Avocados, A Hotline, A Hatchet
Our southern neighbor seems in large part to be a narco-state. Here’s an excerpt from an article at nypost.com about what some law-abiding citizens face: “The Michoacan area of Mexico has gotten so lawless, a band of female vigilantes are taking it upon themselves to protect their friends and family. The state, the world’s largest supplier of avocados and limes, has recently been overrun by the violent Jalisco drug cartel that hail from the neighboring state. The women are fighting back.” Here is one, nicknamed La Guera:
I’ve never watched a podcast. An NYP article by Michael Kaplan mentions one that may be worthwhile. Here’s the gist, edited and rearranged by yours truly: In 1980 Allan Bridge, a moderately successful painter who made ends meet in part through shoplifting, was so guilt-ridden he started an apology hotline. He papered downtown Manhattan neighborhoods with fliers encouraging people to call and unburden themselves. He became privy to 100,000 secrets. Callers were instructed to remain anonymous and to use a pay phone to prevent tracing. One guy confessed to spreading AIDS to both genders, another to killing his mom. Of course, child molesters phoned. Bridge picked up occasionally when the person seemed suicidal. Some showed no remorse and even bragged. There were death threats. It affected Bridge’s mental health. In 1995 at age 50, surfacing from a scuba dive, he was killed by a jet-skier who drove off. The case was never solved. The podcast, The Apology Line, narrated by his wife Melissa, will be available Tuesday. Here’s one of the fliers:
Born in Minneapolis in 1939, Gary Paulsen is the author of more than 200 books, more than 200 magazine articles and short stories, and several plays, primarily for teens. In 1997 he received ALA Margaret Edwards Award, which recognizes significant and lasting contribution to young adult literature. Three of his books have won the coveted Newbery Award, including Hatchet, published in 1987 and still selling well. The first in a series of five, it is the story of a 13-year-old city boy, a child of divorce, on his way to spend the summer with his dad, who’s working in a Canadian oil field. The pilot of the Cessna suffers a fatal heart attack. The kid survives the crash and must learn how to stay alive in the wilderness. The story is solid. The prose is very unpolished for a third person account, but I assume it is designed to connect with teens. The 195 pages of the large paperback edition read like considerably less. The title refers to the gift the boy’s mother gives him before his departure. It proves to be his salvation. 10,000+ users at Amazon have rated Hatchet, forging to a consensus of 4.7 on a scale of five. Obviously, kids love it. 33 years after its initial publication, it is ranked 370th at Jeff Bezo’s behemoth, a remarkable achievement given the 15 million titles listed there. Kudos to Paulsen, who is 81.
It was a gorgeous day as long as one was out of the wind. My thanks to the young couple who bought three kids books and The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, The Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson, The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton, The Jane Austen Book Club by Natalie Jenner, The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk, and The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides; and to the home attendant who purchased two hardcovers in Russian and Promised Land by Robert Whitlow.
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