April 2017 Book Report

Nayar (1942) by Miguel Angel Menendez

Interesting book from my mom’s library. Menendez was a celebrated Mexican author. I enjoyed this book but found it rather depressing. There was a lot of disputing between the Mexicans and Indians in this certain area. There was some very interesting stuff about the ancient pagan medicine. The book didn’t really have an ending.

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The Night of the Hurricane (1978) by Nancy Hale

Very good YA book. Gene is staying with his grandmother for the summer, as he has done quite often. They live in a coastal town in the East, and the weather is heading into a hurricane. Grandma’s house is pretty secure and safe, but as the weather gets worse, several neighbors come to her house seeking shelter. They all weather the storm together and become close in adversity.

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Country Cousin (1951) by Helen Fern Daringer

Another great YA book, filled with historical info. It’s 1663, and Susannah loves living on the family farm, but her parents are concerned that she doesn’t know how to act like a lady. She is sent to stay with relatives in New York to get more schooling and some polish. She views this as a punishment at first, but comes to enjoy life there.

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Vice Avenged (A Moral Tale) (1971) by Lolah Burford

Takes place during the Regency, but is not your typical romance. Lord Gore is a member of a club of idle young gentlemen who care for nothing but amusement. Wagers are placed on the ability to seduce a female of the nobility and get away with it. Gore takes the bet. Afterward, young Cresida’s father finds out about what was done to his daughter and exacts a very harsh revenge.

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The Beckoning Door (1950) by Mabel Seeley

Another top notch mystery by a favorite author. Cathy’s mother was cut from Grandfather’s will in favor of Cathy’s cousin Sylvia. A little more money would make a world of difference to Cathy and her disabled mother. When Sylvia is murdered, Cathy is the first person the police take a look at.

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The Inheritance (2004) by Annabel Dilke

The Chandler family’s great wealth masks a life of adultery, excess and pain. Everything looks wonderful on the surface, and no expense is spared for a life of ease and luxury. When their wealth is gone through bad investments and they are forced to live like the rest of us, the family falls apart.

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Stuff I Miss

Tie-dye when it was new. I thought it was the most amazing artistic thing in the world. I tie-dyed a pair of pajamas that my brother had. They were plain cotton and cream colored. Very boring. He wanted a design in green. I don’t remember much about them now but Albert seemed very pleased with them.

Go-go boots. I would have KILLED for a pair of those. They were SO GROOVY!! But no, I had to have sensible shoes. Blah. Now I can’t wear any kind of shoe with a heel more than an inch or inch and a half.

The Flying Nun. Loved that show. Watched it every week. I remember the episode where the nuns were considering a new style habit. The only problem was that the new head-gear thing wouldn’t allow Sister Bertril to fly anymore. So even though all the nuns loved the new habit, they decided against it.

Box Tops and Battle Creek. LOVED getting those little packages from Battle Creek! I would bundle up those box tops and tape a quarter to one of them and send them off. I got some pretty cool things. I also loved the neat prizes that came in the cereal. A few of the goodies:

Batman rubber stamp set.

Capt’n Crunch stamp set (still have that).

Alphabet stamp set (still have that).

Garfield bike reflectors

Glow-in-the-dark acrobat figure on a pole

A little submarine that you put a tiny bit of baking soda in, put it in water and watch it dive and rise, dive and rise.

Comic books. I’m talking about more than Superman, Batman, etc which I think are still published today. I loved those as well when I was growing up, but I also loved Little Lulu, Nancy, Deputy Dawg, Richie Rich and so many more. I read those things until they fell apart. When Paul and Sarah were little, I tried to find comic books for them to read. I found very few, and what I did find was mostly all advertising. And neither of them was really interested.

Getting old sucks…*sigh*

A Look Inside

This is a poem from many years ago, long before I was on meds. I wrote a lot of very dark stuff during those years, and was quite prolific. Interestingly, once my mind was on a more even keel, the writing tapered off. And I’m fine with that.

Despair

The rain and wind

only make my feet cold.

What is it

that turns my heart

to ice?

I’m a lost soul.

Who will find me?

----

Hello!

Are you lost too?

It’s only a mirror.

----

I’m surrounded

by panes of cold glass.

Some one!

Break them!

----

My spirit is gone.

Only an empty shell

is left behind.

Some day, someone may find it

and say,

“This must have been a person, once.”

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dljbinder2003