Days At The Morisaki Bookshop

Satoshi Yagisawa is the author of Days At The Morisaki Bookshop. Eric Ozawa is the person who translated it from Japanese to English. This fascinating tale is about a young woman, Takako, is jilted at work by the guy she thought was going to propose marriage. Instead he tells her he is going to propose to another woman in the office. She is devastated. She quits her job and takes to her bed. Her mother, concerned, gives her a choice to either come back home to her parents or go and live with her Uncle above his bookshop. She chooses the bookshop. She works a few hours every day but otherwise she sleeps and sleeps and sleeps. With the kind influence of her very patient Uncle she begins to recover. He takes her to a local coffee shop where she meets other people and makes some friends. She, never a reader before, takes his advice and reads a book. She she is an avid book reader and can make suggestions to the customers. This story is about familial love and the power of books to unravel a tortured soul.

 

Waynesville

Today I drove south and west across the state of North Carolina to the northwestern corner of the state. Tennessee is to the west and north of me and Georgia is to the south. I am in Waynesville at an Airbnb for the next six nights. Now I can explore the Smokey Mountains and the Blue Ridge Mountains. Good thing I brought my hiking sticks.

 

The Woman They Could Not Silence

 Kate Moore is the author of The Woman They Could Not Silence: One Woman, Her Incredible Fight For Freedom, And The Men Who Tried To Make Her Disappear. This story is based on true events that happened in Illinois during the 1860's. At that time husbands, such as Theopolis Packard, could commit their wife, Elizabeth Packard, to a mental institution even if she was not mentally ill. Theopolis had his wife committed when the youngest of their five children was only a year old. Dr. Andrew McFarland is the superintendent of this asylum and the conditions are horrific. Many of the women there are not insane. Dr. McFarland is more dangerous to Elizabeth than her husband but it takes her a long time to realize that. Elizabeth commits her life to returning to her children. She was a truly amazing woman.

Duke

I have been staying in Durham, North Carolina. I decided to explore the Sarah P. Duke gardens which is next to Duke University. Sarah was married to one of the founders of Duke University. For some reason, possibly a college reunion, the place was crazy busy. I ended up parking a couple of miles away and walking through the beautiful campus of Duke University. This area has many businesses with the name Triangle in it. I looked that up and the triangle is formed by 3 research institutions in Durham, Chapel Hill, and Raleigh. Duke University, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and North Carolina State University are the 3 research facilities. 

 

Cape Hatteras

From Kitty Hawk I drove 68 miles south to Cape Hatteras. They have car and pedestrian ferries to Ocracoke Village. The trip takes an hour. I thought about going but decided against it.

Hundreds of people were kite surfing that day. If you look closely you can see that this surfer has been pulled up out of the ocean and into the air. How scary would that be?

The Cape Hatteras lighthouse is the largest brick light house in our nation. Because this is an island on the Outer Banks, the shape of the island changes daily with the wind. When the light house was built it was far from the sea. When it was moved 25 years ago the sea had come so close they worried sea water would infiltrate the base and rot the pine wood pilings underneath. The light house was moved successfully. Right now we couldn't walk inside because they are doing repairs.

 

More Pictures From Kitty Hawk

Here is another look at the big sand hill with the Wright memorial on top.

These two sheds were built by the Wright Brothers at the bottom of the hill next to the runway. They stored their planes in these sheds while they lived in tents.

Another shot of the memorial from the top of the hill.

My view with the Atlantic Ocean in the distance from on top of the memorial.

This is a view of the runway. Maybe you can see the 3 boulders that indicate the lengths of the flights on December 17, 1903. Orville flew first, Wilbur flew second, Orville flew third and Wilbur flew the fourth which landed way down there where the forest begins. Time to celebrate!

 

Long Bright River

 Liz Moore was inspired to write the book, Long Bright River, by her experiences and acquaintances she had in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The story is told by the character Mickey (Mikaela) who grew up in Philadelphia. She has a younger sister Kacey. When Mickey was 4 and Kacey 1 their mother died of an opioid overdose. The were living with their Grandmother and father. Their Grandmother, who they called G, is a negative and toxic personality. She blamed their father for their mother's death. Eventually their father left the girls with G because he couldn't take it anymore. G was an angry and inattentive guardian. As the girls grow up their paths go separate ways. This was a crime story but also a family story. The opioid crisis is a major theme and corruption in the Philadelphia Police Department is another theme.  I enjoyed listening to this gripping story for 13 hours.