Scattershooting while wondering whatever happened to geography teachers. . . . First o
ff let
me report that the Big Island is not the island of Oahu — the island that features Waikiki Beach, Diamond Head, Pearl Harbor, etc. The Big Island is the largest of the Hawaiian Islands, and it’s real name, somewhat confusingly, is Hawaii. Click on the inset map to get a better idea of geography and our location (not that it matters terribly!). . . . Arrived here still trying to rid myself of the dreaded intestinal virus that had been dragging me down for nearly a week . . . got rid of it and replaced it with a terrible cold, the worst I’ve had in many years. . . . I think I’ll scap plans for writing a book on healthy living. . . . I am making progress on my novel, A Walk in the Park, which I began writing four – yes, that’s 4 – years ago. Finished part one, which consists of 13 chapters, and I’m on to part two. Setting is NYC in the 1920s. Amanda Wasson, who has read the first ten chapters, is encouraging; Eileen McLachlan, here with husband Jim, just read part one and she too encourages me to keep going. Kathi has witnessed my slow pace firsthand, and remains very tolerant but a bit skeptical of my ever finishing what is supposed to be the first of a series akin to Susan Howach‘s wonderful series that begins in the 1930s in England. Glittering Images, the first in that series, was a gift from Max McLean back in 1998. To give you a taste, that book begins rather deliciously:
"My ordeal began one summer afternoon when I received a telephone call from the Archbishop of Canterbury. It was a hot day, and beyond the window the quadrangle of Laud’s shimmered in the hazy light. Term had ended; the resulting peace produced an atmosphere conducive to work, and when the telephone rang it was with reluctance that I reached for the receiver. A voice announced itself as Lambeth Place and proclaimed that His Grace wished to speak with Dr. Ashworth on a matter of extreme urgency. Apparently the Archbishop was still infecting his chaplains with his love of melodrama."
I should only hope to be half as good as Ms. Howach. . . . Just finished the gift book from dear friend and writer Phil Rawley, Praying for Gil Hodges, which uses the 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers v New York Yankees World Series – the first I remember listening to as an elementary school student – as its focal point for this familial memoir. Title comes from a hot, steamy Sunday as the Rev. Herbert Raymond was celebrating mass at a church in Brooklyn and surprised his congregation by saying, "It’s far too hot for a sermon. Keep the Commandments and say a prayer for Gil Hodges." (Hodges was the great first baseman for the Dodgers, a role model who died young, as many baseball players seem to do.) Author Thomas Oliphant wrote for the Boston Globe for nearly 40 years before being felled by a brain aneurysm. He writes an engaging story but suffers from horrid sentence structure too much of the time. A reminder that even the best writers need good editors. . . . Kindred Spirit, magazine I was blessed to conceive and edit for its first five years, has a very good issue on DaVinci Code concerns. Take a quick look at dialog between Darrell Bock and Jeffrey Bingham. Bock has written a book on the matter – who hasn’t these days? – and is well-versed. . . . Good friend Steve Sternberg, leader of Christian Leadership Ministries at SMU, was good enough to share a CD of Bock’s CLM/SMU luncheon address in April. In this writer’s opinion, Bock has the goods but needs to temper his sarcasm and better organize his thoughts. Did he take any classes in homiletics? If so, they apparently didn’t take. Still, I highly recommend his product and thinking. . . . Dan Brown continues to add to his hundreds of millions in royalties for horrid scholarship, deceptive practices, and a misguided sense of his place in rewriting history. . . . Who was it that said you can fool all of the people some of the time? . . . Yours truly turned 60 last week. When I was a kid that was OLD. Really think my mind is still in its 40s, but, post-chemo, my body has fast-forwarded to its 80s. . . . If you haven’t already, subscribe (it’s free) to Joel Osteen’s Live Like a Champion. It’ll give you a helpful attitude boost every week. . . . Then there was the Baptist preacher who had a fear of drowning and filed for permanent disability.