Hopes and Dreams

Today I had one of those procedures they do on old people. This procedure involves food deprivation and enough laxatives to cure a constipated army. The prep isn't that bad. One day of fasting isn't all that terrible. Why some people fast for reasons other than what I just went through is beyond me. I only fast if I have to. The people I met there were very nice and they took great care of me. The good news is the procedure is for old people but just a limited time. Older old people are off the hook. I suspect this is the last time I will have to endure this ordeal. All is well. I thought I would share this funny sign I saw in the bathroom.

Personally I am more concerned with people flushing their hopes and dreams. I am comfortable with dead goldfish going down.

Winter Show

Today I had some time and the opportunity to visit the Como Conservatory. The sunken gardens smelled heavenly. The winter garden show features purple pansies and azaleas, fragrant lilies, red cyclamen and amaryllis. I sat on a bench to relax, breath the humid air, people watch and read a book.

I can't think of a better place to be on a cold winter day.

The House on Mermaid Point

Wendy Wax wrote The House on Mermaid Point. I was drawn to it because 1. mermaids, 2. warm weather, and 3. the cover. The story is about a group of women who renovate a house on an island on the Florida Keys as part of a reality show. This was a silly book really. If I had known it was about a reality show I never would have picked it up.

Between, Georgia

I listened to the author read Between, Georgia and was very entertained. Joshilyn reads the story in her southern accent. The main character is Nonny Frett. In her town of Between, Georgia, the Frett's and the Crabtree families are in a major feud. The two people who keep this feud going are both loved by Nonny. She does her best to mediate the tension and keep radical acts at bay at the cost of her own serenity. Nonny's mother has a disability of deafness and blindness due to having Usher syndrome. Of all the people in the family, Nonny's mother is, by far, emotionally stable and responsible. This was a fascinating story about a family that was full of surprises and drama.

Trains

Yesterday was such a nice day I decided to go for a long walk in north east Minneapolis. I walked all the way to Stinson Boulevard and home again. The walk east was easier than the walk west because the water on the sidewalks started to freeze on the way home. I made the walk without falling or freezing and I actually enjoyed walking past each residence. I tried to imagine what these homes would look like in July. I tried to imagine who lived in each house. At my old house I saw trains all the time. Each freight train had about 120 cars. Amtrack and commuter trains were a welcome shorter wait for me in my car. Where I live now I don't have to wait for trains because the trains go over the road on bridges. The trains here are all freight trains and they go along at a slow speed. In this picture two trains are traveling in opposite directions. Many of the cars were tank cars and some were container cars. As the trains ambled away to their unknown destinations I proceeded carefully to my destination comforted by the sounds of the trains moving slowly down the tracks.

Little Green

I picked up this book at the library attracted by the cover. When I started reading Walter Mosley's novel, Little Green, I didn't know it was a mystery nor a series. If I knew those things I would not have picked it up. But since I started it I was drawn into the character of Easy Rawlins. Easy is a complicated person. He is a private detective who does not take good care of himself. He is both good and bad. I surely would not want him as an enemy but I'm not sure I would want him as a friend either. Little Green is a teenager who goes missing. Easy Rawlins goes above and beyond the call of duty to rescue this poor boy. The book has violence in it which I do not like but it wasn't gratuitous violence or overly graphic violence. The story takes place on the Sunset Strip in California at a time when muscle cars were the fashion and long before cell phones were invented. I enjoyed reading about the area and the 1960's. I enjoyed learning more about the race relations. I am not interested in reading the other books about Easy Rawlins.

The Storyteller

I listened to Jodi Picoult's book The Storyteller. The story is about an upior (a Polish vampire) named Alexander, a woman named Ania, and an arrogant captain of the guard named Damien. This story was told by the grandmother, Minka. Minka told this story in the Polish concentration camp to entertain the people in her barracks. She told it again to her granddaughter, Sage, in the weeks before she died. This story is about the Holocaust. The narrators include Sage, Minka, and a few other characters. Leo works for the department of Justice. He devotes his life to finding Nazi criminals and bringing them to justice. I really enjoyed his character and his narration. Ania is another narrator and she tells the story about the vampire. All the narrators tell the story which finishes with a surprising ending. I enjoyed this book very much.

The Dutch House

I got lucky when I rented The Dutch House by Ann Patchett from the cloud library. I was unaware until I started listening that the book is read by  Tom Hanks. I love being read to and being read to by Tom Hanks is even better. Most of the story is narrated by the brother who lived in the Dutch House so it makes sense to have it read by a man. I loved this book (and Tom's voice) so much I am going to listen to it twice before I have to return it to the cloud library

The Care And Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls

I was attracted to this book by Anissa Gray by the colorful cover and the fact that it was placed sideways on the library shelf. The Care And Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls was a quick and easy read. This story is about a family of four adult siblings. Each sibling has their own role to play in the family dynamics. When the oldest sibling becomes unavailable the family flounders because she was always the one in charge and directing others. This story demonstrates that the person in charge in a family isn't always the best leader nor the best decision maker. I liked this story because most of the characters understood family is important. They stepped up to help even if it wasn't convenient or their field of expertise.

MIA

Today I had some free time. The weather was too cold to be outside. So I went to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. As I walked four blocks to get into the building I remembered the time I brought Offspring #1 and his cousin there. I think they were three years old; possibly four. As we walked through the paintings and statues I heard them repeating the same word over and over, "Naked!" Here is a photo of a Reubens.

I think I could come here every day for two weeks and get something new out of the experience. Here is a Georgia O'Keefe. Every patron today was given a six inch red heart. We were told to place it by our favorite work of art. I put my heart by a statue of Eros; also known as Cupid.

This is a Frank Lloyd Wright chair. The Institute has a big showing now of Japanese and Chinese and Korean art. Today I also saw a Picasso, a Salvador Dali and Mondrian. Walking through the three floors of this art museum was a great way to spend a cold winter day.

Mountains Beyond Mountains

I borrowed this copy of Mountains Beyond Mountains: : The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, A Man Who Would Cure the World from Offspring  #2 before I left on my road trip. Now that I have finished this fine book by Tracy Kidder, I have more appreciation for the work and words of Doctor Paul Farmer. Doctor Farmer is a physician and a medical anthropologist. He is especially interested in severe cases of tuberculosis that do not respond to standard treatment. He worked mainly in Haiti, Peru, and Siberia treating the poor and the sick. He founded a non-profit organization called PIH (Partners in Health).  He travels around the world speaking, seeing patients, and raising money for patients who cannot afford to pay for their treatment. I am inspired to read about such a giving, hard-working scientist who manages to maintain a positive outlook despite the poverty he witnesses and the politics he has to untangle.

Crows Calling

In my new house I was disturbed by a murder of crows talking and talking and talking. These crows sounded so close. I looked out my bedroom window in northeast Minneapolis to find 25 crows in the tree. One crow to the north squawks seven syllables. The other two dozen crows answer in unison with 20 syllables. The one crow squawks again. The chorus answers.  

What are the crows talking about? Is one crow asking a question and the rest of the crows answer? That is what this sounds like to me.

Ayesaha At Last

Driving back from Savannah to Minneapolis I was able to listen to the book Ayesha At Last by Uzma Jalaluddin. The story seemed familiar although the two main characters did not. Ayesha is a Muslim high school teacher in Toronto. Khalid is a Muslim man working in technology support at a large company. Khalid is a conservative Muslim. He and Ayesha end up working together on a youth conference at their mosque. They really don't like each other or at least they appear not to like each other. By the end of the story I realized this is a reworking of Jane Austen's novel Pride and Prejudice. I thought it was an interesting book though and it helped pass the miles through Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, and Iowa quickly.

Tybee Island

Responsibilities are calling me back to Minnesota. So how to spend my last day in the south?  At the shore, of course. I drove north and east to Tybee Island where every parking space on the whole island costs $3/hour. I parked by the lighthouse and walked over the boardwalk to see the Atlantic Ocean one last time. I listened to the surf. I watched the sandpipers, gulls, pelicans and other birds fly by. I think I might have seen a black skimmer. I kept my shoes on because the temperature was only in the 40's but I walked for 90 minutes along the beach.

I chose not to visit the lighthouse and accompanying museums. Spending the day outside seemed like the better choice.

I also visited the Tybee Marine Science Center on the other end of the island. They have a small menagerie including various fish, a ray, one loggerhead turtle. I got to watch the turtle get pampered with a betadine wash and anti fungal cream massage. This agency is devoted to saving turtles but also rescues birds and other animals. As I walked along the beach I kept looking for bottle nosed dolphins. I didn't see any bottle  nosed dolphins but I had fun loooking!