Note to editors:
Purchasing plants has become very expensive, but you can still enjoy growing seeds. Planting mix and plastic pots can be purchased locally. A great hobby for old ladies and kids alike. I was born during the Coolidge administration but didn’t read my first book until 1935. It was “A Child’s Garden of Poems” written in 1880 by Robert Louis Stevenson. Meanwhile, at the age of four, I was introduced to a man who had met Abraham Lincoln of Springfield) and was taken on a tour of Hooverville. In 1936 I started reading adventure books for boys. The ship, which had been wandering for 20 years, was dubbed the “Jinx Ship” by Howard Pease. It involves a rusting coal-fired tramp ship in the South Pacific coal trade. I said, this is me, and I actually did get a berth on a tramp ship in the copra trade in 1947, working in Cebu, Philippines. It is probably the largest copra port in the world, with docks on one side of the street filled with boats carrying coconut products, and young girls serving as “hostesses” and San Miguel beer on the other. In my 20 years of seeking adventure, I’ve explored many of the world’s great cities on foot, armed with guidebooks and maps. What are my favorite countries? Mexico and the UK. I was lucky enough to discover Charles Dickens early on.
The first Dickensian work I read was The Pickwick Papers, about Mr. Ginger and Mr. Snodgrass. I became obsessed with Dickens and began reading every copy of Dickens in print. I can see how he became the most popular author in the world. Once upon a time, if you named a Dickens character, I could tell you what book he came from. I love American Notes, about his trip to the United States in 1840. He didn’t like the behavior of Americans, especially spitting on the sidewalks. He was taken on a tour of plantations and slavery in Virginia. A few minutes is enough. He traveled west by stagecoach and riverboat to his favorite American city, Cincinnati. About the same time, Francis Trollope came to Cincinnati from England to observe American habits. In 1852, she published a famous book about American lifestyle and daily interactions. Like Dickens, she thought Americans were rude. The girl she hired to help with the housework quit her job as soon as she had enough money to buy new clothes. Writers Today I tend to read salty female authors, and number one is Anne Proulx, who writes Wyoming Stories. She is best known for “Brokeback Mountain” and won a Pulitzer Prize for “The Shipping News,” an account of “sexual assault” that a Newfoundland weekly reserved a page for every week.
Now the Internet has advantages. It will answer your questions on any topic. If you want to read news not available on peedee or npr, click on NBC News. You don’t have to waste time waiting for NPR…all their shows are listed by segment. Just choose the ones that interest you and don’t waste time on other things. When you are ready, the process begins. If you’re left-handed, Hartman plays weekdays at 9 a.m. If you like classical music, there are 100 or more classical music stations to choose from. San Antonio radio station says “What’s going to happen to you today.” If a piece of music has been recorded, it’s likely to be on YouTube. Thousands to choose from. There is no sports unless you spend money. If you want to exercise, watch TV or go to your local gold mill. When it comes to books, the internet, and plants, books win 5-1.
–Ralph Bostrom, Willits