Winter Books- the good, the not-too-bad, the really old but not-that-ugly

The days are long and gray in southeastern Ohio. On rare days, the sun breaks through the tree branches in pinks and golds but most mornings, the day just arrives with gray clouds and a bit of pale blue peering out.  It's a good climate for reading.

I don't read much fiction except in the winter. Then I gorge on whatever is close-by or recommended by reading friends. I begin mystery books at nine in the evening and find myself blurry-eyed at three in the morning. I tell myself it's an indulgence sparked by lack of fiction reading during my twenty years of  home-schooling and moving around. It may just be an indication of my lack of discipline and that double edged sword of living alone. No one reminds me to go to bed.  Or expects me to be pleasant the next day!


I just recently gained access to the local library here in Ohio- between the holidays, the flu and an injured hand, excursions out were limited to the essentials.  I did find John Green's The Fault in our Stars at the nearby grocery store and enjoyed it much more than I expected. Clever but careful, thoughtful writing. http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11870085-the-fault-in-our-stars  

Off to the library we went and they had no John Green books on the shelves. He's in the young adult section- I should have known.  I found... hmm. No idea. That shows my retention with fiction.  Now my daughter just said, "It was Jody Picoult, about the elephants."  Oh, to have a younger memory.

Leaving Time is Picoult's intriguing story weaving the nature of elephants with loss and letting go. It has a pretty wild twist at the end that I wanted to go back and revisit but the plot had more holes than swiss cheese.  She's certainly a writer that keeps you up nights!  http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18816603-leaving-time


Since Picoult, I've gone a bit of a spree and the following titles reveal how varied or eclectic or perhaps, how desperate I've been.  It's also interesting what appeals when I perused my adult child's childhood library.






So the bookcase in my room has given me some gems.  Willa Cather's sweeping, yet intimate tale of Nebraska pioneers and the familiar theme of us vs. them woven within My Antonia. Lovely, inspiring.
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5844400-my-antonia-o-pioneers 

A childhood story that everyone should read, L.M.Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables.  If you don't know the story, it's a sweet treat. http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8127.Anne_of_Green_Gables


Next my eyes find a Penguin Classic.  Aeschylus's trilogy, The Oresteia. I 'taught' the first story, Agamemnon, to my daughter in high school, reading it for the first time myself as well.  This time I read in the introduction, "Perhaps no paradox inspired Aeschylus more than the bond that might exist between pathos and mathos, suffering and its significance. That bond is life itself.... and that bond produces our achievement- pain becomes a stimulus and a gift."   Let's think on that for a moment.

And I think that's a excellent place to stop. Before all the murder and mayhem. Get to to point first.
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1519.The_Oresteia   Check out some great reviews, with really big words.


Ok, my head is spinning. So last night I retreated to the relative sanity of Shel Silverstein's classic, A Light in the Attic.   Goofy black ink drawing, insensible characters, twists with words and concepts. But this had this anchor for my recent thrashing in a sea of words.  http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30118.A_Light_in_the_Attic

Frozen Dream

I'll take the dream I had last night

And put in my freezer, 

So someday long and far away

When I'm an old gray geezer,

I'll take it out and thaw it out,

This lovely dream I've frozen,

And boil it up and sit me down

And dip my old toes in.

Selma- "Where were you? Do you remember?"

Last night I went to see Selma in the movie theater.  I rarely go to movies alone but after all the questions raised in my mind by Ferguson and wanting to write something for Martin Luther King Day, it seemed providential.

I found a middle section seat and excused myself to pass the three or four women already in the row. I left one seat between me and the next person- standard public seating etiquette at least for Americans. But more women joined their group and they moved down the aisle to accommodate them.  Asked if she needed me to move, the woman to my left assured me I was fine.  So I found myself sitting next to a perfect stranger for a movie about the injustice and brutalities done to her race...by my race.

The movie is moving and educational and revealing and powerful. Without giving too much away- because everyone needs to go see this movie.... the opening scenes caught me off guard and I sat with tears streaming down my face. Sniffling and looking for Kleenex.  And it only got worse.

I knew about this events. I read the accounts, not in my history books in this detail, but I had read about the church bombings and the march from Selma to Montgomery.  A few years ago as I drove to the East coast, I chose to drive through Alabama to see Montgomery and Tuskegee.  For reasons I'm still not sure I understand, Tuskegee was uncomfortable, alien and I was glad to retreat to the comfort and familiarity of a military base at nearby Fort Benning.  But it's one thing to know facts and tour sites, it's something else to live it. I didn't live this.

At one point, the woman next to me leaned over and whispered, "Did you know about this? Before the movie?"  I did but when she asked me where I was and if I remembered the events, I replied, "I was a child of ten living in Alaska without a television. I never heard a thing."

We gasped and cringed at the same scenes. We shared in her story. My world got a little wider.

Before the movie I attended a Celtic music mass celebrating the second Sunday after Epiphany.

....remembering that God brings light to any darkness. Let us pray.

After the movie we moved down the ramp to exit and my new acquaintance and I spoke a few words. "What can I do? "I asked.  "Be open, educate, share what you know, be a light."  Amen, sister. 

Earlier my service had ended with a hymn by one of my favorite contemporary composers. 

Wind upon the Waters

by Marty Haugen

Wind upon the waters, voice upon the deep,

 rouse your sons and daughters, wake us from our sleep, 

breathing life into all flesh, breathing love into all hearts, 

living wind upon the waters of my soul.  

  

Blazing light of wonder, flame that pierces night,

 burst the dark asunder, fill our souls with light. 

Lord of glory, fill the skies, make an end to hatred’s cries, 

be the blazing sun of justice in our lives.

Amen, brother.