A Letter In My Mailbox

 

A Rose Revealed

 Gayle Roper is the author of the book called A Rose Revealed. The story takes place in an Amish community. Rose in a nurse in this community. Rose is not Amish but she grew up in the community and knows many Amish customs. She is helping a lady with cancer. When the lady and her son get into the car to leave the car explodes killing them both. Of course Rose is upset so she pulls her car over in an Amish driveway to cry. Two of the sons in the family come out to check on her and console her. They invite her in for supper. One of the sons was injured in a motorcycle crash during his rumspringa. He lost both of his legs and now uses a wheelchair. Rose saw that motorcycle crash two years earlier and she held his head in her lap until the ambulance arrived. I enjoyed this nice story about the Amish.

 

 

Where The Rivers Merge

Mary Alice Monroe is the author of Where The Rivers Merge. This story has two timelines. The book starts out in 1988 when the 88 year old Eliza is trying to decide who should take over her estate after her death. She could give it to her son but he feels entitled to it so she might leave it to her granddaughter and niece. The expansive estate lies within three rivers in South Carolina. Eliza has enjoyed the nature here since she was a little girl. Eliza decides to leave the property to a nature conservancy so everyone can enjoy it. I really enjoyed this historical fiction book.

 

 

 

The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn

Mark Twain wrote The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn. This is a great American novel. Twain writes about the racism of the American south. He writes about freedom and a moral code. Huck and Jim take off together to float south on the Mississippi river on a raft. They catch fish and sleep out under the stars. Despite the fact that Huck is 13 and Jim is in his 30's they become fast friends. Once they got separated but found each other again. They ran into a couple of con men who claimed one was a Duke and one was a King. Huck and Jim found it horribly difficult to shake these two men. They had other problems too but their friendship lasted forever.

 

 

 

Prairie Fire

Tonight the Winona Bird Club had a talk with a prairie fire expert. This is the same guy who gave the timber rattlesnake talk a few weeks back. The meeting was very informative. I was surprised to learn how many prairies around this area get burned.

 

The Things They Carried

The author Tim O'Brien was born in Austin, MN. At the age of ten the family moved to Worthington. After graduating from Macalester College he was drafted into the Army. He served in the Vietnam war. From his experiences in Vietnam he wrote the book The Things They Carried. After college and before Vietnam he drives up to Rainy Lake thinking he might skip the war and move to Canada. He meets an older man who is closing up his resort for the winter. Tim helps the man painting and fixing doors and chopping wood. One day the old man takes him fishing but they don't fish. The old man takes the boat to the Canadian side thinking Tim will escape. Tim decides he would embarrass his family if he went to Canada so he stays. He feels he is a coward for going to Vietnam. In the beginning of the book he describes his platoon mates by talking about what they carried. One guy has a photo of a girl named Martha. One Native American guy carries a Bible. Another guy carries the pantyhose of a girl. Some of his platoon were killed by bullets or mines. In the book he never describes their location. Although the war was over in the 1970's he didn't publish the book until 1990 which was probably a smart idea. I  wonder if high school kids even know about the Vietnam war anymore. We had a good discussion about this book today at the Winona Public Library. I feel this is a book that is difficult to read but it is the responsibility of all U.S. citizens to read it.

 

 

 

 

Scrappy Little Nobody

 I have never heard of the actress Anna Kendrick before I read her autobiography called Scrappy Little Nobody. In this book we learn her parents supported her dream to become a singer and an actress. They would drive her from Maine to New York for auditions. Her father moved with her to New York for a summer show. Anna said she was small for her age and a late bloomer. She tells some hilarious tales about herself growing up and becoming successful.