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Willie Nelson’s Letters to America

by Willie Nelson with Turk Pipkin, 2021

Heartwarming letters from Willie Nelson to all sorts of folks, and even a scathing letter to the COVID-19 virus. He wrote this while at home under lock-down in Texas, and you can tell, he doesn’t like having to stay home, not being able to tour. He’s 88 years old (same age as Dad, born in 1933) and he “Can’t wait to be on the road again!”

He’s funny and loves jokes and loves to tell jokes. He refuses to get political at any shows because he doesn’t want anything negative at his shows, although in the book he mentions a leader who didn’t take the virus seriously. He loves his 8 children – from four wives (I think). He found his last wife, the one he was looking for all along, Annie, when he was making a movie and she was his make-up artist.

He loves Texas; he was born and raised in Abbott, Texas, by his beloved grandparents, whom he called Mama and Daddy. He wrote the song “Family Bible” for them, “the first truly good and lasting song” he’d ever written.. His grandfather bought him his first guitar. He owns a ranch in the Hill Country and built a town he called Luck. He owns a home in Maui. He loves golf. Whiskey and cigarettes were going to be the death of him. He gave them up with the help of marijuana – he LOVES pot. He has his own marijuana company (Willie’s Reserve) and CBD products (Willie’s Remedy CBD), or he inspired them, not sure.

(more…) “Willie Nelson’s Letters to America”

Oryx and Crake

by Margaret Atwood, 2003

This was the first book selection of the Old Town Library Book Club for 2021-2022. I never would have read this book otherwise, and I almost stopped reading it when she describes the childhood of Oryx, a young girl sold into child pornography (“HottTotts”). Mandy selected this book and she did a fantastic job of leading the discussion. Most of the members felt as I did – it was terrifying and difficult to read, but a good warning for us – how much has come true since 2003! Genetically-modified foods, pandemic, dark web, etc.

Oryx is the young girl with whom both Jimmy/Snowman and Crake fall in love. Crake is Jimmy’s best/only friend who is an evil genius who becomes an evil genius scientist that creates the BlyssPluss pill that causes the pandemic that destroys the human race, except for Jimmy, who is immune to it. Jimmy is left alone with the Crakers at the end of the world. The Crakers are the innocent, beautiful race of people that Crake created.

Jimmy becomes Snowman and reluctantly takes care of the Crakers. He moves them to the seaside. He lives in a tree and they live nearby. They have natural defenses for all the problems in the world created by all the genetic modifications man has made (Pigoons, etc.).

(more…) “Oryx and Crake”

God & Churchill

by Jonathan Sandys & Wallace Henley, 2015

Jonathan Sandys is the great-grandson of Winston Churchill. Along with Wallace Henley, a Christian who has served in the White House and is a columnist for the Christian Post, he writes about Winston Churchill’s conversation with a fellow Harrow student named Murland de Grasse Evans, at age 16 (in 1891) that:

This country will be subjected somehow, to a tremendous invasion, by what means I do not know, but I tell you I shall be in command of the defences of London, and I shall save London and England from disaster.

Winston Churchill, Age 16

The book details Winston’s life, showing how our sovereign God saved him, groomed him, brought him up to save the world from Hitler. He was never paid attention to or loved by his parents, but he loved them deeply. He wrote them letters to which they never responded. But he remained an optimistic and happy boy. In his early childhood, he had a nanny named Elizabeth Everest, who taught him all about God.

He became a soldier, and in 1896, there was an accident when Winston was getting off a tender boat in India that dislocated his shoulder. He never had it looked at and it healed badly. He fought in North Africa in the battle of Omdurman (September 2, 1898). Because of his bum shoulder, he fought on horseback with a gun instead of a sword, and having a gun allowed him to kill two enemy soldiers that would have surely killed him if he’d only had a sword.

He went through adversity and had humbling experiences that helped to make him the great leader he was when he finally became Prime Minister (for the 2nd time) in 1940. He saved the world from Hitler.

The book was recommended on the library’s monthly biography email.

(more…) “God & Churchill”

The Bogey Man: A Month on the PGA Tour

by George Plimpton, 1968

A wonderfully funny book recommended by the Book-A-Day calendar from Christie. George Plimpton spends a month on the PGA tour at three courses in California, and writes about it. It is just delightful! He is a very good writer, especially when it comes to conversations. He gets you into the game of golf – he writes about golfers, their equipment, their caddies, their superstitions, the golf courses and cities therein; you feel like you are a golfer. I want to watch golf now (not play it – never play it – so frustrating). But I want to watch it and see the beautiful golf courses and the interactions between golfers and their caddies, and see if the golfers in the lead get the yips.

(more…) “The Bogey Man: A Month on the PGA Tour”

Hotel Pastis: A Novel of Provence

by Peter Mayle, 1993

Delightful book! Recommended on my Christie book-a-day calendar. Takes you from dreary England and back-biting advertising world to sunny France. The main character, Simon Shaw, is a wealthy advertising executive who is hassled by an ex-wife who just wants more and more of his money. He takes a much-needed vacation to Provence and finds beautiful Nicole. He and his butler, Ernest, end up in a tiny town in Provence. With Nicole, they restore an ancient prison (I think) into a charming boutique hotel with a gourmet restaurant. There are also 8 Frenchmen, former criminals, who decide to do one last job that will make them rich. There get-away vehicles are bicycles because that’s what everyone does in Provence. There plan works, except for one glitch, an extra rider named Boone decides to join them, and here the two stories meet. What a delightful book! I just loved it.

(more…) “Hotel Pastis: A Novel of Provence”

Chaos Under Heaven: Trump, Xi, and the Battle for the 21st Century

by Josh Rogin, 2021

Nate told me about this book. It’s about what went on with China during Trump’s presidency. It’s written by Josh Rogin, a columnist for the Washington Post and an analyst for CNN. He knows of what he speaks (writes). He’s meticulously detailed. He is not partisan. I’m glad I read this because I learned a lot. But it was a very difficult read – so many names and events. I didn’t know China was as bad as it is – ‘It is evil and it must be destroyed.” That about says it all. China is into the USA politically, technically, corporately, educationally, financially; they want to be the ruler of the world. They are committing atrocities and denying freedoms of speech, religion, even thoughts. They give people and other entities a social credit score. They are watching them 24/7– “Orwellian.”

The way Trump handled China was impulsive, immature, chaotic. His advisors changed all the time and they were from different camps – wanting to play nice (because of the money they made off of China) vs. wanting to be tough and bring the hammer down on China. China is perpetrating human rights abuses against the Uyghurs, Tibet, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and their own people; They are stealing our technology and intellectual property, infiltrating Wall Street, our educational institutions, our media and social media. Something had to be done. Obama was the same as preceding presidents – soft on China in hopes they would come around. Trump desperately wanted to make a deal with Xi and called him a great friend, then he would get mad at him and slap tariffs on China and make threats.

Josh Rogin credits Trump with waking us up to the threat that China is, but Trump and his administration were so dysfunctional, nothing of consequence could be done. There’s no going back, however, to the way it used to be with China – looking for cooperation and ignoring its bad actions – and Rogin believes the tariffs need to remain as some sort of leverage over China.

Trump could care less about the human rights abuses of Xi and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). He even told Xi that he thought the camps Xi was building for the Uyghurs were a good idea.

One other interesting thing I learned is that the coronavirus did not originate in a seafood market in Wuhan. There was a huge cover-up, of course. Much evidence was destroyed. There are theories but no one really knows where it came from.

Good, informative book. Glad I read it.

(more…) “Chaos Under Heaven: Trump, Xi, and the Battle for the 21st Century”

The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek

by Kim Michele Richardson, 2019

Wonderful book recommended by neighbor, Pat. Historical fiction, 1930s, a “Blue” horse pack librarian (Cussy Mary), who faces hardship, tragedy, racism, but finds true love in the Kentucky mountains. There were really blue-skinned people, who had congenital methemoglobinemia, but were considered “coloreds” and discriminated against. This is a fictional account of one who was a beloved pack horse librarian, bringing books to the rural poor throughout her Kentucky mountains.

(more…) “The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek”

The Next Everest

by Jim Davidson, 2021

Excellent memoir by a mountain climber who lives in Fort Collins. The Library recommended this book on their monthly “Biographies” e-mail. It was about his two trips to Nepal to climb Mount Everest; the first in 2015 when the deadly 7.8 Gorkha earthquake struck Nepal and caused an avalanche on Mount Everest that killed 19 climbers, becoming the deadliest day on Mount Everest. He was in Camp 1 and the avalanche swept past them without causing any injuries, just horrific wind and noise. Most/All the injuries and deaths occurred in base camp which took a direct hit by the avalanche. Thousands upon thousands of Nepalese were killed and injured by the earthquake. He was airlifted off of the mountain by helicopter, a terrifying experience in and of itself. He decided to go back in 2017 and finally summitted Mount Everest, his life-long dream. This book takes you step-by-step on both of his journeys. It is an excellent book, hard to put down. I have no desire to ever climb a mountain, much less Mount Everest, but it is fascinating to be able to get into the head of an avid mountain-climber and take the journey with him. Well-written, suspenseful, thorough. It was almost like being there, really.

(more…) “The Next Everest”

Crossing the Line

by Kareem Rosser, 2021

Excellent book! Learned about it from the Library’s monthly Biographies email. As I was reading their description of the book, about a young black man who learned to play polo in inner-city Philadelphia, and came to CSU for college, I realized I had read his scholarship application! I made sure he got a scholarship. I was so excited to read his book!

Kareem Rosser grew up on Viola Street in the Bottom, a terrible slum in west Philadelphia. His mother and grandmother were ‘users.’ His mother had her first child at age 14. Kareem is one of six. One day his older brothers (David, age 12; and Bee, age 10) were riding bikes, exploring Fairmount Park, and they discovered the barn and the horses of the Work to Ride stables. Lezlie Hiner introduced them to horses and polo, and they brought Kareem along. Soon Kareem was learning to ride and care for the horses. It saved his life, literally. They had to maintain a C average in order to work and ride every day after school and all day on weekends. His older brothers were not able to escape the pull of the Bottom and abandoned the program, became dealers and wound up in prison. But with Lezlie’s care, Kareem grew up and got out. He ended up winning the National Polo Championship in High School, and then came to Colorado State University and won the National Collegiate Polo Championship.

The book details all of his hopes and fears (lots of fears) and tragedies and how he overcame them. He dedicates the book to victims of gun violence, including his older brother David, and his best friend, Mecca Harris. He graduated from CSU with a degree in Economics. He is now living in Philadelphia and working as a financial analyst and helping the fundraising arm of Work to Ride. Wonderful book! This needs to be a movie!

(more…) “Crossing the Line”

Ender’s Game

by Orson Scott Card, 1977, 1985, 1991

Fast, easy read, recommended on Book-A-Day calendar. Science fiction tale about a little boy, Ender Wiggin, who is sent to battle school at the age of 6 and trained to be the Commander who will save the world from the buggers. He does after 5 years of brutal training. Reading about it is tedious at times – battle after battle in simulators. But, he is an appealing character because he is so young. He has a brother, Peter, who is pure evil. His sister, Valentine, is pure sweetness. Peter ends up ruling earth after Ender saves it. Valentine and Ender end up colonizing a bugger planet. Ender finds a pupa at the very end, and it’s a new queen who relays all her thoughts to him – that they were so sorry they attacked the first time, that they were never going to do that again, and would he take her someplace where they can recolonize? He gently carries the pupa with him for the rest of his life.

(more…) “Ender’s Game”

Anthem

by Ayn Rand, 1937

Wayne read this in high school. He’s also read, Atlas Shrugged. This was a very short book; 105 pages–I read it in 2 days. It’s about a man, Equality 7-2521, who is unhappy in his life as a street sweeper. In this world, there is no “I,” only “We.” He knows he is sinning but he can’t help it. He escapes into a dark tunnel and re-discovers electricity. He tries to show it to the Scholars but they are outraged and afraid and want him destroyed along with his invention. He grabs it and crashes through a window and runs to the Uncharted Forest, where he sees beauty for the first time; colors, trees, mountains, birds (he kills one and eats it), streams. And the Golden One, Liberty 5-3000, follows him there, and they learn about human love, and the word, “I.” And they are changed forever.

Ayn Rand was railing against Communism. She elevates the idea of selfishness to that of religion, Wayne says, in Atlas Shrugged; she preaches ad nauseum how wrong it is to help others. Her philosophy is called, Objectivism.

(more…) “Anthem”

Swallows and Amazons

by Arthur Ransome, 1930

Precious, beautiful, sweet book about 4 children in 1930s England whose mother (and father, by telegram from a destroyer on the China Seas) allow them to sail away and camp on an island in the lake, and all the wonderful adventures they have. They meet pirates, 2 girls their age who sail the seas just like them, and a retired pirate who lives on a houseboat with his green parrot. The children are John Walker, the Master; Susan Walker, the Mate; Titty Walker, the Able-seaman; and 7-year-old Roger, the Ship’s Boy. This book was one recommended on the 2021 Book-a-day Calendar.

(more…) “Swallows and Amazons”

How to Avoid a Climate Disaster

The Solutions We Have and the Breakthroughs We Need

by Bill Gates, 2021

Everything you need to know about climate change and what to do about it. We add 51 billion tons of carbon dioxide into the earth’s atmosphere every year. We need to reduce that to 0 or there will be floods, famines, droughts, massive storms, wildfires, no coral reefs. We need to reduce our emissions to 0 by 2050. We need to convert everything possible (industry, transportation, heating and cooling) to run on electricity, but it needs to be clean electricity, and only nuclear can provide the 24/7 clean energy in the amounts we need. The 3rd world countries need to be able to modernize in everything they do, and we need to allow them to do so and help them to do so without increasing carbon emissions.

There are so many solutions out there (from page 200): next-generation nuclear fission, Nuclear fusion, low-emission fuels (Electrofuels and advanced biofuels), zero-carbon cement and steel and fertilizer, plant and cell-based meat and dairy, zero-carbon plastics, geothermal energy, thermal storage, grid-scale electricity storage that can last a full season, hydrogen produced without emitting carbon, zero-carbon alternatives to palm oil, Coolants that don’t contain F-gases, pumped hydro, thermal storage, underground electricity transmission, carbon capture (both direct air capture and point capture).

The main things people can do involve getting involved politically; telling our representatives what we want, and not just saying “do something about climate change.” Tell them policies that need to be updated, incentives that need to be in place, tax money that needs to be spent, etc. Research and Development are key items and government can invest in R&D for the long haul.

If we don’t do anything and we get to a tipping point, then geoengineering may need to happen: “distributing extremely fine particles–each just a few millionths of an inch in diameter–in the upper layers of the atmosphere…Another approach to geoengineering involves brightening clouds. Because sunlight is scattered by the tops of clouds, we could scatter more sunlight and cool the earth by making the clouds brighter, using a salt spray that causes clouds to scatter more light.”

(more…) “How to Avoid a Climate Disaster”

A Framework for Understanding Poverty

by Ruby K. Payne, Ph.D. Revised edition 2005

Interesting book! Shines a light on how and why students who live in poverty think and behave the way they do; and how teachers, counselors, and administrators can provide the necessary supports which would enable them to move out of poverty. Schools are almost the only hope for poor students to move out of that culture.

There are different types of poverty; not just financial: 1. Financial, 2. Emotional, 3. Mental, 4. Spiritual, 5. Physical, 6. Support Systems, 7. Relationships/Role Models, 8. Knowledge of Hidden Rules.

“Emotional resources are the most important of all resources because, when present, they allow the individual not to return to old habit patterns.”

People living in poverty tend to live for the moment, to spend money when they have it, to value entertainment. Their families tend to be matriarchal. Their language is in the “casual register,” and they may not know or understand the formal register, which is the register the middle class and wealthy people use.

The story structure of the “casual register” is not the same as the “formal register.” The formal register goes from beginning to end. The casual register starts with the end or the most emotional part of the story and relates the story in parts with audience participation in between the parts.

Relationships are very important. Schools could help by allowing students to stay with the same teacher two years in a row.

(more…) “A Framework for Understanding Poverty”

The Rainbabies

by Laura Krauss Melmed, Illustrated by Jim LaMarche, 1992

Children’s book about a sweet old couple who lack nothing except a child. They go out on a moonlit night after a rain and find 12 babies. They care for them and save them through flood, fire, and wild animal dangers. Then a messenger comes with a jewel that would provide them with riches the rest of their lives but they refuse to sell the babies. Then the messenger turns into a beautiful woman and she takes the rainbabies but leaves them a real baby girl. They name her Rayna and they live happily ever after.

Well, this is sweet but gives the wrong message to childless couples – that they aren’t good enough to have a child. The beautiful woman even says to them:

“What loyal and loving caretakers you have been! You protected them from dangers born of water, fire, and earth. You refused the offer of great riches to keep the babies with you. You have proven yourselves the worthiest of parents. … And do not fear–I will not leave you lonely. See what I have brought for you!”

Here’s how the book-a-day calendar described this book:

“Bedtime Stories, A Love Story for Parents and Toddlers: A childless couple discovers 12 tiny babies in the raindrops of a spring moonshower. They nurture and protect them with love, luck, and courage. When Mother Moonshower comes to reclaim her dozen progeny, she bears an extraordinary gift for the wife and her husband. In The Rainbabies, Laura Krauss Melmed has told her beautiful story so well that one reads it with awe and joy. Jim LaMarche’s paintings are perfectly matched to the tenor of the tale. It’s a book that deserves to become a family heirloom.”

If only all parents were as loving and caring to their children as this old couple was to their 12 little rainbabies. If only all parents were as deserving of the children they have been gifted by God. The illustrations are beautiful.

The Caregiver’s Guide to Dementia

Practical Advice for Caring for Yourself and Your Loved One, by Gail Weatherill, RN, CAEd, 2020

This book is in the “Memory Care Kit, Volume 1” from the Library, that includes 6 books (this book and picture books), a 35-piece puzzle, a music CD and lyrics (songs like Talk to the Animals, Mairzy Doats, and Puppy Love), and handouts with tips and resources.

The best tip on the handout is:

“Do not contradict, correct, criticize, or confront. (Being kind is more important than being “right”).”

Good book. Easy to read and very practical. This book is shorter and better organized than the 36-Hour Day. The same information is given but in less detail. Again, after reading it, I realize Mom’s not close to “there” yet. So, that is good. But maintaining mental, social, and physical exercise are really important.

In the Introduction, she says to caregivers: “I love to show them that the glass is half full, that there are many days and moments of sheer joy yet to be lived.”

“If I’ve learned anything in my years of caregiving for people with dementia, it’s that we are not just our brains. Thought and language may come from the brain, but they’re not the whole story of who we are. We are sentient beings. We have a soul that’s not subject to physical disease.”

“When the day comes that you feel like your loved one is gone, remember their soul. Remember their values. Remember their priorities in life. Remember the feelings the two of you shared.

“None of those things can be destroyed by dementia They exist independent of space and time. Hold on to them.

“Know that no matter how far away your loved one seems to be, they’re still here. They feel you . They know you’re here. They know you’re doing all you can do…

“…Hold tight to the person your loved one still is. And never doubt that what the brain cannot remember, the heart cannot forget.”

(more…) “The Caregiver’s Guide to Dementia”

Village School

by “Miss Read,” Mrs. Dora Jessie Saint, 1955

What a sweet, sweet book! Transports you to an English village in about the 1930s. It’s precious – the people, the cottages, the school, the children. She takes you through the 3 terms of school: Christmas Term, Spring Term, Summer Term. She teaches the older kids and another lady teaches the infants. What a wonderful time – so much appreciation for nature. Just taking the little ones outside. Beautiful and fun times. They have “dinner” delivered every day and they eat together. In the winter, it’s cold, they have to light the stove, and the housekeeper, Mrs. Pringle, complains. They go ice skating on a pond. The young infants’ teacher, Miss Gray, falls in love with the Choir Director, Mr. Annett, and they are to be married. The children pick out a beautiful piece of crockery for a wedding gift, with Miss Read’s help; “a china biscuit barrel, sprigged with wild flowers. It was useful, it was very pretty and it was exactly the right price.”

This was an innocent trip to rural England in the 1930s. Precious and beautiful!

(more…) “Village School”

The 36-Hour Day

“A Family Guide for People Who Have Alzheimer Disease, Other Dementias, and Memory Loss,” by Nancy L. Mace, MA, and Peter V. Rabins, MD, MPH, 2017

An easy-to-read guide, covering everything, on how to care for someone with dementia. Reading it makes me realize that Mom is not even close to “there” yet. I would say she has “Mild Cognitive Impairment” now. If it worsens into dementia, then major decisions will need to be made. Preferable for her to remain in her home as long as possible. Change is not good. When can she no longer drive? When should she no longer be living alone?

The way the book is organized didn’t seem right – I thought Chapter 17, Preventing and Delaying Cognitive Decline, should have been Chapter 1. The first 16 chapters go in-depth on how to deal with someone with dementia. Mainly, be loving and caring and patient. Get help so you can remain loving and caring and patient. Don’t care about being right. The person’s brain is diseased; they cannot help many of their behaviors.

The style was conversational so you can really fly through the chapters. There is a lot of info packed into each page but so much doesn’t apply to us right now. I need to look at the Larimer County Office on Aging, because the main things we need to watch for are when she can no longer drive and when she can no longer live alone – see what kind of options they have for “aging in place” so she can stay in her home safely. We also need to see what her Long Term Care Insurance covers.

(more…) “The 36-Hour Day”

Johnny Tremain: A Story of Boston in Revolt

by Esther Forbes, 1943

What a wonderful book. I loved being with Johnny Tremain in Boston in the 1770s. It was on the Book-a-Day calendar from Christie: “For fans of The Simpsons: Can you recall what novel about the American Revolution captivated that not-so-eager reader Bart? ANSWER: Esther Forbes’s novel of revolutionary-era Boston, Johnny Tremain, which won the Newbery Medal in 1944.”

The main character, Johnny Tremain, is a 14-year-old boy orphaned in Boston, apprenticing as a silversmith. He burns his hand with molten silver, due to the deceit of a fellow apprentice, Dove. Johnny has to strike out on his own and we experience his loneliness and despair, but he rises above it and finds a hope and a future. He meets Rab, a kind and wise boy a couple of years older than Johnny. Rab befriends Johnny and hires him to deliver papers. Johnny learns to love and ride horses, in particular, Goblin, a horse nobody but he could ride. He delivers the Boston Observer to homes and businesses. He also delivers messages and news to the likes of Paul Revere, John Hancock, Samuel Adams, and others. The Revolution begins. Rab leaves Boston first in order to fight in the battle of Lexington, the very first battle of the war. Unfortunately, the British outmanned and outgunned them in the first battle and Rab is hit with many bullets before he could even shoot his gun. Johnny vows to join the fight as soon as Dr. Warren fixes his burnt and twisted hand so that he can hold a gun…Fantastic book. Takes you into the time of the Revolution. It is considered children’s literature, but it is 300 pages long and the language, characters, and plot seem like an adult book to me.

(more…) “Johnny Tremain: A Story of Boston in Revolt”

Brave New World

by Aldous Huxley, 1932

I didn’t read this, but Wayne did, twice; once in high school and then, again, just recently. He said not to bother with it, but there are warnings for us. They used genetic engineering focusing on cognitive abilities, to mass-produce humans in test-tubes, some created to be slaves, others higher caste. Alphas will run things and gammas will dig ditches. 21st Century equivalent will be genetic modification of embryos/fetus’. They considered the idea of family to be obscene. The goal was homogeneity – eliminate individuality. They condition behaviors via Pavlovian conditioning and hypnotic suggestion all through youth, for example: consumption is good; you belong to everybody; families are obscene, gross, icky; drugs are good; we are better than gammas but not as good as alphas, etc. (maintaining a functional prejudice concerning castes). Humans are kept in line via distractions: entertainment, drugs, sex and recreation. Stability, via conformity, is the ultimate goal. Everybody is “satisfied” and happy. No unmet desires (either met via social engineering above, or stamped out by same.) Means no passions either. No individuality, or God.

In our world today (America), our children are indoctrinated into consumerism from their earliest ages. We are also a nation of distraction – “entertain me” is our daily bread. So, good warnings for us. “The Herd” – we are managed, like a herd, for the benefit of the management – the people who own us.