Just Another Good Read....

Books have always been a big part of my life....at least since I learned to read! I can remember turning the pages of a book from as far back as fourth grade.  It was probably Nancy Drew or Charlotte's Web or Stuart Little. As I got a bit older my taste in book changed but way back in the 50's and 60's when I was growing up it was still the memory of Robinson Crusoe or Huckleberry Finn that stick with me. I know my parents always got me a special book as a Christmas gift.  Freshman year of high school I remember waiting until my parent's car left the driveway before racing to the book shelf to grab Peyton Place and read (over and over) the "racy parts". One of the reasons I didn't mind "baby siting" my younger sister was that I could read this book! 

I've belonged to a book club wherever we've lived and I always enjoy the fact that these groups "forced" me to read book I otherwise would have left at the library. Book clubs broadened my horizons. 

I just finished another really good read that I found here at Eastcastle's library. Michelle Obama's second book, The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times, was just so well written. So many sentences and paragraphs made me stop and re-read them. The introduction on the front cover says "In an inspiring follow-up to her critically acclaimed, #1 bestselling memoir Becoming, former First Lady Michelle Obama shares a practical wisdom and powerful strategies for staying hopeful and balanced in today's highly uncertain world."

Maybe it was the tone of this book and the down-to-earth comments and suggestions that I needed right now. This whole Country and world seem to be in a worrisome state of flux and the future so uncertain. Her concept of "despites" keeps ringing through my mind. (You'll have to read the book!)

In the chapter titled "My Kitchen Table" (you'll have to read the book!) there were memories of her childhood growing up on Chicago's South Side that echoed my privileged white childhood/neighborhood in the suburb of Park Ridge. "....Most folks of my generation grew up in communities that felt a little more like the Wild West, where children were left to find their own friends, forge their own alliances, settle their own conflicts, and earn their own victories. All this without clear rules. All this without adults overseeing and influencing their interactions, and without anybody handing you a trophy just for showing up. This environment can get messy sometimes, yes, but it's also where learning happens. The experiences aren't always comfortable or rewarding - not the way karate or piano lessons might be - but I think it's part of what we've forgotten: Discomfort is a teacher. Lack of reward is a teacher."

Just so much to think about....learning by doing....learning by losing....figuring it out with help when and if needed. Mine is the last generation to ever grow up/live without social media. Hmmmm.....maybe it was a bit like the Wild West, but it was good.

Those Midwest Skies....

We've had a busy June and I haven't spent much time in front of the computer but my little blog is always circling around in my brain! We spent last week exploring some of Wisconsin in our little RV. We were very fortunate as the heat dome covering much of the US stayed just below us on the map. Our campsites were shaded and just north of Milwaukee at Point Beach State Park we enjoyed temperatures in the low 70's.....my kind of summer!

As I often do I would look up and notice the blue skies and cloud formations. The white against the bright blue paints a new picture every day. Driving along I loved this one....

And then there was the "table top" cloud that became a focal point all on it's own.

Back home and unpacked with the laundry done and everything put away. This was a nice one-week "semi-adventure" and the beautiful skies added to our memory book.

I Am Old Guard....

I know most people now use social media sites other than Facebook.....and I do follow a few people on Instagram. However I am not interested in connecting in other ways so I just post on Facebook and keep up with some friends and family around the country that way. A few years ago Facebook would make a special offer at the end of the calendar year so that you could  purchase a book with that year's "moments" from you page. It wasn't very expensive and I ordered a few. It was just a nice way (for me) to look back at pictures and posts from what had happened during the previous 12 months. Yesterday I took the 2022 book out of a basket in the corner, dusted it off and turned through the pages. I had to smile at some of the memories but these posts were a sad reminder that we haven't come very far in the past two years, and if anything we've slid farther down into the rabbit hole.

Did you happen to see any of MTG at yesterdays "hearing" with Dr. Anthony Fauci? Pick a torch America....Pick A Torch.

Dave's Book Club....

Dave is reading an interesting book for his meeting this month. The Tyranny of Merit by Michael J. Sandel, who teaches political philosophy at Harvard. He read the following passage to me right before he turned off the light last night.

"Over the past four decades, meritocratic elites have not governed very well. The elites who governed the United States from 1940 to 1980 were far more successful. They won World War II, helped rebuilt Europe and Japan, strengthened the welfare state, dismantled segregation, and presided over four decades of economic growth that flowed to rich and poor alike. By contrast, the elites who have governed since have brought us four decades of stagnant wages for most workers, inequalities of income and wealth not seen since the 1920's, the Iraq War, a nineteen-year inconclusive war in Afghanistan, financial deregulation, the financial crisis of 2008, a decaying infrastructure, the highest incarceration rate in the world, and a system of campaign finance and gerrymandering congressional districts that makes a mockery of democracy.....What passes for political argument these days consists either of narrow, managerial, technocratic talk, which inspires no one; or else shouting matches, in which partisans talk past one another, without really listening."

Read above paragraph again. Ponder.

I read and follow Professor Heather Cox Richardson and I cannot tell you how many times she has criticized "trickle down" economics and traced our current situation back to Ronald Reagan (1981-1989. Reading even this small section of Sandel's current book echoes what she states....that "more at the top = more for the bottom" does NOT work.

Once again Dave and I comment that we were SO fortunate to have been born where we were and to the parents we had.....we worked hard to achieve what we have now, but so much was based on luck. From that very first moment when we emerged white and to middle-class, upper middle-class parents. We followed the path laid out for us, doors opened, we followed opporutnities and had a good life. I can only hope our adult children and young adult grandsons find the same....but somehow I doubt it.