The Four Romanticisms

 Today I took my first (of 8) classes in the four romanticisms. I am afraid I am in over my head. This class is taught by a retired English professor. The topics include English, philosophy, and linguistics. I was very confused. For next week our assignment is to read a six page essay entitled "What was revolutionary about the French Revolution?" by Robert Darnton. Towards the end of the class things started making more sense. Our teacher does not have a positive outlook on the future of our society. He said part of the problem is that people are not reading paper books. They are reading e books on their phones. The other problem, according to the teacher, is that many college courses are taught via Zoom. If people could meet in person they can exchange ideas and ask each other for help. Will I stick this course out until the bitter end? This remains to be seen. I think it is good to be challenged.

My Train Leaves At Three

 Natalie Guerrero is the author of the coming of age novel called My Train Leaves At Three. Xiomara is thirty years old and she lives with her ultra Catholic Puerto Rican mother after her older sister suddenly died. She wants to be a singer and an actress. She works two minimum wage jobs. One job is a photo developer. The other is a singing waitress at a diner. Xiomara can sing really well. Even with both jobs she isn't able to keep up on the rent payments. Her mother is so grief stricken by her sister's death that she hasn't worked for months. How will she get ahead in this world where the men hold all the cards? The story has a happy ending for which I am glad.

 

 

The River's Daughter

 Bridget Crocker is the author of the auto-biographical novel called The River's Daughter. Bridget grew up in California. Her father was violent so her mother moved her and her little brother to Wyoming. They lived in a trailer house near the Snake River. Her mother married another man and they had a happy life together. When her Mom was 45 she underwent a drastic personality change. From an attentive and church going mother, she now had an inattentive and wild mother who took off with an eco-terrorist into the mountains. Bridget had a hard life. Sometimes she led wilderness hikes with her mother and her new man. She eventually trained to be a white water rapids guide on the Snake River. Later she and her boyfriend went to Africa and guided trips there. I enjoyed reading about her travels and all the rapids she went through.

 

 

Theft

Theft is a novel written by a Nobel Prize in Literature winner Abdulrazak Gumah. The story is about three people from Tanzania, Karim, Fauzia, and Badar. The time spans from the 1980's to the 2000's. Karim rises from an overlooked child to a government official overseeing environmental initiatives in Zanzibar. Karim marries Fauzia who is an accomplished teacher. Badar is taken to work at Karim's mother's home. He starts out as a lowly house boy but rises with his hard work and good attitude to be a great cook and an important member of the household. Later, at Karim's advice, he moves to Zanzibar to work at a hotel. Badar becomes an important person in the marriage of Karim and Fauzia. This wonderful historical fiction novel is about belonging and identity.

 

  

This Kind Of Trouble

Tochi  Eze is the author of the historical fiction novel This Kind Of Trouble. Set in Lagos in the early 1960's two people fall in love. Margaret is a headstrong secretary. Benjamin was born in the British Isles but his father was half Nigerian. He could pass as a Caucasian. They visit Margaret's family to ask for their blessing. The village priest says they should not marry because one of Margaret's ancestors never paid for his sins against the village people. They marry anyway. Margaret has mental health problems. She sees creatures in her house and they talk to her. After the birth of their daughter, Benjamin flees from Margaret's mental health problems leaving her behind alone except for a baby. They don't see each other again until 2005 when Benjamin's and Margaret's grandson starts to show signs of the same mental illness. This is a sad and complicated story but still worth the read.

 

 

Blazing Star And Lead Plant

This morning and part of the afternoon I traveled to the Nature Conservancy office at Weaver Dunes to collect prairie seeds for a new section of land that is being converted from farm to prairie. The weather was foggy and cool and I started out with a sweatshirt and two fleece jackets. When I left I had just the sweatshirt on.

We had about 25 people helping. We had five priority species to focus on plus ten secondary species. I decided to focus on two priority species.

I filled a quarter of a paper envelope with lead plant seeds. The orange is my water bottle. The blue are my shoes. Lead plant can have roots 10 to 15 feet in length. Lead plant prefers dry and sandy soil. Lead plant is in the legume family so it secures nitrogen in the soil.

We collected a couple of gallons of blazing star. I started out putting the seeds in an envelope but quickly dropped that idea and put the blazing star seeds into a milk jug I had attached to my pants. Monarch butterflies and other butterflies appreciate blazing star. While we were working a half dozen bald eagles flew over our heads-a good omen, not? One guy found the shell of a map turtle.

 

Typewriter Beach

Meg Waite Clayton is the author of the historical fiction novel called Typewriter Beach. The story is told from two timelines, the 1950's and the 2010's. The setting is Los Angeles and Carmel By The Sea. Leon Chazan was a successful screenwriter in Los Angeles until he was black listed for refusing to answer questions about Communism. Now he lives in Carmel By The Sea. He brings his chair and his typewriter out to the beach and times screen plays he knows he can't sell unless someone else takes credit for his work. Isabella Giori is an actress in Hollywood hoping for a part in Alfred Hitchcock's new play. She is 10 months into a standard seven year contract. A Hollywood "fixer" takes her to a small cottage at Carmel By The Sea and tells her to stay inside and not come out. People will bring her food and necessities. When she is awoken at 5 a.m. by the sound of Leon's typewriter she goes to his cottage to complain. Soon they take off together for car rides to Big Sur. Leon never gets off the black list. Isabella gets some big roles. After Leon dies his granddaughter, Gemma, comes out to his place to go through his things. Gemma is also a play writer. She learns much about Leon's work. In fact, other movies credited to other writers were big hits. This wonderful story is about the difficulties of being a woman, being a writer, and being famous.