A New Endeavor

Poetry has always, or at least mostly, baffled me. I enjoy writing,but have found myself wanting when it comes to understanding the author's point when reading a poem. Last week I requested birthday gift ideas for my granddaughter Holland, and my daughter Kari mentioned that Holland's interested in writing poetry and might really make use of a poetry-writing journal. Good suggestion, I thought, so I went online to my trusty friend, Amazon, and ordered one blank-page journal and one daily journal called "One Poem a Day: A Writer's Daily Journal of Words and Inspiration," in which each page is begun with a writing prompt. As I gazed through "Inside this book," I liked what I read "flipping" through the pages. Well, thought I, if this would inspire Holland, why not try a copy out for myself? My copy of "One Poem a Day" arrived yesterday afternoon; I didn't even open it until a few minutes ago, but, when I did, I actually felt excited about trying it out. Here's the first poem I've ever written: The page-one prompt reads: Write a poem about something tha makes you uncomfortable. Leave no emotional stone unturned. Am I a rascist? I think not, or maybe I think so. I see "noticable" physical definitions and differences . . . skin color, curl of hair, width of nostrils, roundness of buttocks, height, weight, head covering, attire. I hear variations and accents in speech . . . foreign (where from?), East Coast, Texas, deep south, "black." I'm frequently mistaken and new acquaintances are relegated, in error, to an erronious nationality, region, religion, socio-economic group. Then, sometimes quickly, sometimes more slowly . . . my consciousness and morality remind me, once again . . . We are ALL children of God.

"The Splendid and the Vile"

I don't consider myself much of of an espionage-genre-reading fanatic, but recently read a book that really captivated me, as it takes place during a period of American history that I remember well. It's "The Splendid and the Vile" by Erik Larson; I'd followed Bill Gates' suggestion to give it a try and found it to be, not only well-written, but really emotionally exciting and intense. I'm in awe of people who were able to function in that in-your-face kind of espionage; our present world is maneuvered more remotely by artificial intelligence and data-hacking, but for centuries espionage and spying took place on a very jpersonal level.

Continuing My 2020 "Books Read" List with JUNE

My New Year's Resolution for 2019 was to read as many books as I could; I ended the year having read 128 tomes:  nonfiction and memoirs, fiction, history, psychology, religion; I don't have a certain genre I'd consider a favorite, just whatever grabs my interest at any given time.

On the first day of 2020 I made a list of several resolutions for this year; amongst them was to again keep track of books that I sometimes devour, sometimes meander through, and sometimes do not enjoy much at all.

Here's the list of books that I completed reading in June (I'm going backwards!):

• Stolen         by Lucy Christopher     320p
• A 16-year-old girl in an airport coffee shop is kidnapped and taken to a remote location somewhere in the Outback of Australia
• Paul Hollywood's Bread     by Paul Hollywood
• Yes, I do read cookbooks, often from cover to cover.  I'm a fan of The Great British Baking Show and am preparing to spend some valuable mother-son time coaching my son, Jeff, in the baking of French baguettes when social distancing decreases and cooler weather ensues!
• Paris        by Edward Rutherfurd      832p
• Another in the library of incredible historical fiction written by a master storyteller.  The history is factual, but the stories wind their way through hundreds of years of the local history and lives of generations of fictional families.
• Running With Sherman:  The Donkey with the Heart of a Hero  352p       by Christopher McDougall
• I'd read "Born To Run" by the same author telling the true story of a tribe of indigenous super-runner-indians in Mexico and loved it.  When I saw this book I was intrigued by McDougall's experience rescuing a broken-down donkey and rehabilitating him.
• The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra (Book One of the Baby Ganesh series)                by Vaseem Khan    320p
• I love all things India, and often warm and fuzzy animal stories.  This gentleman and his 'pet elephant' doesn't disappoint.  A recently-retired police inspector is given a baby elephant as an entering-retirement gift and together they solve various mysteries and crimes.
• Cometh the Hour       by Jeffrey Archer   Book Six of the Clifton Chronicles  416p
• This is the sixth of the seven books in the series.  I love Jeffrey Archer, which, with their great narrator, Alex Jennings, I devour while walking away on my treadmill or driving in the car.  The characters reach out to me and their stories are engrossing; I often extend my workout sessions to listen to more!  I am always anxious to discover how the story turns out, but unhappy to get to the end; however, Archer always gives some incredible reason why I need to continue with the next book in the series!

As I glance through the list, I'm noticing that, because I read more than one book at a time, it seems that, generally speaking, about every other month it appears that I consume a larger number of books.  I think that's simply because of my only keeping track of works completed.

 

Books Read List Begun and Other Things!

 Monday August 10, 2020

Well, here we are in the sixth month of this coronavirus pandemic; mu family remains healthy, thank God. As we continue our social distancing I've been thinking about returning to my blog to help keep track of how time flies!  It's been the better part of two years since I entered a post, amazing!

Reading has become even more of a passion in my life: I'll begin this post with a list of the books I completed in:

JULY 2020:

• This Was a Man        Book 7        The Clifton Chronicles        560p
• by Jeffrey Archer  
• Leonardo da Vinci        599p
• by Walter Isaacson
• Kane and Abel        Book 1          Kane and Abel series         658p
• by Jeffrey Archer
• Assignment Bletchley     Book 1         175p
• by Peter J. Azzole
• Blindspot:  Hidden Biases of Good People        254p
• by Mahzarin R. Banaji and Anthony G. Greenwald
• The Prodigal Daughter        Book 2       Kane and Abel series       564p
• by Jeffrey Archer
• A History of the Popes, Volume I:  Origins to the Middle Ages
• Shall We Tell the President      Book 3     Kane and Abel series     220p
• by Jeffrey Archer
• The Dublin Saga - The Princes of Ireland       776p
• by Edward Rutherfurd
• A Pilgrimage to Eternity:  From Canterbury to Rome in Search of a Faith     384p
• by Timothy Egan
• Death on the Nile
• by Agatha Christie

I am enjoying the opportunity to read several tomes at the same time, on Kindle, on Audible, and in hard-bound or paperback form.  Audible books are great for listening to while working out on the treadmill, walking outside, or driving in the car.  Kindle is a good choice for books that require definitions and notes, pieces from which I intend to learn.  Then, there's the good old paperback for enjoying while sitting or lying down.

The Agatha Christie mystery was read in order to participate in my August book club discussion group. We each chose a different Christie book and gave a short book report, after which we had a general discussion of Mrs. Christie's considerable library of novels written over the course of a long a very productive writing career.

Lots of Jeffrey Archer - I'd read the beginning of the Clifton Chronicles years ago, remembering that his style is very pleasing in my opinion.  I've now listened to all of The Clifton Chronicles and Kane and Abel series; they're intriguing company for my treadmill workouts, where I find myself adding minutes and miles, just so I can continue to listen, high praise for an author indeed!

Korcula, Croatia

Sunday on the island of Korcula. There are 1195 separate islands belonging to the country of Croatia in the eastern Adriatic Sea; Korcula (pronounced KOR choo lah) is one of the largest:  33 kilometers (about 26 miles) long by 8 kilometers (5 miles) at its widest point. 

Once again, this is an ancient part of the world. Archeologists have recently discovered the bones of a fish that dates back one billion years!  The oldest human remains, a man and a woman, are ten thousand years old - geez, that’s a long time ago!

The Greeks arrived here about 500 BC - there is much evidence of their advanced civilization in several museums around the walled Old Korcula Town. The island has been inhabited continually since that time. Like so much of the Adriatic région there is Greek, Roman, Venetian, Ottoman dynasties represented in the architecture and culture. 

This morning I attended Mass at one of the many Roman Catholic Churches here in Korcula, a neat experience, although I didn’t understand a word, save for « Amen. »

The currency in Croatia is the KUNA, its exchange rate is approximately 6.5 to one dollar. The currency in Montenegro, where we visited for two days before this stop, is the Euro, even though Montenegro is not a member of the European Union. It seems that when Yugoslavia was breaking up, leading to the war years of 1991-1995, theMontenegro-inflation   rate became so exorbitant that they decided to adopt the German Deutsche Mark as a much more stable currency system. All went well until Germany (Deutschland) became a part of the European Union. So, Montenegro is the only non-Union country that uses the Euro. In our travels we’re changing currencies almost daily!

I don’t normally exchange US dollars for much of the local currency, as I find it more convenient, and less expensive, to make most purchases with my trusty Visa card. However, several days ago, I did hit an ATM, thinking I’d get a small amount of Kuna. I was so busy chatting with some of my fellow travels as I was accessing the machine, I mistook 5,200 Kuna for 520 Kuna on the ATM screen. After I’d taken my cash from the machine I realized that I’d withdrawn the equivalent of $800!!!!!  I’m definitely hoping I won’t spend it all!!!

Cruising the Adriatic

February 28, 2019

Well, our new adventure got off to a slow start. Sharon, Carol and I flew from Sacramento to SFO to board our long flight to Paris. At SFO we met Sharon’s daughter, Kim, who was joining us for the trip. 

But, oh my!  The flight was delayed five hours due to a repair issue on our plane. We knew early on that we would miss our Paris to Zagreb connection and that we were in for our first unexpected adventure! We let United Airlines know, at SFO, that United in Paris should be aware of our situation; upon our arrival in Paris, United representatives were exceedingly helpful in managing our dilemma. They put us on a flight to Frankfurt where we stayed overnight. Next morning we boarded a Croatian Airlines flight for the hour and fifteen minute flight to Zagreb. At our destination we were met by a representative of Overseas Adventure Travels (OAT), who drove us the about-three-hour distance to the coastal city of Zadar on the Adriatic Sea, where our ship was awaiting us. We were welcomed by the crew and our fellow passengers and our planned adventure began. 

The BV Athena is a lovely small ship with just about fifty passengers, who are amazingly catered to by a crew of about thirty. We are enjoying a leisurely and really lovely cruise along a portion of the Dalmatian Coast, with multiple stops in Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Montenegro, all formerly parts of the country of Yugoslavia, with a rich and complicated history dating back to the ancient Roman times, and before. The officers and management members of the crew are mostly Croatian, the service crew mostly Indonesian. 

Christmas Day 1976

It was the Sherman family’s first Christmas in what we thought of as "Christmas Country."  And, it was also my premier holiday season as a new nurse, working in my first hospital job in the Maternity Ward at Abbott-Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis.  We’d moved to Minnesota from sunny California the previous February, so I'd been introduced to midwestern winters and described myself as one of the few westerners who truly loved this frigid and snowy season.  

I’d completed my several-month nursing orientation period and was at last functioning as a real Labor and Delivery / Newborn Nursery staff nurse.  Feeling inspired, I’d volunteered to take a Christmas Day afternoon/evening shift, along with two other R.N.s; our staff of the three of us felt fairly confident we’d be able to throughly enjoy our 8-hour shift caring for our one new mother and her day-old infant.  Each of us had brought snacking goodies to share while we put in our time.

As was the custom, the hospital dietary department prepared and served a lovely champagne and filet mignon dinner to all new mothers and their husbands (or significant others) about a day after their delivery.  Our one resident young couple was anxious to partake in their romantic repast while we three nurses cared for their newborn, swaddled in a Christmas stocking and Santa hat, in the nurses lounge.  The patient’s room, at the opposite end of the hall, was prepared with a small round dining table and chairs, spotless linen and a delicious romantic dinner for two.  In the nurses lounge, television on, telephones transferred, Christmas snacks at hand, baby and we three nurses settled down for a relaxed chat session, such a nice way to pass the time while feeling a little smug about volunteering to leave our families to perform for the greater good for the holiday.

We’d been enjoying our leisure along with the sleeping babe for an hour or so, when the father came running to the lounge, where we’d told him we’d be, to breathlessly let us know, “There’s a little problem.”  

I jumped up and quickly asked, “Is your wife okay?”

“Oh, yes,” said he.  “But, the thing is that there’s a bat in her room!”

“A what?”

“A bat.  And it’s flying all over the place!  It scared the dickens out of us and we ran out into the hall, where my wife is right now.  I closed the door so it wouldn’t get out.”

I have to say, that was a new one for all of us!

We immediately put in an unusual call to Engineering and were rewarded with three of them who arrived moments later, each carrying a long-handled broom, at the ready to eradicate the malevolent intruder.  As a whole group of us stood by in the hall, the engineers, armed with their brooms, entered the room and swatted the ceiling and walls repeatedly, rat-a-tat-tat, until they’d dispatched with the unwanted Christmas visitor.  In little more than a minute or two they exited with the remains packaged in a pillowcase, never more to rampage through our hospital.  We sealed off the contaminated room, moved Mom into a new abode, sent for a new dinner and finally settled down once again for our nurses’ chat!

Epilogue:  I’m not sure exactly how old Abbott Northwestern was when I worked there Christmas of 1976, but our unit was on the top floor directly below the attic.  That’s probably how the little critter got into the warm patient room, and was trying to enjoy a respite from the cold Minnesota winter.