The Paris Daughter

The Paris Daughter is an historical fiction book written by Kristin Harmel with an ending I did not see coming. Knowing the ending now I see there were a couple of slight clues along the way. This is a World War II story in Paris. Julianne works at a book shop with her husband and four children. Elise has a daughter the same age as Julianne's daughter. She is married to a successful artist and is also an artist herself. Her husband downplays her artistic accomplishments. Ruth is a widow with two young children. When the Nazi's start deporting Jewish people to concentration camps (with the assistance of French police) Ruth leaves her children with strangers and hides in the south of France. Elise's husband is a strident member of the French resistance. When he is taken he does not incriminate any of his political allies but suggests Elise is a part of the resistance when she wasn't. Elise knows she needs to leave town so she asks Julianne to take her daughter until she can return. The American forces were not always accurate when bombing German machine repair shops in Paris so many people are killed. Who was killed and who was not killed did not come out of hiding until Juliette, Elise, and Ruth meet together in 1960 in New York City. After reading this story and about the war in Ukraine, I count my blessings to have lived a peaceful life.

 

 

Orhan's Inheritance

When one group of citizens deports another group of citizens, is it right that the remaining group of citizens takes over the property of the group that has left? In Orhan's Inheritance, Aline Ohanesian writes about the Armenian genocide that took place in Turkey after World War One. Lucine lives with her family. She has brothers and parents and grandparents. Their job is dying wool for prayer rugs in beautiful patterns. Lucine is Armenian. In Turkey the Armenians are slightly wealthier than the Turks. Also, they practice Christianity while the Turks are Muslim. Lucine and Kemal are young friends. When Lucine and her family are deported to Syria Kemal promises to remember her. Kemal's family takes over Lucine's family property. When Kemal dies he leaves the family business or Orhan and he leaves the family property to Seda. Orhan decides to go to Los Angeles and learn about Seda who is now 90 years old and living in an Armenian nursing home. What Orhan learns from the reticent Seda upturns all he knew about his heritage. This is a great novel about love, loss, and family secrets.

 

  

Doc

 Mary Doria Russell is the author of Doc. This is a story about the famous western gambler/dentist known as Doc Holiday. He is 24 years old and had to move to Dodge City because he had tuberculosis. The dryer air out west would help him live longer than if he stayed in Atlanta. Doc was a dentist and a good dentist too. He couldn't earn enough as a dentist to make ends meet so he became a Faro dealer too. He was friends with all the Earp brothers. When cattle came to Dodge City turmoil happened. Cowhands now had money to spend at the bars and the whore houses full of young Irish women.  Unlike all the other men in town Doc is cultured. He reads philosophy. He can play the piano. He can discuss art and authors. Because of his disease he is thin and he coughs frequently. Drinking whiskey calms the cough. The story of Doc Holiday and his friendship with Wyatt Earp is fascinating to read.

 

 

Word Mix Up

When I was a kid my Aunt Annie was my playmate. We were going to build a fort. We decided to use some fruit boxes that were piled next to my Grandpa's garage. The problem was that one of the boxes held a bee's nest. We were swarmed with bees. As I ran away from the bees I still carried the box in my hand resulting in many painful stings. Back at my own house my Mom and Grandma discussed what to do to relieve the pain. As a kid I sometimes got words mixed up. I started screaming that I didn't want vinegar on me.

This is what I thought vinegar was. Vinegar and manure are not the same thing at all. I know that now.

One day my family was having breakfast in the wood paneled dining room. I asked for more bacon. I was told there wasn't any bacon. I could see bacon on a plate at the other end of the table.

Bacon and toast are not the same thing. I know that all.

Moral of the story? Be careful when picking up fruit boxes that have been sitting outside.

 

Happy Fall

 

Ransomware

Today I attended a talk at the Winona Historical Building about ransomware. The talk was given by the Winona County Recorder. Ransomware is when another entity steals data and programs from a place and holds them for ransom. In January of this year, cyber criminals stole data from Winona County and held it for ransom. In this case it was $128,000.00. That is a boat load of money for a county that is barely making it and was looking to increase taxes by double digits. Insurance paid $50,000.00. The county recorder gave a good talk but could not give us all the details because there is still an open case with the FBI. The biggest suspect is Iran. This cyber attack held up data for property records, employee data, and payroll.  The attack on Winona County was the largest ransom ware attack in the state of Minnesota.  The second largest attack was on Washington County which makes sense because they have a lot more money. When asked why the attackers chose such a money poor county he mentioned an issue with Fastenal. Fastenal is a large employer here in Winona. They have a building on Second Street which is unique. This is a five story building. Corporate executives are on the first and second floor. Hourly workers are on the fourth and fifth floors which have beautiful views of the Mississippi River and the cliffs of Wisconsin. Fastenal appealed the tax rate on their building which is their right to do. The county searched throughout the state for a similar building and could not find anything equivalent. Next they searched the nation for a similar building. Fastenal threatened to go to court. County officials and Fastenal talked about it and decided to come to an agreement without going to court. All the searches for buildings equivalent to Fastenal might have triggered the ransomware. He told us to expect many more ransom ware attacks in the future. A near by town had a smaller ransom ware attack. The city council decided to pay the ransom minus ten per cent. As a result they lost all that money and all their data. Experts say it is best to pay the full amount. He couldn't tell us how the ransom was paid but I suspect bitcoin. The recorder had other things to say about the county. Birth rates are down. Death rates are up. They were told to expect more marriages during the pandemic. Instead the divorce rates skyrocketed. Although the talk was interesting and informative, I now have more things to worry about.

The Orphan's Tale

Pam Jennoff is the author of the historical fiction novel called The Orphan's Tale. The story is about the friendship of two women during World War Two in Germany. Noa was 16 when her parent's threw her out of the house for being pregnant. A Nazi officer had made false promises to her. She is taken to a Nazi home for pregnant women. Her child would be given to the Reich. Her son had dark hair and dark eyes. He was deemed unsuitable for the Reich. Noa was expelled from the home. She got a job at a train station. She slept in the attic above the train station. One day she heard noises from a train car. The train car was full of babies being sent to a prison camp. The babies were cold, dirty, and hungry. Noa decides to save one of the babies. She takes him with her through the woods in the winter. When she is overcome by the cold, a fellow named Peter finds her. Peter works as a clown at a circus that over winters near these woods. When Noa awakens she claims the baby is her brother and she ran away from an abusive father. She offers to cook and clean to support herself and the baby until she can recover. The circus owner says he doesn't need a cook nor a cleaner. He needs an aerialist. He needs a trapeze artist. Noa trains with the other trapeze artist, Astrid. Astrid came to the circus looking for help. She grew up at a nearby circus. She left the circus when she married a Nazi officer and moved to Berlin. Soon the Nazi's insisted that all officers must abandon their wives if the wives were Jewish. The friendship between Astrid and Noa provides the bulk of this lovely story. This book had a long epilogue (35 minutes long) which wrapped up all the loose ends neatly.