The Odyssey - 05/27/2007

I just finished reading "The Odyssey" by Homer. DOH! Not that Homer, people. The original Homer, who we think lived around 750-700 B.C. in Ionia, the Greek-Inhabited islands off the coast of western Turkey. No one knows for sure if Homer even existed. It is all word of mouth. The Odyssey in considered the second work of Western Literature (the first being Homer's "Illiad"), even though it was composed orally and recited to audiences. Who knows what's really Homer's work and what is the work of some bard adding to it. We'll never know.

The Odyssey is the return story of Odysseus, one of the heroes of "The Illiad." (Remember that whole Trojan Horse, Helen of Argos thing? Yea, that "Illiad."

I browsed the library section containing various copies of "The Odyssey." There are numerous translations, and if you choose the wrong one, you get bogged down in ancient rhetoric that will leave you confused & frustrated. I chose one of the Penguin Classics version, translated by E. V. Rieu and revised by his son, D. C. H. Rieu. I looked through it, standing at the library, and it seemed straight-forward enough. Just to be safe, I also picked up a comic book version made for the pre-teen set. Hee hee. I read the comic book first so I would have some idea of what the heck was going on. It helped a lot.

So we have Odysseus, who apparently angered the gods (mainly Poseidon, by poking out the eye of his son the Cyclops) and thus spent 10 years trying to get home after the war. Ten years since the war ended! He's stuck at sea & in various ports for 3 years (although one whole year was spent partying it up with Circe. A whole year? ) and then held captive by Calypso for another 7? Talk about bad luck. Although, he did sleep with Calypso during those 7 years. What's a guy to do? Lord forbid Penelope did the same thing.

In the meantime, his poor wife Penelope is sitting at home pining for his return for 20 years (10 years spent at war). Her infant son is now a 20 year old man, Telemachus. They are being eaten out of house & home by Suitors; men who live in town who want to marry Penelope. These men come to their estate at dawn and eat and party all day long. I don't understand the rules of etiquette back then, but apparently, you weren't allowed to kick people out? No clue, but Penelope and Telemachus have to put up with years of their flocks and wine and riches being consumed by the 50-odd suiters and their menservants, etc. etc.

There's a lot of eating and description of wine being made and calves being slaughtered and the thighs being sacrificed to Zeus ad nauseum;by the Suitors, by Odysseus in his 10 years. They liked to get their drink and eat on, and really did not do much of anything else. I found my eyes glazing over at the 20th description of what they were eating.

The men also cried. A lot. Over & over with the tears & the hair pulling grief. Man UP! These men? Also liking the olive oil. It was considered a luxury to have olive oil. If you owned an olive tree, you were prosperous. They took baths (actually, they were bathed by maids) a lot in the book and then were constantly being rubbed down with olive oil. Yuck. The thought of the smell alone makes me queasy.

Apparently, Zeus is the god of travelers, because every time Odysseus got to a port, he was treated kindly and left with TONS of gifts. It was considered an insult to Zeus if you did not load the traveler up with food, gold, tunics, gold cups, swords, etc. I think I'd just spend half the year visiting people, and the other half enjoying these gifts.

He eventually makes it home, but we have to hear about all the things that happened to him in those 10 years first; including his visit to Hades and the people he sees there. It was actually interesting to read about people and the punishments they had to deal with. Things I knew about but had no clue where I heard them from were there, such as Sisyphus forever pushing the boulder up the cliff, or the man who was up to his neck in water, but every time he went for a drink, the water disappeared, so he was forever thirsty.

We see Odesseus kick some Suitor-butt (lots of arrows through necks and decapitations) with the help of the goddess Athene, who was the one who conviced Zeus to let Odysseus finally see home.

I am checking off book # 4 of my 'classics' list and going on to read some books not on the list to give myself a break.

Trash - 05/26/2007

Ok. Seriously. This happened. I will explain more and post some pictures when I am not so tired, but I HAD to tell you this story.

David, the kids and I went to the Central Florida Spring Gathering today at Hontoon Island; a letterboxing event. We had a great time. In fact, people are still having a good time, as some are camping there in cabins or tents over the weekend.

We did a hike, just the 4 of us. It's about 3 miles, round-trip. On our way to the "end" of the trail (one-way), I notice a very thin lady in a bikini, squatting down in front of a toddler girl. I think "She's helping her daughter with something"....only I realize the lady's bikini bottoms are around her ankles.

I stop in my tracks, and turn my 13 year old son and myself around; we stand there just waiting. David and our daughter were further behind us, as a 3 year old has teeny little legs and takes longer to catch up.

I turn around to see the lady and the girl leave to our right. As we start to walk towards where she was, a British couple that had passed us earlier and were making their way back, start saying to us "Mind your step. Walk to your far right" while the husband is asking "Did you see that?" We all stop together to talk. It seems they came upon her from the other side....and she was not just peeing.

There was a clearing there, right next to the river. Her husband/boyfriend pulled his boat to the clearing, she hopped off the boat with her toddler, left her "gift", went back on the boat and took off.

The British couple were disgusted, as were we, at what this lady had just done. She did not even cover it or bury it, or even hide in the bushes. STRAIGHT on the trail.

We covered our noses and looked away as we walked by. The thought of it made David and my son want to puke. I did not EVEN point out to the two of them that a "used" paper towel was also dropped on the way to the river.

For Real.

Y MAS Libros! 05/24/2007

Today, after running errands with Jake (David is back home and he stayed with a napping Isabel) to the bank, the post office (3 rescued PLB's are on their way), Jake's school (yesterday was his last day of 7th grade. He left his mp3 player in a class. It was there. Phew!) and Lowe's, we stopped by the mailbox to get our mail. There was a large 5 lb box from Powells.com. I had no idea what this was, but it said "Powells Books" on the box as well. Books? Huh? The only book I am waiting on right now is the last Harry Potter book, but I have that on order with Amazon.

Jake & I bring it in and I open it. In it were nine different books. The receipt said it was ordered by Aunt Joan. David's Aunt Joan and I have been having e-mail conversations on books we like, ever since she read my "Grapes of Wrath" review. She mentioned so many of the books that touched her like "Grapes" touched me. She secretly ordered these books for me to read.

"The Chosen" by Chaim Potok

"The Color of Water": A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother" by James McBride

"Crime & Punishment" by Fyodor Dostoevsky

"Crossing to Safety" by Wallace Stegner

"Cry the Beloved Country" by Alan Paton (she loved this before it became an Oprah book club book)

"The Diary of a Young Girl" by Anne Frank. *sniff* Jake was reading it in 6th grade and I cried as I read a passage to him.

"Good Earth" by Pearl Buck. Apparently Ms. Buck had some "issues" later in her career. I am interested to read not only this book, but about its author.

"A Green Journey" by Jon Hassler. Joan told me to read this first.

"Rascal" by Sterling North.

I am so excited that Joan did this; that she wanted to share the books that touched her, with me. I am honored and excited!

Thanks Aunt Joan!

Libros! 05/24/2007

Last week, during my lunch break, I went to the library. I never made it upstairs to the library. I got stuck perusing the book sale that the "Friends of the Library" book store had going on downstairs in the book store.

A hardbound copy of a book in a series David had in paperback was there. I like hardbound books, so I grabbed it. I can always "Paperback Swap" the paperback copy at home. Next, I found a PJ Tracy book. Remember the "Monkeewrench" book I reviewed? It's a series. I got a hard copy of book # 3; "Snow Blind." Wendy has # 2, so I am going to get it from her when she is done. I enjoyed the writing in "Monkeewrench." Next up, I found a hard copy of a Buffy The Vampire Slayer book. HEY, I deserve some fluffy Buffiness! Lastly, I got a cardboard kids book. I think it is called "The Potty Book."

I go to check out. Drumroll, please. $2.14. Yup, three excellent condition hardcover books and one kids book, for $2.00 plus 14 cent tax. Whooooot!

Grime & Punishment - 05/20/2007

In the mail yesterday was a postal letterbox, including a small novel: "Grime and Punishment: a Jane Jeffry Mystery" by Jill Churchill. I've never heard of this author before. It was a quick, fun read. I think I finished it in 3 hours. One hour yesterday and two today (after coming home from a graduation party for a boy I met when he was 3. I feel so old today). This is the first of 16 novels so far with Jane Jeffry, a widowed suburban mother of 3 who somehow keeps getting involved in murder/mysteries. To be honest, I'd be nervous of my life if I were her. I may read some more. The author, Jill Churchill, likes to name her books based on other book titles, but with a twist. "A Farewell to Yarns," "A Quiche Before Dying," "Was & Peas," and "Mulch Ado About Nothing," to name a few.

If you're looking for a light read, check it out. Not earth-shattering goodness, but still fun enough.

Walden - 05/12/2007

I FINALLY FINISHED WALDEN by Henry David Thoreau!!!! It took two & a half months. (I read like 6 books while reading this one). Did you know that you are supposed to pronounce his name like 'thorough?' Not Thu-ROW, but thorough.

Fortunately, I read The Annotated Walden, annotated by Phillip Van Doren Stern. Thank goodness I chose it. Without Mr. Van Doren Stern's introduction, side bars, pictures and comments, I think I would have been 'thoroughly' lost.

I have to agree with a few of the reviewers on Amazon who stated how pompous Thoreau sounds; he does. He tries to act superior,only to have the side bar notations state something different; something that a friend mentioned. For example, he says he "could easily do without the post-office," yet a contemporary, Sanborne, is quoted off to the side of the annotated version as having said about this quote: "Few residents of Concord frequented the Post Office more punctually or read the newspapers more eagerly than Thoreau."

He contradicts himself constantly. He mocks people who don't read, and then says he barely read a few pages of one book in the two years he was at Walden pond. He could be vindictive; lashing out at Flint's Pond (and Mr. Flint) because Flint would not let him build a cabin on his pond. He comes off as a snob, saying most men learn to read only as a necessity; for work, to add up their profits. But *true* readers are hard to come by. "I aspire to be acquainted with wiser men than this Concord soil has produced.."

Yet, he also has some really great words of wisdom. He questions the wisdom in working so hard during the best part of your life (youth) only to spend the fruits of your labor "during the least valuable part of it." Enjoy life while you are young. Why work so hard when the endgame is death? He comments on things that are still true to this day; fashion and our obsession with appearance. Work to provide for yourself, not to overburden yourself and keep yourself in debt trying to keep up with everyone else.

There are some quotes in there that are still used today. Know that whole "Marching to a different drummer" quote? It's Thoreau's. It just got a little convoluted through time. "If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer." "The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation" - that's his too.

Someone reviewing this book on Amazon wrote that it was a failed experiment; that he meant to live in the woods as a hermit of sorts and failed miserably to do so. That was never the extent of his experiment. He never says he's going to lead a solitary life. He states he visited the village every day or two. "As I walked in the woods to see birds and squirrels, so I walked in the village to see men and boys."

I find myself having mixed feelings regarding this book. He is so contradictory, but then, so am I. He can be judgemental and then he can be spot-on. It was a difficult book to get through, Again, had I not had the annotated version, I would have been truly lost. He frustrated me at times. I was not reading literature. I was reading someone's diary that often went off-tangent (like this review). Is it Top 100 book worthy? My opinion: no. It was good at times, painful at others. I took 2 & 1/2 months to trudge through it, all the while reading 6 other books just to keep me going. I am glad I read it. I won't do it again though. Sorry, Mr. Thoreau