Oryx And Crake

Oryx and Crake is a dystopian novel that the author, Margaret Atwood, describes as speculative fiction. I think she means a story like this could happen in the future. The story is about a boy named Jimmy. As an adult he is known as Snowman. One day his mother disappears and for years government officials repeatedly question him about her whereabouts. Jimmy lives with his Dad who is a scientist. In this society, each company builds living quarters for their employees to keep them safe and isolated from the crumbling world elsewhere. Jimmy is an average student. One day a new student named Glenn starts at his high school. Jimmy and Glenn spend much time together playing video games and smoking weed. On his extinction video game Glenn uses the handle Crake and Jimmy uses Snowman.  Glenn is a top notch student. After high school Jimmy gets into an art school where he learns how to write advertising. Glenn becomes a genetic pharmaceutical engineer. Later, after they are working for a few years,, Glenn asks Jimmy to help him write advertising for the new humanoid he has designed called Crakers. Things go wrong at this job and Snowman is left starving and barely surviving out of the compound in some trees next to the sea with some Crakers. Two more stories follow this one but I am going to have to pace myself. Maybe I will read one a year. This is an incredibly possible and sad story. 

 

The Book Of Records

 Madeleine Thien is the author of The Book Of Records. This book is speculative fiction. The main characters are Lina and her father who are waiting to migrate at a place next to the sea. They meet other travelers including a poet, a philosopher, and a scientist. Lina's father brought three books on their journey. The three people they meet are featured in the book "The Great Lives Of Voyagers." The three people lived in different centuries and in different parts of the world. The book is heavy with philosophy and, frankly, most of that went over my head. This was definitely not easy reading.  I am glad I read it on Libby because Libby has a feature where you can highlight a word you don't know and the definition comes up.

 

 

Florida

 Lauren Groff is the author of a book of short stories called Florida. All the stories are set in various parts of Florida, from the Everglades to the panhandle. Each story is different. Most of the stories mention snakes but panthers and alligators are also in some. Bad, crime ridden neighborhoods are mentioned in several stories accompanied by women plagued by insomnia who don't feel safe going out to walk or run at night. Most of the stories have bad storms. One has a hurricane. The writing is very precise which made for a captivating read.

 

 

Every Tom, Dick And Harry

 Eleanor Lipman is the author of the comedic novel called Every Tom, Dick, And Harry. In this story a young adult named Emma is taking over her parent's business so they can retire on the Atlantic coast, several hours away. Her parents helped clear out estates. They sold antiques and valuable pieces of art for a 40% commission. Now this is Emma's job. Plus she moved into their house. Her father was a teacher at the local school. He mentions that another teacher from the same school, a guy named Frank, needs a place to live after his wife died so Emma takes him in too.  Her new boarder turns out to be a super helpful house mate. He cooks. He cleans. He gives good advice.  Frank is great at advertising. Together Emma and Frank are succeeding at estate sales. In the book we learn about the other main characters in town such as the mayor, the chief of police, the chief of police's mother, Franks wife and step-daughters, and the owner of a large estate in a tony neighborhood. This large estate was a bed and breakfast on one level and a brothel on another letter. This book was very funny but slightly unbelievable.

 

 

 

 

Roof Walker

Susan Power is an author living in Saint Paul, Minnesota. A couple of years ago I read her book The Grass Dancer. Now I read another book called Roof Walker. This book is about Native Americans living in Chicago for work because their reservation in North Dakota did not have many opportunities for employment. Many of the stories included native spiritual beliefs. Most of the stories mentioned the conflict between living in Chicago and living the native way. I liked the book because each story had a strong (get it done!) female character.

 

 

 

 

The Red House

 Mark Haddon is the author of the great novel called The Curious Of The Dog In The Night-Time. I loved that book. He also wrote The Red House which I just finished reading and I liked that one too. This book takes place in current time. Two semi-estranged siblings get together for a week at a house in the countryside. The older brother, Richard, a wealthy doctor invites his sister, Angela. Richard is newly married and has a step-daughter. Angela has her husband and her three children. The story is told  by all eight characters. We learn about grudges, resentments, hopes and problems. Plus we learn about the red house and who cooks what for dinner each night. After reading this delightful book I felt like I had been on vacation in the red house too.

 

 

Not Something I Would Do

Today the weather was warm and sunny. This is the third day in a row where we had temperatures over 50 degrees Fahrenheit. As I walked along the shore I saw a group of four seven year old boys standing on the ice next to the shore having the times of their lives. They had sticks and were pushing into the ice but staying within 5 feet of shore. I suppose the danger added to their fun. Their joy made me smile. Walking further along the lake I saw four groups of anglers sitting out on the ice fishing. To the top left you can see sugar loaf bluff. To the right of that are the ice cliffs. Over the past few days the ice has looked darker and darker. They were really far out there. How can they relax in such danger? I circled their locations. This is not something I would do. 

 

 

The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle And Flying Club

The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle And Flying Club is an historical fiction novel written by Helen Simonson. I have read one other book by her called The Summer Before the War. This book takes place in the fictional town of Hazelbourne which is on the coast. The book starts at Armistice Day (ending of World War One) and for a year after that. Constance is a main character. She grew up on a farm. Her father died when she was young. Her mother recently passed away from the flu. Now she works as a farm manager. Her brother was the sole inheritor of the farm. Constance needs to make money. She has a degree in accounting but employers are expected to save those jobs for men. With the help of her mother's friend, she gets a job helping an older lady recover from the flu. Together they travel to a hotel in Hazelbourne to take in the sea air and recuperate. Another guest at the hotel asks Constance for help. This guest, Poppy, grew up wealthy and she is something of a maverick. She likes to wear pants and to drive motorcycles. As the year progresses Poppy and Candace become close friends. What struck me about this book is the cultural restrictions placed on certain segments of society at that time. Some filling stations would not sell gas to young women on motorcycles. A German waiter at the hotel is discriminated against because of his heritage. He was put in a concentration camp on the Isle of Mann during the war. Even a year after the war has ended certain people in town treat him very badly. I enjoyed this story much more than I thought I would. There was an abundance of drama and intrigue.

 

 

Above The Line

I read Shirley MacLaine's book called Above The Line, My "Wild Oats" Adventure. The story is partly about a movie she made on the Canary Islands with Jessica Lange. The movie was called My Wild Oats. The other part of the book is some stream of consciousness rambling about the lost island of Atlantis. She is a much better actress than author. 

 

 

Happy Valentine's Day

 

Tell Me Everything

 I love the writing of Elizabeth Strout. She is so talented in writing about ordinary people living in Maine. I found Tell Me Everything at the library. She has a new one that came out this year called The Things We Never Say. This book had characters I knew from other books such as Olive Kitteridge, Lucy Porter, and the Burgess boys. In this book Bob Burgess has a big role. He is semi-retired as a lawyer but he takes the case to defend a young man accused of killing his mother. The man's mother was a lunch lady at the school and was quite unlikable. The entire book is about relationships, both family and friends. We never know how important we are in the lives of others.

 

Revolutionary War

 Today I joined the "Learning Club" which is a group organized by Winona State and held at the Winona History Museum. Today the topic was the revolutionary war. I was ten minutes early. The very enthusiastic speaker (former botany professor) asked me if I was a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution. I said I wasn't and that my ancestors were immigrants after that (which is true as far as I know). She is a member of DAR and proud of it. She is a distant relative of Thomas Jefferson and proud of that too. She spoke about the resolutions the first European settlers had in this new country which were freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and they were against slavery. She plans to give two more talks in the future.

 

 

Leaving Rollingstone

 I read Kevin Fenton's autobiographical book called Leaving Rollingstone. He was born in 1959 and grew up in Rollingstone which is 11 miles northwest of Winona. He grew up on a farm and was the youngest sibling in his family. His mother was a nurse in Winona. His Dad was a farmer. As a farmer, due to physical disabilities, was not successful as a farmer. Kevin was into rock and roll. His sisters loved to dance and his eldest brother joined the Army. Everybody in town was a Catholic and the only school was a Catholic school. After they lost the farm they moved to Minnesota City. Once his father died and all the other siblings moved out, Kevin and his Mom moved to Winona so she could be closer to work and he could be closer to high school. He floundered as a young adult and made some self-destructive choices. He eventually became an ad man in the big city (Minneapolis). More about this time in his life is implied in his other book, Cyan Magenta Yellow Black. I enjoyed his looking back with nostalgia but also honesty.

 

 

Dakota Project

 Today I attended a seminar at Winona State University in their student center ballroom. I sat with a couple of teachers and one other lady from the community. The teachers were glad to see such a big turnout and that members of the public were in attendance. Six speakers from the Prairie Island area came to speak. One spoke about natural law and inherent rights. He spoke about the 1837 and 1851 treaties. According to the treaties, the town of Winona belongs to the Dakota. After the 1862 uprising, all treaties were abrogated. He also said, and I found this surprising, conservative Supreme Court judge, Neil Gorsuch, has always voted in favor of Native rights. There were about six speakers talking about land rights, land trusts, the environment, social work, art, and community relations. The main message I took away from this three hour session is that Mitakuye Owasin or we are all related.

The Nest

In Cynthia D'Aprix's novel, The Nest, the four siblings of the Plumb Family gather together. Before their father died he set aside some money for them to inherit when the youngest sibling, Melony, turned forty. Thanks to their uncle, George, the nest has developed into a very tidy sum. All the Plumb siblings are looking forward to receiving the nest. Two of the siblings need the nest to escape their present financial difficulties. This meeting takes place when Melony is 39. Their eldest brother, Leo, has not been a responsible son nor brother lately. His irresponsible actions lead to a car crash where a waitress was severely injured. To preserve the reputation of the Plumb family, the nest is used to pay people to keep quiet. I enjoyed the story but honestly the four siblings of the Plumb family are highly self-absorbed and unlikeable with the exception of Bea.

 

 

Blaack Cake

Charmaine Wilkerson is the debut author of Black Cake. In this fiction novel siblings Byron and Benny are reunited after the death of their mother. They had been estranged for 5 years. Their mother leaves them a audio recording with the true story of her identity and life. Byron and Benny had been told lies all their lives. Their mother was also a great cook. For Christmas she made a black cake that had fruit soaked in alcohol all year. The book is full of secrets and betrayals. Byron lives in California and is mapping the ocean floor for science. Benny lives in New York City and is saving so she can open a cafe/coffee shop. Their mother did not grow up in an orphanage in England. Instead she grew up in a beach town on an Caribbean island (probably Jamaica) where she was a champion swimmer.  This book does a nice job while touching many sensitive subjects.

 

 

Ice Park

Winona has an ice park which is part of Sugar Loaf Park. Sugar Loaf is just to the left of this photo. Highway 61 is at the bottom of the hill. Last weekend they had their ice festival. People came from around the country to climb these person made cliffs of ice. Volunteers run hoses off the cliff to form the ice. The ice park is a twenty minute walk from the parking area. I have been up there in the summer but not the winter.

 

Lights Out

Last night I attended an Audubon meeting here in Winona. The topic was light pollution. We watched a 35 minute documentary called Lights Out In Texas. Next we heard from a Winona State Professor who studies astronomy specifically when two objects collide in space. She also knows about light pollution because twenty years ago she had a student who was interested in light pollution in Winona and he also happened to have a pilot license. She showed us pictures of light pollution over the last five decades. Light pollution for the most part is worse. According to her figures, 60 to 80 percent of today's children will never see the Milky Way because of light pollution. Winona State has done much to reduce light pollution. They replaced their outdoor lights with lights that shine only down. Also, the lights go dim unless someone walking by triggers the light to come on fully.  The residential parts of Winona are fairly dark. The lightest places are automotive dealerships and big box stores like Walmart and Target.  According to her, light pollution is better but there is still room for improvement.

 

 

Blue Wave

Yesterday evening I joined Winona Indivisible for a protest march starting at Windom Park. We walked around with signs for 90 minutes. Various commuters either ignored us, waved at us, or beeped their horns in quick succession. My sign read "The blue wave is coming." I liked this home made sign better.

 

 

The Revolving Door Of Life

Alexander McCall Smith is the author of The Revolving Door Of Life. This intermittently hilarious book talks about life in Scotland. Various characters interact with each other. One is a father of two sons, Bertie (age 7) and an infant. His wife goes to Saudi Arabia for a 5 day trip but ends up staying longer. He gets in touch with his mother. His mother now lives is Portugal with her new husband but she is glad to come to her son's house while the wife is away to help. The guy's mother cannot tolerate the wife. When the son went to the airport to pick up his mother, Bertie offered to hold the infant because the infant was less cranky with him. Bertie spots his grandmother's red suitcase coming so he sets the infant down. Father and grandmother do not notice the infant going away on the luggage conveyor belt until after he is behind the scene. That was one hilarious incident. Both Bertie and the infant do better under the care of their grandmother. Another woman on the far side of town is trying to prevent her father from falling into the arms of a Slovakian woman who is after her money. She solves the problem by asking an annoying friend of theirs to tempt the Slovakian woman into an affair.  In between all these hilarious skits are facts about the legends of Scotland. I highly recommend this book.

 

 

Park Avenue

 I read Renee Ahdieh's debut adult novel called Park Avenue. The story is about Jia. Jia's parents owned a Korean bodega in New York City. Jia wants a better life for herself. When a Korean lady lawyer comes into the bodega to buy tea, Jia admires her Birkin leather bag and decides she will be a lawyer and own a Birkin bag too one day. Now Jia is an adult at a prestigious law firm and she just made junior partner. When a senior partner asks for her help with a wealthy Korean family, this is her ticket to make senior partner. What she learns from the Koren Park family is that money cannot buy happiness. Jia rethinks her life's goals and her work/life balance. This was a superficial yet enchanting read.

 

 

The Man Of Many Fathers

I borrowed The Man Of Many Fathers: Life Lessons disguised As A Memoir, written by Roy Wood Jr. from the  library. Although I had never heard of the author before he is a well known writer, producer, actor and comic. He hosted the 2023 White House Correspondents' dinner. He writes about his strict, hard working mother and his mostly absent father. His father was a well known radio personality and civil rights leader in Birmingham, Alabama.  He didn't get into too much trouble as a kid except that one time when he and his friends adapted their leaf races in the stream behind the house. They added burning piles of pine needles on top of the leaves and started a forest fire. The author had an interesting story to tell.

 

 

The First Lie Wins

 Ashley Elston is the author of The First Lie Wins. This is a best selling mystery novel about a con woman named Evie Porter (not her real name). She works for a Mister Smith who gives her jobs to do in various cities in the southern states. Evie is extremely smart and clever and manages to be successful on nearly all her assignments. Although mysteries are not my favorite, this book is paced well, full of action, and all the threads get resolved by the end. 

 

 

The Nickel Boys

 The Nickel Boys is the second Pulitzer Prize that Colson Whitehead won. His first is called The Underground Railroad. This book is set in Florida in the 1960's. The story is about a black youth named Elwood. Elwood lives with his grandmother who is very strict. She won't let him listen to music nor the radio. He can listen to speeches by Martin Luther King, Jr. Elwood is a good kid and a great student. He is admitted entrance to college classes while still in high school. Just before he is to enter his college classes he hitches a ride to another city in Florida. He and the driver are pulled over by police because they are driving a Plymouth. The officer believes no one with their skin color can afford a Plymouth so it must be stolen. Elwood ends up at the Nickel Academy which is a reform school full of corruption and cruelty. This captivating story is based on a real reform school in Florida.

 

 

Flappers And Philosophers

I listened to F. Scott Fitzgerald's collection of short stories called Flappers And Philosophers. These stories were published individually in magazines before being collected into a book. The first four stories were about flappers. I noticed each flapper had long legs, blond hair and was about 19 years old. In his lifetime, Fitzgerald was known for his short stories in magazines and not for novels. The second story involves a flapper from the deep south. The story is called the Ice Palace.  She comes to Saint Paul with her fiancee to meet his family. She has never seen snow and is captivated. She wants to try all the winter sports which her fiancee reluctantly goes along with until she realizes that these sports are for kids, not young ladies. At the end of the story they visit an ice palace with a large group of friends at the end of the day. She becomes separated. Thinking the ice palace is empty, the organizers turn off all the lights. She is trapped in an ice palace thinking she will freeze to death. This is a great story. The rest of the book is about young men at the beginning of their careers full of idealistic ideas that fade away as they mature. I am so glad I found this book.

 

  

The Audition

 Katie Kitamura is the author of the award winning book called The Audition. Some people find this book to be fascinating. I found it to be confusing. The first half of the book is about an actress who lives with her husband in New York City. She walks to the theater every day to rehearse or perform. She meets a young man who is an assistant on the production. This young man thinks she is his birth mother. The actress did not ever give birth so she knows it's not true. In the second half of the book she admits she is his mother. Confusing much? This book might be too highbrow for me.

 

 

Cyan Magenta Yellow Black

Although it sounds like I am writing about a color wheel, Cyan Magenta Yellow Black is actually a book written by Kevin Fenton. The author grew up in Rollingstone and Winona, MN before moving to Saint Paul is his 20's. He wrote about a character named Duane who had a job at an ad agency. He was fired and had to sign a 12 month non-compete agreement. A year is a long time to be out of your career. As the story starts Duane is walking down Grand Avenue in Saint Paul to attend his support group. Duane is in a 12 step program. This is a fascinating story about a man putting his life back together. 

 

 

Chances Are

 I am a big fan of the author Richard Russo. I loved Empire Falls and Nobody's Fool. I also loved a book by him that I had never seen before. This one is called Chances Are. The story involves three guys who were friends in college. Now they are 66 years old and have gathered together for a weekend on Martha's Vineyard to reminisce about college days. One is a real estate broker in Arizona, one is a musician in Massachusetts, and one is a small publisher in the Midwest. The book goes back and forth in time. In one poignant chapter the three guys are together as they learn their draft numbers for the Vietnam war. Together they try to figure out what happened to their mutual friend, Jacy, who disappeared after being with them at this very house the weekend after their college graduation. The story was riveting.

 

 

BRRRRRR!

 

Creation Lake

 Rachel Kushner is the author of Creation Lake. The story is about a spy for hire. She is an American spying against the socialists in France. She takes up the identity of a woman named Sadie. Sadie is not a likeable character. All of her friendliness is a charade. She is a spy 24 hours a day and does not give a rip about the people she lives with. I don't think I have ever read a book about a less likeable character.

 

 

How The Penguins Saved Veronica

 I was walking around the library on the Navy base in Sasebo. I had about 45 minutes to spend. Unlike most libraries, this one had no newspapers to read. I picked up an interesting book called How The Penguins Saved Veronica written by Hazel Prior. I always enjoyed the book Mr. Popper's Penguins so I thought I would like this one too. At the end of the 45 minutes the book was checked out and put in the library book bag with the other book my grandchildren borrowed and I didn't see it for a week. Luckily we were going back to the library and I did have time to finish the book. This book has a sequel so I will look for that too. I enjoyed this story about a curmudgeonly grandmother named Veronica who visited the South Pole and impacted penguin research.

 

 

On My Head

Today, on my way back home after a funeral, I stopped by Como Park Observatory to breathe in some fragrant humid air and look at the plants. My first stop was in the tropical room. This is the room where you can see a sloth in a tree before the exit. I went in and walked over to the tank where three turtles were swimming. I looked up and saw three yellow birds in the tree above my head. Then I noticed the tiles below my feet were dotted with bird droppings. Before I could look up again I felt something wet land on my head. I looked at a young mother and her two year old daughter and asked, "Did I just get pooped on?" The mother couldn't see anything but when I pulled my hand through my hair I found some brown residue. Disgusting. I walked away from that exhibit and on to the next. Before I left I thought I would visit the statue at the center of the observatory and rest on a bench. As I got up to leave I recognized a woman standing at the next bench. I said hello. We used to work together 15 years ago. After that pleasant exchange I drove home to shampoo my hair. 

 

 

The Teller Of Small Fortunes

 Julie Leong is the author of The Teller Of Good Fortunes. This tale starts out with Tao who travels from city to city with her trusty mule. Tao only tells small fortunes such as it will rain next week or when the cow will calve. The book is set in the 17th century in an unnamed country. She meets a couple of men. One of them is an ex-mercenary and the other is a reformed thief. They wander together. Tao feels the need to move quickly after reading fortunes because the townsfolk might become angry with how their fortunes turned out or start demanding more important fortunes. Eventually they meet a baker and soon the four of them travel together. Tao finally has the family she has always longed for. This sweet tale was a delight to read.

 

 

Without Merit

Colleen Hoover is the author of Without Merit. This book is a coming-of-age story about Merit Voss. Merit lives in a former church with her father, step-mother, elder siblings, and six year old half brother. Her mother lives in the basement having developed agoraphobia after treatment for cancer. Merit decides to drop out of high school and no one seems to notice. She has an older (identical twin) sister who appears to have a preference to date boys who are terminally ill. She meets Sagan at a thrift store. He thinks she is Merit's older sister and he gives Merit a kiss. The plot line develops slowly at first but then takes off which makes this book a good read. 

 

 

Wayward Girls

 Wayward Girls, a novel written by Susan Wiggs and based in Buffalo, New York, is based on several true stories. The story is set in the 1960's and is about the life girls experienced at the Good Shepherd, an organization run by the Sisters Of Charity nuns. The story revolves around six teenage girls. Marin is sent to the Good Shepherd because her new step-father was going to molest her if she stayed home. Plus her mother attended an organization much like this when she was a teenager in Ireland. Angela was sent because she preferred girls over boys. Helen was the daughter of Chinese intellectuals who left her to stay there while they visited China. The Chinese government refused to let them return to pick her up. Odessa was sentenced to the Good Shepherd after a racial incident. Denise was sent for brawling in a foster home. Janice's back story was not revealed but she took great care over Kay who had an intellectual disability. This story about Good Shepherd is dark but I liked it because it emphasizes the resilience of young females. 

 

 

January 7th was a long day for me. I got up at 5:30 a.m. At 7 I walked to the bus stop with my family and waved goodby to the grandgirls on their way to school. Then I rode in my daughter-in-law's car to the bus center in Sasebo. From 8 until 10 a.m. I rode in a high way bus to the airport in Fukuoka.  I got my three airline tickets and checked my bag.  At nearly 1 p.m. I flew from Fukuoka to Tokyo. I took a free shuttle bus to the second terminal. I waited four hours for my flight from Tokyo to Chicago which took almost 15 hours. I arrived in Chicago at 2 p.m., still on January 7th, and waited another four hours for my flight to Minneapolis. I arrived in Minneapolis at 10 p.m. and was at Offspring #2's house by 11. At 11:55 p.m. on January 7th I laid down flat to go to sleep. L o n g e s t    d a y    e v e r .

Dream State

 Eric Puchner is the author of Dream State, a fiction novel that takes place in the mountains of Montana. The novel is about 3 friends whose lives intertwine. CeCe is in love and is planning to marry Charlie at his parent's estate in Montana. Charlie is an up and coming young doctor. Charlie asks Garrett to be his best man. Garrett is an airport baggage handler who is haunted by events in his and Charlie's past. The book chronicles the lives of CeCe, Charlie, and Garrett for 50 years; until the three main characters are in their 70's. I enjoyed this story about three characters who are complex. They are neither good nor evil.

 

 

What I Don't Hear

While in Japan I saw many dogs. I saw small dogs, toy sized dogs, and medium dogs. What I didn't hear is barking. Even when two dogs with separate owners are waiting together at a cross walk I heard no barking. The Japanese people train their dogs not to bark. We spent quite a bit of time on the road in the last three weeks. Not once did I hear a car horn blare. I heard motorcycles and scooters go by but I never heard the loud pipes that annoy me. I heard peddlers crying out advertising their business. In the US I hear that at baseball games (Peanuts! Get your peanuts here!) but seldom elsewhere. Traffic signals in Japan have sounds for the blind which I don't hear in the United States. The frequency of bird songs seems about the same.

 

 

The Kitchen Front

 I really enjoyed this historical fiction novel set in World War Two called The Kitchen Front. The author if Jennifer Ryan. Two years into the war with Nazi Germany, there are food shortages in Britain. A radio host sponsors a cooking contest over a three month span of time. Each month features a different course (salad, entree, dessert). Four woman compete. One is wealthy and wants to win to get rid of an increasingly hostile husband. One is a servant who wants to graduate out of servitude. One is a chef trying to gain attention in a predominantly male vocation. One is trying to keep her family of four going after her husband was killed in action.  All of the contestants use substitutes for foods that are scarce (sugar, meat, fat). All this makes for a great story including recipes. 

 

 

Kujukushima Cruising

Today four of us took the 11 o'clock cruise around the 99 islands. Actually there are 218 islands but 99 is the Japanese way of saying a big number of islands. Our ship was called the Pearl Queen. A womanly figure adorns the bow wearing long hair and holding what appears to be a bowling ball but might represent a very large pearl.

The cruise is about an hour long. The boat holds 200 people. Some of the islands had fishing nets strewn about. One island harvests pearls from oysters. All these islands are part of a national park. Two islands have people living on them.

Sometimes the boat had to slow down to avoid the rocks under the water. Wind and weather have worn down the vegetation and topsoil.

The weather was fine but we got cold standing outside in the wind.

We had a nice day for a cruise.

 

 

 

New Years Festival

Today we drove to an Inari shrine. This one is for prosperity, family fortune, a good catch and traffic safety. Three million people visit every year. The drive from Sasebo to Kashima took an hour. When we got there we realized there was a New Years Festival going on. Food stands sold hot potatoes, tea, cotton candy, crepes, octopus, chicken, meat balls, noodles, candied fruit, toys, swords, sandals and tea pots. The place was crowded. Ahead is a temple up on the hill. To reach the temple was about 150 steps. We went beyond that to other temples.

This is the Yutoku Inari Shrine. People observed religious traditions here including ringing of bells and washing hands and offering coins.

This is the view from the temple down the hill.

 

Famous Last Words

Gillian McAllister is the author of the book called Famous Last Words.  This is a mystery thriller about a family and is set in London. Camilla is a young wife and mother. On June 21st, the longest day of the year, she is about to drop off her daughter at day care for the first time in her life. She works as a literary agent. Her husband, Luke, will pick up the baby after he finishes his work. When Camilla comes home Luke is not there  and neither is her daughter. After picking her daughter up from day care she finds a note. Later, on the news, there is a hostage situation at a warehouse. To Camilla's surprise, Luke is the man with the gun who has taken the hostages. How Camilla's mild mannered, kind husband came to be a gunman is the meat of the book which I will not reveal. The author did a good job revealing bits and pieces at a time until the whole story came together at the end. 

 

 

Talking Machines

In Japan machines talk. When the car starts up a voice makes announcements. I don't know what the announcement said. On Christmas Day the car said Merry Christmas. Watching shows on the screen is possible in a Toyota van that can hold 7 people. Riding back from the volcano I watched part of a magic show and a reality show. The steering wheel is on the right and that is very hard for me to get used to. I am not allowed to drive here as I do not have an international driver's license but several times I mistakenly got into the driver's seat. Getting out of the passenger seat I reach for the wheel to boost myself up and it's not there. People in Japan keep their cars very clean. The streets do not have names. Highways have numbers but the streets are nameless. To find an address the occupant will give you the city, the neighborhood and the house number within that neighborhood. Or they might send you a Google pin to find their house. Loudspeakers in neighborhoods give announcements but I don't know what they said. Music plays on the loudspeaker at noon and again at 5 p.m. The houses do not have central heat nor central air conditioning. Each occupied room has a heater/air conditioner mounted on the wall near the ceiling. For example, if I want to go to bed, I turn on my heater and within five minutes the room is cozy if I keep my door shut. When I leave my bedroom for the day I turn the heater off. The heater in the dining room/living room/kitchen speaks when it is turned on in the morning. Lately we have had some cold weather. Typical temperatures for this time of year are in the 40's and 50's. When the temperatures get around freezing the bathroom heater starts to talk advising us that the water in the pipes is cold and running the tub is advisable. Another unique thing about Japan that I did not notice before (I was here 5 years ago) is that everybody (yes, everybody) pulls into parking spaces back end first and ready to make a quick get-away. There are few public trash cans and recycling cans. We are expected to take our trash home and dispose of it there. All recycling must be rinsed out and clean of food. The parks are nice. Lots of Japanese kids seem to practice jumping rope.

This statue is at Nimitz park which is in between the Navy base and downtown Sasebo. Here is plenty of playground equipment for the kids.

This park is within walking distance and on the way to the grocery store. This park has playground equipment and exercise equipment for the adults.