If you recall, I bought an antique glass-front bookcase at auction a couple of weeks ago. The boy brought it home for me and it fit perfectly in the den/tv room where the desk used to be that daughter #1 now has in her house. However, the shelves were stacked at the bottom of the case and it appeared to us that there were none of those clips you put in the holes to support the shelves.
Curses. We measured the holes and I sent away for a set. They were too big, so I sent away for the next smaller size. They were too small. Unbeknownst to me, the OM also sent away for them, so we had four sets that didn’t fit. Then he sent away for three more, which didn’t fit, so we had seven (!) sets and nothing fit.
Seriously. 🤡
Finally we took the shelves out to see if we could hammer the bigger clips in and, lo and behold, underneath them there was a little plastic bag with metal thingamabobs that fit. Huzzah!
There is a lesson here, but I am too irritated to think about it.
And too grateful that I finally have my bookcase, filled now with books.
P.S. Let me know if you need any of those shelf supports–I have seven sets–all sizes!
How was your weekend? Hope you managed to keep cool. We had more storms and this time the electricity at our house went out for an hour and a half! I was just packing a bag to go to daughter #1’s house, when it came back on. Such drama–these days we are lost without our precious electricity.
Poor daughter #2 and famille had their air conditioning go out on Saturday and had to wait all day to get it fixed. I am sympathetic, but back in my day, we didn’t have central air conditioning at all and we had to wait all summer for relief. We are very spoiled now, that’s for sure. We would go to the movies to sit for a few hours in the AC. Grocery shopping was also a diversion!
Anyway, c’est la vie. Saturday morning I went to a flower arranging workshop at church led by the floral director at Schnucks Markets. I learned a lot!
I like the fact that the flowers at our church are always done by volunteers. There is no “the flowers are given (i.e. paid for) to the glory of God and in thanksgiving for/in memory of by so-and-so” announcement in the bulletin. It is just an anonymous gift. But we in the flower guild do our best (for the glory of God) and every week the arrangements are very different.
After church on Sunday there was a reception for a lady who is retiring after working there for 24 years–one of those unsung women who make everything run smoothly in the office and, if they are lucky, are appreciated for being “hard-working” and “organized”. Lois was also lauded for her sincere faith. Well, “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men” (Colossians 3:23).
I watched a really good movie–Intruder in the Dust (1949) based on William Faulkner’s novel, which is basically a mystery story set in the deep South. It is the story of Lucas Beauchamp, an independent, land-owning black man, who is unjustly accused of the murder of a white man, Vinson Gowrie. Through the help of two teenage boys, the town lawyer and an elderly white lady, who figure out who the real murderer is, he is able to prove his innocence.
I had not seen this movie in many years. It held up. Shot entirely on location in Oxford, Mississippi, it has an air of authenticity that the backlot never would have achieved. The actors are all solid. The screenplay by Ben Maddow sticks to Faulkner’s book. The Director Clarence Brown, who grew up in Knoxville, Tennessee and apparently knew something about the South, was not even nominated for an Oscar for this movie, but he won the British Academy Film Award for it. (Brown holds the record for the most Academy Award for direction nominations–6–without a win.)
Not surprisingly, the film failed at the box office, not even earning back its negative costs according to studio records. There is, after all, no romance in this movie; there are no pretty girls. There is no real action to speak of–only the threat of action (a lynching). There are tense moments, to be sure, for our heroes as they ride around at night and dig up a dead body and, when they get the sheriff on board with their plan, dig the body up again. But American audiences were not interested.
It is said, however, that William Faulkner himself was pleased with the film and Ralph Ellison wrote that of the whole cycle of race-based movies released in 1949, Intruder in the Dust was “the only film that could be shown in Harlem without arousing unintended laughter, for it is the only one of the four in which Negroes can make complete identification with their screen image.”
Check it out. It’s worth a viewing. Then read the book!
“Some things you must always be unable to bear. Some things you must never stop refusing to bear. Injustice and outrage and dishonor and shame. No matter how young you are or how old you have got. Not for kudos and not for cash: your picture in the paper nor money in the bank either. Just refuse to bear them.”
Today we remember Frederick Buechner (1926-2022), Presbyterian minister, writer and theologian. He died last year and I miss him. Presbyterians do not have feast days, but if they did, today would be his, as it is his birthday.
He made a big splash in literary circles when his first novel, A Long Day’s Dying, was published in 1950. But then he entered seminary and the shine wore off. He was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and for the National Book Award for Fiction, but he never won any big awards.
He said:
I wanted to learn about Christ – about the Old Testament, which had been his Bible, and the New Testament, which was the Bible about him; about the history of the church, which had been founded on the faith that through him God had not only revealed his innermost nature and his purpose for the world, but had released into the world a fierce power to draw people into that nature and adapt them to that purpose… No intellectual pursuit had ever aroused in me such intense curiosity, and much more than my intellect was involved, much more than my curiosity aroused. In the unfamiliar setting of a Presbyterian church, of all places, I had been moved to astonished tears which came from so deep inside me that to this day I have never fathomed them, I wanted to learn more about the source of those tears and the object of that astonishment. (Now and Then)
To this day, I am still crying those same tears (and in a Presbyterian church!) that he described.
Recently I was reading about Esther Forbes (June 28, 1891 – August 12, 1967), the American novelist and historian. She wrote a number of historical novels, but she is mostly remembered for writing the Newbery Medal winner Johnny Tremain, published in 1943. She also won the Pulitzer Prize for history in 1942 for Paul Revere and the World He Lived In.
My grandmother, Mira Sargent, was about the same age as Esther and they grew up in the same social circle in Worcester, Massachusetts. Both were descendants of old Colonial families with roots in the seventeenth century. Esther attended Bancroft and Mira went to Miss Hall’s School in Pittsfield. Their paths continued to cross throughout their lives–in New York City, Boston and back in Worcester. My father always said they were friends but who knows.
Anyway, I decided to read Paul Revere and the World He Lived In, although my expectations were low, having read other books by mid-century female authors of this ilk. How wrong I was! From the first paragraph I was engaged:
There had been week upon week of the cold grey fury of the North Atlantic, for it was mid-winter when the little refugee, Apollos Rivoire, made his crossing. At such a season only the hardiest of passengers ventured much above deck. Bunks were dank, bread wormy, beef tainted, and many of these small sailing ships never made port, but at least the Atlantic was crossed in great company. God brooded upon the face of these waters. His hand parted the mountainous waves. He upheld the ship. Even if one drowned, it was the Providence of God. Apollos did not drown. He entered Massachusetts Bay late in 1715 or early 1716.
Apollos Rivoire was the father of Paul Revere. He came to Massachusetts as a 13-year old Huguenot refugee, fleeing persecution in France. His family owned great vineyards, but they saw no future for him in France, so he was sent to America as an indentured servant who was apprenticed to learn the silversmith trade. I did not know that! As usual, there is a lot I do not know, but this book is filling in the blanks in a delightfully readable manner.
So read an old book; learn something new!
The painting at the top is by Albert Anker (1831-1910)
Summer is here and it’s tiger lily season–they are blooming all over town.
I am looking forward to all the blooms to come.
In other news, as you know, I have been reading books written in the 1930s and 40s by D.E. Stevenson and enjoying them enormously.
I just finished “Miss Buncle’s Book” and loved it. Stevenson has a real talent for characterization and for subtly drawing a picture of a town and its inhabitants. In this novel the main character has written a book (using a pseudonym) about a fictional town that is strikingly similar to the one in which she really lives. It is so similar that some of the inhabitants are outraged and want to find out who the author is, so they can take him to court for libel. Of course, they never imagine that the quiet, mousey woman who is the actual author could have written the book.
If you have ever wondered when the actual date of your conversion was (as I have), Charles Spurgeon has a comforting illustration.
And this is J.I. Packer on the six things you should tell yourself everyday.
As I mentioned earlier I have been reading books written by D.E. Stevenson and enjoying them immensely. The three I read take place after WWII in rural Scotland. Life is hard what with rationing and no one having much money, but people get along. There is a sophistication in these books which is lacking in contemporary fiction that I appreciate. The characters are educated and actually know things. They have read their Bibles as well. The lower class folk are not put down for their ignorance, but appreciated for what they do know. Everyone has a work ethic.
Anyway, I decided that I should not just go on ordering new books from Amazon, although I wanted to keep reading, so I went to our public library and got a library card! I had torn mine up 25 years ago in disgust over some triviality, but I swallowed my pride and went back. They, of course, have to order the Stevenson books through inter-library loan, so I still don’t have one. 🙄 But I did peruse the fiction section and took out Elizabeth Strout’s Oh, William!, which daughter #2 wrote about a few weeks ago. It won the Pulitzer Prize (!) and I liked some of her early books, so I thought I would give it a whirl.
I read it in two days–there is not much to it beyond a lot of navel-gazing. Oh, poor me, poor him, poor her. I am sympathetic to a point, but then I think, get over it. But they cannot because they are all self-obsessed. They believe in nothing and thus they understand nothing. God (only acknowledged in “Oh God!” hand-wringing moments) is a myth. In fact (spoiler alert) “we are all mythologies. We are all mysteries, is what I mean,” as Lucy, our protagonist, announces at the end of the book. And by the way, I hate that vernacular Lucy uses throughout–“…is what I mean.” But the author is patronizing in that way. It is her way of putting down the character for growing up in the midwest. Yeah, yeah, she cannot escape her past, we get it.
It is all very well to write a book and then announce that nothing is understandable and we are all mysteries, but that seems very facile and empty. But these people are empty vessels. So it’s back to D.E. Stevenson for me.
Interestingly, I watched a movie over the weekend that poses many of the same questions: Why do bad things happen to some people? Why do things work out for some people? I had not seen Tender Mercies (1983) since it first came out forty years ago. Robert Duvall won the Oscar for best actor for playing the washed up country singer and Horton Foote won the Oscar for best original screenplay.
Not much seems to happen in this movie, but really quite a lot happens. Mac (the alcoholic country singer) is near death at the beginning of the movie. His redemption and self-improvement run parallel with his conversion to Christianity and although many of the hard questions mentioned above are not overtly answered, the movie is not unsatisfying. Christians know that bad things will happen and that suffering is inevitable. But we can respond in faith to the tender mercies we have received. God is real, although He is mysterious. We can only understand ourselves in relation to Him. This is a good movie and I recommend it. (Available on Prime.)
Well, it is good to be reading actual books. So put down your phone, read a book, watch a good movie, praise God from whom all blessings flow, and enjoy your Tuesday.
Still working on getting my house back in ship shape after having daughter #1 and Mr. Smith staying with us for four months. But you know how it is–I’m sure I will be finding their stuff for weeks to come.
Well, that’s okay.
Here’s what happens when you’re about to sink the ball two under par but an angry swarm of bees has different plans for you.
Here’s a list of books everyone should read. I already have most of these, but you can bet I am ordering Precious Remedies Against Satan’sDevises by Thomas Brooks.
“For a close, remember this, that your life is short, your duties many, your assistance great, and your reward sure; therefore faint not, hold on and hold up, in ways of well-doing, and heaven shall make amends for all.”
Well, Don’s Iris are blooming! Mine are still buds, but I can tell it’s going to be a good year for the Iris. The peonies are budding as well. Truly, this a glorious season in the flyover garden to be relished and enjoyed.
Let us not forget that today is the birthday of Ulysses S. Grant. It might be a good time to take down his Personal Memoirs from off the shelf and read: “My family is American, and has been for generations, in all its branches, direct and collateral.”
Thanks be to God.
So check out the Iris in your yard, open up your Grant Memoirs, and praise God from whom all blessings flow.
*John Knox, inscribed on the Reformation Wall in Geneva, Switzerland
Today we celebrate the birthday of Louis L’Amour (1908-88) who was an extremely prolific and successful writer of “frontier stories.” Born Louis Dearborn LaMoore in Jamestown, North Dakota, he left school at 15 and never went to college. A voracious reader, however, he credited the 19th century British author G.A. Henty with teaching him most of what he knew and for giving him the foundation on which to build his subsequent lifelong education.
I was surprised that only around 15 movies were ever made based on his novels, and most of them are not worth viewing. Hondo (1953), of course, stands out as the exception. It is well worth watching, if for no other reason than to see John Wayne throw a variety of objects around, including a small boy into the river. “That’s the way I learned.”
It is also the birthday of James Brown (1920-92) whose handsome face you will remember from such films as Air Force (1943), Objective, Burma! (1945), Sands of Iwo Jima (1949), and the television series The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin (1954-59). And, oh my goodness, he appeared in Murder She Wrote in 1988!
And fun fact: Lee Aaker, who played the boy in Hondo, also played the boy in Rin Tin Tin.
Well, I think I will read one of G.A. Henty’s books for boys. He is still very much in print, although I have no doubt he is considered a racist, sexist imperialist by many.
“Among the Huguenots he learned to be gentle and courteous; to bear himself among his elders respectfully, but without fear or shyness; to consider that, while all things were of minor consequence in comparison to the right to worship God in freedom and purity, yet that a man should be fearless of death, ready to defend his rights, but with moderation and without pushing them to the injury of others; that he should be grave and decorous of speech, and yet of a gay and cheerful spirit.”
G.A. Henty, Saint Bartholomew’s Eve: A Tale of the Huguenot Wars
Anyway, this is how my mind works…such as it is still working.
Here are two books that I am reading in these weeks leading up to Easter. I find it helpful to have some structure in my reading and these two books fit the bill. The Powlinson devotional was put together by his wife after his death in 2019, using his journals and other writings. What a blessing to have this book from this dear fellow who was also the most renowned and respected biblical counselor of our time.
As you know, I am also reading the book of Daniel in my Bible Study group. I am enjoying it a lot. There are so many comparisons one can make with our present cultural situation. The writing is on the wall: “Mene, Mene, Tekel, and Parsin.” (5:25) You have been weighed in the balance and found wanting.
Here are some links that might interest you, including this good one from Tim Challies: “But I wonder: Do we really mean it? Are we really “ever, only, all for thee?” Do we really surrender all? Or do we surrender merely some or most? Do we offer him the best of what we have or those bits we know we can do okay without?”
