Books of August and September

 The Third Pole:  After the North and South Poles were reached, what was left?  Scaling Everest/  Some referred to it as the third pole, hence the title of this fascinating book about an expedition to find the body of Sandy Irvine, the climbing companion of George Mallory and to locate Irvine's camera.  Did the two reach the summit?  Perhaps the camera could answer that question.  Besides the tale of this expedition, there is much about people who climbed and the many who died on their way.  Fact:  Mt. Everest is named for a man who was mapping longitude and never climbed a mountain.  

Peril.  Yes, I read Bob Woodward's latest book, which is about 50-50 between Trump and Biden.  Interesting.

The Maidens.  A student at Cambridge is murdered and the aunt of a fellow student who comes to comfort her tries to find out who did it.  Like those kids in horror movies, she visits the home of the potential killer--poor motivation.  I would give this book a C.

It Ends with Us.  Another book with poor character motivation and weird backstory.  I don't recommend it at all.

Apples Never Fall.  I give this one an A.  It's the story of the missing mother of four grown children.  Has she met with foul play?  If so, who did it?  And what about the young girl who once showed up at their house and became the mother's buddy?  Engaging and funny.

The Gift Wrap and the Jewel

 Here is a poem written by 92 year-old Wanta Guiness:

I looked in the mirror and what did I see

But a little old lady peering back at me,

With bags and sags and wrinkles and wispy white hair,

And I asked my reflection,

"How did you get there?

You once were straight and vigorous and now you're stooped and weak

When I tried so hard to keep you from becoming an antique."

My reflection's eyes twinkled as she solemnly replied,

"You're looking at the gift wrap and not the jewel inside,

A living gem and precious, of unimagined worth,

Unique and true, the real you, the only you on earth.

The years that spoil your gift-wrap with other things more cruel,

Should purify and strengthen and polish up that jewel,

So focus your attention on the inside, not the out,

On being kinder, wiser, more content and more devout.

Then when your gift-wrap's stripped away,

Your jewel will be set free

To radiate God's glory throughout eternity."

Children's Answers to Test

Elementary school children in a religious school were given a test on the Bible.  Below are some of their answers just as they appeared on their test papers:

In the first boo of the bible, guinessis, God got tired of creating the world so he took the Sabbath off.

Adam andEve were created from an apple tree. Noah's wife was Joan of Ark.  Noah built an ark and the animals came on in pears.

Lot's wife was a pillar of salt during the day but ball of fire during the night.

The Jews were a proud people and throughout hisotry they had trouble with unsympathetic genitals.

Sampson was s strongman who let himself be led astray by a Jezebel like Delila.

Sampson slayed the Philistines with the axe of the Apostles.

Moses led the Jews to the red sea where they made unleavened bread which is bread without any ingredients.

The Egyptians were all drowned in the dessert.  Afterward Moses went up to Mount Cynanide to get the Ten Commandments.

The first commandment was when Eve told Adam to eat the apple.

The seventh commandment is thou shalt not admit adultery.

Moses died before he ever reached Canada. Then Joshua led the Hebrews in the battle of Geritol.

The greatest miracle in the bible is when Joshua told his son to stand still and he obeyed him.

David was a Hebrew king who was skilled at playing the liar.  He fought the Finkeleteins, a race of people who lived in biblical times.

Solomon, one of David's sons, had 300 wives and 700 porcupines.

When Mary heard she was the mother of Jesus, she sang the Magna Carta.

When the three wise guys from the east side arrived, they found Jesus in the manager.

Jesus was born because Mary had an immaculate contraption.

St. John the Blacksmith, dumped water on his head.

Jesus enunciated the Golden Rule, which says to do unto other before they do one to you.  He also explained the man does not live by sweat alone.

It was a miracle when Jesus arose from the dead and managed to get the tombstone off the entrance.

The people who followed the Lord was called the 12 decibels.

The epistels were the wives of the apostles.

One of the oppossums was St. Mathew, who was also a taximan.

St. Paul cavorted to Christianity.  He preached holy acrimony which is another name of marriage.

Christians have only one spouse.  This is called monotony.
 

Questions to consider

 My flash nonfiction class last week opened with 3 questions for each of us to answer.  How would you answer them?

          What was one thing that made you joyful this week?

          What was one thing you are grateful for?

          What is one question you keep asking yourself?

Books of June and July

 The Cellist.  Daniel Silva's latest book featuring Gabriel Allon, Israeli spy/art restorer.  He spends a lot of time updating the reader just in cast it's your first book in the 21 book series.  A typical Allon book.  I keep saying I've read enough but I usually grab the newest one.  I give this one a B

Forgotten Peoples of the Ancient World. Nonfiction book with stories about ancient peoples.  You'd have to be interested in ancient history to order this one, but I am and I enjoyed it.

The Other Black Girl.  This one gets an F.  It got great reviews but made no sense.  My recommendation:  Don't waste your time.

Hour of the Witch.  An abused young woman in an early Massachusetts community (not Salem) wants a divorce.  Meanwhile, having been given some three-tined forks, a mark of the Devil, she's accused of being a wtich.

Fossil Men.  In-depth book about the archaeologists searching for early homo sapiens.  You can tell I have unusual tastes in non-fiction, but I really liked it.

A Surprise Package

I love surprises--surprise parties, surprise gifts, even surprise phone calls.  Last week I got a surprise package from Amazon.  I'd ordered some board books for my friend to enjoy with her new great grandbaby.  They were supposed to be delivered on Thursday, which was great because she was coming for lunch on Friday.  I found the package at my door at 10:30 Thursday night.  It seemed too light to contain board books.  Maybe Amazon had sent paperbacks instead but at least they were on time.  Pleased, I opened the bag to find...two packages of Preparation H!  There was no name or address on the bag,  The concierge desk said they didn't know who had delivered it.   Was this a joke?  Should I tack the package up on the bulletin board or post a message saying the person who ordered Preparation H should contact me?  The next morning I called our resident services director and told her I had a problem.  When I opened my door to head downstairs, there were my books.  Still, I took the Preparation H package downstairs.  Just as I arrived at the desk,  a woman who works in Health Care came up.  Yes, she was sure they could use it, so we gave the package to her.  And--happy ending--my friend can share the books with the new baby.

Two More Life Lessons: Fables

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      Fourth Important Lesson:  Obstacles in Our Paths

In ancient times, a king had a boulder placed on a roadway.  Then he hid and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock.  Some of his wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it.  Many loudly blamed the king for not keeping the roads clear but none did anything about getting the stone out of the way.  Then a peasant came along, carrying a load of vegetables.  Upon approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of the road.  After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded.  After he picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been.  The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the king, indicating that the gold was for the person who removed the stone from the roadway.  The peasant learned what many of us never understand:  Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve our condition.

Fifth Important Lesson:  Giving When it Counts

Many years ago a hospital volunteer got to know a little girl name Liz who was suffering from a rare and serious disease.  Her only chance of recovery appeared to be a blood transfusion from her five-year-old brother who had miraculously survived the same disease and had developed the antibodies needed to combat the illness.  The doctor explained the situation to her little brother and asked the little boy if he would be willing to give his blood to his sister.  He hesitated for only a moment before saying, "Yes, I'll do it if it will save her."  As the transfusion progressed, he lay in bed next to his sister and smiled, seeing the color returning to her cheeks.  Then he looked up at the doctor and asked with a trembling voice, "Will I start to die right away?"  He had misunderstood the doctor.  He thought he was going to have to give his sister all of his blood in order to save her.