From 1939...

The inside cover of my first reading primer. I would have asked permission, but I doubt any of them are still around....lol

When I was in elementary school, I always wondered if I would end up with a guy named Jim. It must have been a foregone conclusion. And you know what? Judy is still going faster!

I've always loved the illustrations in this book. There is no mention of who the artist was.

"Cane River"

by Lalita Tademy was the book we read for last night's book club meeting. It is a story covering five generations of slaves in a Louisiana family, starting in the 1800's. 

From an interview with the author:

"Writing Cane River  affected me actually more than I suspected it would. The day that I got the Bill of Sale that displayed, visibly, that my (fourth) great grandmother Elisabeth was sold in 1850 for $800 was really an amazing experience in many ways. I was first and foremost elated. It proved that she existed categorically...and very quickly, I went from elation to absolute dejection......This is not a book about slavery. This is a story about mothers and daughters. This is a story about relationships. You don't have to be a southerner. You don't have to be African-American. You don't have to be a woman to enjoy it."

We all agreed that we liked the book, though it was hard to get into the story at first, it was worth the effort and time.

We had some wonderful food at the meeting. A delicious orzo/shrimp salad, wonderful meat balls, great marinated shrimp, yummy deviled eggs, black truffle brie, pimento cheese and peppered Boursin with various crackers. I made a new appetizer, which consisted of minced cucumber and green onion, mixed with cream cheese and served on a round of whole wheat bread with a slice of cucumber and a slivered almond. It needed something else. I added mint to the cream cheese/cucumber mixture, but not enough apparently. I think more mint and some good black pepper would do it. We ended the meal with some delicious pumpkin bars that had a chocolate base (it could have been Oreo cookies. They were really good! I took a plate up to mr. kenju, who was hiding in the bedroom. I think he forgave me for sticking him upstairs for the night....lol.

Odds & Ends

When I posted about my Limoges china earlier this week, I should have admitted that I hardly ever use it. The 24K gold bands decree hand-washing and  hand-washing does not appeal to this dish-washer dependant, especially for larger groups. The only time I have used it in the past 10 years was for dinner for four and dessert for a few. I remember thinking that when I finally inherited those fancy dishes, I was going to use them often. Yeah, right....LOL

Book Recommendation:  At Home, by Bill Bryson is proving to be every bit as interesting as his other books are - not that I doubted one bit that it would be. The interesting bits of history regarding shelter and how our  living spaces developed over time - most of which were never taught in any school I attended - are fascinating, and the almost incidental word histories and derivations are brain candy to this word-o-phile! (there is probably a better word for it than that.) I am only about 50 pages into it and I expect it to get even better!

Blog Recommendation:  I would like to direct you here - My Thoughtful Spot. Tracy took my theme on boxes and the saving of them and wrote a beautiful post which you all should treat yourselves to and read. It makes me happy to know that such a thoughtful writer reads my blog (but aren't you all? - thoughtful, I mean?) and this one only lives about twenty miles away!

We went out to dinner with friends on Tuesday evening and were delighted to discover that appetizers were half-price until 7pm and dessert on Tuesday nights is on the house. YAY! Since we were eating more items than usual, we decided to get smaller entrees than we might have otherwise. I started with calamari (tasty, but a little tough), a fish sandwich and fries (excellent) and chocolate fudge cake (terrific). Of course, the camera stayed in my purse. We were talking non-stop and it didn't even occur to me to take a photo. Plus I had a glass of wonderful shiraz, which may have fogged my memory a little.  It's too bad that shiraz has alcohol in it.  If they made a non-alcoholic shiraz I'd probably drink a whole bottle a day - that's how much I love the taste. What's your favorite wine?

Wes, Jim, Oprah and Me

Tuesday on Oprah, there was a man named Wes Moore, who has written a book titled "The Other Wes Moore". He learned about a man who grew up in the same neighborhood, with the same name and got to know the guy years later - when he was in prison for murder. There were many parallels in their lives; deprived childhoods, no father, surrounded by drugs and crime, but the Wes Moore who wrote the book was saved by a determined mother and loving grandparents who sent him off to military school. He eventually became a Rhodes Scholar and has become very successful in his life. I am planning to read that book (which came out today) and maybe it would appeal to you too.

The second half of the program was about a man named Jim Killeen, who googled his name and found 24 other men named Jim Killeen - all over the globe. He corresponded with many of them, and eventually six of them decided to meet - in Killeen, Texas. They all felt an instant connection (with some more than others). One of them is an Irish Catholic priest, one is a father of eight, one is from Australia. There was quite an age range as well as ranges in weight and other stats. I thought several of them looked remarkably similar, although the only one who turned out to be distantly related to the original guy, does not. It was fascinating to me and I hope that the first Jim Killeen - the one who gathered them all together - will also write a book about his experiences .

You may remember reading my tale here about the time I first tried to join Facebook. It wouldn't let me join with the name (short version) I use daily, because there was already someone else with that name on Facebook. That intrigued me, so I sent her a message (she lives in another state) and found out through subsequent communications that she has a sister who lives a mere 20 miles from me. We haven't met yet, but I am hoping that we will this summer.

Having googled my names before, I know that there is a third one in Chicago and the fourth in Florida, and I suspect there may be more of them who simply haven't shown up on the webs yet. I would love to meet all of them and to get them all in one place like Jim Killeen did with his namesakes. Wouldn't that be interesting ?? Jim Killeen had a list of 30 + questions that he asked all of the men who cooperated with him. They didn't go into it enough for me on Oprah's show - because I would really like to know how they are alike and how they are different. I wonder if a chart could be developed to show how much and in what ways they are similar and where their differences lie and to what each difference could be attributed. I think I should have been a sociologist!!

Have you ever met or known of someone with your same name (who wasn't a relative?)