HUGE - a Rant

Huge - 22 times in 374 pages. Aargh! That is an average of huge once every 17 pages. It was a huge man's shirt; huge towering man; huge ... mansion; huge room; huge eyes; huge room (again!); huge ebony bed; huge headboard; huge desk; huge tension; huge fist; London was huge; huge eyes (again!); huge buildings; huge ... house; huge brick stable; huge salon - and finally! a" huge understatement" (bit of irony there).

Oh I itched to take a red pen to every huge in that otherwise entertaining historical romance. The writer created passages of descriptive prose smoother than ice cream and lovelier than a rose. Her characters grew in depth and maturity. Her plot twisted nicely without flagging. Her settings contrasted beautifully, and one of them was interesting enough to be almost another character.

But. Huge. Yikes - please add "huge" to "teeming" on your list of words that are inappropriate or overused, and avoid it like the proverbial and hackneyed plague.

The bears excellent adventure

So yesterday Pandababy and Goldibear set out to get studded tires on their bear car. Simple, yes? Not. The tires were not here, they were still in the storage unit from when the bears moved.

First challenge: the car without studded tires would not go up the icy incline to storage. Enter bears, bundled up against 18 degree weather, carrying four tires down hill, across intersection in freezing bear-town.

Look, mama bear, look. See the funny bears carrying their tires? Where is the rest of their car, do you know? How could it possibly be, that tires is all they have left of their car? Oooh, see the lady bear fall down. I think she bounced at least three times. My, is it slippery out there, or what?

Once the tires were in the car, challenge number two - how to drive from storage to tire store and arrive un-dented. Oh My! See the pretty red pickup spinning through the intersection! Go, red pickup go! Just don't hit us bears, please. Whew! that was too close for comfort.

The bears shared a pot of honey at the local Smack-Donalds, celebrating the successful installation of four studded tires. All's well that ends well, or so they say. So this evening, a storm bigger than the one we just experienced is due to visit us. I think Pandababy willl just turn on the electric fireplace and wait this one out.

Sunset and Snow Fall

We've seen entire winters go by with no snow here in western Oregon, but this year is looking white already, with more snow on the way. What a difference a day makes to the view from our windows.

The Dangers of Being Too Lovable

Modern pandas have had to cope with the dangers of being crowded out of their natural habitat, and of being hunted for their pelts to be stuffed and mounted in museums, but a new danger has been rising in the one place pandas should feel most safe: their own enclosures in zoos. Pandas are just TOO cute! Some humans can't resist the impulse to touch, hug and kiss them. Now I ask you, if a perfect stranger jumped into your car or house, and put their arms around you, even grabbing a hug when you are just trying sleep - wouldn't you bite too? The trials and tribulations of being a panda.

Purple Nerf Football Knee

I never knew a knee could look like purple nerf football, but now I have personal proof on my right leg. We had been fortunate in our house renovation and relocation - no accidents or injuries - until last week. (Note to self: do NOT try to move a large bag of garbage over rough ground when exhausted and holding something in the other hand.) They say that most accidents happen in the home. Well, duh! Isn't that where most people are, most of the time? Still, one does feel safe in such a familiar setting. How could anything bad happen at daily, mundane tasks?

Why didn't I just let go of the bag and save myself? Why was I trying to throw one more useless piece of jetsam overboard when I was too tired to string a sentence together? Stubborn old cow, that's why! (Simple reason but too true.)

So instead I took a header into the ground, broke my glasses, got a bloody cheek and chin, sprained my right hand, added insult to injury with dirt all over my favorite jeans and fleece, and for the grand finale, nearly gave my husband a heart attack coming out of the shower that night. No, not that kind of heart attack (tch tch).

I didn't realize my knee was injured until he screamed. I have fibromyalgia, and random muscles and joints hurt every day. So yes, it sounds a little retarded, but I ignored my aching knee the way I ignore my other aches. Funny, it hurt a lot more once I looked down and saw a purple nerf football where my knee usually fit. Which just about sums up my philosophy of life - if it's going to hurt, don't look.

Whoosh!

Whoosh - that is the sound of stuff going out of our lives at a rapid pace. As Silvergull so rightly observed last month, "stuff and clutter blocks your energy flow. You should feel a lift as you declutter your life."

Last night I was invited to my niece's house for dinner. She has five adorable children, and what fun it was to listen to a few of them play the piano. She plays very well herself, and is teaching them, too. My sister was there, and played a duet with her youngest, who is only thirteen. A joyful evening to cap off a day of doing nothing (Sundays are wonderful for doing nothing!)

The youngest there was only two, and I thought to have a bit of fun with him, so while he was sitting in his daddy's lap, I played the old trick of 'stole your nose'. Ooops. Maybe a bit too young for that trick to come out the blue at him. His face screwed up with a seriously worried expression, and then he carefully raised his fingers to touch his nose -- just checking to see if was there -- or not! It was hard not laugh, he was so cute.

Today we are back to putting away things in the apartment. I started the morning by tossing out two large trash bags full of stuff. Feeling lighter and more energetic already.

Romance Genre, Characters and Motivation

Romance genre encompasses a vast range of style and content, from the light and witty dialog of Julia Quinn's historical novels, to the edgy banter in S. L. Viehl's "blade" trilogy; from the ingenuous maundering of Georgette Heyer to the explicit rapture of Elizabeth Hoyt. I'm fascinated with the endless variety of characters and motivation represented in the romance genre.

Although I occasionally dip into settings other than English or Scottish history, the majority of my romance library is drawn from the Georgian or Regency period. The social strictures on women and men in those times offer wonderful opportunity for creating characters with complex layers of motivation, endless opportunity for peril and tension, and devious plot twists that showcase clever, desperate, determined heroines and heroes.

Romance genre plus 'coming of age' plots may begin with the main character at an immature point and use adversity to demonstrate the character gaining wisdom with experience and moving from a needy self-involved personality to a mature, loving heroine.

What a challenge for a writer to demonstrate. "Married happily ever after" is the usual ending for romance novels, a defining point of the genre, even. I enjoy those endings, and even more, enjoy the creative and unusual paths that my favorite romance authors employ to arrive at an ending that is pretty much known from the beginning.

I also like reading the historical details, especially when they include information new to me, and sometimes I have to look up a reference to an obscure event or item. I admire writers who combine excellent historical research with original plots and characters, and who seamlessly include authentic historical details in their setting. One such writer who I previously mentioned is Jo Beverley, and Madeline Hunter is another. Well, back to packing today. Happy reading, all.

Moving

One nice thing about the Internet is that even when we move from this house, where we raised our family, my address here at Pandababy won't change. Yes, after twenty-three years in this house, we are putting it up for sale. I'm packing up my books, Leo is throwing out clutter from the garage, and my niece, a John. L. Scott broker, is coming over to list the property next Monday. We are moving to an apartment (no yard, just a balcony).  Oh well, back to sorting, tossing, packing...

Why Blog?

"To create one's own world, in any of the arts, takes courage." Georgia O'Keeffe .

I blog to challenge myself: to put my ideas and actions out in the public and see how they hold up (or not). I blog to challenge others to take up a book, a cause or an idea they might not have considered yet. I blog to know myself better and to know others too.

I blog to give and to receive - to discover new friends and to update old friends, to begin conversations with people I've met (and many I've met only 'online') and with people I have yet to meet. I blog to share my life in ways which could not otherwise happen since my handicaps keep me at home in solitude most of the time. I blog for joy, and sometimes for sadness.

My blog is my sidewalk and these pixels are my chalk, setting my messages in front of passers-by, strangers and family, people from my neighborhood - a place as big as the whole world. I blog for the hope that people are essentially good and kind and that to participate in this rising world consciousness called the Internet is to be part of something wonderful.

"The American People have to know"

"The American people have to know." This was how Daoud Hari, author of The Translator, a Tribesman's Memoir of Darfur, began his talk at Powell's Books in Portland, Oregon last night. Following is my report, based on my notes of his speech. He has been in the U.S. for one year, as a refugee. His talk was marked with frequent references to the deaths of people who also did the work he did, but who were killed. He clearly feels that his narrow escapes from death, and his opportunity to come to America, are for a purpose - so that he can tell people what is happening in Darfur.

The violence in Darfur has a long history, and Daoud spoke only on the most recent years. He said in 2005 there was peace, and when the government started bombing the villages in 2006, President Bush intervened, and there was peace - for a season. Now the violence is worse than in 2006, according to Mr. Hari. He spoke of his village of 250 to 300 people, ruled by a sultan, the person who had final authority over decisions. He described his life growing up with his camel and his friends. They would stay out until 11:30 pm or midnight, playing games, and his camel would take him back home, knowing the way even if he was asleep. Daoud said that life in the desert is very different than our lives in the U.S., with a harsh climate and very few trees and plants. Even so, there was enough to sustain the villagers, until the climate changes narrowed the margins of sustainability on the land, and brought back old problems between Arabs and Zaghawa. 

The government in Khartoum, the capital city, fanned the conflict with a plan to "cleanse" the desert of the indigenous tribes and give all the land to the Arabs, who arrived there about two hundred years ago. As Mr. Hari described the recent history of his people, I was reminded of his comment near the end of his book, where he said that the problems of Darfur are not 'simple genocide', but that it is complicated. The result, he made clear in his book and in his talk, is still the threat of extinction of his people, but the complex human and political relationships make solutions difficult, make peace agreements quickly void, and create discouragement among those who intervene and try to help.

Daoud spoke of the network of tribal relationships that his people and the Arabs have among people in Chad, Kenya, the Congo and elsewhere in Africa, so that the conflict which began in Darfur has spread to other nearby countries, and threatens the stability of the entire region. The solution to peace in the region, he says, is to create peace in Darfur, and the way to do that is to restore the tribes to their ancestral lands with security.

One of the pieces to the puzzle that is Darfur, is that the Chinese government is providing weapons and hard currency to the government in Khartoum. Mr. Hari tied the Chinese to the killing of his people and the rest of the tribal people in Darfur. I asked the first question after his talk, which was, "Should people boycott the Olympics, or write letters of protest to the government? What do you think would be most helpful in cutting off the support of Chinese weapons and cash?" Daoud responded by saying, "Don't go. This is the Blood Olympics. This is not sport."

He added that twelve thousand new refugees have fled into Chad and the government has bombed another five villages. Daoud Hari said Darfur is not under control for anybody, even the government. The government wants the aid workers out of the country, and the workers are helpless without security and transportation.

He said, "Disarm Janjaweed! The war is the humanitarian crisis!" He pointed out that before the attacks of the Janjaweed (the Arab guerrilla fighters on horseback and in land cruisers) the people had access to food and water, shelter and crops. The Janjaweed, he said, poisoned the wells and killed the animals, so that even those who survived their attacks would have to leave their villages. Daoud ended by asking everyone to add their voice to ask for help for Darfur. He pointed out that President Bush acted in 2006 after one million people petitioned him to do so. He said we need one million people again to ask for the killing to stop, to ask for the United Nations to send in all their peace keepers, to get President Bush to act.

In his country, if he were to protest a government policy, their response would be to have him killed. We have the freedom to petition our government, and Daoud's mission is to convince us to take action. "Let me get another voice" - this was the hope of Daoud Hari last night at Powell's Books, speaking on the need for One Million Voices to stop the killing in Darfur. Here is the link to the organization, Save Darfur, where you can get information on how to help the tribal people of Darfur regain their place on our earth.

There are over 200,000 refugees living Chad, which is a country too poor to help them. The Janjaweed come over the border from Darfur and kill the men and rape the women when they go out to gather firewood. This can stop and will stop if enough people lend their voice. Will you lend yours? I made an effort to limit this report but as Daoud says, the history and situation in Darfur is complicated. He is a very intelligent man with an excellent understanding of Darfur. Any mistakes in this post are mine, and mine alone.

Review: On Gold Mountain

On Gold Mountain: The One-Hundred-Year Odyssey of My Chinese-American Family by Lisa See (1996) ISBN: 0-679-76852-1 I read On Gold Mountain slowly, with days between chapters to think about new ideas. On Gold Mountain was many things to me. It was an eye-opening revelation to me of how racist our laws and immigration policies were towards the Chinese, up until our recently. It was an amazing journey into Chinese society both in America and in China. It was an uplifting and hopeful account of how, in spite of everything, Chinese immigrants were able to come to America, work, and prosper. It was a heart-breaking indictment of the treatment of the Chinese by our government and big business, particularly the railroads. The suffering and death of so many people has gone too long unnoticed in our history books. It was an amusing commentary on the foibles of human nature, and how love truly can triumph over it all, down through the generations. It was an incredibly well-researched, well-documented and remarkably frank story of one Chinese immigrant and his numerous descendants. In the developing field of social history, and using social history to illuminate a genealogy, On Gold Mountain is a seminal work, published five years prior to the ground-breaking "Bringing Your Family History to Life through social history" by Katherine Scott Sturdevant. As such, it is a remarkable example of the professional standards to which the social historian/genealogist may aspire. Although the family history is rife with bi-racial marriage, multiple wives and concubines, infidelity and divorce, Lisa See presents the story in a sympathetic and factual manner, and avoids sensationalizing her family history. It is as much about the family business of importing Asian art, furniture and folk items, and other businesses the younger generations developed, as it is about the personal history of the family. I would recommend Lisa See's book to anyone planning to write a social history; to all high school and college students in classes on U. S. Government, sociology, immigration, and capitalism. I would also recommend it to anyone who likes a good work of non-fiction about real people.

We Are All Zaghawa Now

The Translator, A Tribesman's Memoir of Darfur by Daoud Hari ISBN 978-1-4000-6744-2 Random House; March 18, 2008 I'm on page 103 of The Translator A Tribesman's Memoir of Darfur, and something that has been nagging at the back of my mind finally came into focus. The day after the attacks of 9-11, Jean-Marie Colombani, writing in the French newspaper, Le Monde, said "We Are All Americans Now". What a beautiful way for him to say that the world stood with us in our loss, our hurt. I think we must all be Zaghawa now. Zaghawa, one of the many indigenous tribes of Darfur, is the tribe of Daoud Hari, author of The Translator. Hari, who used his literacy as a means to tell the story of his people, all the people of Darfur. Hari, who witnessed, and brought witnesses to testify to the horror, the genocide. Hari is Zaghawa. We must all be Zaghawa now. We must use our literacy to witness, and bring other witnesses to the crimes in Darfur against women, against children, against humanity. We must bring witnesses until the whole world cries out: "No More!" We Are All Zaghawa Now.

What IF?

What if connections were being formed between people all over the world? What if women could meet each other, share their thoughts, their family concerns, without leaving home? What if ideas and gifts and friendships could flow across oceans and borders as easily as the rays of the sun? What if people of different countries and languages could find out they have more in common than in difference?

"What IF" is happening. The Internet has enabled communication between people with common interests such as literature and work, vocation and hobbies, and the last barrier - language, will come down shortly as translator programs are perfected and computers become more powerful. Meanwhile, people who have learned more than one language are bridging the gap even now.

Thank you Angela, for bridging the gap by writing your blog in English too, for sharing friendships at GoodReads, for reaching out with kindness, and for the hand-made jewelry. It is a joy to know you.

My new old house

Our house was built in 1983, a time of rising interest rates and builder's nightmares. Two years later, as rates began to fall, we bought the house with a V.A. mortgage. Twenty-two years later, we have replaced the roof; painted the exterior for a fourth time; replaced the carpeting; replaced over half the fencing that GoldieBear installed all those years ago; turned a partially enclosed patio into an exercise room; upgraded the electrical panel and wiring; refurbished the solar plumbing; had a kitchen fire and replaced the microwave and stove hood; replaced the dishwasher. This week it was time for the kitchen plumbing - the garbage disposal and the pipes under the sink. New homes, like cars, have a certain length of time when we may enjoy them without doing much maintenance and repair - and then one day, it is time to refurbish, repair or replace so many things that it seems like a good solution to just replace the whole thing with a newer model. But we have lived here for twenty-two years, and are quite fond of our place -- it is home. It is familiar, and dear to us. So there is a schedule for the remaining work: replace the garage door opener, repaint the interior; install the back-flow device on the watering system; replace and insulate the hot water pipes; refinish the aggregate floors and replace the window coverings. Keeping a house, instead of just trading it in for a newer model, takes time and effort. Sort of like keeping a spouse after a few decades -- keep investing in the relationship -- repair, refurbish and replace old habits and patterns with ways that work better; sometimes hire a trained professional to help with the project. It is worth it in the long run, to have a marriage that is dear, a familiar friend that is home to our hearts.

Newly Published - People of the Book

People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks ISBN: 978-0-670-01821-5 The Penguin Group; January 1, 2008 Inspired by her experiences as a journalist in Sarajevo, Geraldine Brooks breathes life into the history of a rare illustrated Hebrew manuscript, the Sarajevo Haggadah. People of the Book spans centuries and continents to follow the guardians of the Haggadah as they flee war and persecution, often with little but the clothes on their back and their precious artifact. Muslims, Catholics, Jews and atheists take their turns defending the art, literature and culture encompassed in the small, fragile volume.

The religions that set The People of the Book apart have their common roots in the pictures and stories in the Haggadah. Every event in the novel resonates with our news today, as cultural treasures, individuals and ethnic groups are being destroyed by the same ancient divisions and hatreds, and the same greed for power and wealth that endangered the book and its keepers over hundreds of years

 A story of manuscript conservation and scientific inquiry which could easily be dry and boring vibrates with energy and life in this unforgettable novel. The people of the book are fascinating characters living in interesting times and their lives are relevant to ours, their choices and decisions speak to the greatest issues of our times.

Hail and Rain

Cold, hail and rain this morning, and a little water ski boat pulling away for the last time from the driveway. We waved good-by as a new and younger family took the boat home, and we were left with an empty place in the garage, but happy memories in our hearts. Southern fried chicken, frosted brownies, long summer days and Beach Boy tunes on the tape player; teenagers braving the cold water to ski around the lake; oops - red flag, skier down, turn the boat. Friends and cousins, picnics and suntan lotion, sun-burned noses and sand buckets. Life goes fast: catch a wave.

Cruising the Caves

I've been cruising through writer caves over at Paige's, thanks to a link from Somewhere Silver. My writer cave was moved from a room with a door, to a corner of the family room this week, when I surrendered our son's bedroom as he returned home from college. The mother in me rejoiced, but my Muse left the scene sobbing that she just couldn't possibly work anymore. I told her that tears would get her nowhere, and then offered her some bamboo. (Panda muses are famously fond of bamboo, particularly the chocolate variety.)

 After viewing dozens of pictures of writer's lairs, it seems to me that the only equipment a writer must have is a creative mind. Of course, a laptop or a computer is a help, but after that, a writer's cave can be pink or punk, elegant or haphazard, cluttered or streamlined, pink, blue, white, yellow, red or rainbow -- what matters is the writer inside the cave and the mind inside the writer.

 A book that I'm finding especially helpful in writing my family history, and in particular my mother's biography, is Organizing & Preserving Your Heirloom Documents, by Katherine Scott Sturdevant. Her ideas are solid and practical and I'm applying them to things - like how to organize and present the letters my parents sent each other in WWII. There are only twenty-three pages about preserving and using photographs, out of a 238 page book, so it is important to note: Sturdevant's focus is on documents - diaries, letters, recipe books, baby books, scrap books, autograph albums, account books, etc. and how to extract meaningful information from them.

I would like to find a good book on 'Organizing and Preserving Your Family Photographs' too. Scanners, digital cameras and software to manipulate photographs have improved and changed so dramatically that the most recent book I could find is outdated, although only five years old. Sturdevant also wrote Bringing Your Family History to Life through Social History, but it has become so rare that most copies go for over $50. Thankfully, the Portland Library still has a copy.

Running Away

See how many ways to run? Running away in books, running away in mindless computer games, sugar highs and old movies, so many ways to run away. When life is unbearable, what is your preferred escape? Intense music and furious dancing? Exercise until you drop? Compulsive chatter? Some escapes are more constructive than others. What's yours?

Goose Bumps

I just watched a trailer for Amazing Grace, and even though I saw the entire movie just two nights ago, that eighty second trailer gave me goose bumps. I cannot do this movie justice by describing it here - please follow the link to see the trailer and some great reviews. We ushered in the New Year watching The Ultimate Gift, a movie the whole family can enjoy. It was recommended by a movie buff who knows our tastes, and she was so right. I try to avoid movies starring precocious child actresses, but I will follow the career of the unusual Abigail Breslin, who stole the show from such seasoned actors as James Garner and Bill Cobbs. We will add it to our permanent collection. It reminded me of another all time family favorite - Pay it Forward, starring Kevin spacey and Helen Hunt.