Into The Forest

Our latest book for our book group was a rather strange read. It was "Into The Forest" by Jean Hegland. Written in 1996 it is a book that looks at what might happen if the world collapsed.

The story is set around two sisters Eva and Nell who live in the forest in Northern California. The story is told by the younger sister, Nell who loves to read and learn and is looking forward to escaping from California and attending Harvard. Eva wants to become a ballet dancer and is gearing up for a big audition in San Fransisco.

As we learn about the family, suddenly, and unexpectedly something happens. We never know what it is that happens, other than it has caused a total collapse of the infrastructure of the country. Was it war, economic collapse . . . we have no idea, and no one seems to interested in finding out. (That part really bothered me).

The mother has died of cancer, and now the girls and the father are forced to deal with living in the forest and surviving. All kinds of challenges ensue. As the girls have to deal with the death of their father and a stranger that changes their lives forever.

There were a couple of places where the book left plausibility. The relationship between Nell and Eli just never worked. Neither did the family's last trip into town. The visit to the warehouse store was ridiculous. And the ending left you scratching your head.

In a study guide to the book it makes the comment that:

Reading Into the Forest will forever change the way you think about a teabag, a scrap of paper, a metronome, an acorn, or a chocolate kiss candy. It will forever change your thinking about dreams and days of the week.

I must not have read the same book, because after I write this and turn it back into the library, I doubt I will ever think of the book again. It did not connect with me, or really any of us in the book group.

That is not to say that it was a bad book. It was an interesting and enjoyable read and does make you think about what the world would be like if there was a catastrophic collapse. But because I live in an urban jungle and not a California Redwood forest, it did not speak to me like it might others.

CHEATING

In my reading this week, I became aware of a book written in 2004 by David Callahan. In 1999, David co-founded a new think tank, Demos, a public policy center based in New York City. Demos combines research and advocacy, working to strengthen democracy and expand economic opportunity within the United States. Previous to co-founding Demos, David was a Fellow at the Century Foundation from 1994 to 1999, where he engaged in wide ranging public policy research and analysis. David received his B.A. at Hampshire College and his Ph.D in Politics at Princeton University.

I have not read the book, but it was linked to in another article. While trying to find out about it, I came across an article he wrote in the journal plagiary. The title of the article was: On Campus: Author Discusses the “Cheating Culture” With College Students. I found the article facinating, especially in light of the national political conventions, but also related to an issue that we are struggling with at the church.

I would love to get a group of people together to discuss the book (or even the article).

Is it OK to lie or cheat, simply because "thats what everyone else does?"

He offers three reasons why it is important why we should resist taking the shortcuts that are often put before us.

First, I think that being true to ourselves and our values is a key to happiness.

A second reason to forget the short cuts is that we all have to live with ourselves. Abraham Lincoln once said that “When I do good, I feel good; when I do bad, I feel bad. Thatʹs my religion.” Sounds simple enough, but of course we may not feel bad at the moment we do bad. Regret has a way of sneaking up on us, and it may only be later that we feel bad – because maybe we took a short cut we didn’t really need to take, and got something that we didn’t deserve. It’s something to watch out for. A life of integrity equals a life with fewer regrets.

A third powerful reason for why integrity should be important in our lives is that each of us plays a role in shaping the society we live in, and that our children will live in.

I think it is important as we choose our leaders for the future.

Anybody interested in a dialog?

Reflections on the Conventions

OK, I have tried very hard to keep my mouth shut during the conventions, but I came across this clip from one our our great journalists that really sums it all up.

If you have five minutes, it is worth watching.

I can't get it to work, just go to this site

Its GONE!!!!

Wow, Tuesday afternoon Laura and Steve showed up with a Bobcat and now I no longer have a hole in my backyard, but now I have . . . a backyard! It is awesome, now I just need to get some grass growing!

Pool Bash part 2

Getting rid of that stinkn pool has just about killed me. I have gotten very lucky, however. Last week I was able to get seven truckloads of dirk delivered FREE! It came from a friends house who was putting in a pool.

Saturday and yesterday, we finished getting all the concrete broken up and removed. We found two electrical lines that we did not know were there, fortunately they both were dead. I also got the solar panels all removed. It looks like a whole different backyard.

Later this evening I am expecting a Bobcat to show up and help get the huge pile of dirt spread out.

I cannot say thank you enough to everyone who helped. Matt, Laura, Doug, Richard and Wes, along with Nancy and I got it all done this weekend! THANKS!

Now I just have to get some grass growing and do landscaping and . . .

Pool Bash (part 1)

This morning a group of men from Ridge Church came over to help me remove the in-ground pool from my back yard. We gathered at 8 am, sledge hammers in hand and began the destruction. Thank goodness, Buddy brought an air jack hammer, otherwise we would still be out there this evening.

Today had to be the hottest day of the year, and we were all toast by 1 pm. Unfortunately, we did not get it all done, so the good news is, all of you who wanted to come, but were busy today, don't worry: Pool Bash 2 is coming!

Thanks: Buddy, Jim, Richard, Bill, Wes, Steve, Dick, and Matt!!

The beginning of the morning

The end of the day

Locked Rooms

Laurie King is the author of a series of books based on the character created by Conan Doyle, Sherlock Homes. In King's novels, Sherlock Homes has met (and eventually marries) a young American named Mary Russell. This is the third in this series that I have read (there are eight currently) and this is the latest, written in 2005. The problem with the series is King writes as if you have read the previous books, so sometimes I think I am missing an inside joke. Regardless, the story flows no matter which books you have read.

In this adventure, Mary and Sherlock are leaving India and have decided to go to San Francisco to visit the home that Mary grew up in. Mary's parents died in a terrible auto crash, and Mary thinks that she is to blame. The story focuses on Mary as she deals with her past (her parents died ten years earlier) and tries to reconcile dreams she has been having with the reality of her past.

What I like about the stories is that they are complicated, yet at the same time, not so complicated that you are constantly trying to figure out who is who. The story is fun and engaging as Mary deals with her memories of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and the lies and deceit that followed her family because of it.

The Venetian Betrayal

I have just finished Steve Berry's The Venetian Betrayal , this is the fourth Berry book that I have read. Two of the previous of the books have followed the Adventures of Cotton Malone and Cassiopeia Vitt as they have solved some of the worlds great mysteries. Earlier I have commented on The Alexandria Link and The Templar Legacy. Once again this duo works to rid the world of a horrible despot.

While the title suggests that it is about Venice, the book is really centered on Alexander the Great and the desire to find his grave. It was a face paced book, filled with all kinds of historical references, some real and others created to fit the story.

Overall, the story is a bit far fetched. But Berry does a great job in weaving an complicated, let very engaging tale. I thought that he might end it differently than it had, but he obviously is hoping to have the book made into a movie because the ending had Hollywood written all over it.

Sermon Series

Every once in a while I come across something that really makes me think. Often the books I read do one of two things, they affirm what I already believe (hence why I probably chose them) or they drive me crazy because they see the world sort of as I do, but we differ on some major fundamental beliefs. But every now and again, I find a book that does both of those things, but also challenges the beliefs that I hold.

Months ago, Kathy had given me Brian McLaren and Tony Campolo’s book Adventures In Missing The Point. I stuck it in a corner and totally forgot about it. The other day, I picked it up and began reading. WOW. As I read, I thought, "This will make a great sermon series . . ."

So, on September 5th I will begin a series based on this book. I only have three weeks free, so it will be a short series, and one, if successful, I might come back to in the fall or winter.

In the introduction they write:

What this adventure is about is facing our own blindnesses, our own insanities, our own foggy thinking and clouded judgment. It’s about admitting that we haven’t seen things clearly, and about wanting to think more clearly than we do.

I hope that you will come and join me on this adventure. Invite a friend as well. Who knows, maybe we will all see a little clearer and want to talk about the journey.

Fishing in Canada

I wrote earlier about the great time that I had fishing in Canada. I am glad that everyone has gotten a kick out of me locking myself out of the cottage at 3:00 am. Part of the joy of getting older . . .

I wanted to post a couple of pictures. All of my pictures can be found on my Flickr site, but these are some of my favorites.