THE TRAGEDY OF ANTARCTICA

My wee fella, aged 9, and his "best friend", Clairemarie, newly 10.......are planning to "write" a book of tragedies.  Each tragedy is to be one page only.  Below you will find their first story.  They spent the most of two days WRITING this story instead of PLAYING.  Clairemarie did the typing and Malachy did much of the leading of the story, so I have heard.  I also was told that they had disagreements over the number of "shots" heard.......and that they finally compromised.  I want to get it out here, as is, because they are notice "errors" and are wanting to fix them.  I love it the way it is and I always want to remember it this way.

When you read this, I want you to read it as written, following where the punctuation, or lack of, leads.  :)   It is quote enjoyable that way!


In addition.....do notice the amazing plotline, the vocabulary, the sweet love of family.  I am really proud of these two little homeschooled kids, taking such an initiative at such a young age.  Please understand the violence is related to hearing stories of adventure, like Treasure Island, or what have you.  They imitate what they hear.

The next story will follow soon, written entirely by my little man.  In the meantime, I give you the first time in publication (without the authors' awareness)........

THE TRAGEDY OF ANTARCTICA

 

BY

MALACHY BRYAN & CLAIREMARIE GAZAVE

There once was a wealthy family who was blessed with three children. The first was Matthew the second was Kay and the third was Helena. The first was twelve the second eleven and the third was nine. One day the three children went on there daily horse ride by themselves as they always did. On there way home they heard gun shots then they heard screaming and voices crying out help!!! they rode back to the house to see if everything was alright but all they found was dead bodies and the ruins of there house then suddenly they felt a tight grasp on there necks some strange people had knocked them out . Next thing they new they were in a sell with two people staring at them one said I will get these three! the children did not know what he meant next they were taken to the strange peoples house they were richer then the three children used to be next they were locked up in a room with twenty other slaves then one of the people who bought them came in and said get to work! the children saw there chance and raised out of the room with five other slaves but just then the children heard gun shots they saw a slave fall to the ground but they did not stop running they could hear the gun shots getting louder and louder but they would not dare to look back finally they were out of the house then they spotted a little boat nearby they quickly jumped in just then they heard gun shots and one of the slaves dropped dead then they heard more gun shots and one of the slaves fell into the water dead .it was getting darker and darker as they floated out to sea it was almost midnight when one of them spotted a ship nearby finally they were right next to the ship when they heard a voice calling out do you children need help? Matthew answered yes we are completely lost can you tell us were the nearest island is? the man said why don’t you come aboard and I will tell you so the three children with the two slaves came out of the little boat and on to the ship then the man told them were the nearest island was he said that the ship was headed there too just then they heard lightning then thunder then the waves started to get taller and taller and then the man who was also the captain yelled there’s a storm then another person yelled look out captain a wave the captain was to late to dodge he was swept off his feet by a wave as the rest of the crew and the two slaves, the three children jumped off the ship before the wave hit they swam to a little ice burg the ice burg was only five by four feet ,they decided that they would have to live there since there was no way to get out of the strange place . one morning Matthew and Helena woke up to find there brothers dead body next to them Helena started to cry Matthew said we will have to find a way to live without Kay the next day Helena and Matthew went fishing sadly without Kay as Matthew was fishing he heard a scream it was Helena she had fallen into the water Matthew was to late to save her Helena had drown he had lost his two siblings which were the most important things to him. The next morning when Matthew was fishing the ice burg started to crack Matthew saw Kay who was frozen stuck to the ice burg sink down into the sea Matthew started to sink as well his last words were at least I will be with my brother and sister and that ends the TRAGEDY OF ANTARCTICA.



Blessings, my friends & relatives......

Love,
Chari

...the rest of my 2010 reading list.....

I wrote most of this so long ago for our 4 Real yearly reading list.......and as I do not want to waste all of this writing.........I will place it here for safe-keeping........ I am going to allow myself to "let go" of the need to polish it. Quite painful....but I am motivated.  :)



The book list covers from Easter 2010 till the end of the year........not sure if much is missing......

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



I guess I went on a Nicholas Sparks spree in the Spring........I think I needed some twaddle after an austere Lent.  ;)



True Believer.....fair...not really recommending



The Wedding...this was a good book. I highly recommend it for anyone who has been married at least ten years......to remind them how to "care for the marriage".....it is an excellent story....oh, and "sort of" a sequel to The Notebook....which is also a good story.....better than the movie that everyone seems to love......



A Walk to Remember......this was a re-read, to see if my teen could read it.....she could.....my older two had read it a few years earlier.......plus, she wanted to see the movie.......I had thought the writing was better...but, it IS a story from a teen's POV.....the book is so much more than the movie....much better. It is a beautiful story...but the writing is only fair. Still, worth the read.



The Last Song.........my dd and I had got stuck watching this movie on the big screen when we went out of town for a medical procedure......everyone in the movie acted well except that ol' Miley Cyrus....ugh...she is unattractive, has too deep of a voice to be pleasing to the ear and is a mediocre actress.......I sure hopes she improves if she is going to continue to be given parts! Blech. This story was originally written as a screenplay so Cryus could have a movie to do. The book is better than the movie....but not necessarily worth reading unless you have nothing else.

I wonder if The Last Song was inspired by his sister's life....... cannot remember. Or maybe it was A Walk to Remember........in either case, she died young, of cancer.



Dear John........I read this because I wanted to see the movie. The book is way better than the movie. I think if you have an autistic child....you might enjoy this a bit more......because of the way autism is portrayed.

I did not realize that Nicholas Sparks was a Catholic......that was interesting to discover. He does not seem to use it much in his writings. He had quite a few tragic incidents in his life. That might make him more compassionate than the usual guy. I just wish he would write more happy endings.......  :)

Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Hertzberg & Francois......we have been making this bread for at least a year.....based on an article...it was delightful to read it for real.  It provided a bit of extra background on the bread-making.  MMMMmmmmm.  Do make some of this bread, if you have not already.  You can find the recipe here.  It really helps to have a baking stone, though it can be done without.......but it just is not the same.  I had borrowed it from the library...but my friend bought it for me for my birthday....so now i have my own copy!  She got me the second book for Christmas.....it is for "healthy" breads.
How to Say it to Boys: Communicating with Boys to help them become the best men they can be by Richard Heyman, Ed.D.........could be useful raising boys...things to think about anyway. Secular.

Sandy: The True Story of a Rare Sandhill Crane Who Joined Our Family by Dayton O. Hyde........I loved this book. I am one of the strange people who loves to read true natural history stories. With the sandhill crane as my favorite bird.......it made it even more fun.....plus, it took place just north of here.

My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult.....I was intrigued by this when I first saw it released at Border's.........then, when I saw it was a movie.......I remembered that I wanted to read it. It was well-written and a story with some serious issues to think about. Very emotional. Now, to remember that I want to see the movie.  ;)

The Restless Flame by Louis de Wohl.......I read this while I was reading Saint Augustine's Confessions.......just to have a basic story-line to follow. Whenever I read something crazy Augustine had said or done........I refused to believe it was true......the author must have made it up......only to find it later in The Confessions....and that it was true. Excellent story....as are every other de Wohl I have read.

1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die by Peter Boxall..........I looked at every page. I read some. I do not agree with all of the choices. And, though I have read 1000's of books in my life.....I have only read 50 of these.......that is, when I finish the last of The Confessions and Walden. ;) This is where I found the inspiration to read The Betrothed. I guess that would make my list at 51 then........though I have quite a handful on my to-read shelf. I used this book to help create the girls' World Literature reading list.

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury.....a re-read because our library was having issues and I could not stop thinking about it.......it was followed by a blog post.....


The Story of the World's Literature by John Albert Macy (1925) I skimmed a lot of it. It was an old volume I found at my library. I want to read all of it some day.


Mark Twain's first published book: The Innocents Abroad......I loved this.......it is the main reason I did not get much reading done this year, in the number of books.....it was quite the tome......of course, it resulted in a blog post.


The Last Dive: A Father and Son's Fatal Descent into the Ocean's Depths by Bernie Chowdhury .........this accidentally made it into my library bag.......by the librarian. I was skimming it and ended up reading most of it. I learned so.very.much about the science of diving. I am glad to have read that and now am 100% sure that I or my children still under MY care, will never be diving. The writer did an excellent job of telling the story, including a lot of science to satisfy me.  :)
I think there is something else......but perhaps it is only stuff I was reading through to this year.


Okay....that's it.......now I can be caught up.  Well, I guess I should go track down the books I read before Easter.  Then...this would actually be my reading list of 2010.

I think I may start keeping track on my blog of my reading for the year.........we'll see. I will have to figure out the best way to do so....


Blessings,

Chari

Expanding my literature horizon........

I recently finished reading "the most famous and widely read novel of the Italian language."

I am so very excited to have accomplished this! 

(Hmmm......that inspires me....perhaps I could read the "most" of every language.....I wonder what those books could be......leave a note in the comment section if you are aware of specific titles)


So.......what book did I read, you ask?

En Italiano:              

I Promessi Sposi

….....or, if you prefer, en Engles:          

The Betrothed

by Alessandro Manzoni

It is odd, but when I finished, I could not decide how I felt about it. What would I say? Could I recommend it? Did I enjoy reading it? Did I learn from it? Should I read what was written about it on the Internet to decide?

I knew Willa was going to ask me about my opinion.......I was thinking, thinking. I could not part with the book.....I still had it two weeks later, borrowed from the library. There was something precious about it.....even if I could not name it......and I was not yet ready for that to end. If I let the book go, I would have to admit that I must move on.

I really want someone else to read it....so we can talk about it. I have not found anyone else who has read it, yet. I have decided that Willa must read it. :)   (She has, since I originally wrote this....we just have not found the right moment for discussion.)


Ultimately, I have decided that I DID enjoy it. I relish my memory of it immensely. It was a bit of work to read through......especially because the author seemed to need to give much background info for each new thing brought into the story, whether it was about laws, history, the plague, a specific person’s back-story. This created many breaks in the story....reminding me of the style of Victor Hugo with Les Miserables.

(Hey!  Do you think Les Miserables is the most widely FRENCH novel of all time???  If so, I can check that off my list!  And what about War and Peace???  Does that count for Russian?  I hope so!  I guess I need to get that Don Quixote read...I only made it 50 pages last year before I got distracted by Lent.  Do you think that would cover Spain?)


A little background info on the publication of this novel:

Originally published in 1827, the author, Alessandro Manzoni, re-wrote and published it a decade or so later because ........
“The age-long dispute as to which dialect should be used as the standard language of Italian prose engaged the interest of Manzoni in his later years; and, becoming convinced of the claims of Tuscan, he rewrote the entire novel in order to remove all traces of non-Tuscan idiom, and published it in 1840. This proceeding had the effect of rekindling the discussion on the question of a national Italian literary language - a discussion which still goes on. Along with the revised edition of "I Promessi Sposi," he published a kind of sequel, "La Storia della Colonna infame," written more than ten years before; but this work, overloaded with didacticism, is universally regarded as inferior. Both at home and abroad, Manzoni`s fame rests mainly on the novel here printed, a work which has taken its place among the great novels of the world, not merely for its admirable descriptions of Italian life in the seventeenth century, but still more for its faithful and moving presentation of human experience and emotion.”

A couple of quotes from the book.......

The first is probably the most often quoted:

“When a friend, then, indulges in the joy of unburdening a secret on to another friend's bosom, he makes the latter, in his turn, feel the urge to taste the same joy himself. He implores him, it is true, not to tell a soul; but if such a condition were taken absolutely literally, it would at once cut off the flow of these joys at their very source. The general practice is for the secret to be confided only to an equally trustworthy friend, the same conditions being imposed on him. And so from trustworthy friend to trustworthy friend the secret goes moving on round that immense chain, until finally it reaches the ears of just the very person or persons whom the first talker had expressly intended it never should reach.”

"After a long debating and searching together, they concluded that troubles often come, yes, because we've given us a cause; but that the most cautious and innocent conduct isn't enough to keep them away; and that when they come, with guilt or without guilt, the trust in God sweetens them, and makes them useful for a better life. This conclusion, although found by poor people, has seemed us so just, that we have thought to put it there, as the juice of all the story." (Second-last paragraph)


You can find the complete text online.

I love this review by Edgar Allen Poe. He uses the majority of his words praising and comparing the author to others.....but barely spends much time actually discussing the novel itself. He published the review in 1935, before the final presentation of the novel had even appeared.


This is so cool! A “map” of where the chapters take place.Check out the “Categorized Markers “on the left side of the page. Click on number 14 for a gorgeous view.

Of course, the link at Wikipedia will tell you much about the author and his novel.


DO NOT FOLLOW these links below, if you have yet to read the book, and plan to do so. There are spoilers present.

This link is mostly useless and I do not agree with their take on the descriptions of the characters, but there are four books listed at the bottom of the page that look good for further research into Manzoni.


This brief literary note has excellent insight in comparing the two main priests in the story, though I disagree with calling Don Abbondio's qualities "almost evil" as I do not believe the priest was "evil" at all....but simply self-centered in his protection of himself. And very naive as well as simple-minded.




Now, a few weeks later, I can say that I have fallen in love with this novel. While occasionally a bit difficult to get through, it is a truly lovely story. When I began the novel, I had no idea how beautifully Catholic it was going to be. The primary characters maintain their faith through so much hardship. I was so surprised by some of the history. I know more than I ever thought I wanted to know about the Milan plague of 1629. Manzoni creates a fascinating window to the time period of 1628-1631. It was just like being there. The pictures he has drawn of the characters are so detailed, and those details so crisp, you feel that you know each as well as you possibly could.

Though he was a side character, he was most important, and probably one of my favorites: Cardinal Federico Borromeo, cousin to Saint Charles Borromeo, with whom many of you probably have more familiarity. The Cardinal was so good and so wise, I could not help myself in my adoration. He was well-educated and created a library or two, including the first public library in Europe (and this in the 1600’s!).......qualities I also find endearing. ;) Do follow the link on his name to learn more about him.


A few words from what the online Catholic Encyclopedia has to say about the good Cardinal:

"He was one of those men rare in every age, who employed extraordinary intelligence, the resources of an opulent condition, the advantages of privileged station, and an unflinching will, in the search and practice of higher and better things."

In The Betrothed, the Cardinal is involved in a miraculous conversion. He is so kind to the poor and the plague-infested. I love this man. Or, the idea of him. I intend to spread word about him.


The motivation to read this novel came when I discovered it listed in a book of 1,001 Books You Must Read Before You Die. I found it on the shelf at the library when I was doing some curriculum planning. I placed it on the girls’ World Literature list to cover Italy....but I wanted to pre-read it first.  I am so grateful for the experience.  All of my kids will read it, in their last year or two of high school.  It is "clean and safe" book, but you need do need to be a strong reader, as well as a persistent one.  If your kid can handle Dickens, they can handle this.  :)

I need to get my two graduated kids on it soon.  Perhaps in the summer, when they are not reading such heavy literature already......since they both are basically "majoring" in literature at school!

Blessings,

Chari

Mark Twain and I are parting ways.....

...........................for now.



We have spent five glorious months together, exploring and traveling the Europe and Holy Land of 1867. We had the most wonderful time! Twain had me laughing out loud quite frequently. I sure am going to miss his humor.


I have just finished reading THE INNOCENTS ABROAD, apparently his first book, whereby he shares the stories of a "pleasure excursion " he took on the ship, The Quaker City. He is hilarious and sometimes mildly offensive, though he always wins you back. And I do not mean mildly offensive in the modern way....but in a way that says things you know people think, but really shouldn't say. :)

Here is an example:

"It was breezy and pleasant, but the sea was still very rough. One could not promenade without risking his neck; at one moment the bowsprit was taking a deadly aim at the sun in midheaven, and at the next it was trying to harpoon a shark in the bottom of the ocean. What a weird sensation it is to feel the stem of a ship sinking swiftly from under you and see the bow climbing high away among the clouds! One's safest course that day was to clasp a railing and hang on; walking was too precarious a pastime.


By some happy fortune I was not seasick. --That was a thing to be proud of. I had not always escaped before. If there is one thing in the world that will make a man peculiarly and insufferably self-conceited, it is to have his stomach behave itself, the first day it sea, when nearly all his comrades are seasick. Soon a venerable fossil, shawled to the chin and bandaged like a mummy, appeared at the door of the after deck-house, and the next lurch of the ship shot him into my arms. I said:


"Good-morning, Sir. It is a fine day."


He put his hand on his stomach and said, "Oh, my!" and then staggered away and fell over the coop of a skylight.


Presently another old gentleman was projected from the same door with great violence. I said:


"Calm yourself, Sir--There is no hurry. It is a fine day, Sir."


He, also, put his hand on his stomach and said "Oh, my!" and reeled away.


In a little while another veteran was discharged abruptly from the same door, clawing at the air for a saving support. I said:


"Good morning, Sir. It is a fine day for pleasuring. You were about to say--"


"Oh, my!"


I thought so. I anticipated him, anyhow. I stayed there and was bombarded with old gentlemen for an hour, perhaps; and all I got out of any of them was "Oh, my!"


I went away then in a thoughtful mood. I said, this is a good pleasure excursion. I like it. The passengers are not garrulous, but still they are sociable. I like those old people, but somehow they all seem to have the "Oh, my" rather bad.


I knew what was the matter with them. They were seasick. And I was glad of it. We all like to see people seasick when we are not, ourselves. Playing whist by the cabin lamps when it is storming outside is pleasant; walking the quarterdeck in the moonlight is pleasant; smoking in the breezy foretop is pleasant when one is not afraid to go up there; but these are all feeble and commonplace compared with the joy of seeing people suffering the miseries of seasickness."

I got to thinking about this book because my son Matthew was in Switzerland for a year.....and one day while we chatted on Skype.......he had me surfing websites to see the "big church" in Milan...and I found a quote from Mark Twain on the webpage.....and Matthew says:



"That Mark Twain has been following me all over Europe......wherever I go....I find he is there, too."


So, I immediately order the volume from my library, the library we were still praying would not close.  I was not sorry.  In fact, the time I spent with Twain on this journey will be counted among some of the happiest memories of my life.


I had SO MANY quotes to share from our trip........but before I can remember one.....another comes and takes its place!


Here is an excerpt I shared with my ballroom-dance-loving kids:



"On several starlight nights we danced on the upper deck, under the awnings, and made something of a ball-room display of brilliancy by hanging a number of ship's lanterns to the stanchions. Our music consisted of the well-mixed strains of a melodeon which was a little asthmatic and apt to catch its breath where it ought to come out strong, a clarinet which was a little unreliable on the high keys and rather melancholy on the low ones, and a disreputable accordion that had a leak somewhere and breathed louder than it squawked--a more elegant term does not occur to me just now. However, the dancing was infinitely worse than the music. When the ship rolled to starboard the whole platoon of dancers came charging down to starboard with it, and brought up in mass at the rail; and when it rolled to port they went floundering down to port with the same unanimity of sentiment. Waltzers spun around precariously for a matter of fifteen seconds and then went scurrying down to the rail as if they meant to go overboard. The Virginia reel, as performed on board the Quaker City, had more genuine reel about it than any reel I ever saw before, and was as full of interest to the spectator as it was full of desperate chances and hairbreadth escapes to the participant. We gave up dancing, finally."



My kids began to roll their eyes every time I called all of them into a room and they spotted the big blue book in my hands. I think it made them a bit crazy......but I am pretty sure they loved the slices of humor I shared with them. At least I will keep telling myself that.


Near the end of our travels, he shared a story about some time that he spent in the "worst" hotel in America.......comparing it to the worst hotel he stayed in on his European travels (that one was in Egypt). I read this aloud to my hotel manager husband and he was quite amused. So were my literature-loving girls.



"Alexandria was too much like a European city to be novel, and we soon tired of it. We took the cars and came up here to ancient Cairo, which is an Oriental city and of the completest pattern. There is little about it to disabuse one's mind of the error if he should take it into his head that he was in the heart of Arabia. Stately camels and dromedaries, swarthy Egyptians, and likewise Turks and black Ethiopians, turbaned, sashed, and blazing in a rich variety of Oriental costumes of all shades of flashy colors, are what one sees on every hand crowding the narrow streets and the honeycombed bazaars. We are stopping at Shepherd's Hotel, which is the worst on earth except the one I stopped at once in a small town in the United States. It is pleasant to read this sketch in my note-book, now, and know that I can stand Shepherd's Hotel, sure, because I have been in one just like it in America and survived:


I stopped at the Benton House. It used to be a good hotel, but that proves nothing--I used to be a good boy, for that matter. Both of us have lost character of late years. The Benton is not a good hotel. The Benton lacks a very great deal of being a good hotel. Perdition is full of better hotels than the Benton.


It was late at night when I got there, and I told the clerk I would like plenty of lights, because I wanted to read an hour or two. When I reached No. 15 with the porter (we came along a dim hall that was clad in ancient carpeting, faded, worn out in many places, and patched with old scraps of oil cloth--a hall that sank under one's feet, and creaked dismally to every footstep,) he struck a light-- two inches of sallow, sorrowful, consumptive tallow candle, that burned blue, and sputtered, and got discouraged and went out. The porter lit it again, and I asked if that was all the light the clerk sent. He said, "Oh no, I've got another one here," and he produced another couple of inches of tallow candle. I said, "Light them both --I'll have to have one to see the other by." He did it, but the result was drearier than darkness itself. He was a cheery, accommodating rascal. He said he would go "somewheres" and steal a lamp. I abetted and encouraged him in his criminal design. I heard the landlord get after him in the hall ten minutes afterward.


"Where are you going with that lamp?"


"Fifteen wants it, sir."


"Fifteen! why he's got a double lot of candles--does the man want to illuminate the house?--does he want to get up a torch-light procession?--what is he up to, any how?"


"He don't like them candles--says he wants a lamp."


"Why what in the nation does----why I never heard of such a thing? What on earth can he want with that lamp?"


"Well, he only wants to read--that's what he says."


"Wants to read, does he?--ain't satisfied with a thousand candles, but has to have a lamp!--I do wonder what the devil that fellow wants that lamp for? Take him another candle, and then if----"


"But he wants the lamp--says he'll burn the d--d old house down if he don't get a lamp!" (a remark which I never made.)


"I'd like to see him at it once. Well, you take it along--but I swear it beats my time, though--and see if you can't find out what in the very nation he wants with that lamp."


And he went off growling to himself and still wondering and wondering over the unaccountable conduct of No. 15. The lamp was a good one, but it revealed some disagreeable things--a bed in the suburbs of a desert of room--a bed that had hills and valleys in it, and you'd have to accommodate your body to the impression left in it by the man that slept there last, before you could lie comfortably; a carpet that had seen better days; a melancholy washstand in a remote corner, and a dejected pitcher on it sorrowing over a broken nose; a looking-glass split across the centre, which chopped your head off at the chin and made you look like some dreadful unfinished monster or other; the paper peeling in shreds from the walls.


I sighed and said: "This is charming; and now don't you think you could get me something to read?"


The porter said, "Oh, certainly; the old man's got dead loads of books;" and he was gone before I could tell him what sort of literature I would rather have. And yet his countenance expressed the utmost confidence in his ability to execute the commission with credit to himself. The old man made a descent on him.


"What are you going to do with that pile of books?"


"Fifteen wants 'em, sir."


"Fifteen, is it? He'll want a warming-pan, next--he'll want a nurse! Take him every thing there is in the house--take him the bar-keeper--take him the baggage-wagon--take him a chamber-maid! Confound me, I never saw any thing like it. What did he say he wants with those books?"


"Wants to read 'em, like enough; it ain't likely he wants to eat 'em, I don't reckon."


"Wants to read 'em--wants to read 'em this time of night, the infernal lunatic! Well, he can't have them."


"But he says he's mor'ly bound to have 'em; he says he'll just go a-rairin' and a-chargin' through this house and raise more--well, there's no tellin' what he won't do if he don't get 'em; because he's drunk and crazy and desperate, and nothing'll soothe him down but them cussed books." [I had not made any threats, and was not in the condition ascribed to me by the porter.]


"Well, go on; but I will be around when he goes to rairing and charging, and the first rair he makes I'll make him rair out of the window." And then the old gentleman went off, growling as before.


The genius of that porter was something wonderful. He put an armful of books on the bed and said "Good night" as confidently as if he knew perfectly well that those books were exactly my style of reading matter. And well he might. His selection covered the whole range of legitimate literature. It comprised "The Great Consummation," by Rev. Dr. Cummings--theology; "Revised Statutes of the State of Missouri"--law; "The Complete Horse-Doctor"--medicine; "The Toilers of the Sea," by Victor Hugo--romance; "The works of William Shakspeare"--poetry. I shall never cease to admire the tact and the intelligence of that gifted porter."

One of the things that amused me the most was when Twain, while on a trip out of the good ol' US of A, would go offf on tangets about how wonderful and amazing Lake Tahoe was in his opinion.

This happened at least three times and once went on for three pages! 

Well,  at least we definitely have a love of Lake Tahoe in common.  He spent much time there, as did I, as a resident there during my last two years of high school.

He felt some strong pull to compare every lake he saw with Tahoe.  And, the other lake always lost out in the comparison.  Even the Sea of Galilee was not left untouched!

A sample:



"The celebrated Sea of Galilee is not so large a sea as Lake Tahoe --[I measure all lakes by Tahoe, partly because I am far more familiar with it than with any other, and partly because I have such a high admiration for it and such a world of pleasant recollections of it, that it is very nearly impossible for me to speak of lakes and not mention it.]--by a good deal--it is just about two-thirds as large. And when we come to speak of beauty, this sea is no more to be compared to Tahoe than a meridian of longitude is to a rainbow. The dim waters of this pool can not suggest the limpid brilliancy of Tahoe; these low, shaven, yellow hillocks of rocks and sand, so devoid of perspective, can not suggest the grand peaks that compass Tahoe like a wall, and whose ribbed and chasmed fronts are clad with stately pines that seem to grow small and smaller as they climb, till one might fancy them reduced to weeds and shrubs far upward, where they join the everlasting snows. Silence and solitude brood over Tahoe; and silence and solitude brood also over this lake of Genessaret. But the solitude of the one is as cheerful and fascinating as the solitude of the other is dismal and repellant.







In the early morning one watches the silent battle of dawn and darkness upon the waters of Tahoe with a placid interest; but when the shadows sulk away and one by one the hidden beauties of the shore unfold themselves in the full splendor of noon; when the still surface is belted like a rainbow with broad bars of blue and green and white, half the distance from circumference to centre; when, in the lazy summer afternoon, he lies in a boat, far out to where the dead blue of the deep water begins, and smokes the pipe of peace and idly winks at the distant crags and patches of snow from under his cap-brim; when the boat drifts shoreward to the white water, and he lolls over the gunwale and gazes by the hour down through the crystal depths and notes the colors of the pebbles and reviews the finny armies gliding in procession a hundred feet below; when at night he sees moon and stars, mountain ridges feathered with pines, jutting white capes, bold promontories, grand sweeps of rugged scenery topped with bald, glimmering peaks, all magnificently pictured in the polished mirror of the lake, in richest, softest detail, the tranquil interest that was born with the morning deepens and deepens, by sure degrees, till it culminates at last in resistless fascination!






It is solitude, for birds and squirrels on the shore and fishes in the water are all the creatures that are near to make it otherwise, but it is not the sort of solitude to make one dreary. Come to Galilee for that. If these unpeopled deserts, these rusty mounds of barrenness, that never, never, never do shake the glare from their harsh outlines, and fade and faint into vague perspective; that melancholy ruin of Capernaum; this stupid village of Tiberias, slumbering under its six funereal plumes of palms; yonder desolate declivity where the swine of the miracle ran down into the sea, and doubtless thought it was better to swallow a devil or two and get drowned into the bargain than have to live longer in such a place; this cloudless, blistering sky; this solemn, sailless, tintless lake, reposing within its rim of yellow hills and low, steep banks, and looking just as expressionless and unpoetical (when we leave its sublime history out of the question,) as any metropolitan reservoir in Christendom--if these things are not food for rock me to sleep, mother, none exist, I think."



I have not read anything else, really since I started this tome. Life has just been so busy, and while I LOVED reading this book, it was not exactly gripping material.....so, I just plugged away till I got to the end. A most worthwhile task on my part, and one that I am sure will be entertaining me long after the exact words have faded.

Blessings to all.



With love and prayers,



Chari

Creating a World Literature Course for My High Schoolers....Can you help?

I am creating a World Lit course for a sophomore and senior......it is in place of British Literature....because they have read way too much British Lit to need a course.  :)



Below, you will find the definitions that I have found regarding World Lit......and then countries listed with some of the famous literature from that country.



I am looking for help in several ways:



Could you please tell me if they should NOT read any of these books, for whatever reason, for their age?



Could you please tell me what books I am missing?



Could you please help me fill in the missing countries?


You will find ancient literature missing because we cover it when we study ancient history.



Thanks so much! And then, with your help, this will be sitting here waiting for anyone else who needs it. :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Definition of WORLD LITERATURE: Literature originally written in a language other than English or a book written in English about another culture outside of America or Britain.






While it would be generally assumed that America and Britain were part of the world, per se, there are already courses specifically geared to cover American and British literature.

THE LIST:

RUSSIA
Animal Farm by George Orwell


War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy


Father and Sons by Ivan Turgenev


One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksander Solzhenitsyn


FRANCE
Les Miserables by Victor Hugo


Joan of Arc by Mark Twain


The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness D ‘Orczy


The Song of Roland by ?


The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas


Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne


The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery


A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens


Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmund Rostand


Doctor Zhivago by Boris Paternak


GERMAN
Diary of Anne Frank by Anne Frank


All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque


The Tin Drum by Gunter Grass


Night by Elie Weisel


ITALY


The Betrothed by Alessandro Manzoni


The Divine Comedy by Dante


Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi


BRITIAN & IRELAND


Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott


Scottish Chiefs by Jane Porter


The White Company by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle


The Black Arrow Robert Louis Stevenson


Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathon Swift


Sir Gawain and the Green Knight by Tolkien


The Fairie Queen by Spenser


The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

(These are added because they have not read these British Literature choices yet.)

SPAIN
El Cid by Racine


Don Quixote by Miguel Cervantes


Works of Saint John of the Cross


Works of Saint Teresa of Avila


CHINA

The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck


MIDDLE EASTERN

The Thousand and One Nights by (young version?)

I need to choose a version.
AUSTRALIA






SOUTH AMERICA






AFRICA


Poetry of Africa


My House by Nikki Giovanni
JAPAN
Rashomon by Akutagawa Ryunosuke
(Hoping a cousin might chime in on this book or any other recommendation?)
INDIA
Kim by Rudyard Kipling


JEWISH
The Chosen by Chaim Potok


Exodus by Leon Uris



*****************************


Blessings!

Chari

Fahrenheit 451: Too Close to Home

Maybe you have heard?



It has been recommended to our county board of supervisors, to close all of our county libraries, as of June 30th.........half the branches as of June 23rd.



I cannot believe I was lying awake at 5:30 this morning, writing, in my mind, a letter to the Board of Supervisors regarding the closure of our libraries.



“I must make haste then in order to be emotional, and be emotional in order to be very truthful indeed.”~~~~~Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451

I arose from bed, and set to putting the words to the keyboard. Not much different from Bradbury, sitting in the basement of the UCLA library in the 1950's, writing his novel about firemen whose job it is not to put out fires, but to burn those books forbidden by the totalitarian regime.

Brave New World, The Giver, and Fahrenheit 451. Three pieces of literature in which the common citizen certainly has no control over what they are allowed to read, if they are allowed to read at all. It is ironic that I find inspiration to write this letter in a book I have borrowed from the County Library. Book burning? A thing of the past, belonging to Hitler or the dystopias of futuristic books? Or, to a Communist country? I had thought so. Sadly, perhaps not.

In 1966, Ray Bradbury wrote in his introduction to Fahrenheit 451 regarding his childhood experiences with libraries: “It followed then that when Hitler burned a book I felt it as keenly, please forgive me, as his killing a human, for in the long sum of history they are one and the same flesh. Mind or body, put to the oven, is a sinful practice.”

A young, ignorant friend, not a fellow bibliophile, told me: "It’s not as if they (Board of Supervisors) are making it illegal to read literature or are burning books." Well, yes, figuratively, and perhaps practically as well, it is. I would even go so far as to call it censorship. If we cannot have access to the books at the library, and if they are only going to save the books some random person deems necessary, we are being forbidden to read these books at this time. How is it that one county administrator and five supervisors, are emboldened with the capacity to actually close our county libraries? Wait, make that three supervisors. Two, Grace B. and Ed V., have up to this moment not supported the closing of the libraries. The saving of a small amount of money now, is an enormous waste of all the money the county has chosen to spend in the past decades, to fill our libraries with the resources its communities need or desire.

By closing the library system in our county, our citizens will no longer have available to them, the resources others in this world will have. This is a certain disadvantage, the dumbing down of our populace.

I am sure they do not take this lightly, this step backwards. But, it is taken selfishly. It is not taken for those people who voted them into office, but for themselves, to make a temporary budget work a bit better, barely. We are all aware that we live in a poor county, monetarily. But, do we want to live in an intellectually poor county, as well?

Is it possible that our elected officials could not even begin on their own to look for alternatives? Did they bother to ask their constituents what they would desire? Could the Board have created a committee of volunteers to create ideas to make the library system work, instead of giving one month’s death sentence for our libraries?

According to a recent article in the local paper, several libraries receive monies from their respective cities for utilities and building upkeep. Could we not continue to do something like this, keep our libraries open for less hours, use volunteers to man the libraries? Has anyone asked each community what they would be willing to do to keep their library open, before they consider the decision to close? There are solutions.

A friend mentioned to me that we the people do not have access to the whole budget. How are we 3.7 million dollars short? Where are we short? What are the salaries of the people in our county government? Where else do the people think we can cut? Why are the people told, not requested, to make the immense sacrifice of giving up our libraries (as well as money to the fire districts)?

Our family is one of many in Siskiyou County who educates through an Independent Study program at a local school. The library is an absolutely vital resource for these families to educate. Absolutely vital. There will be no way to function adequately without access to the resources provided, paid for through decades of public monies. Our money. Our parents’ and grandparents’ money. It is tragic that my youngest children would not receive the same high quality literature-based education that their older siblings enjoyed.

An older lady, with whom I am acquainted, lives in a very rural area of our county. She says the elderly there are devastated by the possibility of the closure of their small library. It is horrid to think these folks have paid their dues, their taxes, through all of these years, only to find one of their most important avenues of enjoying their later years, taken from them.

I realize many people think there is a small, vocal group of citizens making a lot of noise to “Save Our Libraries,” but they are representatives of the many too shy, busy or unsure of themselves to speak up. I am grateful for those willing to stand up for the rest of us. Please hear them. Please heed them.

Bradbury says books are “flesh and blood ideas.” Having been a very active patron our local branch for over twenty years, I can tell you it is a living, breathing being…..so busy the librarians could barely keep up the work required to keep it alive. Grief is what follows death and loss. This we shall have, with the closures of our libraries. I could not live with that decision. To be known forever in history as "the Board who closed the library."

In his introduction, Ray Bradbury further wrote, “For while Senator McCarthy is dead, the Red Guard in China comes alive and idols are smashed and books all over again, are thrown into the furnace. So it will go, one generation printing, another generation burning, yet another remembering what is good to remember so as to print again.”

Have we really come to this again?





Heartbroken bibliophile from Hearts' Haven,



Chari

St. Jerome

Patron Saint of Libraries

Pray for us!!!!

The NAMING of the Shrew........

I have here, the cast list for THE TAMING OF THE SHREW.


Petruchio~ Matthew McW


Katherina (Kate)~Maddelyn


Bianca~Bethany
Biondello~Bethany
Sir Christopher Sly~Bethany


Lucentio~Kyle
Nathaniel~KyleBartholomew~Kyle
Huntsman 1~Kyle
Servingman 2~Kyle


Joseph~Daniel
Baptista Minola~Daniel
Grumio~Daniel
Vincentio~Daniel


Hortensio~Gavin
Philip~Gavin
Huntsman 2~Gavin
Servingman 3~Gavin
A Haberdasher~Gavin
Traveling Players~Gavin


Tranio~Sierra
Nicholas~Sierra
Servingman 4~Sierra


Gremio~Sarah
Alehouse Hostess~Sarah
Servingman 1~Sarah
A Tailor~Sarah


A Lord~Chari
A Pedant~Chari
Curtis~Chari
Peter~Chari
A Widow~Chari

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We will meet this Monday, and two weeks later, as Sarah will be out of town on the 12th. We were thinking of having a "movie night" on the 12th...if anyone is interested. We may even try to get the play read before the 11th......if it works out. As it is......who knows if the snow will mess us up for tomorrow night.

The line-up for the next plays:

Twelfth Night
Romeo & Juliet
As You Like It
Richard III
A Comedy of Errors

Once school is out at the college.....I may be interested in just reading each play through to the end......if everyone else wants to do that....instead of splitting up the play in two nights.

I have Sierra bringing snacks for April 5th.......Bethany, can you do April 19th?

That's it, for now!

EASTER BLESSINGS!!!

Chari

PS: There will be NO Shakespeare on April 26th....we will be out of town for a couple of days.

Double, double toil and trouble......

.........Fire burn, and cauldron bubble.

The cast list for Macbeth is as follows............

DRAMATIS PERSONAE

MALCOLM~Kyle

MACBETH~Daniel

LADY MACBETH~Sarah

MACDUFF~Gavin
SEYTON~Gavin
AN OLD MAN~Gavin

DUNCAN~Sierra S
ANGUS~Sierra S
WITCH 2~Sierra S
APPARITION 3~Sierra S

BANQUO~Maddelyn
MENTETH~Maddelyn
WITCH 1~Maddelyn
MURDERER 2~Maddelyn
APPARITION 2~Maddelyn

LENNOX~Bethany
DONALBAIN~Bethany
WITCH 3~Bethany
FLEANCE~Bethany
MURDERER 3~Bethany

ROSS~Matthew McW
A SCOTTISH DOCTOR~ Matthew McW
YOUNG SEYWARD~Matthew McW

A PORTER~Chari
HECATE~Chari
SEYWARD~Chari
SON OF MACDUFF~Chari
APPARITION 1~Chari

A GENTLE WOMAN~Sierra B
WIFE OF MACDUFF~Sierra B
CATHNESS~Sierra B
MURDERER 1~Sierra B
AN ENGLISH DOCTOR~Sierra B


Various other players......ToBeDecidedOnTheSpot

See you tomorrow!

Lenten Blessings,

Chari

PS Taming of the Shrew will follow MacBeth...........and NO Shakespeare Club on April 12th....and possibly on April 26th.......though we may be able to meet on the 27th.

Loving books.....It's a Picture Book Day!

Being Lost

by Karla Kuskin

Being Lost

Is the perfect way

To pass the time

On a sky blue day

When it is warm

And the open window

Uncurtains a call

Spiraling up the stairway

Hovering in the hall.

No one comes then

When they call me.

I am not there

Where they look.

I linger alone

In a place of my own

Lost

In a book.

********

This is the first poem to be found in a new find:

GOOD BOOKS, GOOD TIMES!

selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins

pictures by Harvey Stevenson

***********

If you loooove books, you will adore these poems about books and reading!

Another great poem, describing my life with books....well, only till the beard part!

BOOKS TO THE CEILING

by Arnold Lobel

Books to the ceiling, books to the sky.

My piles of books are a mile high.

How I love them!

How I need them!

I'll have a long beard by the time I read them.

*********************

Happy reading, my friends!

Lenten Blessings!

Chari

Mountain Lion, Cougar, Puma…..Oh, My!

Wow….I have really just freaked myself out. I knew this would happen…....and yet I did it anyway.


I read the book.

What was I thinking?????

It was a wonderful book. The author is a most excellent storyteller, as she called herself. I was spellbound from the start. She painted pictures in my mind…...pictures I did not need…....knew existed....….did not want…......but could not walk away from….....

I actually read the Afterward first, with curiosity. Then, the book became my constant companion for the next few days…..interrupting my 50 pages into Don Quixote.

And, my heart rate climbed, my breathing increased (both already a problem with this mild asthma)….my imagination worked overtime. I felt slight panic symptoms. Yikes.

I even had to call a friend to get this off of my mind…….the poor thing…...she lives in cougar country, too.

The title of this fascinating and frightening book?

STALKED BY A MOUNTAIN LION:

Fear, Fact, and the Uncertain Future of Cougars in America

by Jo Deurbrouck, 2007.

I live in cougar country. My backyard butts up against mountain ranges, including the Trinity Alps, that extend almost all the way to the Pacific Coast. We have spent numerous hours in the woods, meadows and mountains behind my house…..hiked the local locales….walked trails in the Sierra Nevadas…….I even lived in the Sierra Nevadas as a teen and young adult.

I knew they were there, those mountain lions. I knew sighting them was rare. I knew attack by a mountain lion was rare. I still know it is rare. But…..I cannot get those images the author painted for me out of my psyche. Not yet. It is so fresh. I feel like I was a witness, her stories were so raw.

I leave my house….....and I think there is a mountain lion watching……I arrive home, I feel watched. I am nervous to send the kids out to the chicken coop now.

Then, I start thinking about all of our visits to the meadow and woods behind our house……I am sure we were watched then. I am sure.

Then, I remember those four hours…..Maddelyn, Garrett and I spent in the wild, exploring, while Marty, Matthew & Terry hiked a local mountain to the peak….I am sure we must have been watched then. Even though I know, six years later, we are all safe, I still feel a little sick to my stomach.

Once, when I was in town….Matthew must have been babysitting……he saw a mountain lion in our yard. He tried to video tape it for us…but, well, he had some issues with holding the camera still……still, it did look like a mountain lion…the only animal that could have fit his description.

And, a couple of weeks later, he thought he saw a mountain lion tail go behind a bush on our property…..the dogs started barking like crazy at the same time at the same spot, for a very long time. The G-Family was visiting then and there were about eight little people playing on our giant swingset. We put ourselves on high alert, but we let the children play.

And, all of those things we are told to do, to be safe…….be loud, be big…..just do not seem to work, after reading these stories. Mountain lions are unpredictable. The scientists have not totally figured them out yet.

One thing that helps my imagination to stabilize is the fact that seems (to me) most of the attacks and killings seem to be where cities meet the wilderness……like Southern California. That is not the case here……and I have not ever heard of any attacks in this part of California.

I do know that there was one killed at the nearby California State park....because it sat next to a trail "watching" people. My friend's husband worked there.......he told me this story.

Something that really creeps me out in the book are the stories about cougar attacks (including a death) and sightings at Cuyamaca, in Southern California……especially severe in the 1990’s. I had no idea. My mother-in-law, before she became ill with ALS, worked in that area. In the 1990’s, her entire family of grandchildren, great-grandchildren and some great-nieces and nephews spent a day there, picnicking, in her memory. Once again, I wonder….were we watched? With all those kids? Creepy.

Mountain lions follow the deer….....the deer are plentiful here…....as the deer scat “burning” our lawn tells me. As my dented Honda tells me....the one that had been hit by a doe one dawn. Wonder if it was running from a cougar?? ;)

I must stay rational:

Millions of families go hiking every year without mishap.
~~~~To be honest, it is this statistic that has always given me comfort. But, now, it is not so much my worry about meeting a mountain lion…it is that if I DO come face to face with one…..I now know too much about the outcome of such a meeting. WAY TOO MUCH. I have never been brave like that…..only brave enough for childbirth and dentistry and traveling cross-country with six kids. That is where my courage reaches. I have no courage for cougars. None now, especially.

We will go into the woods as we always have…....we will. I think. I will just always be nervous from now on….and, I will carry a weapon. No, I won’t, not really…..I have no idea how to use one. I will update my pepper spray. I have been lax about carrying it and a whistle lately. No more.

A quote from the book: as one parent told the author,

“It is not the level of risk that is disturbing. It’s the nature of the risk.”

This is what sums it up for me.

Just some links I found........

Commonly Asked Questions About Mountain Lions

For example:

If I live in mountain lion habitat, how concerned should I be for my safety?
Statistically speaking, a person is one thousand times more likely to be struck by lightning than attacked by a mountain lion. That said, mountain lions are wild animals and, like any wildlife, can be dangerous. People who live in mountain lion habitat can take precautions to reduce their risk of encountering a mountain lion. By deer-proofing the landscape, homeowners can avoid attracting a lion’s main food source. Removing dense vegetation from around the home and installing outdoor lighting will make it difficult for mountain lions to approach unseen.

Are mountain lion attacks on humans common?
Mountain lion attacks on humans are rare. There have been only 16 verified mountain lion attacks on humans in California since 1890, six of them fatal. The last documented attack occurred in January, 2007, in Humboldt County.


List of Attacks on people in California
Interesting how the first documented case of a mountain lion attack and killing is in my own county....in 1890.

Oh, not at Prairie Creek State Park, too.......we go there often. And, the attack may have been right where we hiked those 6 miles with the kids. Stay calm :)

Mountain Lion Attacks On People in the U.S. and Canada

List of Mountain Lion Encounters With People in California

Mountain lion sightings, summer/fall 2009, in Northern California

Nice. Two sightings in Arcata..........where we sometimes play.

Quote: "And mountain lions are NOT LIKE BEARS, either….with mountain lions, there’s no drama, no encounter, no time to react. You don’t just run into a mountain lion on a trail and then he attacks you; mountain lions don’t invade your campsite trying to get in your cooler; mama lions don’t let their cubs get in your way; the lion doesn’t growl at you like a bear and stand up and clack its teeth.

Mountain lions don’t have bad tempers, they aren’t twice as big as you, and they don’t think they are the freakin’ kings of the woods; so they don’t go around looking for people to beat up, partly beause humans look kind of like bears, and lions are generally afraid of bears…so…

.....unlike an encounter with a bear, if you see a mountain lion, you can be pretty sure you’re not his intended target.Sure, it’s good to stand tall and make noise, reinforce the impression that you’re a human, not a deer. But he’s probably already figured that out, and, if he ever did have any idea of eating you, he’s lost his advantage, his modus operandi for large prey, his “knock you on your face” tactic; his hard-wired hunting instincts have already already whispered “move on”… that lion’s not coming for you."

Mountain Lions and California State Parks

Verified Mountain Lion Attacks on Humans in California(1890 through 2007)

Mountain Lion Sightings Rarely Spell Trouble

From this site:

More than half of California is considered mountain lion habitat; as a general rule, mountain lions live wherever deer are present. People are observed by lions far more frequently than lions are observed by people. Studies of radio-collared mountain lions show that lions tend to avoid people. Given the fact that there are well over 30 million people and thousands of mountain lions in California, encounters between people and lions are infrequent and attacks are extremely rare.

The DFG has issued the following recommendations for avoiding encounters with a mountain lion, as well as what to do if attacked by a mountain lion:

WHAT IF YOU LIVE IN LION COUNTRY?

DON'T FEED WILDLIFE: By feeding deer, raccoons or other wildlife in your yard, you may inadvertently attract mountain lions, which prey upon them.

DEER-PROOF LANDSCAPE: Avoid using plants that deer prefer to eat; if landscaping attracts deer, mountain lions may be close by. The California Department of Fish and Game has a brochure entitled “Gardening To Discourage Deer Damage” available at most DFG offices.

LANDSCAPE FOR SAFETY: Remove dense and/or low-lying vegetation that would provide good hiding places for mountain lions, especially around children's play areas; make it difficult for mountain lions to approach a yard unseen.

INSTALL OUTDOOR LIGHTING: Keep the house perimeter well lit at night – especially along walkways – to keep any approaching mountain lions visible.

KEEP PETS SECURE: Roaming pets are easy prey for hungry mountain lions. Either bring pets inside or keep them in a kennel with a secure top. Don't feed pets outside; this can attract raccoons and other mountain lion prey.

KEEP LIVESTOCK SECURE: Where practical, place livestock in enclosed sheds and barns at night, and be sure to secure all outbuildings.

KEEP CHILDREN SAFE: Keep a close watch on children whenever they play outdoors. Make sure children are inside before dusk and not outside before dawn. Talk with children about mountain lions and teach them what to do if they encounter one.

WHAT TO DO IF ENCOUNTERING A MOUNTAIN LION?

DO NOT HIKE ALONE: Go in groups, with adults supervising children.

KEEP CHILDREN CLOSE TO YOU: Observations of captured wild mountain lions reveal that the animals seem especially drawn to children. Keep children within your sight at all times.

DO NOT APPROACH A LION: Most mountain lions will try to avoid a confrontation. Give them a way to escape.

DO NOT RUN FROM A LION: Running may stimulate a mountain lion's instinct to chase. Instead, stand and face the animal. Make eye contact. If there are small children there, pick them up if possible so they don't panic and run. Although it may be awkward, pick them up without bending over or turning away from the mountain lion.

DO NOT CROUCH DOWN OR BEND OVER: In Nepal, a researcher studying tigers and leopards watched the big cats kill cattle and domestic water buffalo while ignoring humans standing nearby. He surmised that a human standing up is just not the right shape for a cat's prey. On the other hand, a person squatting or bending over looks a lot like a four-legged prey animal. When in mountain lion country, avoid squatting, crouching or bending over, even when picking up children.

APPEAR LARGER: Raise your arms. Open your jacket if you are wearing one. Again, pick up small children. Throw stones, branches, or whatever you can reach without crouching or turning your back. Wave your arms slowly and speak firmly in a loud voice. The idea is to convince the mountain lion that you are not prey and that you may be a danger to it.

FIGHT BACK IF ATTACKED: Many potential victims have fought back successfully with rocks, sticks, caps, jackets, garden tools and their bare hands. Since a mountain lion usually tries to bite the head or neck, try to remain standing and face the attacking animal.


How to Survive a Mountain Lion Attack

Not sure if all of what they say holds up after reading the book above....but, here are some quotes:

Coss “found that people who stood still avoided injury only 26 percent of the time. Cougars may view your lack of fight as a sign of vulnerability. Of people who backed away, 39 percent survived unscathed. And of those who booked it, 50 percent escaped without a scratch. In cases where two or more individuals happened upon a mountain lion and booked it, the fastest runner among the two or more escaped without injury 100 percent of the time.”


“According to the California Department of Fish and Game, 14 mountain lion attacks on humans have occurred in California since 1890; nine since 1992. Six attacks have resulted in fatalities — two from rabies, which is common in the animals, especially during summer months. The last death before Reynolds’ (2004) was in 1994. Here’s what the CDFG suggests you do to survive the trails in a cougar habitat:

1. Don’t ride alone: Cougars are less likely to attack groups. Ride with a partner, and stay close togther. If attacked, you can help one another.

2. Stand tall. Cougars try to bite the head or neck, so try tor emain on your feet, don’t bend over or turn away. Make yourself look bigger. Raise your arms, move them slowly, and speak in a firm, loud voice. If you’re wearing a jacket, open it. maintain eye contact with the animal.

3. Raise hell. Yell, scream, act aggressive. Whatever you do, don’t be quiet. It unnerves the animal and is an audible call for help.

4. If attacked, jab the animal’s eyes. Use something sharp — sticks, rocks, a bike pump, or your bare hands.

5. Keep fighting. Kick and punch until you can’t anymore.. Mountain lions have poor endurance. He might think that this isn’t worth it, and decide to go back to deer and other weaklings that flee.

6. Don’t ride or jog after dusk: Sundown in the mountains is near feeding time for cougars.

7. If you do ride after dusk, affix two lights to the back of your helmet: : “They look like eyes to the lions,” says Dan Cain of Borrego Springs, CA, who rides up to 30 miles per week in the desert mountains south of Palm Springs and has run across the big cats on several occasions. Charged by a lion in 1998 on the Pacific Crest Trail, he stood his ground, screamed “like a rock star,” aimed his lights into the lion’s face, and sighed with relief as the cat backed off.”

It's a Picture Book Day!

Got a few titles for you....an old favorite, lately rediscovered, and three new choices.....that begged to be picked off the shelf at the library!


PECOS BILL Written & Illustrated by Steven Kellogg

This book is a cute as I remember it! Pecos Bill stories are always fun...and I was able to teach Malachy what a "tall tale" is.......and now I will use this book as a jumping point for other conversations about "tall tales." The pictures are hilarious and well-drawn, with great color. Also, this book reminds me that it has been a long time since we took a stroll through Steven Kellogg's books. The last time we went through his books, I believe Malachy was a mere infant, if he was even yet born. With Malachy's sense of humor, I think he will find Kellogg's books a kick...and I am off to the library for more!!! Garrett may not even remember these stories.

If you and your kids have not yet visited a collection of Steven Kellogg's books...DO GO FOR IT! You will have a blast....and then...we will go after Bill Peet's books, too......same situation as above....and I do not want Malachy to miss out on these great, funny authors!



CATERINA: THE CLEVER FARM GIRL by Julienne Peterson & illustrated by Enzo Giannini

Oh, my, I loved this book!!! It is based on a Tuscan Folktale......and it is delightful! I love the ending......but I cannot tell you what it is......I do not want to ruin it for you! The illustrations are lovely......in fact, it was the cover that popped off the bookshelf at the library and into my hands! Caterina, a clever farm girl charms the king with her cleverness........and, well, you must go read the book to find the rest of the story. I read it to my boys....and they enjoyed it....and I am sure any girl would love it, too. Even a mom! :)

When I went to return the book to the library......my favorite librarian was just leaving.......and she willingly stopped to read this book before she left.....we are both addicted to wonderful picture books. Maybe that is why she is my favorite? :)

I hope this author has other stories......and that our library has more books from the illustrator!

I just searched the internet...only this book as far as I can see..... :(



PAPA AND THE PIONEER QUILT BY Jean Van Leeuwen & Illustrated by Rebecca Bond

Sweet story about a papa who has "wandering feet" and keeps moving his family further west....and of his daughter who wants to make a quilt.....by collecting scraps on the way to Oregon. Sweet artwork.....sweet story....and quilts! I just love quilt stories, don't you?!



THE SQUIRE'S BRIDE by P.C. Asbjornsen & Illustrated by Marcia Sewall

Funny little story based on a Norwegian tale. I do not want to give the story away....worth the read.....nice pencil drawings...or is that pen?



We had not read any pictures books lately, except about eagles & vikings...so it was nice to have a change today!

Have a blessed picture book day, everyday!!!! Or, at least several times a week! :)

Love,

Chari