Examining each book as it came into my bookshop and before it went onto the shelf was part of my daily routine. I was always delighted to come across an inscription inside a book and surprised when some of the locations it came from were half way across country or further. So I was especially pleased when my writing friend Jyoti Wind sent me the web address of an article Pulp In The Wild: The BookCrossing Edition by Laura K. Curtis.
BookCrossing is the official/tracking way of leaving a book for someone to pick up, read and pass along. It’s your choice of book, your choice of where to leave it and fate for whoever picks it up. This is almost like playing hide and seek as a child. Such fun. For all the hows and whys and wherefores, check out the website at: http://www.bookcrossing.com/howto.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Thursday, September 15, 2011
The Goats
Church Hill Road runs from NC Hwy 158 connecting to Hubquarter Road. Along the way is a fenced-in field with an old, old building shell (former house, maybe) weathered and falling down. This is where the goats live; all sizes and probably all ages. I love these goats! Driving by, seeing these goats wander in and out of that shell reassures me that peace can exist in the world, my world anyway.
On occasion these goats have gotten out of the fence. There are times when I must stop my car and wait patiently because they are crossing the road like school children getting to the other side where the grass or weeds are greener. Always, I think instantly of ‘stopping to smell the roses.’ It also reminds me of Cary Grant and Grace Kelly driving around France slowly falling in love with each other and the French countryside. But they were surrounded by sheep flooding the road.
Then there are the times when I suddenly slow my car down to a crawl because the goats are grazing roadside. Very peacefully, the daddy of them all with his horns and goatee (?) kind of looking over his herd is nibbling away. Not a care in the world. Lovely to see.
But recently I see the house that accompanies this field is vacated. Empty. Windows gone. The goats seemed to be gone, too. I miss them terribly. It’s another reminder of how we as a people depend on the acts of others, even those we don’t know to enlighten our lives and how we are affected when they are gone. Then a surprise! They aren’t gone after all! They must have been grazing in another field unseen from the road.
On occasion these goats have gotten out of the fence. There are times when I must stop my car and wait patiently because they are crossing the road like school children getting to the other side where the grass or weeds are greener. Always, I think instantly of ‘stopping to smell the roses.’ It also reminds me of Cary Grant and Grace Kelly driving around France slowly falling in love with each other and the French countryside. But they were surrounded by sheep flooding the road.
Then there are the times when I suddenly slow my car down to a crawl because the goats are grazing roadside. Very peacefully, the daddy of them all with his horns and goatee (?) kind of looking over his herd is nibbling away. Not a care in the world. Lovely to see.
But recently I see the house that accompanies this field is vacated. Empty. Windows gone. The goats seemed to be gone, too. I miss them terribly. It’s another reminder of how we as a people depend on the acts of others, even those we don’t know to enlighten our lives and how we are affected when they are gone. Then a surprise! They aren’t gone after all! They must have been grazing in another field unseen from the road.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
The Calendar
Any person who loses themselves in genealogy knows about the date 1752 as one that puts a kink in some research. Or at least draws their attention. It makes the researcher pay attention to birthdays and can confuse the issue.
It was this day, the 14th of September 1752, in Merrie Olde England that they began to adhere to the Gregorian Calendar leaving the Julian Calendar behind. In doing so, they lost 11 days. Just vanished. Don’t bother to look for them, ‘cause they aren’t there. January 1 also became New Year’s Day instead of the March 25 date they had used previously.
Think it doesn’t matter since a day lived is a day to remember? Not so. Many people rioted since they lost those 11 days with no pay for work not done but still had to pay a full month of rent. It was serious business that affected lots of people.
The quote, “Live a day at a time” takes on new meaning when you think of days disappearing.
It was this day, the 14th of September 1752, in Merrie Olde England that they began to adhere to the Gregorian Calendar leaving the Julian Calendar behind. In doing so, they lost 11 days. Just vanished. Don’t bother to look for them, ‘cause they aren’t there. January 1 also became New Year’s Day instead of the March 25 date they had used previously.
Think it doesn’t matter since a day lived is a day to remember? Not so. Many people rioted since they lost those 11 days with no pay for work not done but still had to pay a full month of rent. It was serious business that affected lots of people.
The quote, “Live a day at a time” takes on new meaning when you think of days disappearing.
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