We Were on the Road to Ooty

I gchatted with my friend KJ from the Orlando Sentinel yesterday. She reminded me that it had been a year since we were together in India. I'm sure the reminder of the anniversary of VA Tech massacre brought this to mind. It hit her hard to be so far away when her relatives who had attended the college were suffering.

I had more fun with KJ. She was such an asset in the classroom (because nobody was answering calls at this point.) I know they must miss her Mac expertise to this day. Besides that, she knew that we were only going to be in India once in our lives and wanted to see as much as possible. We didn't just hang around Bangalore and eat at the Leelah, that's for sure.

A year ago today, we were on the road to Ooty. What an experience! Let me just remind you of the highlights, although anyone can go back to April 21, 2007 to catch the whole story.

What we did:

• Rode the switchbacks and pot-holed one lane road to the cool mountain top of Ooty and beyond. Oh, that road. There is nothing like it here, nothing, because even on our worst little road, you won't confront a bus barreling down the hill at you when you have no place to go.


• Wandering through the tea plantation and having a tour of the processing plant with some guy from another car. Hope he gave us the correct info.


• Riding the train with people snapping my picture every few minutes. More than that, the view from the train was amazing. And having Ramesh find me a seat so I wouldn't have to stand all the way up the mountain. Priceless.


• Seeing lots of animals on the road past Mysore on the way to Ooty.


• And remember our detour? OMG, I didn't think we would ever find our way out of that little village beside the road. And then Ramesh parted the trucks, like Moses and the sea.


• And we got a flat tire on the way back.
  

It was quite an adventure for sure. But then, the whole 11 weeks was. I do miss these guys.

Saints and Sinners

I know its hard to imagine that I do not have a soft heart. It's pretty sceptical usually. So I was pretty surprised when I was watching Saint Ralph and couldn't stop sobbing. It was kind of amazing to me. I just chuckle in movies that are funny and I might have a tear if it's sad. But I was sobbing as this young man was running. I'm so glad Adrian didn't come into the room. The thing is, I really liked this young man. He was goofy, but not too; totally devoted to his mother; horny as hell; willing to believe when it suited his needs. What's not to like?

I've been finishing books in the last week. Comrade J was about a Russian defector set in the last decade. Fairly interesting. Most interesting was how abused the UN plan of regulating Iraqi oil sales to keep Saddam in line. Right. Everyone made money but US. I guess that's because it was our money. Stupid.

I've mentioned The Adventure of English before. I enjoyed this one. It seemed to fit in with all the other books I've been reading. It ends with the US and Britain taking responsibility for English being the language of money and international politics. Some of it made me think about Ramesh and his desire to have his son speak English. India, at one time, was trying to wean itself off English as the language of commerce and government. Hindi became the official language, although not everyone in India speaks that language. The author says that the people of India have a great facility with language. He doesn't say this, but they have to speak a lot of languages. There are too many languages spoken in a even a small space for one language to be enough. I guess if you stay in one village and farm or raise sheep you don't need to know more than one. But all my friends there speak several.

I finally made it to the bookclub. The best part was that the wife of my old boss, Bill, was there. She's Jaine. She mentioned during the discussion that she is reading The History of French. I had just been listening to The Adventure of English on the way over. The information in both those books gave insight into Pillars of Earth. Strange.

It's Puzzling

I've started a new puzzle. Adrian says I'm usually fast at the beginning then slow down. This one is really hard. It seems that everything is the same color. It'll get done, but I have a feeling I won't be fast at the beginning this time.

Remember when I missed the book club because I went to the wrong place? That was a month ago! Amazing. I like book clubs, so I will be going to this month's on Wednesday. Unfortunately the book is The Pillars of Earth, an Oprah Book Club selection. It came out in 1989. I'm not sure when it came out in paperback. That must have been when I bought it and read it. Ken Follett wrote one of my favorite books about 30 years ago - Eye of the Needle. I just loved that book and the movie with James Fox. I don't remember what I thought about this book.

I figured I should read it before the book club, so I got an abridged Audible version. Less money, less time, more enjoyment. OK, here's the thing. Follett should write for soap operas. Lust, greed, rape, murder, and whatever the other major sins are. Anachronistic. Like soap operas, you want to know what happens next or in the end. Abridgement is very good for advancing the plot quickly. I really don't like this kind of book. It's not that I don't like historical fiction because, remember, I read and enjoyed the book about the medieval CSI woman. And, yes, the protagonist in that one had to worry about men attacking her all the time. I think that's just the way it was then, but somehow it didn't seem trite.

I can not wait until I hear what is said in the book club. And I can't wait to hear what book is picked next. It will be my second and last meeting. Maybe I can find something in Arlington. One book club I know I won't belong to is Oprah's.

And Sometimes Why

I haven't seen the parade marching in front of my house yet, but I'm sure it will be there soon. I finally finished Mencken. I bought this book a couple of years ago because it was a 2006 Times Book Award finalist. I decided to read it on my trip to visit some of the other Tribune Business Units, including the Baltimore Sun. (Mencken is closely associated with the Sun newspapers.) That was the week before Thanksgiving, only about 5 months ago. I figured the reason it was taking so long was because it was a, pardon me, bathroom book. So where is your library?

I think the real reason it took so long was because it dwelt too much on Mecken's personal life. I would have liked more in depth on his writing and editing. I looked to see what else the author has written. She is Marion Elizabeth Rodgers. Her only other books have been about Mencken's letters to his wife Sara, written 20 years earlier and a book called The Impossible H. L. Mencken written in 1991. I think this woman is obsessed, and not in a good way. The best things about all this is that I am now hooked on this man. I'm sure that I will be getting a book written by him. He had a wonderful way with words. Would I recommend this book? No. But I would recommend Mencken.

Nor would I recommend And Sometimes Why. It has that irritating Crash mentality. You read about a lot of different people whose lives intersect. She is a good writer in that it is easy to get involved with the people, so I wouldn't consider this a waste of time. But it is way too contrived. Even the title. You must know that the vowels are A,E, I, O, U and sometimes Y. The thought that the letter Y is also a word of such significance does not escape this writer. Reporters are always looking for the basics of Who, What, When, Where, Why and How. Some of those are really easy. But if you are a parent, you know that Why is the hardest thing to answer.

Something tragic happens in this book and the author never says, "But Why?" The search, however, is understood. It's understood from the title and then the vowels are repeated several times - and sometimes Y. And a woman is lying in a hospital bed unable to do anything except recite vowels. OMG, give me a break. And how the people all inter-relate! Argh. Too bad I liked some of the people. They should have found a better book to live in.