to godlike status in this book by Churchill who likens him to a Christlike martyr figure for the nation.) Stephen Brice is a sort of golden boy who is loved by all and encounters favoritism from many quarters (except that of "Jinny" (Virginia) and her cousin Clarence who hopes to be her intended. Of course "Jinny" eventually caves to the pressure of destiny and folds herself into the blue clad arms of "Steve."

The one perspective that is not offered is that of the slaves. We don't have any insight into what they might have been experiencing, but that might have been ahead of Churchill's time. It would have been a great addition to the novel.

Stephen distinguishes himself in battle as does Clarence. Stephen actually pleads for Clarence's life on two occasions which increases his honorability in the site of all (Clarence becomes a daredevil Rebel while Stephen is a union man) - including the famed generals Grant and Sherman who are depicted very charmingly and probably accurately in this work.

One thing I loved about this book is that it reflects certain geographic cultural distinctions that are based on the types of immigrants that moved to different regions of the States. I read about this in Albion's Seed: Four British Folkways in America by David Hackett Fischer. St. Louis seems to have been kind of a crossroads for many types:

* the Virginia type cavalier descendents of British second sons (the southern landowners like the Carvels and the benevolent Brinsmades who actually sided with the north)

*transplanted Yankees of Puritan roots like Stephen Brice. (Eliphalet Hooper is also a yankee, but an uneducated less affluent one) 

* "poor whites" border people who had been long persecuted and transient (northern England, scotch irish etc.) - these are represented by Abe Lincoln and Judge Whipple (maybe Elijah Brent falls into this category - more about him in a minute.)

* this book also shows the German element - immigrants who fought valiantly for the union in the civil war.

* of course there were the African Americans who are portayed but superficially here.

Ok, only one more thing about Elijah Brent "Lige". He was like an adopted son to Colonel Carvel and he really is a sweet character. He's a river captain who the author alludes has been long in love with Virginia. (who isn't, right?) She's the happy sun in the solar systems of multiple men. Her father and Judge Whipple adore her. She is desired by Eliphalet (who makes a miserable stumbling conniving attempt to woo her through bribery and threats), Elijah Brent, Clarence, and of course Stephen Brice. So unfair when there are so many other fetching and marriageable girls like poor mousy Anne Brinsmade, who could be Charlotte Lucas. (Sorry if you're not a Jane Austen follower.) But I mainly feel bad for Elijah Brent "Lige" because I think Churchill forgot all about how he left him in the lobby of the White House after he (Lige) faithfully accompanied Virginia to Washington D.C. catering to her every whim, so she could have an audience with honest Abe. She's having this "I finally submit to your love interlude with Stephen" in the oval office (nothing indiscreet here people) and we just leave Lige in the lobby. This is worse than when Fanny leaves Henry Lennox in the coach (North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell) and sayonaras off with John Thornton without even a "thank you for helping me thus far in my pretend legal matters which I fabricated so I could confess my love and keep my pride." It's pretty much equally painful only worse because Lige deserves so much more. Maybe he can get together with Anne Brinsmade.  Ahh well..

Some things i've learned from Louis L'amour

The indomitable Sackett clan: longtime feuders, hillfolk, and woodsmen - eking out an existence on the sidehills, hunting and trapping, and defending their own.

Logan Sackett - a clinch-mountain Sackett, the less respectable branch of the clan, inadvertently runs into one of his kinfolk out in Colorado Rockies. She's in trouble. Widowed and old Em Sackett is tough as nails. Her sons have been sent word that she is dead and a local bigshot is determined to take her lush well set up ranch and vindicate his knees that she broke defending her place with her gun.

Logan rescues a put upon girl and takes her to Em, then he takes on the role of knight errant once he realizes her situation. 

The funny thing is I don't really remember ever reading this one. 

Here are some things I've learned from Louis L'amour, that are totally applicable to my daily life.

1. Don't ever undertake something hoping for help. If you can't do it alone, best not start out at all.

2. Watch your backtrail.

3. build your fire under a tree that will screen your smoke.

4. Don't go into the rocks after a wounded apache.

5. Tell your love interest they will marry you, don't ask.

6. Don't wait for them to come to you - take the fight to your enemy.

7. Choose the spot and timing for your battle.

8. Your enemy may expect to "yo'mama" for awhile before the actual fight, skip that and punch/shoot first.

9. Be mean enough to refuse to die even if you're shot multiple times.

10. Use moccasins for scouting, not boots.

11. Put your cowboy hat on first, when you get dressed.

12. Make your first shot count.

13. Don't pull the trigger. Squeeze it.

14. Take care of your horse first.

15. Read Plutarch's Lives. 

Maybe my readers have a few things to add to this list?

retreat reading

I was recently blessed to attend a three day silence and solitude retreat in the mountains near where I live. 

During the time, I included two books. 

This one is an old favorite of my mom's. It's packed with thoughtful, wise words - and written from a mother in the middle years of life (to a mother in the middle years of life so it seems).

As she secludes herself on an island for a holiday from her busy Connecticut life, husband, and five children, she writes and meditates on the art of contemplation, and how difficult it is in "modern" life.

She doesn't idealize the past and its many hardships, but she recognizes how the luxury of time and labor saving devices have given women the possibility to fill their time with many pursuits and tasks, many of which are not conducive to contemplation. This is even true today many years later. I am reminded when I do take the time to chop vegetables, pull weeks, or herd cattle that there is something - a call to simpler life and a quieter mind.

So it's a call to build in contemplation so that we can remain true to our hub - the inner life that sustains creativity and fruitful life. 

Each chapter is dedicated to a different sort of sea shell with a metaphor relating it to human life or to her own life - very tastefully.

I hope to have a chat, no a walk on a beach somewhere someday with Anne Morrow Lindbergh. Perhaps we will talk and then perhaps we will be in companionable silence. 

I love the chapter describing her time with her sister - the possibility of natural artless compatibility. 

A wonderful conversation with Lois here. 

I won't try to summarize the book. You know how I hate doing that. Suffice it to say - this book is part of a pursuit my family and I have ambled into through a longtime friendship. The pursuit could be described as the attempt to learn more about Jesus and his teachings in a Jewish and more historically accurate context. 

It is so refreshing to move away from the controversies that have imbued the church over the past centuries and to merely try to look at the scriptures with (less) of a lens of the ages. As we recognize that we no longer identify with a particular sect, movement, denomination of the Christian Church - we can unreservedly pursue knowing God through the tapestry of his text and stories - and through our own hearts and experiences as well.

This book will be a good companion for my little shelf. (the one that's easily accessible - not too high,)

Nature worship at its best

I confess, I have read this multiple times as an adult, and I love it more now than I ever did in my girleenhood. I cried twice this time. Once when Bets dies and then in the end when Jingle goes off to college and Pat is convinced that things will never be the same as their idyllic threesome is disbanded. He wants more than friendship and she shakes hands with him warmly.

I love how Lucy Maud weaves the scotch/irish folklore into humorous little tidbits. I laughed out loud a few times - to be completely fair to the whole spectrum of human emotion.

The housekeeper Judy really is who makes up the bread and butter of this yarn - literally and figuratively. She's always cooking and I got so hungry while I was reading this.

I have to be very cautious whilst reading LM because she triggers my nature worshipping tendencies and I begin to research greener pastures. As Pat wanders the garden soaking in the beauty of the moon, lingering in her secret spot with Jingle by the brook that they have dubbed "happiness," and loitering beneath the birch trees, or meandering down the lane towards the sea - I wander the paved earth amongst the roar of traffic. sigh. Or worse- walk the trail wherein lie the fragrant deposits of those too lazy to find the dump.

Anyhoo - the sun still rises and sets in Bakersfield or in the enchanting isle of Mistawis and at Silver Bush on PE Island.

the silver disk rises - Construct 11 Part 2

The characters that were introduced in Construct 11 Part 1 really came to life here. I really like the vulnerability that I experienced in the characters as they begin to realize that not all is at it seems in their hyper-controlled world that seems to be coming unraveled. 

Parts of this book really reminded me of how I felt as a teenager - especially the guy/girl dynamics. So sweet!

The book ends with plenty of mystery. Not only are there relational questions that need to be untangled, but what is the outside really like? How will this group of teenagers manage their emotions after their discoveries?

This carefully crafted tale is well worth the read!

"They all paused to watch as the full circle of the silver disk rose big and golden, actually, over the jagged edge of the sky..."

visceral nostalgia for small town life

I originally checked out this audio book on Overdrive for my husband and I to listen to together on a trip we were taking. It turns out, we weren't driving that far and we ended up talking, so I just listened to it over the course of the next few weeks.

I don't normally read mysteries but I have discovered that I sometimes like watching some mystery or crime tv shows (as long as they're not too dark or creepy.) This falls into that same category.

The main draw of this story is that it's set in semi-rural contemporary North Carolina. I love the way she weaves real life seeming lore and folksy personalities into her story. The story is interesting because it moves between three narrators:

 - flashback to 1940s - protagonist Deborah Knott's mother Sue- written from the first person perspective

 - 3rd person narrative from the perspective of Deborah

 - omniscient narrator? - following Dwight (Deborah's Policeman husband following crime tales.)

The story unpacks a mysterious friendship of Sue's that changed the course of her life, whilst solving a contemporary murder that is semi-linked to the other story.

The main things I got out of this story are: a desire to experience fishing and the subsequent deep frying of stuff that follows, a whimsical yearning to meet my relatives at a locally owned barbecue restaurant where afterwards we all play our bluegrass instruments and dance, and a visceral nostalgia for small town life. 

This story is also narrated by the author, so there was definitely the dialectical accuracy. Love it.

Oh, spoiler alert. I was sure that the abused wife, finally up and killed her husband after one smack too many, but I was dead wrong.

the plunging darkness of the human tide

I guess I haven't been reading much lately. I've been writing. I've been piecemealing this in at night and here and there on the week end. I see that there is a tv mini series based on this story.

I think I read Taylor Caldwell's autobiography On Growing up Tough when I was a child. Somehow I had an impressive impression of her, but I believe this is actually the first novel of hers I've read.

The woman wrote over 40 novels I believe. She was a brilliant novel spewing writer with a capital W. She wrote her first novel at age 12.

First I was impressed with her sheer intelligence just jumping off the page. I was pulled into the story immediately. She's a masterful wordsmith and character builder.

I love history, and this is definitely a historical novel.

She reminds me a little of Pearl Buck - both my impression of her character and her drive, ambition, and genius. I just confirmed that they were contemporaries - born around the beginning of the 1900s or so.

Taylor Caldwell isn't just telling a story here, I soon realized. She's inserting her political philosophy and perhaps hoping to influence the reader against the wiles of socialism and globalism. Her main protagonist, bitter, cunning, ascetic, and complex Irish immigrant Joseph Armagh (love that surname) uncovers the secret society that direct the affairs of finance, governments, and apparently the world. She continually mocks "common man" in its perpetual pursuit of a "rajah." They pretend to want independence but they really just want a charismatic leader to tell them what to do. I suppose we're all to some degree tribal. There's a reason why CEOs are usually tall. There are certain physical traits that people are drawn to and it comes straight from the amygdala, or wherever that grey matter is that goes underanalyzed.

If you're wanting to read a happy book, hurl this one in the opposite direction. It begins with starvation and tragedy, leads to wealth gained by vice and trickery, a mystical curse which leads to everyone's death, and unhappy marriages with intense idealized extramarital relationships that provide only temporary solace from the plunging darkness of the human tide.

I walk away wondering if there is a secret society with quiet men who plan wars. I did enjoy the way she portrayed such a variety of personalities and bents. There are some great characters in this book and kind of like Tolstoy - there is a real psychological study that has gone behind this - informally perhaps - but a kaleidoscope of people and their varying motivations and temperaments. She also inserts some analysis of the Irish and I love cultural studies. Hofstede's cultural dimensions are almost as interesting as Keirsey's Temperament sorter, but not quite. Don't worry Keirsey, I will stand by you.

I may pick up On Growing up Tough again and read it. I find myself more interested in the author than in reading more of her fiction at the moment. Also because I don't like to read fiction that's too sad. Life has plenty of sadness already. Thankfully I don't need for us to wait to figure out the perfect governing system in order to be filled with gratitude, love, and hope in this very moment.

freeloadering sissies

After America, by Mark Stein

The United States hit its height of glory around the 1950's. Now we're basically all a bunch of free loading sissies on a steep path to decline that will mimic that of Europe only more accelerated and with more disastrous results.

Mark Steyn manages to convey all this while still being hilarious at the same time. I pretty much resonated with all of his points - even though his premise doesn't overly stir me. Bloated government, overlicensure, wimpy people, leaders who are all blather (is that a word?), over emphasis on expensive education and lettered names that mean less and less, an economy based on borrowing and fluff rather than industry, over reliance on "experts" and not enough common sense and tinkerology, (ok I did invent that word) - hyper sensitive....

He has a bunch of pithy statements. Here's one: "Islam is playing for tomorrow, whereas much of the West has, by any traditional indicator, given up on the future. We do not save, we do not produce, we do not reproduce, not in Europe, not in Canada, Vermont, or San Francisco. Instead we seek new, faster ways to live in an eternal present, in an unending whirl of sensory distraction."

If I put my hope and identity in the United States of America first and foremost, this would have been a prophetic downer. Whilst I don't want to undervalue the ideals and freedoms that we have enjoyed, I choose to focus more on spiritual freedom, and the growth of an invisible kingdom - the one that superimposes physical borders. (No, I'm not talking about the globalism that Steyn ridicules.)

He offers a short chapter of suggestions for an antidote to this tidal wave: de-centralize, (don't talk about "changing the world" - go out and do something for your family, neighbors, and town) de-governmentalize, (do everything you can to lessen the growth of government) de-monopolize ("we also need a new trust-busting movement to bust the dominant trust of our time - the big government monopoly that monopolizes more and more of life.") de-complicate - (tried to have a medical procedure lately?, gone to At&t? - I finally asked the girl, how much does this actually cost? Can I just pay for the darn thing?) de-credentialize - (too much studying, not enough doing) did-entitle, - "Entitlements are the death of responsible government" de-normalize - I guess this means that things should be understandable - like "trillions of dollars" - I know I can't wrap my mind around that, I guess only politicians can do - learn how to do stuff - tinker, build, create, produce live free or die -  I just watched Rogue One. We need more people like that.

If you are ever shanghaied, practice mindfulness

The Miracle of Mindlfulness - Thich Nhat Hanh

Crossfire Trail - Louis Lamour

A person may wonder what a Vietnamese monk and a Texas drifter have in common. A person might also wonder what kind of person has these two titles on her audio listen app. Me.

I must confess that I didn't listen to all of The Miracle of Mindfulness. I began to get the gist. Be present, be present, be mindful. Granted, he had lots of tips especially pertinent to westerners like myself who are like a bunch of bulls in a china shop. I don't mean westerners as in cowgirls or people who read westerns silly - although appropo.

The best part was the sonorous deep voice of the reader. He spoke slowly and had this archaic English accent with perhaps an Indian influence. He rolled his rrrrs and when he said mindfulness it came out like miiiiiindfulness. "Wash the dishes to wash the dishes." He had an entire chapter on "Washing the dishes to wash the dishes." This is perfect for me because I do "wash the dishes." I have a dishwasher that I only use for storage and now I know how to "wash the dishes." Don't hurry through the project so you can sit down and savor your tea. (I hate tea though - that's one complaint I have about this book.) If you do, you will not savor your tea, but will be thinking about the next thing that you are going to do. Ultimately, each act will not be lived, but merely completed in order to rush on to the next thing. The next word most often used in the text is "breath." I have to admit, it has made me more aware of breathing, deeply. Exhale all the air out of your lungs btw. Oh, and brush your teeth before you deep breathe near others. (He didn't say that, I do.) But "brush your teeth to brush your teeth."

Ironically, while I was listening to this audio book, I missed my freeway connection in rush hour in the heart of Los Angeles. I was contemplating mindfulness and I failed to be mindful. This led to an extremely stressful rerouting route and I ended up being late to pick someone up at the airport. sigh.

Perhaps that is why I abandoned it in order to listen to Crossfire Trail. At least I knew in this book that the hero would at some point engage in a fist fight with someone who is forty pounds heavier than himself. (This happens in almost every Louis Lamour.) It's so comforting because the hero is always beat up badly but eventually wins. He would also perform a "rolling hip lock." I wish I knew what that was. I asked my brother and he said it probably would be considered sexual assault.

The hero in this story is shanghaied in San Francisco and forced to serve on a merchant vessel of some sort. Now, who doesn't love the word shanghaied. I wish I had more occasions to use it, but I just don't. "I'll have that latte shanghaied please." "Kids stop your shanghaied nonsense." Fortunately, he happens to be shanghaied with a dying rancher who has been tricked out of his land. The rancher bequeaths him half of his ranch on his deathbed and entrusts him to return and take care of his wife and daughter in Wyoming.

I won't summarize because I hate doing that. Suffice it to say, our forty pounds underweight hero escapes, and goes to Wyoming with some of his boat cronies who will follow him to the death because of his incredible charisma. The mother has conveniently died, but the daughter is as homely as can be. JUST KIDDING. She happens to be exceptionally beautiful. I always love it when male readers do the female voices. They always sound so funny. A range war ensues. Rafe (said hero) kicks out the bad corrupt guys in a series of unprecedented acts of sheer manliness (perhaps only rivaled by Richard the Lion hearted, Tariq bin Ziyad, or Attila the Hun.

There is one unique scene in this story. Rafe is arrested and tried by a corrupt judge and court. He proceeds to defend himself savvily humiliating the underhanded bully who is engaged to non homely dead rancher's daughter. She begins to see Rafe in a new more honorable light.

Love Wins - Rob Bell

Bell challenges some conventional assumptions that mainstream Christianity has maintained for several centuries.

He approaches it honestly and tries to dive into the millennium across cultures - I respect this.

I have asked myself many of the same questions and come to much of the same conclusions.

I guess this book was a pretty cool affirmation of some things that I've figured out the hard way: by going across cultures, asking questions, going back to the source, studying church history, processing with people, and thinking....

I still feel the path is narrow, but I think many will be very surprised by just what that means. There is less of a formula then we've marketed it to be Perhaps the way of the kingdom isn't just about heaven and hell, but about creating helping to create heaven on earth. However, I think there's more to it than just doing good deeds. After all the first lines of the Shema (OT code above all) is "Love God with all your heart, soul, strength." Whilst we can't separate the love of God from acts of love to others, we must remember that he desires our total allegiance, obedience,  and intimate love first and foremost.

weird leftover soup

I guess I've been in a reading jag. I was in a hiatus for some inexplicable reason and now I'm back and decided to clump my thoughts into one post.

The books I've been reading are quite varied and so this post will be kind of like leftover soup. You know that soup you make with stuff in your fridge that otherwise will go bad. This is no reflection on the quality of the books - only on the quality of what's left of my reflections.

The Light of Eidon - Karen Hancock

I've kind of had a difficult time enjoying fiction much in my thirties. When my neighbor saw me reading Our Island Story at the pool, she must've taken pity on me and recommended Light of Eidon. I bought the kindle version and started in. It is a Christian allegory science fiction fantasy novel. I had a hard time getting into it but it quickly turned into a page turner - or page swiper, as it were.

Karen Hancock has a picture of Chaco Canyon on her website. This makes her automatically a kindred spirit. It so happens that Chaco canyon is high on my list of desirable destinations. (I have yet to go) I've already mentioned my love of the southwest. She also integrates savvy horsemanship into her novel which I picked up on right away.

The allegory is pretty cool. The imaginative names are a lot of fun. Me, being me, it kind of stopped being a page turner after the love interest was realized and then died. But that's just my own personal demon. I knew then that the good guy would be converted and fight courageously with some small surprises along the way.

I also like how she included monasticism in her book. Monasticism has always intrigued me. It's like the highest form of intimate love, unless it's perverted and then it's just fanatic legalism.

Our Island Story - H.E. Marshall

You don't want to leave books lying casually around in your home when I'm over. This was at my sister's house. She bought it for a homeschool tool. I love the island and history so I borrowed it. If you like monarchies who are oppressive jerks with the exception of one or two, this is the book for you! Each chapter leads on and on into a mind whirling chain of successions, wars, succession change, revolution, war, conquer France, leave France, try to conquer France for 100 years and leave again. Have an actual british king or two, some anglo saxons who were invited over to beat some other guys and were like "nice island we'll stay," some frenchish ones (who are actually of Viking and English descent partially), Then some descendents of these with Hanover Germans throw in and you finish the book feeling slightly depressed and wondering if jerks become kings or if being a king makes people jerks. One is left with the conclusion that if you don't want to be conquered by another people group you must be willing to fight, and if you might likely die and lose your life and your land but then you can be like Boadicea who bravely led her people in battle and then when all was lost drank poison along with her daughters rather than be captured by the Romans. Alak we are very soft in our land, but I am aware that there are those who are at this very moment making similar decisions. How would I respond?

This book was first published in 1905. She does call aboriginals "savages." I might be wrong, but I'm pretty sure that's not going to be in your contemporary history books. Despite the above summary of what seems like deplorable greed mingled with pride and courage (kind of a snapshot of the intense extremes we humans are capable of ) she hangs onto a commendable amount of patriotism and pride for the kingdom. She doesn't justify colonialism but she doesn't have anything bad to say about it either.

I would also say that we're all stuck in our temperaments to some degree. Many people disagree with me, here but really King Richard couldn't help himself. He would leave his country in disarray and go fight in the crusades. Settling down would've been his undoing. will not use temperament to justify bad behavior, will not use temperament to justify bad behavior (sorry little mantra to self.) His carefree nature would inspire a follower to haunt Germany singing Greensleeves (oh no, I just looked it up, I wanted it to be Greensleeves but sadly it's not - some other more obscure song) Oh well in the spirit of oral tradition we will pretend it's greensleeves. Singing until finally someone answered - the captive Richard locked up by a German nemesis. (poor Germans - I promise they are not always the bad guys.) Honestly, Richard could've been nicer to the guy in the beginning and he wouldn't have been locked up.

Queen Elizabeth has always fascinated me. Would you believe that as a child I knew something about the Tudor dynasty? That's because my mom is who she is. Could she have been any less narcissistic. (not my mom, Queen E). She's that woman who has no women friends and literally hated when her courtiers married another woman even though she herself refused to marry. and Mary Queen of Scots? Perhaps she wasn't a saint, but really. I wonder what would've happened if the Earl of Essex's forgiveness ring would've made it to the Queen? Would she have forgiven him for seeing her without makeup? If this intrigues you, you must read this!

Velvet Elvis - Rob Bell
The ZimZum of Love - Rob Bell and Kristen Bell

I'll just comment on these together. Speaking of temperament, Rob Bell seems like that guy who everything he touches turns to gold. Start a church one day and get flooded with people, write a book - flooded with demands.. I'm not saying he hasn't had hardships and doesn't work hard. I'm just saying - have some conversations with your wife, record and transcribe them, add some commentary and wa la. Rob Bell has a clear and fun writing style. I loved reading Velvet Elvis. I loved that I had come to many of the same conclusions as him in my thought process. I was pleasantly surprised. It was conversational. The book is written in a conversational style. It is full of depth but articulated succinctly. I love this. I may not agree with him on every position, but if I only had conversations with people who I agreed with on every point, well the Zona hermitage would be a crazy place. Zim Zum - I love words too Rob Bell! You inspire me to be more creative and honest. Cool

Don't be afraid to be the lobster amongst the lords and ladies of the court

Big Magic

by Elizabeth Gilbert

I had listened to a few podcasts that Liz did, following up on this book - in the pursuit of encouraging others in their creative journeys.

One of the things that I really appreciated about this book is her common sense advice about how to approach creativity, particularly writing. Underlying her common sense advice is a firm belief in the mystery and magic of the creative process. The juxtaposition of these two things makes it both inspiring and practical.

Not only do we slip away to have a romantic interlude with our creativity, but we make sure not to ask too much of it. We don't ask it to support us financially. This adds to the mystique and adventure of creativity. Amidst the grind of life, their is a horizon that is beckoning, and it is the creative life. The creative life is not devoid of discipline. All successful writers tell you that you have to plant yourself in front of the screen and sometimes it's like pulling teeth. (that's my metaphor.)

Ditch Fear. Walk into the ballroom full of people in medieval costume, whilst you are dressed in a lobster costume because you misunderstood the invitation. And have a wonderful time and be the life of the party.

Done is better than Perfect.  Don't get hung up on perfection. Don't feel that you have to be the next Hemingway or Shakespeare. Work hard. Finish your project and put it out there with lightness and joy. Separate your ego from your soul and be ok with negative feedback. Release your art and move on.

Harness curiosity not just passion. Curiosity is the key to finding your next theme. Pay attention to what is sparking and follow the rabbit trail.

Create a writing group that will support your process. She had one called "the Fat Kids." Inconsequentially, I have a writing group, that thankfully is not called "the Fat kids."

Liz is funny. I laughed out loud several times in this book.

No one is thinking about you. Everyone is hung up on their own inner life and drama. So get over your self consciousness. No one is thinking about you.

Ideas have lives of their own and are looking for collaborators. Be receptive to them, but also let them go if it is not the right time or idea for you.

Don't approach art with too much reverence.

Don't be the jaded artist who drinks too much and destroys themselves and their relationships using art as an excuse or believing that they can't create art apart from dysfunction and excess.

I love Elizabeth Gilbert's spirit. Her style is conversational and she is a connector. She has that Yankee pragmatism and self deprecating humor that appeals to me.

My one complaint about the book is that she blasphemes too much for my sensibilities.

Love you though Liz. Thanks for your words.

"Pay no Attention to it! Be quiet."

My Name is Aram

by William Saroyan

In the fall of 2016, my family and I went to a production of The Phantom of the Opera at the Saroyan Theatre in Fresno, CA. I guess it was named after this guy.

My mom uncovered this book somewhere and passed it on to me, with some passing comment about it being interesting. This is how I seem to acquire many of the books I read.

This is the quirkiest book I've ever read. I love it!!!!! The author seems to be having the best time telling what seem to be true stories from his childhood growing up in an Armenian immigrant community near Fresno. Because he couches it as fiction, he has a perfectly wonderful time leading the reader to speculate on how accurate these portrayals might be and gives himself perfect freedom to exaggerate and parody what I imagine to be real people.

I am totally envious of kids in the past. They literally seemed to have so much freedom. They had to be thick skinned but they had a lot of freedom to roam around, and in this case get into mischief.

My favorite character is his formidable uncle Khosrove. who basically just says "Pay no attention to it. Be quiet! I love you." In response to anything and everything.

This could become my new mantra as a parent. You really could respond to everything adequately. "Pay no attention to it." "Be Quiet!" "I love you." Yes, says it all.

Lembas bread is vital

The Fellowship of the Ring by JRR Tolkien

This scene isn't depicted as such in the book. If you were sitting here with me by my fireside, or ideally outside fire ring this time of year, I would tell you that I became attached to the Lord of the Rings movies long ago and am only on my second read of the books. I'm deeply grateful to Peter Jackson for making Arwen the heroine in the dramatic rescue scene shown above. 

I get that Tom Bombadil and Goldberry perhaps detracted from the action of the narrative, but they are a whimsical addition to the novel! 

This story reinforces my notion that If I were suddenly transported to an alternative time and place (please! and be careful what you wish for!) I would be a hunter/gatherer - with feathers or flowers in my hair and a nestbed in a tree. This was my childhood fantasy and it lives on in the recesses of my soul (the part that has survived daily meal planning and the occult intrusion of technology). I was contemplating this during the description of elfland LothLorien. As the elves were passing out Lembas bread to the travelers, I was thinking someone had to bake that - suddenly my romantic fantasy was shattered by the vision of:

I tried to make it go away but it was too late! The shadowy glades and majestic vision of Galadriel passing by in her boat became tainted with visions of a kitchen tucked away in the woodlands, where plump cheeked elves muttered to each other as they bake lembas bread for hobbits. sigh..

Wilderland is safe though. Aragorn can wander (unlost) there in his lonely rugged quest to protect middle earth without the encroachment of any commercialized modern intruders. 

Tolkien throws so many names into this book that it can be quite daunting to keep track of people and places that are referenced. I kind of get that though. In fact, I have often felt that I wished for more children, primarily so I could name them. Upon reflection, I figure that's probably not a good motivation. Better to randomly insert delicious names into a fantasy narrative. 

One of my favorite parts of this read was the poem|/prophesy about Aragorn. 

There was a passage where Aragorn sheds light on how the little villagers have managed to stay safe because of the rangers' protection. The rangers are mocked by "fat inkeepers" and given nicknames like Strider and are unaware of this safety that they enjoy. I'm paraphrasing here because my daughter has the book in her backpack at school. This really struck me. I was thinking of the military, police, and other societal warriors - the buffer that they provide by their presence and vigilance. I don't think many of us truly grasp how the reality of evil and how quickly it can sweep in and destroy. Not to mention spiritual powers that be. 

Enough has been said about Tolkien and spirituality. I know he didn't believe in direct allegory. I think he conveys a lovely belief in mystery, magic, and tapping into an awareness of a greater congruent force. There is a harmonious blend of tiny threads that weave into a gorgeous tapestry, It's making however, is fraught with peril. In an age of humanistic "who cares" ness, Tolkien's book exudes a refreshing message about what is important: each life, paying attention, making wise choices, having guidance from trusted mentors, blending prophesy and magic with common sense, and everyone has a contribution - you may be a wizard or (some people just make lembas bread?) but lembas bread is vitally important to the quest. People surprise you: dwarves can compliment, a possessed goblin may have value, hobbits can be surprisingly tough, women can vanquish wraiths, and enjoying your senses is as spiritual as wielding a staff (none of that protestant austerity if you please)

Construct 11 Part 1 by Anna Lynn Miller

I have had the pleasure of meeting Anna Lynn Miller which always adds an element of interest to a read. 

This book reminded me a bit of 1984 by George Orwell and Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, although I read these about a couple decades ago so I'm not entirely sure that any comparison is valid. The book describes a futuristic society which is tightly controlled and regimented by a strict code of laws and traditions which are enforced and upheld by a small group of leaders and enforcers.The primary character, seventeen year old "Daniel" undergoes a series of events and conversations that begin to erode his beliefs in the virtue of the system he has been raised in. 

The story is a good read and I found myself definitely drawn into the story and curious about the core characters who are well developed. My favorite thing about this story is that it's an excellent parody of a society's attempt to hyper regulate and control its subjects by using tattle tale techniques, cruel punishment, and controlling of information through propaganda which masks human rights crimes as necessary steps "for the common good." 

This story manages to convey a message in an entertaining way. I will definitely read Construct 11 Part 2. I want to find out the fate of Daniel and his fellow "beings."

Sun and Moon Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George

Wow, I like this cover better than the one on my book  The girl on the cover of my book looks affected and too much like Barbie. Sorry Barbie. Sorry thin, tall, blond girls everywhere with classically uniform facial features and non child bearing hips. 

I needed something light for our camping trip and so my daughter loaned me this book from her collection. This was such a nice reprieve from the mission era research I've been doing. It's also been dawning on me lately that I'm increasingly fascinated with norse, nordic, scandinavian stuff. 

This is kind of like celtic I guess. It seems to cross geographic boundaries. Last summer our kids attended a Norwegian themed vbs. It was so cool - no pun intended. I learned about the sami people of northern Scandinavia and this fired my imagination. Recently I watched the movie The Last King, which I dub "braveheart on skis." The film is in Norwegian but combines actors from different Scandinavian countries and Hungary I believe. I loved it!!!!! (see my profile for disclaimer about love and exclamation points.)

But I digress. Jessica Day George rocks. She has made this ancient fairy tale into an accessible read for people of all ages. It was a very entertaining flashlight in tent read for me. I love the word isbjorn. If you don't know what an isbjorn is, well, read the book!

"When I meet a woman who will walk alongside me and not behind" Louis L'amour (paraphrased)

I guess I can't get away from Louis L'amour. When I want to choose an audio book to listen to hither and yon while I'm driving around, it's easy to choose something that I've read probably at least twice already. This jumped out at me, because I'm currently on a mission era Southern California history rampage and Louis L'amour does a great job of weaving this story in with some very accurate historical facts. He even refers to such actual characters as Pico Pio and Don Abel Stearns. (btw I believe my great great grandmother tutored or worked in the home of Abel Stearns the famed merchant in the pueblo of Los Angeles at some point before marrying the patriarch. Forgive me, he wasn't a patrarch yet.) Sorry, I can't resist name dropping and inserting my own relatives into these narratives. However Anna O'Keefe, Irish ancestor who sailed solo from Ireland and then around the horn to join her sister in California was one plucky gal. 

Back to Louis: The story is set in Malibu which in this story is the ranch headquarters of a proud Irish widow and her two sons. The plot involves some scoundrels who want the ranch which is in debt. It involves a Spanish girl escaping from an arranged marriage and being rescued by the widow's son. No one calls her the widow. They call her the Senora. She's all business and beauty too of course. There is a wild goose chase through the mountains back of Malibu led by a mysterious Native American who may have time traveled and is one of "The ones who were here before." 

Louis L'amour has a few books where he includes a more mystical angle. I have read Haunted Mesa and it is a bit similar to this one, in that it alludes to a parallel world where some natives travel back and forth. 

Well, predictably, the hero gets the girl and the gold with great dignity and manages to save the ranch. L'amour artfully educates the reader about some native american culture, the Californios culture (with its unique blend of Spanish/Mexican/native/some anglo culture, and the incoming tide of the industrious United States. I appreciate his descriptions of flora and fauna in this one. 

Oh why the heading? Well, Louis L'amour has some expressions that he must use in multiple books, because when he started in on this one, I found myself saying it out loud with the reader who did a great job btw. I can't remember his name but he was switching off between irish, spanish, and native accents and made it sound easy,

more notes from the Ramonaphile

This is a more recent publication (2005). I believe it was the author's doctoral thesis and it reads as such. You can tell when a person has padded their points with tons of references and facts that it's a scholarly project. That's fine. I like scholars. I wish Dydia would have inserted a little more of her thoughts into the text, but I understand why she wouldn't have in this case.

This is an account of how Ramona shaped tourism in southern California. It's pretty interesting. It highlights all the speculating folks did about what/who were the real Ramona people and places. Some people around the turn of the century really tried to maximize on people's interest and turn a profit by claiming that such and such a place was "Ramona's wedding site," and such forth. 

I love the pictures she inserted of various "Ramona" brands of olive oil and other products that appeared. she also has some of the original illustrator Henry Sandham's lovely pictures that accompanied the book. It would be fun to get a hold of some of those prints. 

She does confess in the thanks at the end. Forgive me, I already returned this book to the library, but that she and her husband shared their first kiss at a Ramona place. Darnit, I don't remember whether it was the wedding site or some other place, but I thought that was sweet. It shows her affection for the story, apart from her intellectual project. However now I must wonder. Was the kiss spontaneous, or did they stage it? Hmm. That definitely detracts from the romance.

We actually drove by Rancho Camulos - supposed basis for the beginning scenes of Ramona. Unfortunately the museum was closed, but I was pretty enamored. It was a charmer, and right off the 126. 

California Rancho Days and a strange congruence

I should be dusting and vacuuming up giant dog hair dust devils. That is not the congruence.

The congruence is that I'm working on an abridged version of Ramona by Helen Hunt Jackson see previous post), preparing to go see the pageant, reading about the author and some literary criticism AND my daughter is doing her fourth grade project on the California Missions.

Dear Reader, I will exempt you from sharing my glee. But there it is: serendipitous marvelous congruence. 

I quell my enthusiasm as my daughter looks at the project with some indifference. I try to soften my squeals of sheer delight. "Please pick Mission San BuenaVentura." I plead. (It's the one near Rancho Camulos - original supposed inspiration for Ramona's upbringing.)

  She shrugs. "Sure."

   "Yes!" I shout. (internally) 

   These are the things that tickle my fancy.

   And.... We just happen to be camping in Carpinteria - near the mission next week end! Another delightful coincidence. Of course we will stop. We must! 

Oh the book! Published in 1957. This is a nostalgic look at the laid back days of the Californios. When Mexico was called New Spain, many of the soldiers and some others who helped the Spaniards explore California were given tracts of land. They wished to stay in California and became the first rancheros. After Mexico declared its independence (1822), the missions were secularized and the rancheros acquired even more land and cattle ushering in "the golden era" of the rancheros. (Ranchos went from being about 20 to being hundreds). The "golden age" would last about 15 years until the industrious Americans moved in and took over both politically and industrially. The gold rush dramatically changed the cultural landscape of fair California. 

The Author tells stories about the prominent ranchos and their founders. The short stories are full of anecdotes and tales describing the carefree and happy lives of the Spanish/Mexican rancheros and their families. (Some of them were anglos who deeply inculterated like my Yankee ancestor Julian Ames who married a Spanish daughter and became catholic.) The living was easy and gaiety and hospitality were the rule of the day. It seems this was made possible by the serfdom of many local native tribes. The author glosses over this and focuses her description on the class that conquered. It seems the hard work was done by the aforementioned. In return they received food, shelter, and clothing.

   

I have no doubt that there may have been incidents of happiness and mutual affection between the races. Helen Hunt Jackson demonizes some white Americans who moved in and further marginalized an already repressed people group. I haven't done enough research myself on this particular era to do anything but speculate about this period from the native perspective. It is pretty well known that their numbers were decimated by the influx of European diseases.

Nonetheless, I enjoyed the descriptions of the rancheros - their lavish clothing, way of life, and generous gallantry. I love everything southwestern. I adore mission architecture and adobe structures (my dream house is an adobe on a mesa somewhere). It's a heritage that brought us vaqueros, rodeos, fandangos, riatas - it shaped the cowboy/ranch culture that I grew up in a great deal. These were the predecessors to my own ranching ancestors (the industrious Germans/Scots/Irish who swept into California in the latter part of the 1800s and tamed the more arid interior of California.

The Wedding Dress by Marian Wells - expose of early Mormonism in the guise of christian chick lit

    

   I almost didn't read this. I had it in a stack of books that someone gave to me and I categorized it as "christian chick lit" when I glanced at it - nothing against that genre but I kind of grew out of it when I read Janette Oke's pioneer books when I was probably a preteen. Don't get me wrong - I love calico and being surprised by handsome lumberjacks with a smudge of dirt on your nose from gardening that doesn't detract from your loveliness.. but I'm just not so into that nowadays. My husband no longer thinks smudges of dirt and flour are that cute (or perhaps he does?). I don't wear gingham dresses (only because I can't find them and I don't sew.)

   Anyway, what caught my attention is the Mormon element. This book is a fictional account of a young woman being swept into the Mormon community as they migrated from Missouri to Great Salt Lake. You could label it an expose of early Mormonism and a woman's conversion to Biblical Christianity after being tricked into plural wifehood and then almost executed by her husband who is seeking to redeem her by taking her life. No, not a very flattering portrait of Latter day Saints. I can't say I know enough about history and doctrine to say whether or not it is accurate. The biography of the author suggests that she's had first hand experience having grown up in Utah with her Mormon extended family and added on her own research. 

   I would be very interested to have a Mormon's perspective on this book. I'm sure there are plenty of Mormon apologetics out there that would perhaps deny or color this chapter of history differently. I can't say that I'm interested enough to do the research. Maybe they would say that the expression of the church changes over time through ongoing prophetic revelation? Anyway, Marian Wells does a fair job trying to make a purposeful book fairly entertaining although the reader is constantly aware of her didactic intent,