Saturday, November 7, 2009
ho hum...
I've read a lot and have a lot to say, but alas, I have grown weary of blogging. Maybe I'll pick it up when I retire. Thanks to all my readers......
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Another Wet Homecoming
In 2002, I changed jobs, moving from the junior high to the high school. In our school district, each teacher has one extracurricular activity. At the junior high, I co-sponsored the Beta Club, which is not a whole lot of trouble at the junior high level. I knew that whatever I did at the high school level would be more trouble and effort on my part than any junior high activity.
But I had no idea that homecoming was run out of the library until I took the job! That first year, I had a couple of people to help me. Things went about as well as could be expected for my first time to do it. It was the first week in October; floats were done; dresses and tuxes were rented; I felt ready and pleased that it was coming off so well for my first time to be in charge. Then it happened. A hurricane blew in. The superintendent came over to the library and met with the maids, the principal, and me on Wednesday. He had been monitoring the weather closely, and the storm was supposed to hit Thursday night and be bad all weekend. He had decided to move the homecoming festivities to Thursday. The parade would be Thursday afternoon at 1:00 instead of 1:30, and the court would be held in the coliseum before the game. The opposing team had agreed to come over and play on Thursday night.
Frantic phone calls to moms were made; hair appointments had to be changed; tuxes had to be picked up. We were all in a tizzy, but it all worked out. The girl that Russell was dating at the time was a senior maid, so I had to call him to come home from MS State on Thursday so that he could see her in the court. The parade went off without a hitch, and just as it was ending, the rain started. Obviously, the superintendent had made the right decision about the time of the parade. By the time we arrived at the coliseum for the court at 6:00, the rain was a steady downpour. We had the court, and it was great. I was really pleased at how well it went, especially with the last minute change and no practice. When it was over, David and I left for home, and Russell stayed for the game with his girlfriend. Less than an hour after we got home, Russell came in soaking wet; the storm got so bad that the game was called, which never happens in high school football. So that was my initiation into the world of being in charge of homecoming.
Fast forward to 2009. It has been raining for 17 days. The weather on Friday has looked fairly promising, but we are all not banking on anything. At practice on Friday morning, the first thing that I did was to tell the girls not to wear heels--I could just see shoes sinking in the wet turf and staying there. The second thing that I did was to tell the girls and dads the two back-up plans. Back up plan number one is to hold the court in the gym IF the parade IS rained out. If the parade is rained out, the coliseum is full of floats. Back up plan number two is to hold the court in the coliseum IF the parade IS NOT rained out. If the parade goes on as scheduled, the coliseum is empty and there is plenty of room for the court.
Then Katy and I lined them up on the field for practice. She had the maids, and I had the little girls who were helping with the crown and flowers. I had asked the maintenance crew to put a board over the low spot in the field for the little girls to walk over when they were handing out flowers. By the time we had walked back and forth over it a few times, it had sunk and was covered in mud. I had rolled up my jeans and worn my beach flip flops (hey, I'm no dummy when it comes to practice). At one point, I took a step and my flip flop stayed in the mud. I finished the practice in my bare feet. I found out later that this happened to a couple of maids as well, and one girl got mud up her back after her flip flop flew off. When practice was over, Katy and I were covered in mud up to right below our knees. I called the school to let them know that we were going home to change before we returned to school.
When I returned to school, I talked with the Mr. C., the principal, about the field conditions and told him that there was no way that we could have the court on the field even if the sun came out right then and there was no rain at all. He had already been thinking about that, and went over to check out the field for himself and talk to the superintendent, Dr. M. He could just see mad mamas showing up at his office when dresses and tuxes were ruined. A lot of our girls rent their dresses, so they would get charged big time if they bring them back caked in mud. When he came back from talking to Dr. M., Mr. C. said that Dr. M. wanted to go to the field himself. A little later, Mr. C. got a call requesting our presence at the field. We jumped in Mr. C.'s truck and drove over.
By the way, do you remember that I had already changed clothes? I had the foresight to put on capris, so I was not worried about them getting muddy; I just took off my flip flops (my nice Yellow Box ones this time--not ones I wanted to get muddy) and walked out to the field with my two bosses in my bare feet. Dr. M.'s idea was to put down gravel and plywood on the section between the bleachers and the fence and hold the court there. He did not want to go to the coliseum or gym if at all possible. We talked it through and decided how to carry it off. By this time it is fairly evident that the rain is holding off and the parade will go on. So Dr. M. said that we would hold the court on the plywood-covered section in front of the bleachers and in the coliseum if the weather is inclement. I rushed back to school to tell the girls.
It was a little stressful to get the girls together, first of all. Some of them are cheerleaders and were getting ready for the pep rally. Some of them are in the band and were at rehearsal. But we finally did get them all in the library, and Katy, Jennie, and I talked to them and explained how it would all work. After they left, Jennie and I then started talking out how to handle the little girls giving out the flowers and crown and decided to meet at the field after the parade to work that out.
I always skip the pep rally and go to the parade a little early. I feel like I need to be there while floats are lining up. At some point during that time, Dr. M. came over and told me that the court would definitely be in the coliseum. The people who had the gravel did not think that the trucks would get down there without getting stuck. So as the girls arrived at the parade about 1:00, I told them the THIRD change of plans since 8:00 that morning. The weather was very "iffy;" there was a threatening-looking cloud, and the wind kicked up a little bit. But I guess hundreds of people were praying; the rain held off, and the parade went on.
Katy and I went out to the coliseum after the parade and talked through how it would go. She stayed out there to set up ferns while I went back to school. When Jennie arrived at the school later, she and I talked through how to have the little girls do their flowers and crown roles.
The girls and dads all arrived on time; the band sat in the stands and played; the little girls were precious. It all went off without a hitch, despite the many hitches earlier in the day. Another homecoming is under my belt, and I am so glad this one is over and on the record books!
http://www.breezynews.com/index.php#2725
http://www.starherald.net/homepage/images_sizedimage_260112048/resources_photoview
But I had no idea that homecoming was run out of the library until I took the job! That first year, I had a couple of people to help me. Things went about as well as could be expected for my first time to do it. It was the first week in October; floats were done; dresses and tuxes were rented; I felt ready and pleased that it was coming off so well for my first time to be in charge. Then it happened. A hurricane blew in. The superintendent came over to the library and met with the maids, the principal, and me on Wednesday. He had been monitoring the weather closely, and the storm was supposed to hit Thursday night and be bad all weekend. He had decided to move the homecoming festivities to Thursday. The parade would be Thursday afternoon at 1:00 instead of 1:30, and the court would be held in the coliseum before the game. The opposing team had agreed to come over and play on Thursday night.
Frantic phone calls to moms were made; hair appointments had to be changed; tuxes had to be picked up. We were all in a tizzy, but it all worked out. The girl that Russell was dating at the time was a senior maid, so I had to call him to come home from MS State on Thursday so that he could see her in the court. The parade went off without a hitch, and just as it was ending, the rain started. Obviously, the superintendent had made the right decision about the time of the parade. By the time we arrived at the coliseum for the court at 6:00, the rain was a steady downpour. We had the court, and it was great. I was really pleased at how well it went, especially with the last minute change and no practice. When it was over, David and I left for home, and Russell stayed for the game with his girlfriend. Less than an hour after we got home, Russell came in soaking wet; the storm got so bad that the game was called, which never happens in high school football. So that was my initiation into the world of being in charge of homecoming.
Fast forward to 2009. It has been raining for 17 days. The weather on Friday has looked fairly promising, but we are all not banking on anything. At practice on Friday morning, the first thing that I did was to tell the girls not to wear heels--I could just see shoes sinking in the wet turf and staying there. The second thing that I did was to tell the girls and dads the two back-up plans. Back up plan number one is to hold the court in the gym IF the parade IS rained out. If the parade is rained out, the coliseum is full of floats. Back up plan number two is to hold the court in the coliseum IF the parade IS NOT rained out. If the parade goes on as scheduled, the coliseum is empty and there is plenty of room for the court.
Then Katy and I lined them up on the field for practice. She had the maids, and I had the little girls who were helping with the crown and flowers. I had asked the maintenance crew to put a board over the low spot in the field for the little girls to walk over when they were handing out flowers. By the time we had walked back and forth over it a few times, it had sunk and was covered in mud. I had rolled up my jeans and worn my beach flip flops (hey, I'm no dummy when it comes to practice). At one point, I took a step and my flip flop stayed in the mud. I finished the practice in my bare feet. I found out later that this happened to a couple of maids as well, and one girl got mud up her back after her flip flop flew off. When practice was over, Katy and I were covered in mud up to right below our knees. I called the school to let them know that we were going home to change before we returned to school.
When I returned to school, I talked with the Mr. C., the principal, about the field conditions and told him that there was no way that we could have the court on the field even if the sun came out right then and there was no rain at all. He had already been thinking about that, and went over to check out the field for himself and talk to the superintendent, Dr. M. He could just see mad mamas showing up at his office when dresses and tuxes were ruined. A lot of our girls rent their dresses, so they would get charged big time if they bring them back caked in mud. When he came back from talking to Dr. M., Mr. C. said that Dr. M. wanted to go to the field himself. A little later, Mr. C. got a call requesting our presence at the field. We jumped in Mr. C.'s truck and drove over.
By the way, do you remember that I had already changed clothes? I had the foresight to put on capris, so I was not worried about them getting muddy; I just took off my flip flops (my nice Yellow Box ones this time--not ones I wanted to get muddy) and walked out to the field with my two bosses in my bare feet. Dr. M.'s idea was to put down gravel and plywood on the section between the bleachers and the fence and hold the court there. He did not want to go to the coliseum or gym if at all possible. We talked it through and decided how to carry it off. By this time it is fairly evident that the rain is holding off and the parade will go on. So Dr. M. said that we would hold the court on the plywood-covered section in front of the bleachers and in the coliseum if the weather is inclement. I rushed back to school to tell the girls.
It was a little stressful to get the girls together, first of all. Some of them are cheerleaders and were getting ready for the pep rally. Some of them are in the band and were at rehearsal. But we finally did get them all in the library, and Katy, Jennie, and I talked to them and explained how it would all work. After they left, Jennie and I then started talking out how to handle the little girls giving out the flowers and crown and decided to meet at the field after the parade to work that out.
I always skip the pep rally and go to the parade a little early. I feel like I need to be there while floats are lining up. At some point during that time, Dr. M. came over and told me that the court would definitely be in the coliseum. The people who had the gravel did not think that the trucks would get down there without getting stuck. So as the girls arrived at the parade about 1:00, I told them the THIRD change of plans since 8:00 that morning. The weather was very "iffy;" there was a threatening-looking cloud, and the wind kicked up a little bit. But I guess hundreds of people were praying; the rain held off, and the parade went on.
Katy and I went out to the coliseum after the parade and talked through how it would go. She stayed out there to set up ferns while I went back to school. When Jennie arrived at the school later, she and I talked through how to have the little girls do their flowers and crown roles.
The girls and dads all arrived on time; the band sat in the stands and played; the little girls were precious. It all went off without a hitch, despite the many hitches earlier in the day. Another homecoming is under my belt, and I am so glad this one is over and on the record books!
http://www.breezynews.com/index.php#2725
http://www.starherald.net/homepage/images_sizedimage_260112048/resources_photoview
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Books and holidays go hand in hand
Well, this weekend we went to Clarkco State Park, one of our favorite places to go, even though the fishing isn't good there. I did not book the reservations until May, so the cabin that we usually get was booked. I had to go to a slightly higher one that slept 6 people, but it was more secluded than the other one and bigger, so we did like it. We did have some rain, a bad thunderstorm for about 2 hours on Sat. morning and another slow, steady rain for a long time Sunday morning and into the afternoon. We did some napping and a lot of reading. We always read when we travel; we just read even more this time because of the rain. We grilled out, and I tried two new dishes, grilled vegetables with olive oil that the kids brought from France, and something called a Big Smoky burger. It was seasoned with onion, garlic, grill seasoning, Worcestershire sauce, and chipotle pepper in adobo sauce. Both were excellent, and we will try them again! Below is a brief summary of what I read.
Prep--It was a little racy in some parts for my library, but a really good study of one mid western teenager's four years in an elite boarding school. Lee does not fit in at her boarding school in Massachusetts, Ault. While not poor, she is not wealthy and has never been around the type of wealth she sees at Ault, a place where she (and others like her) are too ashamed to admit that they are scholarship students. She makes friends in sort of an afterthought fashion, and admires a boy up until her senior year, when he finally begins to pay attention to her. Although Lee grows and progresses during her four years, she also never really leaves the character of someone on the outside looking in. I read somewhere that the movie rights have been purchased of this book; I will certainly see it if it comes out.
How to Build a House--This is another one that I read about in School Librarian Workshop as a highly recommended book for young adults. Harper, trying to get over the breakup of her parents' marriage, spends a summer in TN with a volunteer group that is helping out a family whose home was destroyed by a tornado. In the process of her physical labor, Harper comes to a new understanding of herself and her father. This was a good book, although a little deep for some of my readers.
Megan Meade's Guide to the McGowan Boys--When Megan's career army parents get transferred to South Korea right before her junior year, she does not want to go. Her parents allow her to stay with their old friends the McGowans, parents of seven boys. Megan learns to deal with a new school, new home, new "brothers," and new friends while desperately trying to be her own person and make a place for herself. She closes each chapter with a desperate text message to her best friend back in Texas, which calls her guide to the McGowan Boys. Although a very funny book, there is a lot of very serious stuff going on, and Megan grows up a lot by the end of the book. I highly recommend to my high school readers.
Bloomberg Place series--I finished the third one of these this weekend, and they are all great. Readers of my blog know how much I love Melody Carlson. She takes flawed, imperfect characters and makes them "real" to the reader and shows how everyone is forgiven. Lelani is dealing with her parents who have taken custody of her illegitimate baby Emma and preparing for a court battle that she does not want, and Kendall is coming to grips with her poor financial management and the impending birth of her baby, a product of a one-night stand. Anna and Megan provide moral support for both women, and at least one of the four friends gets a marriage proposal. A great series showing how God takes bad situations and uses them to make people better than they were before.
As you can see, I had a great time reading this weekend and really enjoyed myself!
Prep--It was a little racy in some parts for my library, but a really good study of one mid western teenager's four years in an elite boarding school. Lee does not fit in at her boarding school in Massachusetts, Ault. While not poor, she is not wealthy and has never been around the type of wealth she sees at Ault, a place where she (and others like her) are too ashamed to admit that they are scholarship students. She makes friends in sort of an afterthought fashion, and admires a boy up until her senior year, when he finally begins to pay attention to her. Although Lee grows and progresses during her four years, she also never really leaves the character of someone on the outside looking in. I read somewhere that the movie rights have been purchased of this book; I will certainly see it if it comes out.
How to Build a House--This is another one that I read about in School Librarian Workshop as a highly recommended book for young adults. Harper, trying to get over the breakup of her parents' marriage, spends a summer in TN with a volunteer group that is helping out a family whose home was destroyed by a tornado. In the process of her physical labor, Harper comes to a new understanding of herself and her father. This was a good book, although a little deep for some of my readers.
Megan Meade's Guide to the McGowan Boys--When Megan's career army parents get transferred to South Korea right before her junior year, she does not want to go. Her parents allow her to stay with their old friends the McGowans, parents of seven boys. Megan learns to deal with a new school, new home, new "brothers," and new friends while desperately trying to be her own person and make a place for herself. She closes each chapter with a desperate text message to her best friend back in Texas, which calls her guide to the McGowan Boys. Although a very funny book, there is a lot of very serious stuff going on, and Megan grows up a lot by the end of the book. I highly recommend to my high school readers.
Bloomberg Place series--I finished the third one of these this weekend, and they are all great. Readers of my blog know how much I love Melody Carlson. She takes flawed, imperfect characters and makes them "real" to the reader and shows how everyone is forgiven. Lelani is dealing with her parents who have taken custody of her illegitimate baby Emma and preparing for a court battle that she does not want, and Kendall is coming to grips with her poor financial management and the impending birth of her baby, a product of a one-night stand. Anna and Megan provide moral support for both women, and at least one of the four friends gets a marriage proposal. A great series showing how God takes bad situations and uses them to make people better than they were before.
As you can see, I had a great time reading this weekend and really enjoyed myself!
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Saving What Remains
Elli, whose story I wrote about in an earlier blog (I Have Lived a Thousand Years), is now a grown woman with a husband, family, and Ph.D. living in the U.S. In 1980, her mom calls her from Jerusalem to tell her that there will soon be a dam built on a part of the Danube and, as a result, the old Jewish cemetery will be flooded. She cannot stand the thought of her parents' bodies washing out into the Danube and tells Elli that she must go to Czechoslovakia and bring the bodies to Jerusalem for reburial. Elli agrees, despite the fact that she is listed as an enemy of the state, and if caught in a communist country, could go to prison for 20 or more years.
What ensues is a story that is unbelievably fascinating. I never dreamed that I would get into this book as much as I did. Elli and her husband Len begin making the proper arrangements to go to Czechoslovakia, which include certain passports, which could give her identity away to the wrong people. Going behind the Iron Curtain in and of itself is quite frightening, and I found myself holding my breath until they got to Bratislava without raising any suspicion. Then the red tape begins. Permits are acquired with some difficulty, but with the warning that they can be revoked at any time. After getting the permits, they find out that the laws require that exhumed bodies be sealed in zinc containers. This revelation leads them to hunt for zinc to purchase that will seal the inexpensive child size coffins that they have ready. They find out that zinc is virtually impossible to purchase in a Communist country, and they settle for tin painted to look like zinc.
They also start the almost impossible search for the Jewish cemetery, now grown up into a jungle. Once they find it, they then have the extremely difficult task of finding the correct graves. Once found, they still have to employ grave diggers, a hearse with driver, and get more permits. During the days and weeks that they are there, Elli also continually runs into people that she knew as a child, goes to her old family home, and even, almost impossibly, tries to keep a kosher diet for Len and herself. The places and people often bring up both bad memories of the Holocaust as well as good memories of pre-war times.
This book is a multi-layered tale of Elli coming to grips with her past and preserving her Jewish heritage. The danger and intrigue involved in what should be an almost simple task was very involving, and, believe it or not, kept me reading as much as I would a good detective novel.
Although I can't see the teenagers who use my library "getting" this book, I liked it very much and recommend it to adult readers who find this period interesting.
What ensues is a story that is unbelievably fascinating. I never dreamed that I would get into this book as much as I did. Elli and her husband Len begin making the proper arrangements to go to Czechoslovakia, which include certain passports, which could give her identity away to the wrong people. Going behind the Iron Curtain in and of itself is quite frightening, and I found myself holding my breath until they got to Bratislava without raising any suspicion. Then the red tape begins. Permits are acquired with some difficulty, but with the warning that they can be revoked at any time. After getting the permits, they find out that the laws require that exhumed bodies be sealed in zinc containers. This revelation leads them to hunt for zinc to purchase that will seal the inexpensive child size coffins that they have ready. They find out that zinc is virtually impossible to purchase in a Communist country, and they settle for tin painted to look like zinc.
They also start the almost impossible search for the Jewish cemetery, now grown up into a jungle. Once they find it, they then have the extremely difficult task of finding the correct graves. Once found, they still have to employ grave diggers, a hearse with driver, and get more permits. During the days and weeks that they are there, Elli also continually runs into people that she knew as a child, goes to her old family home, and even, almost impossibly, tries to keep a kosher diet for Len and herself. The places and people often bring up both bad memories of the Holocaust as well as good memories of pre-war times.
This book is a multi-layered tale of Elli coming to grips with her past and preserving her Jewish heritage. The danger and intrigue involved in what should be an almost simple task was very involving, and, believe it or not, kept me reading as much as I would a good detective novel.
Although I can't see the teenagers who use my library "getting" this book, I liked it very much and recommend it to adult readers who find this period interesting.
wedding gifts, Wendell, and Paris
Russell and his wife (love the sound of that) came yesterday for a while. They went up to the two stores here and took care of gift cards, returns, and credits. They ended up with six each of the two sizes of casual glasses and will have about 6 place settings of their flatware. I will probably get them a couple of more place settings for Christmas if they don't have 8 by then. They did end up getting the accessory set that has the serving pieces, so I was glad about that. Those she will use all the time. I know that some gifts will still be trickling in for awhile. She ended up getting a good bit of the Peter's Pottery accessory pieces that she liked as well as some of the extra glasses that he wanted, some pilsners (I think that's right) and some red wine glasses. They seemed pleased and now have to go to Columbus to do the same. She has something like 17 gift cards for her formal crystal there, and she said that she will use some of those for credit for other things. Callie had only wanted the goblets and the champagne flutes in that, so she said that she will do 8 each and use the rest as credit. She did end up getting all of her formal china in Columbus, so she was glad about that.
Wendell had surgery almost 2 weeks ago for an intestinal blockage. What did he eat, you ask? A super ball! The vet thinks that it slid down when he ate something else, and he could not throw it up. So it sat in his stomach long enough to get kind of smooth, then it ended up blocking the passage from the stomach to the intestine. He was in the hospital for a couple of days, and has been home now for a while, but highly restricted. He was on one can of prescription dog food a day and limited water. He was also house bound, and still is a little bit. Yesterday was his first day to eat his regular food, and Callie said that he just gobbled it down without stopping to breathe practically. Russell even gave him a bite of steak yesterday after lunch. I didn't think that was wise, but it did not seem to bother him. He has a lot of energy and you can tell that he is ready to go outside and play. Monday will be his first unrestricted day after they visit the vet.
Then we went over to Mama and Daddy's and Carol Anne and David drove up just as we were getting there. So we all got to see the Paris pictures. He had them on the laptop, and they told about them as they went through the slide show. They were really beautiful, and I am just so happy that it all went well and they had such a good time. Russell said that they liked Notre Dame the best, and they even attended mass there. They had a beautiful view of the Eiffel Tower from their rooftop garden, and they loved watching it light up at night. But as for actually going to the Eiffel Tower, they said that it wasn't really worth it. It took about half the day and it was extremely crowded with tourists. Callie said that it was so high up that you couldn't really tell anything. They were also impressed with the bridges over the Seinne; they were all different and very impressive. Napoleon had built most of them. They also had photographs of the Arches de Triumph and Versailles. They said that the palace of Versailles was not that impressive until they went outside. The grounds were absolutely gorgeous. They had taken several pictures of the gardens, the orange trees, and so forth. They liked the Louvre, but not as much as they had thought they would, mainly because it was just too big. There was just no way to see it all, so they hit the highlights, like the Mona Lisa and the Wedding at Cana, and so on. The Mona Lisa was not impressive, but the Wedding at Cana was. They had also talked to us a lot during lunch about the wonderful food and markets. We loved hearing it all, and I'm sure there will be more to hear in the future.
For now, we are glad they are home and beginning their lives together.
Wendell had surgery almost 2 weeks ago for an intestinal blockage. What did he eat, you ask? A super ball! The vet thinks that it slid down when he ate something else, and he could not throw it up. So it sat in his stomach long enough to get kind of smooth, then it ended up blocking the passage from the stomach to the intestine. He was in the hospital for a couple of days, and has been home now for a while, but highly restricted. He was on one can of prescription dog food a day and limited water. He was also house bound, and still is a little bit. Yesterday was his first day to eat his regular food, and Callie said that he just gobbled it down without stopping to breathe practically. Russell even gave him a bite of steak yesterday after lunch. I didn't think that was wise, but it did not seem to bother him. He has a lot of energy and you can tell that he is ready to go outside and play. Monday will be his first unrestricted day after they visit the vet.
Then we went over to Mama and Daddy's and Carol Anne and David drove up just as we were getting there. So we all got to see the Paris pictures. He had them on the laptop, and they told about them as they went through the slide show. They were really beautiful, and I am just so happy that it all went well and they had such a good time. Russell said that they liked Notre Dame the best, and they even attended mass there. They had a beautiful view of the Eiffel Tower from their rooftop garden, and they loved watching it light up at night. But as for actually going to the Eiffel Tower, they said that it wasn't really worth it. It took about half the day and it was extremely crowded with tourists. Callie said that it was so high up that you couldn't really tell anything. They were also impressed with the bridges over the Seinne; they were all different and very impressive. Napoleon had built most of them. They also had photographs of the Arches de Triumph and Versailles. They said that the palace of Versailles was not that impressive until they went outside. The grounds were absolutely gorgeous. They had taken several pictures of the gardens, the orange trees, and so forth. They liked the Louvre, but not as much as they had thought they would, mainly because it was just too big. There was just no way to see it all, so they hit the highlights, like the Mona Lisa and the Wedding at Cana, and so on. The Mona Lisa was not impressive, but the Wedding at Cana was. They had also talked to us a lot during lunch about the wonderful food and markets. We loved hearing it all, and I'm sure there will be more to hear in the future.
For now, we are glad they are home and beginning their lives together.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Paper Towns and Looking for Alaska
I read about John Green, a young adult author, and decided to try some of his books. I wrote about An Abundance of Katherines earlier this summer. I just finished Paper Towns, and although I read Looking for Alaska a while back, just realized that I did not write about it.
Quentin is about to graduate from high school when his old friend and neighbor, Margo Roth Spiegelman, shows up at his window in the middle of the night. She has a long list of pranks that need to be done before daylight and needs his help. From shaving off one eyebrow of his arch nemesis to breaking into Sea World, "Q" helps Margo execute her perfectly planned schemes, ending up on the top of a building looking out over the lighted city. Margo comments that she is tired of "paper towns."
When Margo does not show up for school the next day, no one is surprised due to the fact that she has been know to take off for several days at a time. But as graduation looms nearer, Margo does not return, and the FBI talks to Q, he gets more and more concerned. Determined to try to find her, he searches her room for clues and begins with a much-highlighted copy of Leaves of Grass. Afraid that she has committed suicide or maybe even met a worse fate, Q and his friends start deciphering the clues that they believe Margo has left for them. What follows is a delightful, yet tension-filled search for Margo, including breaking into abandoned buildings, following trails to failed subdivisions, and finally a road trip to New York, searching for a "Paper Town."
Miles has moved to Birmingham, AL, to a boarding school, where he is promptly hazed, taped with duct tape, dropped in a pond, and left to drown. When Miles gets himself out of this predicament, his new friends Chip, his roommate, and Alaska, the girl that everyone falls in love with, immediately swear revenge. What follows is a delightful story of boarding school pranks and continual "getting even." Over the course of the semester, Miles and Chip get closer to Alaska and gradually learn the depths of her unhappiness. In a surprise twist in the plot, Miles and Chip are left on their own looking for Alaska.
I am now a John Green fan, and I highly recommend Paper Towns and Looking for Alaska for both adults and older teens.
Quentin is about to graduate from high school when his old friend and neighbor, Margo Roth Spiegelman, shows up at his window in the middle of the night. She has a long list of pranks that need to be done before daylight and needs his help. From shaving off one eyebrow of his arch nemesis to breaking into Sea World, "Q" helps Margo execute her perfectly planned schemes, ending up on the top of a building looking out over the lighted city. Margo comments that she is tired of "paper towns."
When Margo does not show up for school the next day, no one is surprised due to the fact that she has been know to take off for several days at a time. But as graduation looms nearer, Margo does not return, and the FBI talks to Q, he gets more and more concerned. Determined to try to find her, he searches her room for clues and begins with a much-highlighted copy of Leaves of Grass. Afraid that she has committed suicide or maybe even met a worse fate, Q and his friends start deciphering the clues that they believe Margo has left for them. What follows is a delightful, yet tension-filled search for Margo, including breaking into abandoned buildings, following trails to failed subdivisions, and finally a road trip to New York, searching for a "Paper Town."
Miles has moved to Birmingham, AL, to a boarding school, where he is promptly hazed, taped with duct tape, dropped in a pond, and left to drown. When Miles gets himself out of this predicament, his new friends Chip, his roommate, and Alaska, the girl that everyone falls in love with, immediately swear revenge. What follows is a delightful story of boarding school pranks and continual "getting even." Over the course of the semester, Miles and Chip get closer to Alaska and gradually learn the depths of her unhappiness. In a surprise twist in the plot, Miles and Chip are left on their own looking for Alaska.
I am now a John Green fan, and I highly recommend Paper Towns and Looking for Alaska for both adults and older teens.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
The Fairlawn series
How does a single mom cope with divorce, depression, and looming destitution? Run a funeral home, of course!
Jen has been job hunting endlessly since her divorce and is gradually watching her bank balance go down and her bills go up with no luck on the job front. When she gets an unexpected windfall from a long-forgotten dead relative, she packs up the kids and her mother and goes to Florida to check out her inheritance. Hoping to find a lovely historical home that she can convert into a profitable bed and breakfast, Jen instead finds a dilapidated money pit which operates a struggling funeral home out of the first floor.
True to Angela Hunt's style, the Fairlawn books are sprinkled with humor (a customer who wants to be alive at her own funeral, for example), but bring about good messages about family, funerals, and faith. Jen's journey from single mother who desperately wants to win back her ex-husband into the confident Christian businesswoman who realizes that the man she loves has been right under her nose all along will keep you reading these wonderful books.
Jen takes a faith journey not only in operating Fairlawn, but also in taking in long-lost family members, tackling a new career, and dealing with deaths that are far too close to home. I highly recommend this series for any fan of Angela Hunt or other similar Christian fiction authors.
Jen has been job hunting endlessly since her divorce and is gradually watching her bank balance go down and her bills go up with no luck on the job front. When she gets an unexpected windfall from a long-forgotten dead relative, she packs up the kids and her mother and goes to Florida to check out her inheritance. Hoping to find a lovely historical home that she can convert into a profitable bed and breakfast, Jen instead finds a dilapidated money pit which operates a struggling funeral home out of the first floor.
True to Angela Hunt's style, the Fairlawn books are sprinkled with humor (a customer who wants to be alive at her own funeral, for example), but bring about good messages about family, funerals, and faith. Jen's journey from single mother who desperately wants to win back her ex-husband into the confident Christian businesswoman who realizes that the man she loves has been right under her nose all along will keep you reading these wonderful books.
Jen takes a faith journey not only in operating Fairlawn, but also in taking in long-lost family members, tackling a new career, and dealing with deaths that are far too close to home. I highly recommend this series for any fan of Angela Hunt or other similar Christian fiction authors.
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