tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4130421352415377273.post9183539396988638622..comments2024-03-17T08:34:15.051-07:00Comments on Books in Northport: Further (Largely Uncomfortable) MeanderingP. J. Grathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12693462910472164289noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4130421352415377273.post-12628341125954366692020-10-23T11:27:11.422-07:002020-10-23T11:27:11.422-07:00Dawn, you are not the only one. Another friend of ...Dawn, you are not the only one. Another friend of mine said the same. Have you tried short stories? I finally finished CRAZY HORSE this morning, after setting it aside repeatedly to read other books -- not because CRAZY HORSE was not well written or compelling, because it was, but because I dreaded coming to his death at the end.<br /><br />I think it is these times, not your age, by the way.P. J. Grathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12693462910472164289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4130421352415377273.post-69578847532856948102020-10-23T11:20:12.812-07:002020-10-23T11:20:12.812-07:00I seem unable to read anything for the past few mo...I seem unable to read anything for the past few months. I start, but can't concentrate. I have to reread the next time I pick up the book because I have no recollectionof what I read. It's frustrating. I don't know if it's a factor of age or these times that have me in such a muddled state.Dawnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00824027366993286152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4130421352415377273.post-44312472971512168542020-10-20T04:24:21.270-07:002020-10-20T04:24:21.270-07:00Bob (if I may call you Bob), why do you suppose yo...Bob (if I may call you Bob), why do you suppose you feel better after a glum review of history? Is it a gain in perspective? After my own emotional rollercoaster took another deep plunge, I think I have pulled myself together again. Did you know that stress and anxiety over a long period of time raise cholesterol? Imagine — just imagine! — how the health of even survivors of horrors must be compromised! When I woke in the dark this morning, too early to get up, I practiced calming thoughts. When a decent hour for getting up arrived, stretching exercises. Reading, self-education, dialogue with others, exercise and healthy diet, but also some kind of meditation all seem crucial — probably all the time but especially right now. Anyway, I’m glad you feel better and that we have this connection.P. J. Grathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12693462910472164289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4130421352415377273.post-29299693204529738862020-10-19T16:01:22.195-07:002020-10-19T16:01:22.195-07:00When I ponder current times, I recall the horror t...When I ponder current times, I recall the horror that was WWII. I've worked alongside vets, even an Auschwitz survivor, went to grade<br />school with a kid whose Dad lies buried on Iwo Jima and a woman who<br />had been in the Hitler Youth. Some will tell their story. Others, like a couple of ethnic Germans who came from the Ukraine, remain tight-lipped, taking the horror of the Jewish murders and roundups<br />and pointing out victims to the SS to their graves. Likewise, Native<br />Americans, the first environmentalists, I've talked with a kid in<br />Army basic training, who came from the Stockbridge-Munsee reservation in Wisconsin. He was Mohican (James Fennimore Cooper<br />notwithstanding), his forbears chased from the upper Hudson to the<br />Berkshires and finally to the forests along the Wolf River. I had<br />a Nez Perce friend who giggled when he observed that his favorite war was the Civil War (white guys killing white guys). And my library is full of books on both those things you observed. Yes,<br />I've often though of Antifa and its vilification. The original was<br />weak, ineffective and ended up in concentration camps, but theirs<br />was a noble cause, based on the decency of humanity. Now, we ponder<br />a current leader. One who has the Nuclear Code..and pray the guy<br />who really has the key is a military officer sworn to duty, honor<br />country and the US constitution. Sounds glum..but I feel better now.<br /> BB-Idahohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01388509941702241290noreply@blogger.com