The Joy Of Books

We have finished cataloging the Juvenile Easy Fiction preschool section and I must say it has been a joy to hold in my hands books that gave great pleasure as a small child. This week I was reunited with Harry the Dirty Dog, Dr Seuss, Ferdinand the Bull, Peter Rabbit, Madeline, and Harold and his purple crayon. I'm looking forward to rediscovering the books I read when I was older as we start working our way through Juvenile Fiction.

Curiouser and Curiouser

I have reached the point in the book cataloging process where I am letting my mind wander down paths it would never take if my brain was being stimulated more fully. Today I discovered a conspiracy of unimaginable cunning but...well, let me start at the beginning.

Today we started cataloging the R's in Juvenile Easy Fiction and when I reached Rey I of course started cataloging the Curious George books. If you do not know about Curious George then you either have not been the parent of a very young child or you did not grow-up in the United States.

Curious George is a monkey rescued by "the man in the yellow hat." The books are about George's adventures with "the man in the yellow hat" and include volumes that describe George's visits to a school, a library, a toy store, the beach, an ice cream shop, and the aquarium. All innocent carefree fun that somehow always ends up in chaos that is attributed to George but is George really to blame? I say no. I say it is all the work of "the man in the yellow hat."

Lets look at some other titles; there is the one where George is in a dump truck, there is the one where George is sent up in a hot air balloon, and there is the one where George is let loose on a train. All very dangerous situations for a young monkey and who is lurking there in the background acting all worried and concerned? "The man in the yellow hat."

What is really going on? I believe "The man in the yellow hat" is secretly trying to kill George. Why, you ask? Because he is jealous of George's fame. George is the most famous monkey in the world, even more famous that Cheetah. "The man in the yellow hat" thinks he should be just as famous as George since he is the one who found him. In addition to his plot to kill George and make it look like an accident there is evidence that "the man in the yellow hat" has also tried to get back the money he spent bringing George to America by making him work.

These things are shocking but I also suspect that "the man in the yellow hat" has, at least once, attempted to kill George himself! And there is evidence that "the man in the yellow hat" is using intimidation in an attempt to keep George under control by making him believe that the police will arrest him and put him in a zoo! Poor George.

Somebody, somebody please, get George away from "the man in the yellow hat" before something tragic happens!

Happy Halloween

(photo by Tara Shannon)

For your Halloween pleasure, a re-post from September 5, 2007:

The Chair

I found it in the back of an antique store on Newport Avenue in Ocean Beach. It was a rocking chair but not like anyone I had ever seen before. It was so un-rocking-chair-like that at first I did not even notice it was a rocking chair. It was unique enough for me to take a closer look at it. What it looked like was a church pew or a high backed bench that had been cut down and then put on runners. It was small but at the same time very massive looking. It was made out of oak and very heavy. The tag on it said it was at least 150 years old. It was too weird looking for me so I did not sit in it.

Right next to it sat an old Morris chair that had recently been re-upholstered in a light knobby tweed fabric. I sat in it and knew instantly that I wanted it. Although the fabric was wrong for the piece I knew that small problem could be easily fixed. I looked at the price tag and my dream of owning it vanished as quickly as a puff of smoke. No way I could afford that price.

I walked away but could not get either chair out of my mind so when I found my sister I took her back to look at them. She sat in the rocking chair and I again sat in the Morris chair. About 10 seconds later she got up from the rocking chair and told me to sit in it and walked away. I sat down and immediately felt anger and "heard" someone repeatedly say, "Get out of my chair."

The voice was very querulous and insistent. I looked at my sister, screwed up my face, hunched my back, and started rocking furiously, mocking whoever was talking to me. I was annoyed by the fact that this spirit was telling me to get out of its chair and thought, "It isn't your chair anymore. You're dead."

I sat in the chair longer than I really wanted in order to show the spirit that it was not going to push me around and then got up and walked over to where my sister was looking at some object saying, "Well, that was creepy."

Her head spun around to look at me and she blurted out, "That's what I thought!"

She had also felt the spirit and wanted to see if what she felt was real so she asked me to sit in the chair without saying anything about her own experience. I then told her to sit in the Morris chair so she could see how a nice chair felt. We took turns sitting in the Morris chair and agreed that the Morris chair was comfortable and felt soothing. It felt nothing like the rocking chair. It took a long time for me to shake off the icky feeling of that rocking chair but after awhile I felt normal again but at the same time I felt uncomfortable and could not stop thinking about the chair.

Flash forward to Denver a couple of days after we had returned from San Diego. My husband and I were at my sister's house. It was nighttime and I was in the middle of a dream. I had variations of this dream for three or four days by this time and had attributed them to the emotional stress I was under. My sister was in the dream with me and we were both being tortured. There was a man in the dream who was holding me and, as I struggled to get away from him, told me if I did not stop he would cut my sister's throat. Standing across from me was the same man with a knife to my sister's throat. As I continued to struggle desperately to get away from the him and over to my sister, the other him slashed the knife across my sister's neck. I woke up thinking, "That wasn't my dream."

Whenever I have a nightmare I wake up with my heart pounding and my mind racing from the adrenaline rush that the dream has created . It takes a few minutes for my body and mind to disconnect from what has happened. For me, coming to full consciousness after a nightmare is like struggling to the surface of a swimming pool after you have stayed under too long. These dreams were not like that since I would wake up instantly. I felt no fear only a sense of uneasiness. I also noticed that instead of being inside the dream, like I normally am, I felt I was off to the side watching. Then there was the color in the dreams. I dream in Technicolor, bright, rich, intense colors. Colors that look as if they would stain your hands if you tried to touch them. These dreams were also in color but they were more like the color of 1970's era T.V situation comedy- subdued and almost washed out.

That is when I wondered if the spirit from the chair had attached itself to me and was punishing me for mocking it. That thought creeped me out and, just in case this was true, I mentally spoke to the spirit telling it to stop the dreams and to go away. I then said a prayer that I had learned as a little girl:

Angel of God,
My Guardian Dear
To whom God's love commits me here.

Ever this night be at my side
To light and guard
To rule and guide.
Amen.


I still felt uneasy and decided to do a meditation that would help me to surround myself in a ball of white light. After I did this I expanded the light to include my husband, then expanded it again to fill the room we were in. I then decided to fill my sister's whole house with light as not to leave the spirit there after we had gone home. I mentally went from room to room filling the house with light. When I was finished I felt safe and relaxed enough to fall back to sleep.

Since that night I have not had anymore torture dreams.

Music Is The Soundtrack Of Your Life

Film makers know this and use it as a quick way to set time and place in their movies. Some songs make you smile when you hear them again, as they remind you of a happy time in your life, others bring sadness, as they remind you of something else. For me, the Dixie Cups' hit song Chapel of Love was connected with the time my siblings and I spent in a foster home. The women who ran it had a granddaughter who visited one day and kept singing this song over and over while she played in her grandmother's backyard. It took me years to get over the negative feelings that this song brought up in me.



Goin' to the chapel and we're
Gonna get married
Goin' to the chapel and we're
Gonna get married
Gee, I really love you and we're
Gonna get married
Goin' to the chapel of love

Spring is here
The sky is blue
(whoa-whoa-whoa)
Birds all sing
As if they knew
Today's the day
We'll say I do
And we'll never be lonely anymore

Because we're

Goin' to the chapel and we're
Gonna get married
Goin' to the chapel and we're
Gonna get married
Gee, I really love you and we're
Gonna get married
Goin' to the chapel of love

Bells will ring
The sun will shine
(whoa-whoa-whoa)
I'll be his and
He'll be mine
We'll love until
The end of time
And we'll never be lonely anymore

Because we're

Goin' to the chapel and we're
Gonna get married
Goin' to the chapel and we're
Gonna get married
Gee, I really love you and we're
Gonna get married
Goin' to the chapel of love
(Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah)
Goin' to the chapel of love
(Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah)
Goin' to the chapel of love
(Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah)


One song that I don't think I will ever get over is Mari Muldaur's Midnight at the Oasis. It is the song that I connect with my first love affair. One that, with my help, ended badly. When I found this YouTube clip and listened to it the old feelings of sadness, panic, and unhappiness surfaced.



Midnight at the oasis
Send your camel to bed
Shadows paintin' our faces
Traces of romance in our heads

Heaven's holdin' a half-moon
Shinin' just for us
Let's slip off to a sand dune, real soon
And kick up a little dust

Come on, Cactus is our friend
He'll point out the way
Come on, 'til the evenin' ends
'Til the evenin' ends

You don't have to answer
There's no need to speak
I'll be your belly dancer, prancer
And you can be my sheik

[Instrumental Interlude]

I know your Daddy's a sultan
A nomad known to all
With fifty girls to attend him, they all send him
Jump at his beck and call

But you won't need no harem, honey
When I'm by your side
And you won't need no camel, no no
When I take you for a ride

Come on, Cactus is our friend
He'll point out the way
Come on, 'til the evenin' ends
'Til the evenin' ends

Midnight at the oasis
Send your camel to bed
Got shadows paintin' our faces
And traces of romance in our heads

Oh, come on...


There are two songs that I connect with my father, Bruce Springsteen's Hungry Heart and BR5 49's Lifetime to Prove. Both are the story of his life. Change the first line of Hungry Heart to, "Got a wife and kids in Denver town, Jack, I went out for a ride and I never went back," and it's his story.



Got a wife and kids in Baltimore, Jack
I went out for a ride and I never went back
Like a river that don't know where it's flowing
I took a wrong turn and I just kept going

Everybody's got a hungry heart
Everybody's got a hungry heart
Lay down your money and you play your part
Everybody's got a hungry heart

I met her in a Kingstown bar
We fell in love I knew it had to end
We took what we had and we ripped it apart
Now here I am down in Kingstown again

Everybody's got a hungry heart
Everybody's got a hungry heart
Lay down your money and you play your part
Everybody's got a hungry heart

Everybody needs a place to rest
Everybody wants to have a home
Don't make no difference what nobody says
Ain't nobody like to be alone

Everybody's got a hungry heart
Everybody's got a hungry heart
Lay down your money and you play your part
Everybody's got a hungry heart

I could not find a clip of BR5 49 singing Lifetime to Prove but here are the lyrics:

My pockets are empty though my wife has sent me
To the store for some cigarettes and bread
I started walking there got as far as the square
Then the smell of beer went to my head
The thing about beer it can make a man hear
Voices from days long since past
And with every third drink it'll make you think
That your youth will always last
No matter which way you move, it takes a lifetime to prove
To yourself I could have been more
I got one foot in the door I just want one more

I thought of a time when my future was mine
It didn't matter what anyone said
I was handsome and strong and when I walked along
I stood erect and looked straight ahead
But then I lost my fight, "goin' to" turned to "might"
Somewhere along the line I lost my will
And now I'm sittin' here my life full of beer
And I try to pretend it's not real
No matter which way you move, it takes a lifetime to prove
To yourself I have been before
I got one foot in the door I just want one more

These days I barely survive on lot number five
In the mobile acres on the eastside of town
I swore this kind of life I'd never lead
I guess I let too many things get me down
If my pappy could see what they done to me
I swear he'd march down there and make it all right
But he's long since gone and I'm old enough now
I should be able to fight my own fight
No matter which way you move, it takes a lifetime to prove
To yourself I could have been more
I got one foot in the door I just want one more

My dad to a T, a man who's life was full of beer and who always blamed others for his problems.


As for my mother, when I first heard the song Easy to be Hard
from the musical Hair these lyrics jumped out at me:

Especially people who care about strangers
Who care about evil and social injustice
Do you only care about bleeding crowd
How about a needing friend, I need a friend

And I thought about my mother. She was out fighting social injustice and our lives were in chaos. How could she care about others more than us? I'm still pondering that question.



How can people be so heartless
How can people be so cruel
Easy to be hard
Easy to be cold

How can people have no feelings
You know I'm hung up on you
Easy to be proud
Easy to say no

Especially people
Who care about strangers
Who care about evil
And social injustice
Do you only
Care about the bleeding crowd?
How about a needing friend?
I need a friend

How can people be so heartless
How can they ignore their friends
Easy to give in
Easy to help out

Especially people
Who care about strangers
Who say they care about social injustice
Do you only
Care about the bleeding crowd
How about a needing friend?
I need a friend

How can people have no feelings
How can they ignore their friends
Easy to be hard
Easy to help out
Easy to be proud
Easy to say no

As I listen to or think about these songs again, I can see I have moved on as they no longer bring up sad feeling for me. I will always connect these songs with certain places and people but I can now enjoy them without the extra baggage I once attached to them....well, except for Midnight at the Oasis, that one I am still working on.

Not In The Mood To Post Today

But I did find something of interest at The New York Times website, Going Offline in Search of Freedom.

Why There Are Not That Many Photos Of Little Sally Pumpkinhead Here

Tasmanian Devil 1

Tasmanian Devil 2

Almost there

Good dog

Snow Angel

Why Can't We Be Friends?

Looks like they can. This was taken a few days before Duke's Big Adventure. Duke is eating his chewy and Little Sally Pumpkinhead is helping. A big change from the first day when Duke growled and snapped at Little Sally Pumpkinhead for getting to close to his food.

What Is More Time Consuming That A New Puppy?

A new puppy and an old puppy that has been bit by a snake. Duke is home and his snout is almost back to normal. We will have a hard time keeping him quiet for the next 5 days as required by his vet. This morning he decided I and Little Sally Pumpkinhead were having too much fun playing together and joined in. He grabbed the squeaky toy Little Sally Pumpkinhead was chasing and walked around with it in his mouth chomping and making it repeatedly squeak. Little Sally Pumpkinhead loved this new game and so did Duke as his tale was wagging the whole time.

Below is a photo of Duke showing his nose yesterday afternoon. If you look closely you can see that it is still swollen. If you look more closely you can see the magic marker lines the Vet drew on his face to outline the edge of the snake bit reaction when he first saw Duke. If you look even more closely you can see that there is a mark between his eyes which shows how far the swelling extended up his face before the meds kicked in. Remember those books for children which had distorted photos of puppies in them that made their snouts look huge and way out of proportion to the rest of their bodies? Well that is how Duke looked for awhile. Although he looks almost normal he is still sick, moving slowly and mostly sleeping. By the end of five days I know he will be back to his old self and we will have a hard time containing him.



Oh, when I went to pick up Duke the vet tech told me he had been a sweetheart. I smiled because Duke is always a sweetheart and makes friends wherever he goes.

Snake Bit

We were running the dogs at the cemetery last night when Duke trotted up to us looking embarrassed. He must have put his nose into a rabbit hole that contained a rattlesnake because he also had a puncture wound and a bloody scrap on his snout. By the time we got him back to the truck he was in pain. When my husband got him to the vet clinic they gave him a shot of morphine and some antibiotics. They also put him on a saline drip . He spent the night there and this morning they will call and let us know when to pick him up.

The vet told my husband that Duke being bit on the snout, along with being bit before and having had the rattlesnake vaccine administered, would actually be helpful to him. For some reason getting bit on the nose is less dangerous than getting bit anywhere else on a dog's body. He also told my husband that he has been treating a lot of cattle and calves who have been bit on the snout by snakes since the weather got warmer.* The warmer weather has caused the snakes to wake up and they do not like to be awakened once they begin hibernating. They wake up angry and this anger makes them lash out at anything or anyone who comes near them. Until the weather get cold again our evening walks will be restricted to the town streets.

Poor Duke. I hate that this has happened.

Update (10:09 AM):
We heard from the vet clinic and they say Duke is doing well. He will be staying with them for another night since their policy is to keep animals who have been bitten by snakes for at least 24 hours. His snout is still very swollen but he is resting comfortably.


Update (6:40 PM):
Talked to the doctor again and he said Duke ate some food and the swelling of his snout has gone down. He has dropped his pain meds and stopped the IV fluids. We will bring him home tomorrow afternoon.



*It was in the high 80's (F)/ 20's(C) on Sunday.