Adventure
Searching for something to read among the recent donations to the floating book shop, I was drawn to Dawn Wind by Rosemary Sutcliff. Published in 1961, it is one of at least 30 novels for children she wrote. Set in the sixth century, it is the story of a 14-year-old male who awakens, spear wound in his shoulder, in the field of the last battle between Saxons and Brits. His father and older brother are dead. He begins an eleven year odyssey that includes enslavement. He is an able and noble Christian soul who considers himself Roman, although the Empire has long since left the land. Overwritten by modern standards, it is still absorbing, at times rousing. The literary style is more like that of prior centuries, which fits the narrative for the most part. 241 pages, it is not an easy read. I was thinking kids nowadays would not like it, then saw it was reissued in 2013 and that 61 users at Amazon have rated it, forging to a consensus of 4.7 on a scale of five. I wonder if the youth of the UK would have more patience with it than those of the USA. Whatever. The copy in my possession contains crude black and white illustrations by Charles Keeping. Kirkus Reviews wrote: “True to form, Rosemary Sutcliff has dramatized another aspect of British history with the same skill and accuracy that characterized her earlier books,” and “An era few history courses tackle is enlivened and portrayed for the admirer of historical adventure.” Sutcliff also wrote four novels for adults, four works of non-fiction, an auto-bio, and she had a hand in the screenplay for Ghost Story (1974), in which singer Marianne Faithful had a part, not to be confused with the much more successful 1981 film of the same title. She received six literary awards. Never married, she passed away at 71 in 1992. Well done, madam. (Facts from Wiki)
RIP conservative radio talk host legend Rush Limbaugh, 70, winner of five Marconi Awards, member of the National Radio Hall of Fame and the NAB Broadcasting Hall of Fame. Nobody did it better. One could only hope to be as good. Thank you, sir.
It’s tempting to laugh at the failures of green energy adventure in Texas. Unfortunately, lives have been lost and still are at stake. Imagine using fossil fuel burning helicopters and planes to dump chemicals to thaw turbines — you can’t make up stuff like that. I am not against green energy. Like Trump, I favor an all of the above approach. Eliminating fossil fuels at this time would be madness.
I went on a little adventure myself this morning. Yesterday a middle age blonde asked if I wanted books. I told her I’d pick them up in the AM, neglecting to say six-thirty or so. She gave me her address and said she would leave two bags at the bottom of her front steps. To my surprise, they were there. I was sure she would assume I’d arrive later. I lugged them seven blocks. Once home, I eagerly sorted through the contents. There are about ten novels by black women among the cache, which also includes several works on tropical fish and educational material. I hope she found the thank you note I wedged in the gate at the top of the stairs.
A group of crows were cackling away near me this afternoon. Soon one was within 15 feet, perched on a garden fence. He hopped down into the grass beside his prey, a dead pigeon. I reached for my little, inexpensive Bell & Howell camera and took this shot, which I edited using my PC’s program. It’s not as sharp as I would have liked but I’m happy to have caught the predator in flight.
As for the daily adventure of the floating book shop — my thanks to the woman who bought a paperback in Russian, and to the home attendant who did the same as well as opting for The Ultimate Elvis: Elvis Presley, Day by Day by Patricia Jobe Pierce and Dead Elvis: A Chronicle of a Cultural Obsession by Greil Marcus; and to the burly Alexander, who selected a huge math textbook, Overcoming Procrastination (there are so many books with that title I was unable to pinpoint the author) and The Problem of Progress by Sander Griffioen. He claims to be a descendant of Alexander the Great, who died at 32 before who is believed his illegitimate son, only child, was born. He had a flashy ring on each of his ten fingers, and his grip was powerful.
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