Washington Irving, An American Original

Washington Irving: An American Original
by Brian Jay Jones
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This biography gave me a whole new perspective on past history and its heroes. It was slow reading at first, but I gradually found myself drawn to Washington Irving and his life. Along with his story came the history that was unfolding inthe United States and our leaders.

Some of my thoughts-
Fame is fleeting. I remember Washington Irving stories from my grade school days. I think of him as Ichabod Crane from The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle. However, for his time and our time he is so much more that these two stories. I wonder if other people remember him only because of them.

Notes from the book:
"Washington Irving was the first American writer to live by his pen and the first to have an international reputation." He paved the way for authors such as: James Fenimore Cooper, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Edgar Allen Poe. Their main source of income was not their writing. Irving was constantly trying to find a way to make money. He was educated as a lawyer, but it didn't really suit him. At first he wrote under pseudonyms because he was afraid people wouldn't like what he wrote. His first book, 'A History of New York', was written by Diedrich Knickerbocker. (The New York Knicks owe him their name.)

He always had a wanderlust and headed for England where he found himself running the family trading company. He was helping his brother Peter who was sickly most of his life. He didn't return to the United State until fourteen years later. While there he wrote 'The Sketch Book' and 'Tales of a Traveller' under the name of Geoffrey Crayon. 'The Life and Voyage of Christopher Columbus' was the first publication that carried his name as the author.

He spent several years as a Minister from the United States to the Spanish Court. Finally, he returned home to stay. His crowning achievement was his five volume set, 'The Life of George Washington'. When he was five, he had met and was blessed by George Washington. He had always felt that it was his destiny to do write about his life.

Irving was born in 1783 and died at the age of 76 in 1859. Over his lifetime "Politicians, writers, actors, artists, and wannabes of every type clamored to be associated with him. A friend to six presidents, he had danced with Dolley Madison in the White House, consoled Martin Van Buren in London, flattered a young Queen Isabella in Madrid as John Tyler's minister to Spain. John Jacob Astor tapped him to be his personal biographer, Mary Shelley had a crush on him. Edgar Allen Poe flattered him. Sir Walter Scott loved him. Dickens, Longfellow, and Haw throne adored him. Even those like James Fenimore Cooper who loathed him gave his work their grudging respect." (found on page 408) Washington Irving was the 'Rock Star' of his time.

It took me several months to read this book. There was so much to absorb that I couldn't do it straight through. It was slow reading and it took me a while to warm up to Washington Irving. However, when he died and was laid to rest at Sleepy Hollow I had tears running down my face.

I highly recommend this biography it will give you a real appreciation for Irving and the times in which he lived. Thank you Mr. Jones for such a wonderful tribute.

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DISPATCHES FROM PLUTO

Dispatches from Pluto: Lost and Found in the Mississippi Delta by Richard Grant
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

If you want to join an American subculture hiding in the Delta of Mississippi, this is a great way to do it. Richard Grant*is a Brit who has come to live in the Delta and still lives in Mississippi at this time. He has the personality as an outsider to be able to gain the confidence of the insiders. Also, it helped that he had a British accent. At one point in the book, one black man said: "He's not white, he's British." I loved the Field Trip chapter, but couldn't really understand the significance of Chapter 5, The Oncologist's Hitmen. The chapters that went into depth about the 'Blues' music didn't interest me. I don't give out a lot of '5 stars', this book was definitely a ' five star' book . Good writing and interesting stories that kept me wanting to go to Mississippi and take the Field Trip.

This was my Book Club book for the month for July. It was my turn to lead the discussion. Since I love to know where I am when I read a book; a map was in order. This book especially needed a map for Chapter 6 - Field Trip. I marked a Mississippi map with the route and points of interest and brought copies. It put the story in perspective and helped generate a lot of discussion.
















Here are some of my notes:

p. 10 Why is it called Pluto? (Pluto is an unincorporated town and isn't on this map.) It is called Pluto because: "Pluto is the Lord of the Underworld and all of this was just a big mean hell of a swamp."

p. 46 "South whites didn't mind how close blacks got so long as they didn't get too high socially and economically". 1st paragraph

p. 87  Clarksdale was one stop on the Field Trip. Morgan Freeman, the actor, lives here. It is the 'Crossroads' where Robert Johnson supposedly sold his soul to the devil. Crossroads, the movie, will give you a good look at 'the blues' in the Delta. 

p. 93 Wet Delta Salad-lettuce with olive oil and vinegar. 
           (Go to The Faded Rose in Little Rock, Arkansas, 
             to eat a really good one.) (Facebook link)

p. 104 The blacks were against the civil rights movement.

p. 159 Parchman Prison (Time ran out so we didn't get to discuss the prison and the 'Wage-Hand Program'.)

pps. 174-176 The schools/academies. They were not called private schools and were set up to avoid segregation.

p. 187 Quitman Country Elementary school was an experiment to provide quality education to the Mississippi schools. It worked, but was not continued, because the local school board felt that they were under the control of outsiders.

p. 216 Plantation mentality.

p. 235 Morgan Freeman's 'Meaning of Life'. "The meaning of life for every organism on the planet, including us, is to procreate and die."

p. 257-258 It's a habit.

p. 265 "and some of these women out here be have mo kids, and mo kids, just so they check get bigger."

p. 276 Feudal relic.

Maybe some of my notes will trigger a discussion in your book club if you select Dispatches from Pluto for discussion.


*Richard Grant is an author, journalist, and television host. He currently lives with his wife in Jackson, Mississippi. He was born in Malaysia in 1963 and spent time as a child in Kuwait before his family moved to London where he spent his childhood. He earned a history degree from University College in London and then moved to the United States. He has lived in Tucson, Arizona and New York City.

He grew up with an interest in traveling and writing as evidenced by the books that he has published.

1. American Nomads: Travels with Lost Conquistadors, Mountain Men, Cowboys, Indians, Hoboes, Truckers and Bullriders.

2. God's Middle Finger, Into The Lawless Heart of the Sierra Madre (English title-Bandit Roads, Into the Lawless Heart of the Sierra Madre.) This book was written after he traveled in northern Mexico in the Sierra Madre Occidental, an area nine hundred miles long that contained cave-dwelling Indian tribes and is one of the world's largest areas for production of marijuana and heroin.

3. Crazy River: Exploration and Folly in East Africa tells the story of his travels along the Malagarasi River in Tanzania and other events in Burundi and Rwanda. 

4. Dispatches from Pluto

I'M OFFICIALLY AN OLD LADY

Therefore---

WHEN I AM AN OLD 

WOMAN I SHALL WEAR

PURPLE*

With a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.
And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves
And satin sandals, and say we've no money for butter.
I shall sit down on the pavement when I'm tired
And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells
And run my stick along the public railings
And make up for the sobriety of my youth.
I shall go out in my slippers in the rain
And pick the flowers in other people's gardens
And learn to spit

You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat
And eat three pounds of sausages at a go
Or only bread and pickle for a week
And hoard pens and pencils and beer mats and things in boxes

But now we must have clothes that keep us dry
And pay our rent and not swear in the street
And set a good example for the children.
We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.

But maybe I ought to practice a little now?
So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.

When you are an old lady, you can wear purple and a red hat, too!

*No, I am not a member of the Red Hat Society. (click on link in case you want to be a member.

Living in Thin Places

Thin Places is a series of sermons given during Epiphany 2019 by Rev. Siegfried S. Johnson, Christ of the Hills United Methodist Church, Hot Springs Village, Arkansas, USA

To quote Rev. Johnson: "The theme is drawn from the writings of early Christianity in Ireland, Thin Places, a term used by Celtic Christians from about the 5th century, having in that beautiful land developed a strong sense of sacred space, certain trees, caves, streams, and mountains regarded as sanctuaries of nature. 

In a 'Thin Place' the veil between this world and the divine world, heaven and earth, seemed somehow sheer, porous allowing God's glory to seep through to our awareness." 

This series got me to think about my 'thin places'. These come to mind:

Muir Woods, California
When I entered the woods, I felt a sense of peace. I needed to be still and quiet. All was quiet, although there were many other people there. 





This theme was covered in The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell.
On Page 92: "I think it's Cicero who says that when you go into a great tall grove, the presence of a deity becomes known to you."

Bohemian Grove, California

I attended a wedding in the Bohemian Grove. All of the guests were driven into the woods by bus from Santa Rosa. The minute I stepped off the bus I heard organ music echoing through the trees. I went very still and listened as did the bus load of guests. There is a full pipe organ in 'The Grove'. The organist played until the wedding began. 

Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia
When I walked the streets of Colonial Williamsburg, I could feel the presence of the great men that I walked those streets.



I have seen my Guardian Angels.

One night as I was going to sleep, sometime between rest and deep sleep, I slightly opened my eyes and observed two greenish ethereal beings. It seemed that one 'angel' was relieving the other 'angel'. It was like they were changing shifts in order to watch over me.

My Aunt Mary Lou passed a few years ago. As I was dreaming, the veil opened and she peeked through. She was smiling and conveyed to me that she was fine. Then, she danced away, twirling on her toes.

I made a deal with my mother. After she passed, if it was possible, she was to leave me a sign that she was well on the other side. It was a while before I got my sign. Sometime the next summer, I took her Christmas Cactus outside. It wasn't long before it was in full bloom. I believe she is fine and at some time I will see her again. 

St. Louis Cathedral, New Orleans

Whenever I go into a Cathedral, I feel close to God. Something happens there that I don't feel in other churches. When I was in the 5th Grade, I visited the St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans. Even then, I could feel something special.




These are the scriptures Rev. Sieg used for this series:
#1 January 20, 2019 Living in Thin Places Psalms 42 :1-2 
#2 January 27, 2019 Made  for Another World John 3:7-8
#3 February 3, 2019 The Well Is Deep John 4:10-11
#4 February 10, 2019 Step into the Stirring John 5:5-7
#5 February 17, 2019 How Now, Chop Logic! John 6:41-42
#6 February 24, 2019 Concealed in the Crease John 7:3-5
 If you would like to read these sermons, go to link at the beginning of this post. Click on 'Worship'  and then, Rev. Sieg's Sermons 

I'm a Stranger Here Myself by Bill Bryson

I'm a Stranger Here Myself: Notes on Returning to America After Twenty Years Away by Bill Bryson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I loved most of this book. Some of it I found boring or flippant. However, it captured my imagination.


First of all, this book was published in 1999 and I am reading in 2018, 20 years later. Things have changed and I was motivated to find out how. Here are some of my research and comments: (Titles of applicable chapter is in parenthesis.)

1. 9/11 had not happened.
2. The Chicago Cubs won the World Series in 2016. 
(Take Me Out to the Ball Game)
3. Airlines don't serve food any more. (Room Service)
4. We now shop by E-tail. (Consuming Pleasures)
5. National Debt is not 22+ trillion it was 4.7 trillon in 1999 
(The Numbers Game)
6. # of registered vehicles  2018-276 million 1999-121 million 
(The Cupholder Revolution)
7. # of people in prison Now 2.3 million 1999 1.6 million
(The War on Drugs)
8. Amtrak has a train that stops in eastern and middle New Hampshire on its way to Boston from Maine and back again.
(The Waste Generation)
9. Global Temperature has increased 1.33 degrees since 1999
It was predicted in 1999 that would increase in a half a century
by 4 degrees and everything would burn up. ((The Waste Generation)
10. Toy 'R Us went bankrupt last year and closed all of their stores. They are now trying to figure out how they can reopen some of the stores. (Shopping Madness)
11. Libraries no longer shelve video tapes. DVD's only. (Our Town)
12. Walmart annual sales 1999 $120 billion 2019 $496 billion
(Our Town)
13. Opryland Amusement Park closed in 1997, but Hotel still is triving. (The Great Indoors)
14. Everyone likes free stuff. 1999-book matches 2019 ball point pens.
(How to Have Fun at Home)
15. The trend was enclosed malls. 2019 trend has reversed and shoppers want open malls where they can drive to the particular store and not have to get out and walk through the mall to get to it.
(The Great Indoors)

I read this book for my Book Club. I was ready to share my findings when I discovered I had a conflict and couldn't be there. I shared with another member and she is going to share if she finds it appropriate.

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LONDON, A Historical Novel

London by Edward Rutherfurd
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I wish they had taught history in high school like this. Mr. Rutherford takes the people and their stories through time. The stories are fiction, but the history is real. After I read Sarum I wanted to go North and read London. He moves the reader through different time periods, updating the families with stories of the descendants of the original families. A ancestral chart is included along with maps from the different eras. The chart was of the fictional families. I wish he had included a chart of the different kings and queens during each era*. If you are interested in English history from a personal perspective, I highly recommend London.

*As I read the book, I made my own chart of Kings and Queens that appeared in the book  and some events that occurred in each era by chapter. An accurate list can be found at this link: 
Kings and Queens of England & Britain.

The River: BC 54 
Druids, Celts, Caesar/Rome King Canute
Londinium AD 251
Romans
The Rood 604
Christian Church planned. Rome/Pope
Anglo Saxon
The Conqueror 1066
King Edward, the Confessor
The Tower 1078
King William I
The Saint 1170
Henry I. Henry II. St. Thomas Becket. Plantagenet's
The Mayor 1189
King Richard I, The Lionheart. Crusades. Knights Templar. Magna Carta
his Son, John ruled, but died. Then, his baby son and the Council lead by The Mayor ruled.
The Whore House 1295
Henry III. His son, Edward I, Edward II
London Bridge 1357
Edward III. Richard II (10 year old son)/Guardian, John of Gaunt. 
First Bible in English. Geoffrey Chaucer. Henry IV, Henry V,
Civil War of the Roses (two Houses of the Plantagenet's): 
    Red-House of  Lancaster  and  White-House of York (Tudor)
Hampton Court 1533
Henry VIII-Anne Boleyn-Elizabeth
                      Catherine Parr-Mary Seymour 
Printing Press, Lutherans,Protestants-Cranmer 
The Globe 1597 (Theatre)
Elizabeth I
Agri Economy, Spanish Armada, Protestant Church, 
70 years since Columbus discovered America,
Drake and Raleigh, English explorers
God's Fire 1603
King James/Scotland-Oliver Cromwell-Richard Cromwell-Charles I 
Mayflower, Idea of Government Debt introduced
Virginia, Massachusetts, Harvard
London's Fire 1665
Charles II
London burns, The Plague, Restoration of House of Commons and Lords 
St. Paul's 1675 (Christopher Wren)
Charles II, James II, William III of Orange/Mary Anne
Tories and Whigs,  London Rebuilt after the fire, Bank of London
Astronomy, Greenwich Mean Time, 
Gin Lane 1750
George I, George II
Bonnie Prince Charles/Jacobite cause died, Catholic
Bow Street, house numbered for 1st time. Hanovers/Protestant
Lavender Hill 1819
George III, Prince Regent/George IV, William IV
Buckingham Palace, Industrial Revolution (Coal-Fog)
Bank of England, Options trading/Stock Exchange
Small Private banks.
The Crystal Palace 1851
Queen Victoria
The Great Exhibition, Steam, Railroads, Passenger Trains,
Crimean War-Florence Nightingale
The Cutty Sark 1889
Queen Victoria
Telephone, Electricity, Jack the Ripper
The Suffragette 1908
Queen Victoria, Edward VII, Edward VIII, George V
Selfridge's Dept. Store, Halley's Comet, Motor Car
The Tube (Subway)
The Blitz 1940

George VI, Elizabeth II

WWI, Russian Revolution, Gone With the Wind

Women to vote.

The River 1997
Elizabeth II
Clean River Thames, Tate Gallery
Museum of London, Huguenots


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