The Hippies

In 1975, when I was 13 years old, two men in their twenties and a girl of about 16 moved into the old house next door. My friends and I referred to them as "hippies" because of their long hair and the marijuana plants that they grew in their backyard.

  I do not remember the men very well, I cannot even recall their names or what they looked like, but I do remember the girl. Belinda had long blond hair and played games with me and my friends like she was one of us.

   For some reason, I didn't wonder at the time how a teen girl came to be living with two twenty-something men, but I suspect that she was a runaway. By the end of that summer, Belinda and the two men had moved out and I have not seen her since.

  The old house that the trio lived in is long gone, but occasionally I still think of Belinda and  wonder what became of her.

Book Review- "Life Is So Good" by George Dawson and Richard Glaubman

"Life is so good" by George Dawson and Richard Glaubman is one of the best books that I have read in a long time. Mr. Dawson was born the Grandson of slaves and lived through many of the tumultuous events of the 20th century.

 Life is so good is filled with fascinating stories of hard work and loss love and hatred and even a couple of Mule stories which I thought were very touching.

After Mr. Dawson retired, he started doing yard work and other odd jobs. During one of these jobs, his employer put his lunch in the same area where she was feeding her dogs. The following is a passage from the book that deals with this incident:

 "We was walking back toward the house, She had seen the garden and took note of the wood I had stacked. I could see that she was pleased. She had some money folded over that she gave to me. Just then, in front of the porch, she looked up and saw the bowl of stew with the biscuit next to it.
    She looked puzzled. "Didn't you see the lunch I left on the porch?"

I nodded "I saw the dogs on the porch"
"Well, the lunch on the shelf was for you! It was a good lunch"
 "Thank you.I'm sure it was, It's just that I don't eat with dogs"

 






  

Book Review -Joshua's Song by Joan Hiatt Harlow

 "Joshua's Song" by Joan Hiatt Harlow is a historical novel of the city of Boston circa 1919.

  Young Joshua Harper is forced to quit school and find work after his Father dies in the influenza epidemic of that time. Joshua finds work selling newspapers and encounters some of the city's characters including former mayor and Grandfather to John F. Kennedy, John Fitzgerald.

    While visiting a friend in Boston's north end, Joshua becomes a hero when a massive tank of molasses explodes and the liquid inundates the waterfront. 

I very much enjoyed reading Joshua's Song and I recommend it for older children and adults.

Book Review- The City of Gold and Lead by John Christopher

"The City of Gold and Lead" is the second book in the Tripod Trilogy by John Christopher. In the first book "The White Mountains" young Will is recruited by resistance fighters to the aliens that invaded Earth some years before and now control humanity with a device fitted on the skull called "Caps"

   Just before Will is capped, he meets a resistance fighter named Ozymandias who persuades him to run away and join other other resistance fighters in The White Mountains in the south of France.

 Will makes the journey and becomes friends with "Beanpole" and Henry.

 In the second book, the rebels decide to find out more about the aliens by sending spys to one of their citys. Every so often, the aliens take humans into their enclosed cities to be used as slaves. The method of choosing the human slaves is by means of a sports competion.

Will and another of the resistance fighters "Fritz" win the competition and are taken by a Tripod into the invaders city.  The alien city and the aliens themselves are convincingly described  by the author and the story is scary and exciting. The City of Gold and Lead is good science fiction for all ages.

Ready For Hillary

 A few weeks ago, I received a fund-raising letter from a Hillary Clinton for President group. Just for a joke, I made up a name( Dogg Shitt) and have been corresponding with this website. They are unaware or don't seem to care that my avatar's last name is Shitt.

Dear Dogg,




I’m not just ready for Hillary -- I’m rarin’ to get going on her campaign.



This isn’t just about electing the first woman president, and it’s not just about keeping the Republicans from enacting their extreme social agenda -- although both of those are important. This is about doing everything in our power to put the best person in office in 2016, period.



But we can’t simply rest on our laurels and cross our fingers that Hillary will make the right decision. We need to show her that she has strong grassroots support, and you can help with that right now.



There is no better way to gauge enthusiasm for a political campaign than by measuring how many people are willing to invest in getting it off the ground -- especially at the smallest levels.



Can you make a $5 contribution before the end of month fundraising deadline so Ready for Hillary can reach our goal of adding 3,000 new donors in August? You will send a resounding message that America is ready for Hillary Clinton to be our next president!



If we can reach our fundraising goals, it will be awfully tough for her to turn us down.



We can’t turn back now. As you might imagine, the fate of workers -- especially in the Midwest -- is something that I’m obsessed about. And President Obama has been a champion for them -- in Michigan and across the country.



I was proud to speak at last year's Democratic convention and promote the President’s work to rescue the American auto industry and save one million jobs. There is no denying it: Hillary Clinton is the best candidate to keep the White House in Democratic hands in 2016 and build on the progress President Obama has made.



That's why Ready for Hillary’s work is so critical. We need to build a grassroots infrastructure -- in all 50 states -- that includes long-time supporters and welcomes new supporters to the team.



Will you make a $5 contribution today to help us reach our fundraising goal by August 31st?



Thanks so much,



Jennifer Granholm

Former Governor of Michigan

Movie Review- Breakdown

The film "Breakdown" has a fairly conventional plot.  Jeff and Amy Taylor ( Kurt Russell and Kathleen Quinlan) are traveling cross-country when their car breaks down in a remote southwestern desert. A seemingly helpful trucker (JT Walsh) gives Amy a ride to a nearby cafe while Jeff stays with the car.

  Jeff manages to fix the car on his own and goes searching for his wife. What makes Breakdown so great is Kurt Russell's performance. Russell is completely believable as a desperate man who will do almost anything to get his wife back. JT Walsh is also very impressive as a mild-mannered psychopath.

Movie Review- Scarface

Everything about the 1983 remake of "Scarface" screams 1980s excess. The costumes,expensive cars, garish sets, and Oliver Stone's violent, profanity laden script is an obvious metaphor for the conspicuous consumption of the Reagan era.

 Tony Montana (Al Pacino) escapes from Cuba as part of the Mariel Boatlift. Tony quickly finds work in  Florida's massive illegal drug business and eventually builds his own criminal empire.

Scarface is Al Pacino's film all the way. Tony Montana is vicious and crude but always watchable.

Book Review "Little Audrey" by Ruth White

"Little Audrey" by Ruth White is the author's memoir of life in a West Virginia coal mining camp in the 1940s.  Audrey was actually Ms. White's older sister and the story is told through her eyes.

In 1948, twelve year old Audrey is recovering from a terrible case of scarlet fever while she copes with poverty, taunts from school mates, and a Father that drinks up much of the families income.

 It is Audrey's Mother Olive who holds the family together with love and little else.

 Little Audrey is an exceptional work filled with real people and it is one of my favorites for the year.



                                 Craig Zimmerman  

Book Review: The Island Keeper by Harry Mazer

Upset over the deaths of her Mother and Sister, 16 year old Cleo runs away to a remote island in the middle of a Canadian lake. Cleo soon realizes that she underestimated the difficulty of a long stay on the island, but she manages to adapt. When her food runs out and her only transportation to the shore is destroyed, Cleo is forced to learn how to gather natural food and to hunt and fish.

 I found it a little unrealistic that a young girl from a wealthy family could make such a transformation in a matter of months. Still, The Island Keeper is a better than average novel for its portrayal of nature and the grieving process.