You've heard the adage "Too many books, too little time." That is the story of my reading life right now. I just realized I have bookmarks in seven books. SEVEN.
Abundant Simplicity
The first chapter of this book had so much meat in it, I pondered it for a week. Here is a morsel: "In the recent years, followers of Christ have mostly practiced disciplines of engagement, such as study, prayer, service, worship and fellowship. . . . .Disciplines of abstinence, however, such as fasting, solitude, silence, chastity, secret, frugality and simplicity of speech and time, help us let go of life-draining behaviors" (11). I only have nine more chapters to go.
The Feminist Mistake
I have four more chapters to go in this book, which, after I read some of it, I felt like I needed to take a spiritual shower. Christian feminists believe that a theory of atonement is not needed because, "[we] do not need atonement; we just need to listen to the god within" (239). Feminist Christianity is inherently inclusive and pluralistic," (239) synergism at its worst. I will never use the NIV version of the Bible again because of what I learned in this book. In the review I'll post after I finish it, I'll tell you why.
not a fan.
My church read this book for LifeGroups on Wednesday night. I really enjoy Kyle Idleman's sense of humor. He quotes Inigo Montoya and confesses he doesn't speak Klingon. Yet his theology seems to be spot on. The first four chapters have been quite challenging.
Roll, Jordan, Roll: The World the Slaves Made
My book club has moved on but I am still slogging though this one. I am fascinated by this topic and Genovese's writing style. So much that is taught about slavery may be inaccurate.
A Distant Mirror
I just finished the chapter on the Black Death, aka the plague. It seems at every turn, the fear-mongering media is trying to let us know the next pandemic is on the way. What I just read is a great predictor of how people now would react to such a thing. I am a little behind my book club pals, however Barbara Tuchman has such a subtle wit that I am really enjoying it.
Cutting for Stone
I know a doctor who has an incredible writing style, a certain descriptive detachment yet an ability to convey strong emotions while telling a heartbreaking story. Verghese's writing style is like that; I am captivated. The part I read today, when Ghosh is released from prison and he thanks Almaz for being at the prison gates, holding up the family picture made me cry.; I know my retelling doesn't do it justice. I am surprised at how much I am enjoying this novel.
New Deal or Raw Deal
This is my digital book. It is depressing. So many things FDR did, our current president is doing so it feels like I'm reading the Democratic playbook.
So, that's my seven. I hope I can get them all finished by September!
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Elder care? There are novels about that?
Yes, there are and I'll discuss them in a bit.
Last week, I was in Indiana to bury my 103 year old paternal great-grandmother, my last great-grandparent, and to visit my 85 year old paternal grandmother, my last living grandparent. Both spent the last couple of years in a nursing home/ assisted living facility. The place my grandmother lives is the same nursing home my maternal grandmother had lived in for the last few years of her life. It is a very nice facility as far as nursing homes go.
I have some childhood memories of another nursing home, where one of my great-grandmothers had lived for 20 years. It was a wretched place; not to excuse that particular facility but it was 30 years ago. It reeked, a smell that has never left my brain, a smell I always connect with the old and infirm who are not cared for properly. Those experiences at that nursing home all those years ago made me never want to put one of my loved ones in a place like it. I still don't like nursing homes, still prefer not to put my loved ones in one but I do understand they serve a purpose, just like child care centers serve a purpose.
In the novel Leota's Garden, a granddaughter unexpectedly takes over the care of her infirm grandmother. In the process, she meets a young man who advocates for turning old buildings into nursing homes. It's been a long while since I read this book, yet it resonated with me. I would be the granddaughter who would care for her grandmother like this, never mind I couldn't paint or plant my way out of a paper bag. I would be the crusader against nursing homes. In this novel, the grandmother, Leota, is estranged from her children; my grandmothers were not estranged from their children. In truth, I wanted my life and my grandmother's to be like this novel and, of course, it was not to be. This novel mirrors the social dialogue that was taking place at the time of it's publication (1999) over the care of the elderly.
The year before that, Robertson McQuilken, a past president of Columbia International University, published the story of his dear wife Muriel who was stricken with Alzheimer's and his journey of caring for her in A Promise Kept. Muriel "stopped recognizing her husband in 1993" and passed away in 2003. This deeply touched the romantic in me, the romantic that wanted to care for my grandmother, the romantic who doesn't always see the reality, the romantic who hoped my dear husband would do the same for me. A few years later Pat Robertson said it was okay for a spouse to divorce the other spouse who was ill with this awful disease. What about the "in sickness and in health" part of the marriage vows, Dr. Roberston? Robertson tried to rationalize the situation by saying Alzherimer's is a kind of death but McQuilkinson's response dispels that: "In a CT article written after his resignation from Columbia, McQuilkin explained his decision. "When the time came, the decision was firm. It took no great calculation. It was a matter of integrity. Had I not promised, 42 years before, 'in sickness and in health . . . till death do us part'? This was no grim duty to which I stoically resigned, however. It was only fair. She had, after all, cared for me for almost four decades with marvelous devotion; now it was my turn. And such a partner she was! If I took care of her for 40 years, I would never be out of her debt," McQuilkin wrote."
If Christians can't agree on elder care, what hope is there? But I digress.
The second novel that touches on this subject is Winterflight, originally published in 1981. A little boy is born with hemophilia who should not have been born if the official state rules for genetic testing had been done. This little boy's parents live in fear of his condition being found out. His grandfather is nearing his 75th birthday when he gets his letter instructing him to go to the local euthanasia center. Be warned, this novel does not have a happy ending but it is certainly very thought-provoking and worth the read. An Amazon reviewer labeled this novel an allegory. Unfortunately, I think it has gone beyond that to prophetic. As I perused the headlines this morning, I found an article which seems to highlight once again the prescient nature of this book:
I don't have the answers to how to provide care for the elderly. I know that what some families choose to do, others cannot, for whatever reason, make the same choice. I do know we cannot kill our elderly once they become infirm. I do know that whatever care they receive should be the best possible care at the best possible facility.
I leave you with these two quotes.
"...the moral test of government is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; those who are in the shadows of life; the sick, the needy and the handicapped. " ~ Last Speech of Hubert H. Humphrey
"Our society must make it right and possible for old people not to fear the young or be deserted by them, for the test of a civilization is the way that it cares for its helpless members." Pearl S. Buck (1892-1973), My Several Worlds [1954].
Last week, I was in Indiana to bury my 103 year old paternal great-grandmother, my last great-grandparent, and to visit my 85 year old paternal grandmother, my last living grandparent. Both spent the last couple of years in a nursing home/ assisted living facility. The place my grandmother lives is the same nursing home my maternal grandmother had lived in for the last few years of her life. It is a very nice facility as far as nursing homes go.
I have some childhood memories of another nursing home, where one of my great-grandmothers had lived for 20 years. It was a wretched place; not to excuse that particular facility but it was 30 years ago. It reeked, a smell that has never left my brain, a smell I always connect with the old and infirm who are not cared for properly. Those experiences at that nursing home all those years ago made me never want to put one of my loved ones in a place like it. I still don't like nursing homes, still prefer not to put my loved ones in one but I do understand they serve a purpose, just like child care centers serve a purpose.
In the novel Leota's Garden, a granddaughter unexpectedly takes over the care of her infirm grandmother. In the process, she meets a young man who advocates for turning old buildings into nursing homes. It's been a long while since I read this book, yet it resonated with me. I would be the granddaughter who would care for her grandmother like this, never mind I couldn't paint or plant my way out of a paper bag. I would be the crusader against nursing homes. In this novel, the grandmother, Leota, is estranged from her children; my grandmothers were not estranged from their children. In truth, I wanted my life and my grandmother's to be like this novel and, of course, it was not to be. This novel mirrors the social dialogue that was taking place at the time of it's publication (1999) over the care of the elderly. The year before that, Robertson McQuilken, a past president of Columbia International University, published the story of his dear wife Muriel who was stricken with Alzheimer's and his journey of caring for her in A Promise Kept. Muriel "stopped recognizing her husband in 1993" and passed away in 2003. This deeply touched the romantic in me, the romantic that wanted to care for my grandmother, the romantic who doesn't always see the reality, the romantic who hoped my dear husband would do the same for me. A few years later Pat Robertson said it was okay for a spouse to divorce the other spouse who was ill with this awful disease. What about the "in sickness and in health" part of the marriage vows, Dr. Roberston? Robertson tried to rationalize the situation by saying Alzherimer's is a kind of death but McQuilkinson's response dispels that: "In a CT article written after his resignation from Columbia, McQuilkin explained his decision. "When the time came, the decision was firm. It took no great calculation. It was a matter of integrity. Had I not promised, 42 years before, 'in sickness and in health . . . till death do us part'? This was no grim duty to which I stoically resigned, however. It was only fair. She had, after all, cared for me for almost four decades with marvelous devotion; now it was my turn. And such a partner she was! If I took care of her for 40 years, I would never be out of her debt," McQuilkin wrote."
If Christians can't agree on elder care, what hope is there? But I digress.
The second novel that touches on this subject is Winterflight, originally published in 1981. A little boy is born with hemophilia who should not have been born if the official state rules for genetic testing had been done. This little boy's parents live in fear of his condition being found out. His grandfather is nearing his 75th birthday when he gets his letter instructing him to go to the local euthanasia center. Be warned, this novel does not have a happy ending but it is certainly very thought-provoking and worth the read. An Amazon reviewer labeled this novel an allegory. Unfortunately, I think it has gone beyond that to prophetic. As I perused the headlines this morning, I found an article which seems to highlight once again the prescient nature of this book:
Top doctor's chilling claim: The NHS kills off 130,000 elderly patients every year
I realize the Daily Mail can be quite sensational, but let's face it, once abortion became acceptable the next logical fall down the slippery slope is killing the elderly.I don't have the answers to how to provide care for the elderly. I know that what some families choose to do, others cannot, for whatever reason, make the same choice. I do know we cannot kill our elderly once they become infirm. I do know that whatever care they receive should be the best possible care at the best possible facility.
I leave you with these two quotes.
"...the moral test of government is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; those who are in the shadows of life; the sick, the needy and the handicapped. " ~ Last Speech of Hubert H. Humphrey
"Our society must make it right and possible for old people not to fear the young or be deserted by them, for the test of a civilization is the way that it cares for its helpless members." Pearl S. Buck (1892-1973), My Several Worlds [1954].
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Do you know what today is?
It's not my birthday or my anniversary; however, it is a very historic day for our country and Europe. Today is the 68th anniversary of D-Day. It seems Scott Walker's victory in the recall election in Wisconsin is overshadowing the news coverage of this event: I haven't heard anything about it on the radio or in the news (I do understand it could have been discussed and I just didn't hear or see it). Drudge has several stories about it but they are buried in the middle of the middle column.
Eight years ago, Micah and I had the privilege of going to the American Cemetery, Pointe du Hoc and Omaha Beach with Student Leadership University on the 60th Anniversary of D-Day. We walked around Pointe du Hoc, seeing the craters left by the bombs, slightly grown over and filled in, but the sense of the battle was not hard to envision.
We stood on the beach, collecting some sand to take back home to Chief Gary. He still keeps that sand on his desk at work. Those who teasingly ask about it are silent once they learn of it's origin.
At the American Cemetery, our group laid a wreath and listened to a talk given by a soldier. I didn't really listen because my husband was a sailor at the time and I needed no lesson on sacrifice. It was quite an emotional experience for me, being there; I'm emotional remembering. I wish that every American could go. High school trips to DC are important but standing where a man, probably only 19 or 20 years old, willingly went to war and died so that others could be free from tyranny and oppression is so very meaningful.
I would suggest going to the D-Day Memorial in Bedford, Virginia as a substitute. This Memorial's home in the mountains of Virginia is because "Bedford [suffered] the highest per capita D-Day losses in the nation." As a mother and wife, I think of those mothers and wives whose arms would from that day forth be empty 68 years ago. I'm reminded of the adage that those who stand and wait, also serve.
The best book I ever read on this subject is The Longest Day by Cornelius Ryan. I think this book should be required reading in every high school history class. My WEM book club read this at the beginning of the year. War is never pretty and we were all saddened by the deaths that seemed to have no purpose, like guys being dropped off of landing craft into waters too deep and the weight of their equipment drowned them. Yet we were amazed at the incredible planning that went into such an operation. We felt for Eisenhower, who had to make the final decision, the weight of the world on his shoulders. We crossed our fingers, hoping the Germans would never discover the massive supply build-up or the "valleys filled with long lines of railroad rolling stock . . . to replace the shattered French equipment" (p. 56) in southern England. We loved the happy endings, the stories of love that came out of war.
Take some time today to remember those who died 68 years ago on foreign soil, in a place where they probably didn't speak the language. Read The Longest Day. And never forget that freedom really isn't free.
I would suggest going to the D-Day Memorial in Bedford, Virginia as a substitute. This Memorial's home in the mountains of Virginia is because "Bedford [suffered] the highest per capita D-Day losses in the nation." As a mother and wife, I think of those mothers and wives whose arms would from that day forth be empty 68 years ago. I'm reminded of the adage that those who stand and wait, also serve.
The best book I ever read on this subject is The Longest Day by Cornelius Ryan. I think this book should be required reading in every high school history class. My WEM book club read this at the beginning of the year. War is never pretty and we were all saddened by the deaths that seemed to have no purpose, like guys being dropped off of landing craft into waters too deep and the weight of their equipment drowned them. Yet we were amazed at the incredible planning that went into such an operation. We felt for Eisenhower, who had to make the final decision, the weight of the world on his shoulders. We crossed our fingers, hoping the Germans would never discover the massive supply build-up or the "valleys filled with long lines of railroad rolling stock . . . to replace the shattered French equipment" (p. 56) in southern England. We loved the happy endings, the stories of love that came out of war.
Take some time today to remember those who died 68 years ago on foreign soil, in a place where they probably didn't speak the language. Read The Longest Day. And never forget that freedom really isn't free.
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