Views from the Countryside

Review: General Braxton Bragg, C.S.A. by Samuel J. Martin

2012-01-28T10:43:00.000-05:00

I won this book from LibraryThing and although it has taken a long time to read it, I'm very pleased with it. Enough so that I will keep it.

It looks like a textbook, 10 x 7 inches, no dust cover, shiny hard cover with a portrait of Bragg on the front, and small print with occasional illustrations inside. Minor quibble: it could have used better proof-reading and the battleground maps are hand-drawn and not very helpful.

Confederate General Bragg was a controversial man. He was abrupt, didn't take crticism or even suggestions well, and in general was difficult to get along with. He could even be cruel, but he honestly cared about his men and they knew it. In fact, he always established his headquarters well back from the front lines because after seeing the men bleeding and dying at Shiloh, hearing the screams amid the chaos of battle, he simply couldn't stand to watch it again.

As I read this book, I was amazed that anyone could win the Civil War. Obviously, someone had to win, but with officers regularly disobeying orders, and foot soldiers going AWOL, no wonder Bragg was criticized so much for mismanagement of battles. He also had enemies who were plotting against him, such as Gen. Pope (an Episcopalian Bishop), Patrick Cleburne, Joe Johnston, and many others. Fortunately, Bragg and Pres. Jefferson Davis were old friends. More than once Davis saved Bragg from going down in flames. Many of the C.S.A. officers were veterans of the Mexican War, as was Bragg, and some of the hard feelings stemmed from that war.

This author set out to give an unbiased defense of Bragg. He didn't entirely succeed because his admiration for the man does define the text. He does include Bragg's many faults though, and the reader ends up with admiration for Bragg despite his faults. The end of his life at only 59 years of age comes after a period of time when he was unable to find work. He and his devoted wife suffered much in the aftermath of the war, even living in what had been slave quarters on his brother's farm for some time. It was a sad end for an honorable man who sacrificed everything for what he thought was a just cause.

R.I.P. JOE PATERNO

2012-01-26T14:23:00.000-05:00

Some of you know that I'm an alum of Rutgers, and when I was an RU student Penn State was a huge rival of ours. At that time I was always angry at the chant: WE ARE PENN STATE!

Times have changed. Since we've lived in PA, I've learned the story behind that chant. Back when segregation was still prevalent in the south, Joe Paterno and his team went to a southern campus for a game. On arrival they were told that the black players couldn't stay in the same hotel as the white players. Joe told them either the whole team stayed there or the whole team stayed elsewhere, because, "WE are Penn State!" Now I understand why that phrase is shouted with such pride.

I also understand the state's pride in Joe Paterno's long association with Penn State. The library is named after him because of the huge monetary donations Joe and Sue Paterno made to the school. He has brought enormous amounts of money to the school with his winning football teams, as well as the many excellent scholar/athletes he recruited.

Finally, Joe insisted on his team putting education first. He inspired kids to get good grades and graduate with a career in sight other than the NFL. He and Sue lived in a modest home near the campus where they had a round dinner table so there was always room for one more. His phone was listed and his door was open.

Now, finally, I understand about JoePa. I wish his wife well as Joe leaves his very classy, well-lived life behind.

Learning to be a Lefty

2012-01-25T09:36:00.000-05:00

I'm STILL reading the biography of Gen. Braxton Bragg and enjoying it and, strange for me, also reading a mystery called Mr. Kill from Amazon Vine. Meanwhile everything is a huge project because of my immobilized wrist and hand.

Saw the doc Mon. and found that I can't get out of this until Feb. 2. Made a late afternoon appt. so we can go out to eat to celebrate and Dave won't have to cut up my food for me. :D

The main problems? Still not proficient in brushing my teeth with the wrong hand. So silly. Also having to put a plastic bag over my right arm to shower. Third, can't type as fast as my brain works. :)

The main benefit? Dave has to wash the dishes. I'm amazed he hasn't replaced our broken dishwasher. I thought surely this would do the trick.

Oh well, at least I don't have any pain - never did hurt since the surgery. And I'm healing well.

I expected to have lots of time to read but everything else seems to take up that extra time. Still, I'll get there. Whenever I feel frustrated, I think about all the soldiers who have lost limbs, and stroke victims who have permanently lost the function in one side. I know this is only temporary; I can't imagine how they keep their spirits up. I have a new respect for them.

Short and Sweet

2012-01-18T09:16:00.000-05:00

Anyone who reads my blog knows that I'm awfully wordy. Just don't take time to write concisely, you know?

That is going to change for about ten days. I'm having a little hand surgery this afternoon and will then have my right hand immobilized for ten days because this involves a skin graft. Of course I'm right handed. Since I'm hopelessly clumsy with my left hand, a lot of things are going to be different, or at least difficult temporarily.

Oh well, at least I'll have lots of time for reading and then composing short reviews. Keep your fingers crossed that the graft takes; thankfully I'm a fast healer. Oh, and when you want a giggle, just think of me typing with my left hand, brushing my teeth with my left hand, and a horde of other things with my left hand.

Shadow of Death by Patricia Gussin

2012-01-14T09:41:00.000-05:00

I had been warned about accepting free Kindle books but I got several from a publishing company, and I read, enjoyed, and reviewed the first one of those, Dead Air. So I wasn't concerned when I decided, as a break from the long, small print biography I'm reading, that I would try the second one. Too bad, this one warrants the warning.

This one was almost a DNF. From the very beginning I was aggravated with the heroine. Laura Nelson is a med student, wife, and mother of two little boys. She is the star student of her class, so she is apparently a very smart young woman. However, this character is completely lacking in common sense and that gets her into more trouble than you can imagine. Plus, I expect a character, particularly the main character, to learn something, maybe even grow as a person through the experiences in the story. This one is practically the same at the end of the book as she was at the beginning.

The story is set in Detroit in the 1960s right after the major riots there. Laura's med school and hospital are in a dangerous part of the city. She leaves the hospital upset about a patient and his family, and should go through the buildings to leave by the door where security guards are posted to escort students to their vehicles. Instead, she stupidly walks around the buildings toward the student parking lot. Of course, you know what happens. She is violently assaulted by a young man with a knife who rapes her. She pulls a gun (an illegal one!) from her bag and kills him. Does she tell the police, her husband, anyone? No.

I was so irritated with her from that time on that I just couldn't drum up any sympathy for her. Add to that the countless coincidences in the book and you have a reader who won't be looking for any other books by this author. It's a shame really, since I do believe the author could have written a good book with a more believeable premise.

I did finish the book and there were a couple characters I did care about, but it was a close call. I do not recommend this book, free or otherwise. I'm happy to get back to my biography, a really good read.

Do You Hate Destroying Books?

2012-01-10T10:11:00.000-05:00

I've been beating myself up for several weeks now because I have old textbooks that I need to destroy and I have such a hard time actually doing it. No one, I mean really no one, wants these old, outdated textbooks, so I need to remove the hard covers and put them in recycling. Sounds easy and would clear room in my office, but can I do it? Nah!

You're all book lovers. How to you handle this kind of thing when there is literally no place to donate books? I'm in the same quandary about ARC copies of books. Can't give them away, can't sell them, must destroy them. They should be very easy to just toss in the recycling, but can I do it? Nah!

I'm getting better about donating books to book sales, and if I could find a nursing home or something that wanted books for their little libraries, I would happily donate to them. That's okay; I know someone will enjoy them like I did. But destroying them? Oh my.

So there they sit on my crowded shelves looking at me soulfully and making me feel guilty. I should, I really should - but as Sheila at Book Journey says, "Gah!!!"

No Chance to Read but Lots Coming Up

2012-01-05T10:14:00.000-05:00

Life has been slightly chaotic around here for a few weeks and I haven't had much time to read. I'm slowly getting through a biography of General Braxton Bragg which is good and very well written, but it's long and has small print. Also coming up is Mr. Kill by Martin Limon and then Lillian Lorraine by Nils Hanson which is the story of a Ziegfield Follies girl.

Of course there are also my stacks and stacks of TBR books. I'm looking forward to getting to the next Peri O'Shaughnessy. I also have a big pile of fat books that I seem to put off in favor of shorter ones, even though I got those books because I definitely wanted to read them. Oh for more time to read.

We are adjusting slowly to my husband's retirement. In this cold weather he is staying indoors a lot so he's bored. When warm weather comes, he'll be busier but now all he does he threaten to move south. I have never wanted to have one house up here and another in the south, and I surely don't want to pay for two houses, so we aren't leaving here until we finish our remodeling and sell this place.

Meanwhile, our basketball season has its ups and downs: ups for women and downs for men. We have a very young men's team and they just keep losing. I have patience with them, but everyone else is complaining bitterly. It's still fun to go to the games though. Monday our opponent for a double header was Univ. of Maine where our great-niece plays basketball. Believe it or not, we had never met her so it was great to see her play and finally meet her. She's a beautiful young woman - no prejudice of course.

I really will have book reviews up soon. I've just started another mystery on my Kindle as well. Keep your fingers crossed that I'll arrange my time so I can read more.

Unraveling Anne by Laurel Saville

2011-12-31T09:56:00.000-05:00

My last review of 2011 is not one of my best books of the year. This is a very sad book about a tragic woman and her daughter who has tried valiantly to come to terms with the consequences of being Anne Ford's daughter. In the 1950s Anne Ford was beautiful, a talented fashion designer, and an artist living the Hollywood life. She gave birth to three children by two men and proceeded to neglect them for the rest of her life.

Actually Laurel Saville, the daughter, would have been better off if her mother had totally ignored her. In fact, Anne alternately criticized Laurel and abused her in fits of jealousy. Mom wanted a beautiful daughter who would fulfill her dreams, but beginning with puberty Laurel was the object of attention from the men Anne brought home and that infuriated her mother.

Anne Ford was the product of very strict upbringing. She was a beauty queen but her parents were never happy with her. She just couldn't live up to their expectations. The rest of her sad life she was free spirited, a hippy in the 60s, an artist, a drunk, and promiscuous. She thought she loved her children but was incapable of being any kind of a mother so the kids raised themselves.

Laurel lived with her father in New Jersey for some time and learned what a family was, but always suffered from want of love from her mother.

After learning of her mother's death, murder actually, Laurel tried to see another side of her life. Surely there was good in her. Her mother's friend gave her some perspective, and learning about her grandparents' story helped as well. Still, as an adult it's easy to see that Laurel will never truly know her own mother.

A very tragic story that ultimately goes nowhere. I admire the attempt, but Laurel Saville will have to live with the knowledge that it is simply a tragedy.

I received this book from Amazon Vine; it is available from Amazon.com.

A Sampling of Excellent Books from 2011

2011-12-30T11:13:00.000-05:00

I'm unable to select the ten best or even the twenty best books read this year partly because my reading is so eclectic, so I'm just going to point out some of the best.

One of my favorite authors is Linda Gillard and I read two of her books this year, Emotional Geology and House of Silence, both of which were among my most enjoyable reads. I also loved reading books by Dorte Jakobsen this year.

I loved the characters and the plot of The Reservoir by John Milliken Thompson. Couldn't decide exactly how the victim died, but had a lovely time trying.

The Homecoming of Samuel Lake by Jenny Wingfield drew me in and I still remember vividly the characters, particularly Swan Lake, the best child character in years.

Settings drew me in in such books as Tom MacDonald's The Charlestown Connection (Boston), J. Sydney Jones' The Silence (Vienna 1900), and The Sleepwalkers by Paul Grossman (Berlin during Nazi takeover).

As I look at my list, I realize I didn't write down some of the books so maybe I got closer to 100 than I thought. My list says I read 71 and I'll have 72 finished by tomorrow night for sure. However, I don't see The Help, a great book.

That reminds me that I discovered many authors new to me this year. I read a mystery by Perri O'Shaughnessy which makes me very glad that a friend gave me several of their books. I also discovered C. J. Box (Cold Wind), Reginald Hill (wonderful The Woodcutter), Kathleen O'Neal Gear and W. Michael Gear (Bone Walker), Jacqueline Winspear, Shamini Flint, Dennis Lehane, George Pelecanos, and B. Kent Anderson (Cold Glory). I'll be following these authors in 2012.

Finally, I reread Jane Eyre with a new appreciation thanks to my more, er, mature mind. I have plans to read many more classics in the future. Perhaps Wuthering Heights next.

I may not have read as many books as others but I definitely enjoyed my reading more this year, and I think I have blogging to thank for that. I'm looking forward to my reading and blogging in 2012.

Dead Air, Deborah Shlian and Linda Reid

2011-12-26T10:27:00.000-05:00

I know I've been absent for a few days, but Dave has been ill and I've been staying close by him. While doing that, I read a book I downloaded free to my Kindle from Oceanview Publishers called Dead Air.

I had no idea what to expect from this book since I didn't know the authors, the series, or anything about it. However, I'm glad I tried it because I like the gutsy, caring heroine and the writing style of the authors. It served to keep my mind from wandering to my worries, which is a great recommendation under the circumstances.

The heroine, Sammy (Samantha) Greene, is a student at a private college in New England who is a reporter for the school radio station. Her boyfriend is a med student who frequently gets very put out that she gets so wrapped up in her stories that she forgets to meet him or call him. He doesn't understand that in this book at least, she is researching a story with deadly consequences.

The plot involves a research institute at the college, a new vaccine for AIDS, professors vying for tenure, and murder among other issues. The story is very well told and only difficult to figure out because of the motives of the people involved. It's easy to follow, not so easy to see how it will end, and bad for the fingernails because Sammy is in danger.

I don't dare tell you any more except that the characters are well-drawn and the plot is a dandy. I do recommend this mystery novel highly and I'm going to look for more books in this series.

Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl Written by Herself

2011-12-21T13:01:00.000-05:00

This book is a free book available for Kindle and as there are so few memoirs of slaves written by themselves, I couldn't resist. You most likely know it was illegal to teach slaves to read and write and those who did learn usually kept that fact secret. This slave, however, as a house slave had access to reading materials and read especially newspapers and the Bible all her life to give pertinent news to other slaves.

Her name was Linda. She was owned by the very young daughter of a doctor, but the doctor treated her as his own. She resisted his attempts to seduce her and managed to evade his direct orders to make her body available to him at will. She was quite valuable since she had light skin (the daughter of mullatoes) so he didn't dare lessen her value in any way.

Eventually she was seduced by a white man who she trusted; he had convinced her he would buy her and set her free. She had two children by him which of course infuriated Dr. Flint, her owner's father. When the children are still quite young, she finds herself in such danger that she must leave her children with her aged grandmother in order to escape. She spends many years hidden in an attic of a shed where she is unable to stand up before she is able to escape to the North.

Linda's story is one of courage and heartbreak, a story of almost unendurable physical and mental abuse and hardship, but throughout a story of a woman's pride despite being a slave and her devotion to her family, particularly her children. It is also the story of the courage of people willing to help her and her children. I found it as page-turning as a mystery novel and even more frightening since it was a true story.

I recommend this free book to Kindle owners.

Movie Night: "Warm Springs"

2011-12-18T11:20:00.000-05:00

Now that TV rerun season is beginning and will go through the holiday season, we'll have more time for Netflix movies. We do have lots of our regular shows recorded to catch up on too, but we finally watched a movie.

"Warm Springs" may sound familiar to you as it is where President Franklin Delano Roosevelt died. You may remember his mistress was there with him rather than his wife. Eleanor was probably home in the cottage she had built at the family estate in New York. She was still married to FDR but no longer bothered to keep up the fantasy that they were actually happy together.

When FDR was stricken with polio during a family vacation on the island of Campbello off the northern coast of Maine, he was convinced his budding political career was finished. He was devastated and depressed. He went south and hired a man to care for him; he was paralyzed from the waist down permanently. At first he refused to believe it was permanent and in a determination to walk again, he went to a place in Georgia called Warm Springs. He had seen an article about a boy who, because of the warm mineral water in the pool there, had begun to walk again.

Warm Springs turns out to be a wreck of a place but as FDR swims daily of course his legs regain some strength. There are many ups and downs but finally the only actor I recognized in this movie Kathy Bates, as a physical therapist, comes to Warm Springs, FDR buys the place, and together they turn it into a rehabilitation hospital for people with polio. I was surprised to learn that it is still in operation today.

Kenneth Branagh was good playing FDR who was larger than life in his lifetime and has become legend since. Eleanor is portrayed by Cynthia Nixon with that famous overbite and strange voice, but wonderful strength and intellectual brilliance. Again, this is a difficult role but was well done.

The movie is sentimental and leaves one with the wrong impression about the future life of this couple, but it's warm and funny as well. I thought it a good movie for this season.

Christmas in Knavesborough by Dorte Hummelshoj Jakobsen

2011-12-12T14:15:00.001-05:00

This delightful little ebook available from Smashwords among other places is my friend Dorte's latest book about the village of Knavesborough.

There are four short stories here, featuring characters I loved from her earlier work. Constable Archibald Penrose is engaged to Rhapsody Gershwin, the librarian. Her father, the vicar, is especially beloved by this reader, but I also enjoy the names of other characters. Rhapsody's sisters, for example, are Psalmonella and Harmonia. The vicar is proud that the youngest child is a son who he was allowed to name; hence the boy is called John. The ladies of the town have names that make me smile as well.

In these stories which are set around the time of Christmas, you won't find the usual miracle or feel-good, what I like to call schmaltzy, plots. No, this being Knavesborough, there is murder afoot.

Dorte has a way with short stories that end with the reader saying with a grin, "Oh, so that's what was going on. That's very clever." I hope you will buy this Christmas selection. It costs very little but is worth much more.

Motion to Suppress by Perri O'Shaughnessy

2011-12-12T10:13:00.000-05:00

A good friend gave me a pile of books recently, including several by Perri O'Shaughnessy. This was my introduction to the O'Shaughnessy books, actually written by two sisters. I think I had avoided reading them on the basis of a vague suspicion that the novels would read as if written by a committee. I couldn't have been more wrong. This first book in their Nina Reilly series is seamless and engrossing.

In this debut, Attorney Nina Reilly is suddenly and surprisingly abandoned by her husband (also a lawyer), and not only that, he's taking back his home so she has to get out. So, she and her young son by a previous relationship head to her brother's home at Lake Tahoe while she figures things out. Matt and Andrea and their children are happy to have them stay. And that is followed by another sudden change when Nina rents a nice little office and hangs out her shingle to practice law on her own.

She hires a very practical and also very funny receptionist/secretary and waits in hope for her first client thinking about how many other lawyers there are in this small area. Well, one of the first clients becomes the defendant in Nina's first ever murder trial. Melissa (aka Misty) Patterson is a troubled young woman who seems to have murdered her husband. Not much about the case makes sense and Nina is under pressure from a smarmy big-time attorney to turn the case over to him, but something about Melissa makes Nina unable to turn her away. She digs in her heels, hires one of her ex-husband's old investigators, and starts on a difficult journey to the truth.

It's a fascinating case involving amnesia, shady doings at a casino where Michelle and her husband worked, greed, and infidelity, along with a mysterious event from Michell's childhood at Subic Bay in the Philippines.
I got so involved in it that toward the end I was even ignoring the football games on TV to finish the book. Now that never happens!

I recommend this O'Shaughnessy book at least and I'm anxious to dive into the second in the series. So glad my friend gave me a bunch of them.

I'm Still Here, Sort of

2011-12-08T10:44:00.000-05:00

This week has been one medical appointment after another. We usually group them purposely to just get them over with in one fell swoop - or one swell foop as Dad used to say. The beginning of the week it was Dave so he's all set for a while.

Yesterday I had two painful cysts removed from my scalp, for which the beautician who cuts my hair will be eternally grateful. I don't know whether I have a headache simply because of that or due to the antibiotic I'm on. Have to premedicate because of my artificial knee. The doc also took a biopsy of a painful lesion on the back of my right hand, so that hurts too. It was like taking a plug out of a watermelon. Very funny if you think about it.

Anyway, today I can't really shower, can't wash my hair until tomorrow when the stitches come out. Yuck! Be glad you're just hearing from me via my blog.

I did get some reading done in doctors' waiting rooms, but no review yet. I'm reading the first Perri O'Shaughnessy, Motion to Suppress, and I'm loving it. The characters and the story are keeping me very interested and it's set in Lake Tahoe so the descriptions of the area are wonderful. My friend gave me several books by these sisters since I hadn't read them before.

Our new exercise bike is getting a workout most days but not today. We had snow last night and I believe it's still snowing a bit but it may just be blowing off the roof. It's beautiful, especially since we know it won't last long because it's warming up.

Off to rest my poor aching head.

Busy, Busy, Busy But Rest is Coming

2011-12-05T09:54:00.000-05:00

I haven't had a chance to read lately and I'm suffering withdrawal symptoms. Last Thursday we drove to Arlington, Virginia to a conference about COPD. That evening we drove all over town looking for a restaurant we like; Legal Seafoods is a chain of restaurants with clam chowder to die for and everything else seafood you ever loved. The chain originated in Boston but we discovered one in Arlington. We found the street but the street numbers made no sense and we were up and down until finally there it was. Then we drove around and around looking for a parking space close enough for Dave to walk. (We forgot to take the wheelchair.)

The restaurant made me think we were in NYC. Tables about 4" apart and LOUD. One woman had such a loud cackling laugh, we thought she was laying eggs, and a middle-aged guy next to us was entertaining three women with his knowledge of Washington, etc. He was probably from Podunk, but since he was paying, they were a good audience.

On the way back to our motel, I hit the curb of a street divider in the dark. Bang - down went the left front tire. Turned out the left rear also had a big bubble on the side. Everything went downhill from there. Our car spent the next day at a tire store while we went to the conference which, while good, was too much oriented toward professionals, particularly doctors. I learned quite a bit and the packet of materials we received was excellent but about 4 pm I just hit the wall - hardly any sleep and too much expense that worried me.

Sat. we came home, rested for an hour and then went to a basketball game. I wanted nothing more than to curl up in our own bed and sleep for 5 days, but Sun. we had to go grocery shopping. Now we have a busy week of appointments beginning this afternoon. It won't be until next weekend that everything will quiet down so I can just get some sorely needed rest.

Maybe I can read while we wait at all those appointments this week.

A Slave in the White House by Elizabeth Dowling Taylor

2011-11-30T10:29:00.000-05:00

This book will unfortunately have limited appeal because of its scholarly approach and necessary supposition of much of Paul Jennings' life. I received it from Amazon Vine.

He was born at Montpelier, James and Dolley Madison's home in Virginia. His mother was Dolley's maid and Paul was mullato so he was raised in the house as Dolley's son's "boy." As Payne Todd's constant companion, Paul was present during his sessions with his tutor. Later, as Madison's valet and doorman, he was present during political discussions and long talks about running the agricultural affairs of Montpelier. No surprise, then that he learned to read and write, and that he was more sophisticated and gentlemanly than many slaves.

During the War of 1812, Paul was instrumental in saving the large portrait of George Washington as the British approached, intent on burning the White House. Master and Mistress both trusted Paul implicitly.

However, he remained a slave until Dolley Madison was in deep financial trouble living as a widow in Washington. He had met Daniel Webster, who was known to purchase the freedom of slaves and let them work off the purchase price in his household, perhaps one of the reasons Webster was always broke. By the time Webster bought his freedom, Paul was a middle-aged married man with children.

Because of Paul's position in life, author Elizabeth Dowling Taylor was forced to make too many assumptions about who he met, where he was at any specific time, what he may have overheard, and who his slave associates were. She does use any documentation she has found in her career as a curator and researcher, and there is more than usual for a slave, but still one tires of "he might have" and "probably."

I was quite interested in learning more about Dolley Madison and about President Madison's views on slavery, as well as the life of a slave in a president's house. As I don't mind scholarly works, I did enjoy this book and I believe the author knows as much as one can know about her subject. One just needs to realize what type of book this represents.

"Eat, Pray, Love" the Movie

2011-11-28T10:05:00.000-05:00

We finally got to see Julia Roberts in "Eat, Pray, Love" last night. Both of us normally love her in anything and this was no exception. Even Dave, who usually says, "Boy, you sure can pick them," sarcastically after this kind of movie, actually stayed awake and enjoyed it. Well, maybe he just likes looking at Julia. :D

For people who have been living under a rock for the past decade, the story is about a writer who suddenly realizes her life isn't at all what she wants, divorces her husband (who doesn't want a divorce), has an affair with a much younger actor, and then leaves him as well to go on a year-long search for the meaning of life. She wants balance and inner peace, but doesn't really know what else she wants.

I couldn't help noticing that her husband was the best looking man of the three she gets involved with, but I agreed that they just didn't "fit." That she fell in love with the actor was the biggest stretch for me. I couldn't see why he appealed to her at all; as a fling, sure, but in love?

However, I loved her stay in Rome and the friends she made there. I loved her stay at the ashram in India and the characters there, especially the Texan who called her "Groceries." My least favorite section was her life in Bali. Other than the young stud who stripped for her on the beach, the characters there were not at all believable to me and I wanted to see more of the island. I loved it that she laughed at the naked guy on the beach.

This is a nice movie to rent and watch at home. Now I think I'd like to read the book because Liz intrigues me.

I'm Thankful For . . .

2011-11-24T09:50:00.000-05:00

First of all of course, I'm thankful for my husband every single day.

All you have to do is read a newspaper, watch the news on TV or online and you know simply the fact that I have a warm comfortable home in a peaceful, beautiful location puts me way ahead of probably the majority of people in the whole world. When I look at it that way, dusting and vacuuming don't really present such a chore.

For all the complaining I do about my COPD and arthritis, in general I'm in pretty good health for my age and I'm very grateful for that. I can do almost anything I want to do and the exceptions aren't really important.

Since I don't have family of my own, I'm thankful for Dave's family who I love like my own. His cousin in Rome, for instance, who sends me messages and pictures on FB or email. We are both quite opinionated about politics and have great discussions about Italian and U.S. politicians. The rest of his family is in Ireland and Maine, and we just got the happy news that there is another one on the way. The expectant parents will be excellent parents.

I'm thankful for my friends. I don't make friends easily and have few close friends but the ones I have are valued beyond saying. I'm also thankful for my book blogger friends. Only one of my local friends loves books as I do, so my book blogger friends fill that big hole. I learn from them, get support from them, and enjoy our discussions about the world of books.

The last thing I'll mention, though there are many more, is how thankful I am for memories. Dave and I have made wonderful memories through our 36 years together. Laughing at funny memories has gotten us through many a tough day, and remembering particularly sweet things he has done and said have gotten me through many a tough time.

I hope you have a long list of people and things to be thankful for too on this day when we take time to think about being thankful.

"The Legend of Bagger Vance"

2011-11-21T13:28:00.000-05:00

We've slowed down on Netflix films during football season, but still have one ready all the time. Last week it was "The Legend of Bagger Vance," an old movie with Will Smith and Matt Damon, directed by Robert Redford.

It's a silly movie really, but the characters win your heart. It's about a small town golfer with a promising future who enlists for World War I. His entire unit is killed, leaving him alone on the battlefield bereft and lost. He just disappears for several years after that, but finally returns home. The girlfriend he had left behind is unmarried yet but they can't get together, too much hurt on both sides.

A great country club and golf course owned by the girlfriend is going bankrupt, so an idea is born to save it. Have a golf tournament with Bobby Jones and I forget the second famous golfer, as well as a local guy to bring local crowds. A wonderful young boy sets out to convince drunkard Capt. Junuh (Matt Damon) to play. Suddenly, out of the misty twilight, appears Bagger Vance (Will Smith), a caddy who can save Junuh and bring back his golf game.

Well, everyone knows how this will turn out of course, but that doesn't ruin the movie at all. Matt Damon's engaging smile and his manner are perfect (although he isn't so convincing as a drunk), and Will Smith is terrific in this part. Sorry I don't remember the boy's name offhand because he's so good as an innocent symbol of hope and goodness.

I think although it's set in summer, this is a good holiday movie because of it's message. It's fun for anytime.

It's National Caregivers' Month

2011-11-20T10:32:00.000-05:00

I'm very late announcing National Caregivers' Month, but I only found out about it last Friday at a conference in Philadelphia. We attended our fourth Parkinson's event hosted by the therapists who helped Dave. Every year we learn something new, and it's so nice to see the therapists as well as other PD patients and their caregivers.

Last year on the evaluation sheet we all fill out I noted that some attention to caregivers would be appreciated since we all face difficulties both physical and emotional. This year I was happy to discover caregivers were the focus of the event.

In addition to hearing a wonderful speaker and having a break-out session with her too, I tried yoga. I've been curious about yoga for some time and there are classes about five miles from us; now I'm thinking I'll enroll in one of the less energetic classes. It was excellent for my arthritis and other aches and pains, even the tendinitis in my shoulder.

We all know caregivers for people with chronic diseases or a child, perhaps one who is autistic. I had thought some people were just better suited for this role, but you never know when you might find yourself in that situation. If you don't find a way to relieve the stress and fear, you can wind up quite ill yourself. So, the focus in this program was to take care of the caregiver. After all, if you become ill, you won't be able to take care of the person who needs you.

In the room were people who are professional caregivers, but most of us are caring for a spouse or a parent. Sometimes I think the fact that it's a loved one makes it even more difficult, so I was happy to participate in the forum and learn how to help myself. Maybe the program even gave my husband a better appreciation of the fact that this is hard on me too.

This Thanksgiving would be a good time for you to acknowledge the caregivers in your family or group of friends. Maybe you have a sister who takes care of your parents, or a friend with an autistic child, or a grandfather who cares for your grandmother. They don't have an easy life and it wears on them. Can you think of some way to help? Try to suggest something specific you are able to do; maybe bringing dinner to them one day a week or grocery shopping for them. If you live far away, get in touch with an organization that cares for the elderly and ask how you could hire someone to give the caregiver respite once in a while. There are many ways to get involved; you just have to be a little creative.

For all of us, thank you.

Nevada Barr's Best Anna Pigeon Novel Yet

2011-11-14T09:45:00.000-05:00

Thanks to Amazon Vine I've just read Nevada Barr's new novel coming out January 17, 2012. The Rope is a prequel to the whole series.

In this story Anna Pigeon is 35 and she is still numb with grief at the loss of her husband, Zach, in an accident she witnessed in NYC. She has a satisfying career as a stage manager on Broadway, but she decides it might help to take some time completely away from everything familiar. She takes a summer job at Glen Canyon National Park, stationed at Dangling Rope Marina on Lake Powell.

Anna and her housemate Jenny work hard at their job clearing the area of human waste, and trying to educate vacationers about the proper way to handle toileting (to put it nicely) in the great outdoors. Jenny likes Anna but can't make a connection. Then Anna disappears. She went hiking alone on her day off and accidentally found herself in a peck of trouble.

In this story we see the making of the strong, independent woman we've grown to love over the years. She enters this summer job weak, too thin, and grief stricken. She ends the summer strong, resilient, and determined to become a national park ranger; I don't think that's giving anything away.

Meanwhile, the characters she meets and the trials and dangers she withstands are engrossing. This is an old-fashioned page turner. Anna learns that the area isn't desolate; it has its own life and beauty. I discovered another place I want to see for myself. I also came away with a new respect for her character now that I know the beginning of her story.

Hill Towns by Anne Rivers Siddons

2011-11-10T13:26:00.000-05:00

This novel is a book sale find from several years ago. I finished reading it yesterday and still cannot really make up my mind about it.

My main problem with it is that I didn't like one single character in the book. The protagonist, Catherine (Cat) Compton Gaillard, lives on a mountain in Tennessee near famed Trinity College. Her father is a teacher there and her mother is from a poor family, and they are killed in a grotesque accident on a bridge down off the mountain. Five-year-old Cat is sleeping in their car near the bridge so she is unhurt. From that moment she believes she is only safe on the mountain, and refuses to leave, even to live with her wealthy Compton grandparents. She instead insists on staying with her mad maternal grandmother and her grandfather who is a janitor at Trinity.

She marries Joe, a teacher, and they have one child, a daughter who is born blind. Cat's entire life revolves around her home and the mountain. Finally she seeks counseling, and when Joe's protege and his girlfriend decide to get married in Rome, Joe and Cat accept their invitation to go to Rome for the wedding and then accompany the newlyweds on their honeymoon through Tuscany.

It ends up with a group of seven people traveling together and the discord the journey evokes. They drink so much I felt half drunk throughout. One of the women keeps going off after a man, any man, so mostly they are three couples, but three more different couples you couldn't find.

All this time Cat has occasional panic attacks, but stubbornly continues to wander off alone. I just couldn't understand her, so most of the time I felt like shaking her silly.

At the same time, the story seems to be leading up to an event and I couldn't stop reading because I needed to find out how the trip eventually ended. So I must admit it was quite a story even though it drove me crazy more than once. The characterizations are masterful, the description of the places they all go is enough to make me want to pack a bag and go, now. Siddons is an astonishing writer, but I do wish I had been able to like at least one character.

Sad Day in Pennsylvania

2011-11-10T09:33:00.000-05:00

I should tell you at the outset that I'm not a Penn State alum or a fan. I'm a Rutgers alum and fan, and Penn State is a rival we don't like very much.

Having said that, the firing of Joe Paterno, "our" JoePa, is very sad. He has insisted on integrity, the necessity of good grades first and athletics second, and that the members of his football team be good citizens. Obviously one of his assistant coaches of previous years was the antithesis of the values JoePa represents.

When Paterno was told of the sexual misconduct of his assistant coach with a 10 year old boy in a locker room shower, he immediately did what he was supposed to do - reported it to his boss, the athletic director. In retrospect, however, he should have followed up and when he discovered his boss wasn't doing anything about it, he should have reported it to the police. That he didn't follow up is a tragic lapse of his usual good sense and personal ethics.

I think the fact that the Board of Trustees fired him in a kneejerk reaction to the media frenzy that hit Penn State yesterday is wrong. Paterno had already stated he would retire at the end of the season, but they refused to let him retire with dignity, and that ignores all the money, media attention, and students that Coach and Mrs. Paterno have brought to the university, not to mention all the money they have given the university. Next thing you know, they'll be taking his name off the university library!

At 84, after an association with Penn State that began in 1946, Paterno was understandably tearful when he told his team he was no longer in charge. On Sat. they play Nebraska. Will the team go out determined to win for Joe, or will they be so saddened and unable to concentrate that they will lose badly? I hope it's the former.

I'm Just Plain Worn Out

2011-11-08T09:34:00.000-05:00

This past few weeks have been exhausting but there is finally a tiny little light at the end of this particular tunnel. The auction of my husband's machine shop equipment will be Sat. Nov. 12. It's devastating for him, and even emotional for me.

We've been going back and forth to a scrap metal yard in Scranton getting material off the floor and out of the way in his shop. Don't want any prospective buyers falling and killing themselves on sharp edges. The auctioneer and his son have been here nearly every day tagging, sorting, and cleaning.

Meanwhile, the tension builds in our house as Dave's nerves become more frayed. Then yesterday I took my car to the dealer's because I heard squealing, clanking and other assorted bad news noises. It's a 2004 but has been the most reliable, dependable car I've ever owned. Well, after they looked it over, the verdict was, "You have to leave it here for a few days, and by the way there will be $2500 worth of repairs." I called Dave to come pick me up, and of course he was furious and suspicious. (He never drives the car.) It was only later when he realized how emotional I was that he calmed down and smiled at me. Thank you, Dr. Parkinson, these mood shifts from your disease are loads of fun.

Last night saved us I think. We have been buying season tickets for Binghamton University Div. I basketball for many years and the first men's game was last night. It was fun to see our "basketball friends" and see the new guys on the team. Tonight we will be going to the first women's game. Getting out and watching the game was very good for us.

We will get through this just fine, as we have other difficult issues we've faced together. We've always said as long as we have each other, we're okay. But we certainly will be happy when it's over!