Dog Blog Time!

Finally, You Know Who (YKW) has stepped away from the keyboard. Now's my chance. I gotta tell ya, there is a lot of hoopla about a book called Unlikely Friendships. People are gushing and saying things like "ahdoooorahhhhhble" and "so sweeeet." I'm telling you, if YKW talked to me in that ushy gushy voice, I'd pack my bags and hit the road. In my bag would be my plush red pepper tossing toy, a tomato, my blue blanket, and a copy of this book. Gotta have something to read on the road...never leave home without a book, that's what I always say.

I guess the whole fuss started a couple years back with Owen and Mzee, the baby hippo and the old tortoise who fell in love in an African wildlife sanctuary. At first, Owen didn't like that Mzee was coming on to him; after all the age difference was huge; Mzee was 105. I don't have enough toes to figure out how much that is in dog years, but I am pretty sure that YKW comes close to that same number (sure hope she doesn't read this.) Well, the two of them fell in love, and wrote a couple books.

After that it was the dog and the elephant love story, and now this book appears with lots of stories about how different animals from different countries, of different sizes, different colors, and different families get along. Doesn't surprise me one lick. Hmmmm. Looks like my peeps in the animal kingdom have the right idea.

Hey, my guy, Chet, from the Chet and Bernie books, has his own blog. You can write to Chet and send him pictures at www.chetthedog.com. Chet is just like me. A real friendly dog who is a pretty good writer. Some guy named Spencer Quinn says he helps Chet out, but Chet and me, we know better.

YKW has been harrumphing around about a book called The Help. Says the cover claims it could be as good as To Kill a Mockingbird. Now, I've never seen a mockingbird, but I will say that if they are as annoying as the little brown birdies that won't let me nap...well, I'm all for that book. But, YKW says there's no messing with her favorite book, and even though The Help was good, people better back away from the comparison to that bird killing book or she just might bite you in the ankle. Hang in there, I'm pretty sure she'll be spouting off about it soon.

See ya. If you stop by my house and I bark like crazy, don't take it personally. That's my job!

Your furry friend, and blogger buddy, GB the Dog (aka Mrs. George Burns)

Adam & Eve by guest blogger Steven Head

People...it's 90 degrees outside...and gooey. Who drinks coffee on a day like today? That's what I said to myself when I walked in this morning, and so I didn't brew any java. Three guesses what my first five customers wanted. Right! Oh well, lesson learned. Sometimes it doesn't pay to think...doing is better.

I know I haven't been too regular of late...concerning the blog that is. No excuse other than I have a huge case of the lazies. It happens. It will end someday. But, believe me, this is the life. Every so often I reflect back on my teaching days, and jump for joy (you ought to see that!) when the alarm doesn't ring at 5:40, and when I am not staring at 60+ essays to grade, or pithy little poems to critique. Teaching was a great gig, but moving on was wise for me. And now, making life even better than ever....I have a personal reader. Yup. Good ole Steve has read a book that has been on my to-be-read pile for almost a year...and he went ahead and read it for me. Gotta luv that guy for being so thoughtful. I read Abundance by Sena Naslund years ago - the fictionalized account of Marie Antoinette. The title refers to her indulgent life, but also to the abundance of ambition, turmoil, and general unrealistic expectations placed on a couple far too young to run a county.

So...here's Steve's expert commentary.

(Hey Steve, it's a Twilight Zone moment that you lead with a reference to Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. I watched that movie for the first time last weekend.)

A few weekends ago I caught a mid-1990's interview with James Berendt on Book TV, talking about his Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. Berendt talked about the Clint Eastwood movie based on the book, but a good deal of the writing had been dropped given time constraints. The library had an audio version and it was only a few days before I checked it out. So when a book entitled Adam & Eve came along it seemed appropriate to read it while listening to Good & Evil.

Sena Jeter Naslund, author of Adam & Eve, has a number of books out including Ahab's Wife, Sherlock in Love, and Ice Skating at the North Pole. But I had never read any of her work so all was a surprise to me. A&E starts with the our central character, Lucy, in Amsterdam on her way to meet Thom Bergmann, her husband. As she approaches the meeting place she watches as a grand piano, being hoisted up the outside of building, breaks loose and crashes onto her mate. That is what I call a dramatic opening.

Through a series of coincidences Lucy finds herself transporting a religious artifact in an aging private airplane she pilots from Cairo to Paris. The plane develops mechanical problems and she crashes on a beach, although on the way down she notices a solitary human figure. This is where the Adam & Eve part comes together. We learn the man is named Liam with a history of mental issues. Believing he has been transformed to Adam, living in the Garden of Eden, he longs for an Eve. Cue the entrance of Lucy to assume this role.

All goes well in Eden until it does not. I will not share the details since that would be giving away too much. Let's just say Lucy gets the artifact to Paris, which leads to another mini-adventure, and all ends happily ever after, more or less.

Since the book is set in future, 2017 to 2020, it might be considered science fiction. Parts of it suggest mystery. There is a good deal of discussion of religious topics. And in some ways it is a love story. So categorizing this book is a problem.

Adam & Eve is entertaining and thought provoking, although for me the ending is not completely satisfying. If you are a fan of Ms. Naslund, this book may be for you. Even if you are not, you still might want to give it a try.

Celebrate America!