Last Saturday I attended the first of four classes in Community Emergency Response Training. Even though it’s a FEMA funded program, it’s downright GOOD! (Poor FEMA. Its lack of leadership has given a bad name to many fine people)
Anyway, the course is well worth the time if offered in your community – the Police and Fire Departments supply most of the instruction and they have a great time doing it.
The course is free but we can buy a backpack filled with C.E.R.T. items for $30 – green hard hat, wrench to turn off a natural gas valve, bandages, flashlights etc. I had to laugh when we pulled out the hard hats though. It made me think of the guys in W.W.II who wore the Civil Defense hard hats and watched for enemy planes (maybe that was only in Europe, not sure)
Being prepared for an emergency is not a new concept for folks who grew up in the Midwest – blizzards and tornados made regular appearances. Having a box of survival gear (or just something to tide us over until the AF delivered house hold goods) is pretty much S.O.P. here. The C.E.R.T. class made me aware of some other things we need to add, though
CERT wants us to be prepared for floods, fires, tornadoes, chemical spills, hurricanes, complete loss of house, loss of the ability to buy food, access a bank, ,,,, you name it! They didn’t mention nuclear threats but I’m not sure what they could say about it anyway.
We USED to be very well prepared for nuclear attacks in Indiana, as I recall. In 1952 all we had to do was get under out desk. I think that might still be the best plan
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Sunday, January 22, 2006
Review: The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd
Most of the books I will add to my reviews are at least Two Paws Up. But lest you think I only award praise to books, I offer my opinion on The Mermaid Chair
What the Producers say:Sue Monk Kidd's stunning debut, The Secret Life of Bees, became a best-selling phenomenon and a modern classic. ...
The Producers say a lot more but for this book (and all others), my opinion trumps theirs
My Turn: Screaming Hissing Fit
I selected this book because 1) I enjoyed The Secret Life of Bees and 2) it was on Laura Bush's list of summer reads. DO NOT MAKE MY MISTAKE.
To be fair, I only listened to half of this book; that was all the pain I cared to endure.
In my opinion, if the author knows the Secret of the Universe or even how to boil water, he/she should not hide it from the reader. Neither should the author beat the reader to death with worthless thoughts that only serve to obscure plot, character, direction, and purpose.
Above all, the author should not piss off the reader. If he/she drew them in with the first book, suckered them in with the second but left the reader having a screaming hissing fit, the reader will not come back a third time no matter what marketing tricks are used.
Not only that, the reader will broadcast said hissing fit far, wide and LOUD!
What the Producers say:Sue Monk Kidd's stunning debut, The Secret Life of Bees, became a best-selling phenomenon and a modern classic. ...
The Producers say a lot more but for this book (and all others), my opinion trumps theirs
My Turn: Screaming Hissing Fit
I selected this book because 1) I enjoyed The Secret Life of Bees and 2) it was on Laura Bush's list of summer reads. DO NOT MAKE MY MISTAKE.
To be fair, I only listened to half of this book; that was all the pain I cared to endure.
In my opinion, if the author knows the Secret of the Universe or even how to boil water, he/she should not hide it from the reader. Neither should the author beat the reader to death with worthless thoughts that only serve to obscure plot, character, direction, and purpose.
Above all, the author should not piss off the reader. If he/she drew them in with the first book, suckered them in with the second but left the reader having a screaming hissing fit, the reader will not come back a third time no matter what marketing tricks are used.
Not only that, the reader will broadcast said hissing fit far, wide and LOUD!
Friday, January 20, 2006
Review: Ireland, a Novel by Frank Delaney
What the Producers say:
One evening in 1951, an itinerant storyteller arrives unannounced at a house in the Irish countryside. In exchange for a bed and a warm meal, he invites his hosts and their neighbors to join him by the wintry fireside, and begins to tell formative stories of Ireland's history.
Ronan, a 9-year-old boy, grows so entranced by the storytelling that, when the old man leaves abruptly under mysterious circumstances, the boy devotes himself to finding him again. Ronan's search for the Storyteller becomes both a journey of self-discovery, long unspoken family secrets, and an immersion into the sometimes conflicting histories of his native land
.…Ireland is the beautifully told story,,, rings with the truth of a writer passionate about his country and in full command of his craft.
My Turn Two Paws Up (aw heck put all four of them up and roll around in catnip! This book is GREAT)
If you crave the art of fine storytelling, this book is the holy grail. Delaney deftly weaves a delicate yet complex storywith such ease, it was like watching a master magician. I never knew where the story was going but I couldn’t take my eyes from it.
Often, when an author narrates his own work, it’s bad news; the reading is usually a monotone singsong that makes it a hard listen. Not so with this book. I could almost see the author wink at me with smiling eyes saying, "Now that’s how ‘tis done, Darlin’ "
One evening in 1951, an itinerant storyteller arrives unannounced at a house in the Irish countryside. In exchange for a bed and a warm meal, he invites his hosts and their neighbors to join him by the wintry fireside, and begins to tell formative stories of Ireland's history.
Ronan, a 9-year-old boy, grows so entranced by the storytelling that, when the old man leaves abruptly under mysterious circumstances, the boy devotes himself to finding him again. Ronan's search for the Storyteller becomes both a journey of self-discovery, long unspoken family secrets, and an immersion into the sometimes conflicting histories of his native land
.…Ireland is the beautifully told story,,, rings with the truth of a writer passionate about his country and in full command of his craft.
My Turn Two Paws Up (aw heck put all four of them up and roll around in catnip! This book is GREAT)
If you crave the art of fine storytelling, this book is the holy grail. Delaney deftly weaves a delicate yet complex storywith such ease, it was like watching a master magician. I never knew where the story was going but I couldn’t take my eyes from it.
Often, when an author narrates his own work, it’s bad news; the reading is usually a monotone singsong that makes it a hard listen. Not so with this book. I could almost see the author wink at me with smiling eyes saying, "Now that’s how ‘tis done, Darlin’ "
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
Review: The March by E. L. Doctrow
What the producers said
In 1864, after Union general William Tecumseh Sherman burned Atlanta, he marched his sixty thousand troops east through Georgia to the sea, and then up into the Carolinas. The army fought off Confederate forces and lived off the land, pillaging the Southern plantations, taking cattle and crops for their own, demolishing cities, and accumulating a borne-along population of freed blacks and white refugees until all that remained was the dangerous transient life of the uprooted, the dispossessed, and the triumphant.
My Turn: Two Paws Up!
In Doctrow’s characteristic style, colorful characters’ lives are intertwined with those of famous people. His accounts of Civil War medicine is vivid and accurate, even some of the details that aren’t widely known i.e. the President was attended by doctors who knew little about medicine and more about paperwork. The higher-ranking doctors with little practical experience dismissed a younger surgeon with extensive know-how in treating trauma. These Administrative docs proceeding to examine and treat Lincoln with out-dated methods and may have hastened his death.
Another thing that amazes me is the numbers of dead – 20,000 at one battle, 10,000 at another and so on. It's hard to imagine just what that means in terms of burying the dead and caring for the injured. Having a fair understanding of what it takes to keep a military group fed, clothed, sheltered and motivated to continue, I just wonder how they kept it up for four long years with so few of the bare necessities!
Just thinking about the things they did NOT have gives me a headache: Nothing was clean and certainly not sterile, no blood transfusions, no I.V fluids, no N/g tubes, no trachs, no antibiotics. The opium-based laudanum was used for everything but it was often in short supply.
Good book. Highly recommend it to Civil War buffs, folks interested in medical history and Doctrow fans. This one was every bit as good as Ragtime or Welcome to Hard Times
In 1864, after Union general William Tecumseh Sherman burned Atlanta, he marched his sixty thousand troops east through Georgia to the sea, and then up into the Carolinas. The army fought off Confederate forces and lived off the land, pillaging the Southern plantations, taking cattle and crops for their own, demolishing cities, and accumulating a borne-along population of freed blacks and white refugees until all that remained was the dangerous transient life of the uprooted, the dispossessed, and the triumphant.
My Turn: Two Paws Up!
In Doctrow’s characteristic style, colorful characters’ lives are intertwined with those of famous people. His accounts of Civil War medicine is vivid and accurate, even some of the details that aren’t widely known i.e. the President was attended by doctors who knew little about medicine and more about paperwork. The higher-ranking doctors with little practical experience dismissed a younger surgeon with extensive know-how in treating trauma. These Administrative docs proceeding to examine and treat Lincoln with out-dated methods and may have hastened his death.
Another thing that amazes me is the numbers of dead – 20,000 at one battle, 10,000 at another and so on. It's hard to imagine just what that means in terms of burying the dead and caring for the injured. Having a fair understanding of what it takes to keep a military group fed, clothed, sheltered and motivated to continue, I just wonder how they kept it up for four long years with so few of the bare necessities!
Just thinking about the things they did NOT have gives me a headache: Nothing was clean and certainly not sterile, no blood transfusions, no I.V fluids, no N/g tubes, no trachs, no antibiotics. The opium-based laudanum was used for everything but it was often in short supply.
Good book. Highly recommend it to Civil War buffs, folks interested in medical history and Doctrow fans. This one was every bit as good as Ragtime or Welcome to Hard Times
Audio Book Reviews
Listening to audio books is one of my favorite things. In the last 15 years or so, I’ve listened to so many more books than I ever would have stopped to read. Sometimes I use books on tape or CDs in the car but usually I download books to my MP3 player.
I’d like to say I’m not picky, but I am. While I enjoy a wide variety of books – history, biography, mystery, comedy etc, -- the thing that matters the most is the reader. The reader’s skill can make or break a story and unfortunately it colors my review.
CINC House recently fixed my MP3 player, so I have been playing catch-up with my listening.—I’ll not review them all today, least I lose all my readers (all three of you) at once ;)
My Rating System is self-explanatory
1. Two Paws UP
2. One Paw Up
3. Indifferent Look
4. Litterbox Material
5. Causes Screaming Hissing Fits
I’d like to say I’m not picky, but I am. While I enjoy a wide variety of books – history, biography, mystery, comedy etc, -- the thing that matters the most is the reader. The reader’s skill can make or break a story and unfortunately it colors my review.
CINC House recently fixed my MP3 player, so I have been playing catch-up with my listening.—I’ll not review them all today, least I lose all my readers (all three of you) at once ;)
My Rating System is self-explanatory
1. Two Paws UP
2. One Paw Up
3. Indifferent Look
4. Litterbox Material
5. Causes Screaming Hissing Fits
Thursday, January 05, 2006
Military Mix Master
One of the things I really like about the military is that people of different ethnic extractions mix together and with a completely American attitude. Get’er done, Dude!
A few years ago, I was on training trip with a squadron from California and almost everyone had been born some place other than Mayberry USA. The Philippines, Venezuela, Thailand, Mexico, India, Vietnam, and then there were those of Chinese extraction, Laos, and a host of other places. Caucasians were defiantly in the minority.
One physician, a woman who was raised and trained in Taiwan, was timid and spoke very little. When she spoke, her accent was so thick, it was difficult to understand her. We ended up sitting together in class and during many of the exercises. Toward the end she turned to me and said very clearly, "You have a funny accent". Cracked me up!
When I was in Kuwait I was privileged to work with one of the best NCOs ever! He was from Vietnam and had come to America when he was about seven. His trip had been difficult; his family of 10 had split up in hopes that some of them would survive the treacherous journey out of Nam, threw the camps, and the boatloads of refugees. He and one brother made it. By his own account he became a "very bad person" until he joined the military and got some direction.Now, he has a wife and two little girls who think the sun rises because Daddy wants it to.
For the stellar job he does for the USAF and the country, we couldn’t pay him what he is worth.His English is heavily accented but I could always understand "I already took care of that Boss." Or "Just let me do that, please. I’ll take care of it". And he always did. He could take any job and hand it back with a bow on it.
In Baghdad, I was fortunate to work with one of the finest physicians I’ve ever met. He is a prince of a guy and a talented surgeon. He is also a second generation Japanese American. His father was about eight when he came to the East Coast before WW II. Somehow his family missed the camps, thank goodness.The father grew up and married a teacher. They raised three sons, all of whom became physicians, and all of whom graduated from the AF Academy. All three are still on active duty, have families. All are also specialists is different fields. What a contribution that family has made to our country.
Over the years, I’ve worked with folks from just about every country we have had as allies or enemies. As far as I can tell, it’s a great way to assimilate many divergent groups and the country always benefits.
Besides it’s always nice to have a friend who can explain jokes in different languages, teach what foods are good and what to avoid, teach manners of different cultures and above all, teach all the bad words and when to use them!
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