Fun in the Sun

The 'good wife' and I just returned from Alabama on vacation with our oldest daughter, son in law, and family. It was a good trip. This time we decided to go by airplane, and made it there in only 4 hours as compared to 14. The time saved going down and coming back gave us an extra day to visit. Though I personally like to drive, the time saved certainly is also much easier on my legs. My frustration with flying is not being in the air, but getting on the flight, it just seems like so much hassle. We truly enjoyed being with family, going to my grandson's football game, and gram got to go to a high school choir class, taught by our daughter. On Labor Day we played at the beach in Pensacola, and didn't see or smell any oil; however I did fail to apply enough tan lotion and came away with almost 3rd degree burns on my chest and over abundant tummy. While on vacation I did finish 'People of the Book,' which I enjoyed very much. This is one of the better books that I have read lately that was more than enjoyable. [Of course, I'm partial to historical fiction!] The author tells us that the stains and particles in the old book all had stories to tell of the book's journey down through the ages. I find myself gazing at my grandpa/grandma's old wedding certificate [hanging on my study wall] and wondering now 'how did that one tear happen?' 'who was the one who rescued the certificate and placed a piece of tape, that is so faded on it? 'why did I find it in my one aunt's attic, about to be thrown away after she died, had I not taken? There is, what looks like a water stain across the whole bottom of it that has obliterated the design, how and when did that happen since signatures still appear there? So many questions, so few answers, all because of the influence of the book. One of the authors reaccuring themes is how diverse cultures influence and enrich each other rather than tear each other apart as we're seeing taking place between fundamental protestant religious nuts and radical Muslim clerics. I even thought about the immigration problem with Mexico and wonder why that can't be peaceably solved, America truly is a 'melting pot' and when we give up on that concept we become isolationists and deprive ourselves of the riches of diverse roots. The totally unexpected ending was a delight[1]. After finishing the above named book my son-in-law gave me a book to read. It was called "Haven" and was the historical story of how Pres.Roosevelt in WWII gave permission for 1000 people to escape Hitler's Europe. Although the story eventually .........has a positive ending, I believe it ranks right up with the Japanese concentration camps stories we had in WWII right here in the U.S. Although I am glad that this exodus took place, there could have been so many more that might have been saved. The author provides a section at the end of the book, where years later she tracks down those who came over on that secret passage with wounded AMerican soldiers. There are also some pictures in the middle of the book. I certainly enjoyed both books[2]. BEing out of reading material the day before we left my son-in-law took me to a little book/coffee store where I ended up purchasing another book, 'My Grandfather's Blessings.' I am not very far along in that book, but it is a good read so far.
[1]PEOPLE OF THE BOOK. Geraldine Brooks. 2008, New York, New York. Viking Penguin
Books. ISBN:9780143115007
[2] HAVEN. Ruth Gruber. 1983, 1984, 2000 New York, New York, Three Rivers Press,
ISBN: 081293301X
ENJOY