Spending time with family

The Monday before the Forth of July we had a chance to hang out with my older sister and her family. There is a splash pad near my parents that's open to the public and so we suited up and went there with the kids. It was fun to chat with Muscles and her husband who I want to call Darpa, because he works on that kind of stuff. (If that doesn't work let me know.)

On a side note about the names I use for my family members, Muscles didn't think that her name was appropriate. In a rare turn of events I had to remind her that she had told me that "Muscles" was her middle name. She had even asked Darpa "What's my middle name?" and he had replied that it was indeed "Muscles." So, unless she wants me to call her by our grandfather's nic-name for her, I intend to stick with Muscles. My other siblings have it a little easier as they have always had nic-names. "M", "Bub", and "Babe" round out my family with Bub being my only brother. Babe (the youngest, and my junior by 14 years) came with us as did my mother.

We had a lot of fun. Even Tigger, who hasn't decided whether he likes water or not. He alternated between screaming his head of in terror and screaming from excitement. I was glad that I was wearing a t-shirt because when he gets scared he tries to climb up as high as he can, which means he goes for the top of my head. It reminds me of the stereotypical housewife trying to get away from the proverbial mouse. Without a shirt he wouldn't have had any traction and I'm sure I would have dropped him. Kanga loved running around with her cousins. (Hey, Muscles! I need names for your kids!) There was one unfortunate moment when she went to run into a falling stream of water and didn't see the other kid trying to do the same from the other side. Bonked head aside, she enjoyed herself.

On the Forth, we went to my in-laws and enjoyed their pool and, I hope, got Tigger over his hydrophobia. We were joined by Tree and Peanut (my wife's youngest two brothers), as well as both grandparents. It's an above ground pool which means the water is always four feet deep - no shallows for young, hydrophobic, children. He's getting heavier and so we inflated a small child raft and put him in it. Kanga, who has always enjoyed the water, got her floater on and started partying. Tigger just didn't want to let go of whichever relative was holding on to him. We finally got him in the raft and to stop screaming. After a while he even started to enjoy himself. Eventually we took him out and my wife began the process of conditioning him holding his breath. The age old method of doing this is to just toss the kid in the water. We were kinder than that while still keeping with the spirit of the thing. By the end, he was even remembering to close his mouth and had a smile on it. On the way home we stopped for hot dogs and roasted them over our fire pit for dinner.

Audible Book Reivew - The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul by Douglas Adams

This was another book my family has recommended to me that I've finally gotten to. The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul (hereafter referred to as Tea-Time) by Douglas Adams was a very different book from what I've read or listened to recently. Most people remember Douglas Adams for The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, but Tea-Time features a different set of characters and is what would now be called an urban fantasy. Featuring a mystery plot and a private "holistic" detective it certainly kept me guessing up to the end. I did enjoy it, and freely acknowledge that it is not for everyone. Here is the link to Audible's page for the book. It was fun to hear it read by the author, Douglas Adams.

Plot: "It can hardly be a coincidence that no language on Earth has ever produced the expression as pretty as an airport." Kate is late to her flight in the Heathrow Airport because a very large, very hairy, very Norse man with a hammer is trying to get tickets but doesn't have a checkbook, credit car, or even a passport. When the man becomes upset there is an explosion (in which no one is killed), and the check in person who was not helping him disappears. Kate ends up in hospital but can't seem to forget this large man and so she goes looking for him when his body (and private Coke machine) are taken from hospital in the middle of the night... Dirk Gently, a private holistic detective, arrives to meet with his client only to find that the man's head is several feet from his body. Dirk is beginning to think that the man's claims about a seven foot tall, scythe-wielding monster are a little more credible then when he first heard them the day before. Even though his client is dead, Dirk is curious about what's going on. And then the airport explodes and the only person not accounted for is Dirk's old secretary. He decides to check it out. While all this is happening, we find that humanity's need to believe in something has produced Gods that, by virtue of us wanting them to be, are immortal and are a little ticked off about it. Kate, Dirk, and the Gods (and whoever Odin made a bargain  with) now start a dance around each other, meeting in the most unusual circumstances and resulting in a conclusion that wraps up everything in about 10 minutes. And how is Dirk going to get that homicidal eagle out of his house?

My personal favorites: Adams has a way of using language that is just entrancing to listen to. The story is not particularly complex (although it is convoluted) and the language and general absurdity was rather refreshing. I can honestly say that I will not look at of the Norse Gods the same way again, despite enjoying the movies Thor and The Avengers. Dirk's character in particular was amusing, particularly in the way he conducts his world. Not to mention his method of driving - to find a driver who appears to know where he/she is going and follow them. As I think about it, Dirk's style of detective work appears in a small way similar to Peter Falk's Columbo, but Columbo normally has a plan (even if it's not obvious) where as Dirk buys an electronic I Ching calculator. The humor was off the wall and the whole idea was entertaining.

Considerations: Surprisingly there was what the movie posters would say "brief strong language." Every time I came across it it was a bit of a shock as the vast majority of the book doesn't even hint at it. While the book is a mystery of sorts it is not in any sense in a traditional mystery. The resolution comes through events beyond Dirk's control, so some may claim Dues Ex Machina, or decry it as a plot driven story. But be fair with the Dues Ex Machina, there are Gods in the story. Also, the style may not be to everyone's liking.

All in all it was a curious read that was both entertaining and diverting. The total length was 6 and a half hours.

Book Review - Blackshore: Tales of the Dragon's Bard II by Tracy & Laura Hickman

This is another book introduced to me by my mother. She told me about the first of the Tales of the Dragon's Bard, Eventide, and I borrowed it, then bought it. It was a very worthwhile book. In Eventide Tracy & Laura create a book centered around a town, not just a cast of characters. You hear the stories of many of the towns occupants, their past troubles and their future hopes. You come to learn why it is considered lucky to dance with a dwarf during the spring festival and the secret of the gossip fairy. Not to mention the origins of the haunted manor house. While the action tends to revolve around a particular character's quest you come to learn about so many more people. And through it all Edvard, the Dragon's Bard (and his trusty assistant Abel), ensure the important narrative flourishes take place. For Edvard is no ordinary bard, but his task is to gather the stories of the people so that he can return to the cave of the dragon and regale him into not destroying these wonderful people. It is a hard task, but someone must do it. So it is with Blackshore, which I also borrowed from my mother. Edvard and Abel are headed for the chief den of pirates who are known for their cutthroat ways.

Plot: Percival Taylor has fled his home town of Eventide and with the help of a gypsy fortune teller has arrived at Blackshore to "see the world AND make it mine." However, he has done this right after the mother of Vestia Walters, the girl that everyone knows he is supposed to marry, has hired the Dragon's Bard to insure that the nuptials take place. Vestia does not take rejection well and arrives in Blackshore herself to express her discontent with Percival. At the same time Tuppence Magrathia-Paddock has been reading too many romance novels involving pirates carrying off the governor's daughter and is afraid that it will never happen to her as she is the governor's daughter. However when she visits the docks and is "defended" by Percival from pirates trying to keep him off their ship, she knows that destiny has finally seen fit to grace her with the coveted forbidden love. She runs home to pack and wait for her imminent abduction. So now we have our ill-fated love triangle, but what about the rest of the town? What agreement do the merefolk who guide the ships and the centaurs who unload the ships have? Where did Professor Knick-Knack get all of his wealth and what else is he looking for? And what is shipwright Adrian Wright waiting for and why are his eyes full of pain? And is Percival ever going be allowed on a boat?

Personal Favorites: The stories are all endearing and the characters intriguing. This book was a little more bonded than Eventide - that is to say that the stories fit into each other better. It was more of a liner story with flashbacks than the wide scope of Eventide. I like the way they both are and mention it just to note the variety. Some of the stories were a little sadder, or at least started out that way. The town of Blackshore and its residents have seen more hardship than those of Eventide. Edvard, the Dragon's Bard, was still a blast to follow and the interactions between Percival, Vestia and Tuppence were all very delightful. Percival's triumph was masterful and I almost cheered aloud for him. I did laugh aloud during it, but not in any way to disparage Percival. The ending was particularly touching as it tied the first two books together again. As I mentioned the book has some real emotional lows, but that does mean that you can end with emotional highs. Tracy & Laura do just that. Like the first, this book is uplifting in the best ways.

Considerations: Tracy & Laura are doing something old with the Dragon's Bard stories. They are releasing them in serial format to readers to subscribe to them. Upon the completion of a city, a hardbound copy of the book is sent to each subscriber. The price may seem a little more than the usual book, but the stories are well worth it. Now, both Eventide and Blackshore have been picked up by other publishers (Blackshore has been re-titled Swept up by the Sea and was redone as a young adult standalone novel) and you can find them both in the broader market. Bare in mind though that the book quality is not the same (Tracy's & Laura's is way better) and as I mentioned already Blackshore is not quite the same book at Swept up by the Sea. I'll have to see what some of the changes are, but having read other Tracy & Laura Hickman books, I'm sure that I'd still recommend it.

The book was just over 300 pages long. And I enjoyed it all the way through. I just wish it had lasted longer than three days. That's what a long bus commute will do for you. That is why I've been posting so many of these book reviews.

Book Review - Persuasion by Jane Austin

I have no guilt or shame in my reading of what is often times referred to as "chick lit." Jane Austin is one of my favorite storytellers and while I have been mostly exposed to her wit, charm, and suspense via video, Persuasion is the second book of hers that I've read, Pride and Prejudice being the first. I first heard references to the story in the movie The Lakehouse and was introduced to the story via a Masterpiece Theater Jane Austin marathon where they covered a different story a night for a week.  I found it compelling and later bought a film version of the film (different from the first one I saw). It wasn't until one of my coworkers mentioned that she was reading it that I decided to buckle down and read it as well. I actually finished it a couple of day ago, but haven't had a chance to write the review yet. So, without further adieu, here it is.

Plot: Anne Elliot is the daughter of Sir Walter, a widowed, very vain baronet who is quickly racking up debts and will lose the ancestral home unless he does allow it to be let out and consolidates his wealth in more frugal surroundings. With their finances in trouble Sir Walter moves to Bath with his oldest daughter Elizabeth. Anne is called to call on her other sister, Mary, who lives in the nearby country with her husband's family and her two sons. While this is not inherently suspenseful, Anne faces a most uncomfortable situation. Her father has lent the house and grounds to the sister (and her husband) of the man who Anne refused to marry eight years previous to the story beginning. A man who has since made his fortune, is still unmarried, and for whom Anne still has feelings for. Captain Fredrick Wentworth asked Anne to marry him before he went to sea and when Anne's friend Lady Russel persuaded her to refuse him all contact was lost between him and Anne. Now, he is in the market for a wife and Anne watches as the young single siblings of Mary's husband vie for the good Captain's attention. Tragedy strikes, jealousy rears its ugly head, and Anne is taken for a ride that taxes her head and her heart.

Personal Favorites: The characters are delightful. Whether it's Sir Walter's excessive vanity, Anne's sensibilities and patience, Wentworth's devotion, Mary's self-suffering or Benwick's dreariness, each of the characters have their own flavor. There are few surprised (but they are there) and the story progress well. Like other Austin stories, there are plenty of happy endings. The thing that this book conveys better then others is Anne's sense of lost love and the state of mind it puts her in. My wife and I broke off our courtship for a period of a couple of months before ultimately getting engaged, so Anne's desire to see Wentworth, but her dread of the pain at seeing him was something I had experienced so I could relate.

Considerations: The only way I can describe some of the characters in this book is ugly. Some may find it hard to deal with Mary's self-suffering, Sir Walter's vanity, and some of the other character's predominate traits. Also, the book does not move at a breakneck pace, but does make good consistent progress. The book and the movie did not perfectly align, but the differences were well done.

The copy I read was part of a complete works collection and totaled about 110 very full pages.

Family photos

With all of the other posts this week I almost forgot my usual weekly post. But as it is broiling hot and the whole family has retreated to the much cooler basement I was reminded of it and so sat down at the desktop to blog. Again, between finishing a couple of books and my grandmother's passing I was not sure on what to blog. The funeral was yesterday and passed well, but I do not see a need to detail its items as I had detailed my thoughts on the one who it was for. I will say that it was good to see my extended family again, although the circumstances were unfortunate. I feel blessed that I know my great uncles and aunts and most of my father's cousins by sight and have interactions with many of them. I am very grateful for my family.

Recently my cousin and his wife found a box of letters and photos in the basement of my grandparent's house. They scanned the contents of the box and uploaded it to Google Drive. Now we all have access to it and this morning I was showing it to my children. I thought that I would share some of those photos here.

These are a few of my progenitors Byron Harvey Jr. and Sen. (left) and William Moore (right). They are probably the earliest ones that we could have photographs of. William Moore was part of the early movements of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day saints who were driven from their homes in Nauvoo, Illinois back in the 1840s. My parents have been to see the plot of land he owned back in Nauvoo. His uncle, James, had 12 sons and is a big part of why my extended family is so large. Whenever someone asks if I'm related to so-and-so my answer is, "Yes, I just don't know how." In most cases it is through James, William Moore's uncle.

I found this picture of my grandparent's wedding and just had to chuckle. Grandmother looks like she's being ignored for a moment and is not too pleased. My Grandfather is talking with his brothers, Richard and Byron "Moony". I was speaking with Moony at the funeral yesterday and he mentioned that with exception of their father, my grandfather (his oldest brother) was the person he loved the most.

I had to share this one because it is of my grandparents and my father. I never saw them this way myself, but I love how they look here. The original of this picture was on a table at the funeral and my sisters were talking about how hansom our grandfather was. In most of our memories he had stomach difficulties and was very thin. There was little excess weight on him and probably less then there should have been. My grandmother was a very beautiful women as well. Al I can say for my father is that I've never seen him look this innocent before. It's still probably an act.

I hold my family very dear to me and am glad that I can share these photos with my children and now with you. Thank you.

Book Review - King Solomon's Mines by H. Rider Haggard

I've started taking the bus to work which gives me time to actually sit down and read and not just listen. I figured that I would review those books as well as my Audible.com books. I picked up King Solomon's Mines by H. Rider Haggard (later Sir Haggard) from the library. Considered a classic work of literature and the start of the adventure genre I first heard about it after watching League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Allan Quartermain was played by Sean Connery, but I must say that after reading the book, I don't picture Quartermain as an old, bearded James Bond. I did enjoy the book and the style it was written in.

Plot: Allan Quartermain is an English game hunter, trader, and general outdoors-man who makes his life out in the bush and between the cities. While traveling, he is approached by two Englishmen, Sir Henry Curtis and Captain Good (ret.), to help find Sir Henry's brother, lost while attempting to find the fabled diamond mines of King Solomon. Quartermain has not only heard of the mines but knew a man who tried to find them. He is hesitant to lead the men, fearing that as none have returned that his death will impact his son's ability to study medicine in England. Sir Henry provides means to placate Quartermain's fears and they set off. Over the course of their adventure they face angry elephants, deserts, frozen peaks and caves, savage native kings, cruel witches, treachery, forbidden love, and outright war. In the end the escape and are able to accomplish their respective goals to varying degrees. The ending was quite satisfactory and the read was enjoyable.

Personal Favorites: I enjoyed the action and the situations the characters found themselves in. While not the most surprising read, there were elements of suspense that kept me interested. The action was uncomplicated but enjoyable and the pacing wasn't bad. The book is framed as a memoir with Quartermain narrating it so he'll skip over bits that he thinks are boring, enabling the story to flow rather well. I liked the diverse characters from the warrior Sir Henry, to the properly attired Good, to stalwart and clever Quartermain. As I mentioned, Quartermain is very different then how he is portrayed in League of Extaordinary Gentlemen, but he is still an engaging and very human character. He has realistic fears, desires, considerations, and sensibilities. He is not perfect, but he is capable and likable. Call me a delinquent but one of my favorite scenes is when the three Englishman "cast a spell" before a tribe of natives (who don't speak English) and while Sir Henry and Quartermain quickly run out of nonsense words Good, being a seaman, is able to sustain his cursing and swearing for a long time "with very little repetition."

Considerations: It is an older book and so older sensibilities and opinions are expressed. Some may find their relationship, opinion, and treatment of the natives as undesirable, although they are considerate to all they meet and are not harsh to others. It is expressed that whites and blacks cannot intermarry and are quite separate from each other, but beyond this their relations seem equal in many respects. Our heroes are hunters and are not opposed to killing elephants for the ivory and other things. While the book was not particularly graphic, it did have violent parts. It is not a complex story so if you're looking for something really cerebral I wouldn't recommend it. I saw all of these considerations as minor inconveniences to the story and none of them were of grievous offense. I mention them simply because some may be sensitive to such things.

Overall I enjoy the book very much and am glad to have read it. It's overall length was a little under 300 pages.

Thoughts before a funeral

My family and I celebrated Father's day by visiting my grandmother. I'm glad we did as she died two days ago. She slipped quickly from life to death with little discomfort. When I talked to my father he said, "It's all over." Both of his parents died of old age and the process was a hard one for him. It was for all of us. In the end, neither one of them lingered very long at the gate for which we were all very glad.

Grandmother in particular always seemed one of those "spry old ladies." She rode horses, biked across Europe, and was an avid golfer when she was younger. She was a dedicated bird watcher and is the only person I know who had a birdbath that actually attracted birds. My father bought her a heater for it one year so it wouldn't freeze.

She was a vivacious reader and introduced our family to many different books, including Harry Potter. She also enjoyed puzzles and playing the piano. Grandfather bought her a baby grand piano many year ago and it always had music on the stand. I was always amazed at her ability to participate in these activities as she had glaucoma and had to put eye drops multiple times a day to combat it. As I got older she got a desk-mounted, lit magnifying glass for reading. I know she enjoyed a lot of books, but that there were others she didn't like. After reading Dracula by Bram Stoker for a college course I called her, proud to tell her that I had read a classic. She sounded less then trilled at the title. "But Grandma," I said, "It's a classic!" "Just because it's a classic doesn't mean it's any good." I've remembered that and it still makes me smile.

Some of my favorite memories of Grandmother were of playing games. She loved card games, but would play any game that I would bring her. This included trivia, strategy, or even nonsensical games. She would explain the rules and then play a whole game. I don't ever remember quitting in the middle of a game. Granted, I don't remember winning much (or really ever), but that never damped the experience.

Grandmother also loved readying syndicated comics: Calvin and Hobbs, Zits, For better or for worse, and Foxtrot. It was not uncommon for my siblings and I to be curled up in the various chairs with our own volume of laughter. We would often switch with each other when we finished.

As I got older, married, and built my family visits with Grandmother and Grandfather became more about sitting and talking then anything else. While both of my grandparents were educated, informed and highly articulate individuals, Grandmother did much of the talking as Grandfather's hearing wasn't as good. If you ever called the house and Grandfather answered, he would quickly get you in touch with Grandmother, who could hear better and who knew what was going on. Many afternoons were spent visiting with my grandparents and listening to their thoughts. Grandmother was never afraid to share her thoughts, regardless of what you may think of her opinion. This was never done in a crass or belligerent way, but rather in a tactful, matter-of-fact kind of way. She was quick to laugh and always had an easy smile.

She will be missed. We are pleased she went quietly and quickly for as my father said, "She had places to be and people to see." We know who one of those people is. We always suspected that she and my grandfather would not be parted for long. I rejoice in my family and am glad that I will see them again and be able to introduce my children and grandchildren to those who have done so much for me. I love my grandmother. Her name was Barbara Hall Allred.

My sister posted a tribute to Grandmother as well. You can find it here.