{"id":3010,"date":"2024-05-26T14:38:00","date_gmt":"2024-05-26T21:38:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/roseledgebooks.com\/blog\/?p=3010"},"modified":"2024-05-27T23:06:58","modified_gmt":"2024-05-28T06:06:58","slug":"celebations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/roseledgebooks.com\/blog\/?p=3010","title":{"rendered":"CELEBATIONS"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

Let’s hear a cheer for the innards of books.<\/strong>\u00a0 They are such a useful way to learn that you don\u2019t know it all.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

When I heard that Netanyahu and\u00a0 HAMAS leaders\u00a0 had been issued arrest warrants by the International Criminal Court, I knew it’s name and a [very] little about the ICC, because I had read <\/span>Scott Turow’s book, Testimony<\/b>. \u00a0 I knew that the United States was not a member of the ICC, that it took the ICC a very long time to get results, but that finally, someone was doing something about the atrocities going on in Gaza.\u00a0 I trust Scott Turow.\u00a0 His earlier book, <\/span>Presumed Innocent,<\/b>\u00a0 which is about trial evidence, was sent to me by two lawyer friends about 48 hours after I lost my malpractice case against the physician who crippled me.\u00a0 They thought\u00a0 I might find it useful, which I did.\u00a0 Even a bit after the verdict, it was interesting, informative, and comforting, as the innards of good books are.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Similarly, when I wanted to know more about the Middle East, I read \u00a0 [Washington Post<\/strong> foreign policy writer] <\/span>David Ignatius\u2019 book, \u2018Agents of Innocence<\/b>\u2019\u2019 and learned a lot about Beirut and its factions that contribute to and complicate its life, as factions do.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>[An aside;<\/b> Two other books that helped me understand a bit about the Middle East were <\/span>Rory Stewart’s \u2018Places in Between\u2019<\/b>. and <\/span>William Dalrymple\u2019s \u2018From the Holy Mountain\u2019.]\u00a0 <\/b>Now I want to know more about the politics of space.\u00a0 So I was very excited to\u00a0 read that <\/span>David Ignatius\u2019 new book, \u2018Phantom Orbit\u2019<\/b> is about Russia, China, US, and space technology.\u00a0 I used my 1-click Kindle ordering, which Charlie threatens to dismantle, and <\/span>voila!<\/span><\/i> Phantom Orbit<\/b> is ready to read.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Which I promise to do, as soon as I finish <\/span>Alisa Luna Valdez\u2019 second novel, Blood Mountain<\/b>, featuring Jodi Luna, poetry professor turned State game warden in New Mexico,\u00a0 If this one is as good as <\/span>Hollow Beasts, Alisa Valdez\u2019 first in the series,<\/b> then I may have found a worthy successor to Tony Hillerman, with a dollop of C.J. Box\u00a0 Gotta love those innards.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\"\"

Hard to be \u2018midst innards of WOW! Rhodies, and stay out of the dirt, too.<\/span><\/p><\/div>\r\n

\u00a0 Celebrate the oldies, young and\/or wise<\/strong>.\u00a0 They know things.<\/p>\r\n

AN ODE TO OLD<\/b>
I am old, old, old,\u00a0<\/span>
but I do not do as told, told, told.\u00a0<\/span>
I am bold, bold, bold, bold,<\/span>
Going for the gold, gold, gold,<\/span>
while having a very good time.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

This month I will be 85.\u00a0 By one government standard, that is <\/span>\u2018old old\u2019<\/b>. \u00a0 65 is <\/span>\u2018young old\u2019,<\/b> 75 is <\/span>\u2018middle old\u2019<\/b>, and 85 is <\/span>\u2018old old\u2019.<\/b>\u00a0 However you say it, 85 is very old, but also a clear indicator that we \u2018old oldies\u2019 have beat the odds of dying at 79 [women] and 74 [men], and are, <\/span>therefore, according to Garrison Keillor, \u2018above average\u2019.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

But what do you call \u2018older than old old\u2019?<\/b> I asked Howard, a breakfast buddy, who is 95 and way above average, what the 4th stage of old should be called, and he said, \u2018<\/span>Dead!\u2019<\/b>\u00a0 I figured he was annoyed that they stopped serving hot 7-grain cereal on Mondays, which is perfectly understandable, so I ignored him, and suggested \u00a0 <\/span>‘wise old\u2019<\/b>, for a \u2018wise oldie\u2019 he surely is.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

I like Howard a lot.\u00a0 During Gary\u2019s Poetry Club which was about my least favorite topic, Lyrics,\u00a0 Howard, in his native New Yorker-ese, recited <\/span>Jim Byrnes\u2019<\/b>\u00a0 lyrics to the song, <\/span>\u2018Old Dog, New Tricks\u2019.\u00a0 <\/b>It was great!\u00a0 I heard an oldie\u2019s anthem in the making.\u00a0 [An aside;\u00a0 <\/span>Friends and technology willing, someday you\u2019ll be able to see or hear Jim Byrnes’ lyrics.]<\/p>\r\n

Also exciting, Howard, at 13 years old, went to the original Speyre School where his \u2018classes\u2019 were seminars, plus using public libraries, which imo<\/strong>, is the perfect prep for a lifelong autodidact, which, thinking about it, Leonard is and what I tried to help my 40 years of my older students t continue being..\u00a0 The world would be so much better if we all knew how better to handle misinformation, disinformation, rumor, and now, A.I.\u00a0 [An aside;\u00a0 \u2018imo\u2019<\/strong> is text-speak for \u2018in my opinion\u2019.\u00a0 Sometimes I am so-o-o with it.\u00a0 Charlie is choking at the thought.]\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\r\n

Gotta love oldies, Leonard, autodidacts libraries, well-sourced information, and Charlie.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>Always Charlie.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\"\"

\u00a0Celebrate the library\u2019s pluses, especially its newly patched wall.<\/span><\/p><\/div>\r\n

UPDATES\u2026\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\r\n

POETRY CONTEST PRIZES<\/b>\u2026As <\/span>one among 100-plus winners of the4Cultures King County Public Poetry Project, I and my poem, <\/span>The Missing Link, <\/b>have been [1] <\/span>mentioned online <\/b><\/a>as promised, but which has gone virtually unseen because almost none of my fellow oldies know how how to be online; [2] probably<\/span> displayed in a bus or train car,<\/b> though I\u2019m not sure, because I don\u2019t ride the bus or know anyone, including Charlie, who does, although I know that one of his friends bikes to work.\u00a0 However, Amy, my manager, and all-purpose fixer, has a bus-riding friend, who saw something about poetry displayed on whatever bus she took.\u00a0 Amy is riding buses and doing whatever she does on Linked In, trying to find a sighting; and<\/span> [3] <\/span>promised a gift, <\/b>which I will love. I may be the only award-winning, published [50 viewings ] poet whose best seller was 2 batches of the Memorial Card I sent to my sister\u2019s wake, titled <\/span>C<\/b>hanneling my sister, <\/b>Charyl Coghlan Pollard<\/b>, while reading the poem, <\/b>\u201cPossibilities\u201d<\/b> by Wislawa Szymborska.<\/b><\/a><\/p>\r\n

FINDING LIBRARIANS\u2026\u00a0 <\/b>So far, so…promising.\u00a0 I think I’ve almost nabbed 2 actual and 4 potential career changers,<\/b> though 1 actual chose massage therapy instead, 1 actual\u00a0 is giving it thought, and 4 potentials don\u2019t know what they\u2019re missing, because Charlie won\u2019t let me near his friends;<\/span> 5 potential undergrads,<\/b> 1 is solid, 1 is veering toward Law School, 3 others have enthused parents; <\/span>no retirees<\/b>, yet, though Howard thinks it sounds like fun! Howard would make a great librarian.\u00a0 I know this because he was the only Poetry Clubber to agree with me that <\/span>Hala Aylan\u2019s poem, Siri My Mother,<\/b><\/a> could be used as a Lyrics choice because the questions within sound like the music of a Library\u2019s Reference Room. \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 <\/span>\u00a0\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\r\n

Gotta love Amy, mostly Amy, potential librarians, and the innards of ongoing adventures.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\"\"

Celebrate that Frankie the Feetsplinters has well-tended toenails.<\/span><\/p><\/div>\r\n

That’s it.\u00a0 Remember our warriors on this, Memorial\u00a0 Day.\u00a0 Then let the summer’s fun begin.\u00a0 I’ll keep you posted.<\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Let’s hear a cheer for the innards of books.\u00a0 They are such a useful way to learn that you don\u2019t know it all.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 When I heard that Netanyahu and\u00a0 HAMAS leaders\u00a0 had been issued arrest warrants by the International Criminal … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/roseledgebooks.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3010"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/roseledgebooks.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/roseledgebooks.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/roseledgebooks.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/roseledgebooks.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3010"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/roseledgebooks.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3010\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3020,"href":"http:\/\/roseledgebooks.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3010\/revisions\/3020"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/roseledgebooks.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3010"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/roseledgebooks.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3010"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/roseledgebooks.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3010"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}