Impermanence; Life and Loss on Superior's South Shore by Sue Leaf - Book Review Five Stars

 

BOOK REVIEW: FIVE STARS 

Impermanence; Life and Loss on Superior's South Shore by Sue Leaf

Thought provoking platitudes of a place I knew all too well. It is where I grew up, bicycled, canoed, sailed, beach-combed, camped and eked out meager living while becoming acquainted with and friends of the locals.

Sue Leaf took me on a beautifully described trip down memory lane. I loved it!

EXCERPTS:

There was a bank across the street with a digital clock flashing the time (11:27) and the temperature (58 degrees), and a bit of advice: “You can’t—take it—with you—but try—going—somewhere—without it—SAVE!” I wondered if there was a deeper message in this slogan.

She now talks in terms of the “embodied energy” of old buildings. This is a broad concept that incorporates the cost entailed to construct them and also the money spent to produce their materials—like quarried stone or cut timber—and, too, the incalculable value of virgin wood, so much finer-grained and sturdier than today’s plantation-grown trees.

Sue seemed to be the catalyst that galvanized the town into rethinking its relationship to its past and perhaps to standing up a little straighter.

This is a reflection of an older man, one who has the depth of experience to put such a profound loss into perspective. It comes from someone who has struggled against the dominant current of conventional society, someone who values something that most people do not. I think about this as I trudge along a ski trail in new snow, often a solitary pursuit and now a pursuit made lonely by this unnerving thought: the age of cross-country skiing is drawing to a close.

“there are weeks in the summer when these great bodies of water sleep like placid woodland ponds.” But this can change within minutes. Squalls with high winds launch themselves with fury. Waves pile high, with shorter troughs than in the ocean, so recovery is difficult. At the end of the season, ice accumulates on boats, on decks and rigging. Rescuing any crew in trouble requires stamina, skill, and courage. And that was why the keeper drew from a pool of local sailors well versed in Superior’s capricious moods.

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The Traitor's Wife by Sarah Steele

 

BOOK REVIEW: FIVE STARS

The Traitor's Wife by Sarah Steele

A fast moving novel of Italy under fascist Germany's brutal invasion during WWII, and some painful fallout that was years in the making. As the story pulled together it became worthy of a five-star rating.

EXCERPTS:

Luisa’s father was a quiet but ardent anti-Fascist. He believed in strong women – he’d married one, after all. Luisa was clever at a time when women were expected to be housewives and mothers.’ Rosa let out a long breath. ‘Life under Mussolini was difficult for women.

Citizens held themselves a little straighter and prouder when they recalled the Four Days of Naples: the people’s insurrection had proved to the world that the Nazis could be defeated.

‘We had lived under the Fascists for twenty years before war broke out. They were terrible, dangerous times, especially for women, and people were angry. Women were angry.’

‘I heard what happened to that woman in the street yesterday – shot down in front of her child. Franco said you were there?’ Luisa nodded. ‘I’ll never forget the sound of that child’s screaming.’

You think the Germans are bad? Stalin is a whole lot worse.’ ‘Have you seen what the Germans are doing out there, or are you too busy making deals with them?’

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Our Year - 2023

 

Our Year - 2023

First the fun things:

Alix and Basil paid us a visit in January and released us from our pandemic exile. They tested negative for Covid before we met for our first breakfast out since March of 2020. We had a wonderful time with them.

Jane’s cousin Lyle and his wife Diane took a cruise ship from Galveston, Texas, to the Port of Progreso. We took a Didi taxi to Progreso and met them for several hours of talking and eating. Jane felt honored by the visit.

 

In May we spent a month in Playa del Carmen visiting with Grisel and her husband Juan...always fun. Grisel has a big place in our hearts. We wish she lived closer to us.

Breakfast out is our favorite activity. We had many with Rosario May and her kids. We celebrated all our birthdays at a breakfast.

For the Record:

In 2023 a striking difference from other years was climate change, record heat, an increase in pollution, and flaming red sunsets at our home in tropical Mérida, Yucatan Mexico, 21º North Latitude. Mérida is city of nearly two million with far too may motor vehicles plus mega power plants straining at their limits.

Twenty-seven percent of Yucatan’s agricultural land has been lost to ever expanding growth.

Fifty years ago when we first arrived in Yucatan, Mérida's population was 175,000 with three gasoline stations, and bicycling was a lark. We had blue sky above and thousands of bright stars at night. Wellwater was safe to drink. Half the housing in Yucatan was made of 100% recyclable materials sourced from the forests. These palm frond thatched homes have vanished replaced by Tio-Sam cement block houses not environmentally friendly making brown outs irritating. The finite potable water supply is dangerously low. Droughts have devastating impacts making wild fires deadly and dangerous. There are just too many toilets to flush! Even with these problems the city is expanding at a roaring rate with no end in sight.

I had read the books by John L. Stephan's of his Yucatan exploration of 1842. In the appendix of volume 1, pages 264 to 271, the morning, noon, and evening temperatures were recorded in an airy shaded place for a year and a half. Those temperatures never exceeded 89ºF. Temperatures we encountered in 1980s Mérida were the same as 1842.

During the last five years climate change significantly accelerated. We had eight consecutive months of record setting temperatures above 100º F or 38ºC every day. Mérida went from a scorching oven to a blazing hell: A preview of coming attractions.

Note: listen to the audio book; Fire Weather: A True Story from a Hotter World by John Valliant to see where our environment is headed.

To avoid the hot season last May, we went to the Caribbean Coast for a month.

On our return to Mérida we coped with the heat in our ecologically friendly home. With no air conditioning unit we used nature to our advantage.

We continue to do our daily exercise routine that includes bicycling and eating breakfast out weekly. Getting around town and to the beach have become wonderful and affordable using the Didi taxi service. There is no excuse for owning a car in Mérida.

Guarding our health is still extremely imperative. The pandemic plus yearly influenza coupled with mosquito-born infections make peremptory precautions of inoculations, social distancing, and face masks essential for senior citizens, and those with asthma absolute necessity.

For amusement Jane has been giving me bread making lessons...she ingeniously has been baking bread from age 10 with the priceless lessons from her two Swedish grandmothers and her mom...I am not yet at graduate stage of learning the thousands of culinary tricks. The learning curve seems unending...it is fun, creative and educational.

We never run out of fun and interesting things to learn and do. We read a lot of books and also listen to audio books. John reviews the books he reads on his blog.

Wishing for an adventurous and healthy 2024.

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A GENTLEMAN IN MOSCOW by Amor Towles Book Review - Five Stars

 

BOOK REVIEW - FIVE STARS

A GENTLEMAN IN MOSCOW by Amor Towles

A Gentleman in Moscow is an extensive novel covering the years from the end of the czars, and Stalin to Khrushchev. It is filled with witty dialogue and memorable witticism. I found this lengthy tome memorable for its fairy tale lessons woven into its capricious text.

Well done and worth reading.

EXCERPTS: The young man was taken with the whimsical architecture of the churches and the rambunctious tenor of the language. But with a dour expression, the German replied that the only contribution the Russians had made to the West was the invention of vodka. Then, presumably to drive home his point, he emptied his glass. “Come now,” said the Brit. “You can’t be serious.” The German gave his younger neighbor the look of one who had no experience being anything but serious. “I will buy a glass the young man was taken with the whimsical architecture of the churches and the rambunctious tenor of the language. But with a dour expression, the German replied that the only contribution the Russians had made to the West was the invention of vodka. Then, presumably to drive home his point, he emptied his glass.

As long as there have been men on earth, reflected the Count, there have been men in exile. From primitive tribes to the most advanced societies, someone has occasionally been told by his fellow men to pack his bags, cross the border, and never set foot on his native soil again. But perhaps this was to be expected. After all, exile was the punishment that God meted out to Adam in the very first chapter of the human comedy; and that He meted out to Cain a few pages later. Yes, exile was as old as mankind. But the Russians were the first people to master the notion of sending a man into exile at home.

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