THE SUBMISSION: AMY WALDMAN

As I mentioned in an earlier blog, I thought I would really like this book and I did.  I am going to miss it, something I rarely say about a book.  It centers on the controversy resulting from choosing Mohammad Khan, a Muslim's, design to honor those who died on 9/11.  Everything was done to include everyone interests in the decision, going so far as to come up with a jury, a blind draw, as fair as fair could be.  It just so happens that Mo as he's called in the novel, a Muslim American has the best design.  Everything results from this choice, as we see the effects this has on the families of those who died in 9/ll, Americans in general, and more closely, the effect on the lives of five people: Mo, the architect, Claire, the wife of a banker who died in the  attack, Sean, a blue collar worker, needy and out to prove he's as good as his brother who died, Paul, the astute, confident leader of the jury, and Asma, a poor illegal immigrant from Bangladesh, whose husband also died in the attack.  The five represent various points of view, in depth, and all must face the consequences of this choice: hate, intolerance, jingoism, the worst kind of patriotism, and yet, understanding, support, and empathy.  Whether the memorial gets built is the question, as politicians with lots to gain and lose step in as well.  I felt Waldman really understood the various points of view, and it was difficult to tell whose side she was on.  About 3/4's of the way through, I began to worry about how it would end, perhaps because I have read too many light novels lately with 'cheesy' endings.  Well, never fear, as it ended in a totally unexpected way, in short, perfectly for my taste.  Waldman writes wonderfully, appears to understand both the East and West, their strengths and weaknesses, and has constructed a tight, closely plotted novel, filled with insights into this multi cultural world. Read it!

FOODIES!

Biff's Bread

A quotation from the book I am reading THE SUBMISSION BY AMY WALDMAN, inspired today's blog as well as getting dinner ready yesterday for the Mc Clure's and Leonards.  Evie started with shopping on Friday, some cooking on Saturday, and spent a good part of Sunday getting various dishes ready. I had it easy----I made my bread.  The quotation struck me as being right on; I would be interested to see what others think:  As the main character Mo tries to fast during Ramadan, his mind is taken naturally to food, especially his colleagues obsession with food:

"He had not realized the degree to which food---planning for it, obtaining it, preparing it, eating it, wasting it, fetishizing it, creating it, selling it---made the twenty-first-century American (186)."

Ratatouille

I think Evie and I, whenever we have people over, when we visit our kids, even when we are alone, spend an inordinate amount of time talking about recipes, , the meals we are planning, the lists we make up, about what we need to buy when we go shopping.  All of our kids and most of our friends enjoy food in ways that perhaps some of the older generation did not.  For many, meals were just something to get through, fuel as it were, not an occasion, an experience, which we like to think of it as today.  I assume the change came as a result of increased leisure, perhaps interest in cuisines from other countries, especially France, I assume, as they seem to be the perfect example of a meal being an experience, something to be savored and enjoyed, rather than wolfed down, a brief hiatus in a  busy day.  I would think it also has something to do with wealth, education, as well as culture, as I cannot see welfare recipients settling down to a savory, multi coursed meal.  That they have food to eat is enough for them, and most likely, it's packaged, fast food, high in carbs and easy and quick to eat.

Butterflied Leg of Lam

Our dinner last night turned out well, as did the evening.  Rain threatened most of the evening, but we got our bean bag games in, Evie and Bill winning the tourney, I was able to cook the butterflied lamb outside, and though we had dinner inside, we were able to sit outside and enjoy the fireworks from three different sights, all within easy view, as we seemed to have the best seats on the lake.  They went on for at least 15 minutes, and many homes had flares illuminating the edges of the lake. We went in around 10:15, said good our good byes, and just about the time we got into the house, it started to pour, perfect timing.

Relaxing After Bean Bag

We had just about an inch overnight and it's cooled off appreciably, as it was 62 when I got up, to a cloudy gray sky, with highs in the 60's, quite a contrast from Friday's high of 90.  We love this kind of weather, cool during the day and night, great for walking or working outside and sleeping.

Showers, Humid and Hot

Decorative shovels at Artist's Loft

I was up for some reason at 5:00, perhaps the rain, thunder and lightning did it but I tried to go back to sleep, after coming downstairs and closing a few windows, but I was so awake that I got back up, went downstairs, turned on the coffee and sat on the front porch listening to the rain, the thunder, in the darkness of early morning.  It's still very warm despite the rain, 70 degrees outside and will stay that way till tonight when the temperatures change drastically, with a high in the 60's tomorrow.

We are having Ron and Linda and the Leonards over for dinner tonight, another typical Middle Eastern dinner of lamb and sides.  I hope it stays clear enough to cook out later.

I walked outside towards the dock, towards a pink/blue sky and heard this hum.  I looked up in the trees and there were hordes of lake flies buzzing above my head.  They came last year about this time as well; they seem to move from the north end of the lake to the south, at a leisurely pace, stay for about ten days, I think, then disappear.  We really don't ever remember them until last year though people swear they have always been here at the lake.  Perhaps I was teaching when they came but we were out here most weekends the past six or seven years, so one would have thought we would have seen them before last year.  The lake was also terrible yesterday, algae seemed thick and turquoise, and I thought I could even smell it but I am not sure.  The Leonard's couldn't even sit in their front yard, either from the rotting weeds next door or the algae.  I walked out on the dock this morning and it looks like the rain from early morning, about 3/10ths of an inch, has dispersed most of the algae.  It tends to grow in hot weather in pockets where there is little movement, stagnant and windless.  At least the local papers have had all kinds of stories last week or so about the condition of the lake, what they hope to do about it, and the fact that all local communities have signed up to work towards being good stewards.  We will see if anything gets done or it makes a difference.  It still seems as though most people who live east of 394, meaning those not connected with the lake, could care less about its health...it does not effect them.

Garden Glass

One of the sights and sounds of summer weekends is early morning skiing by our neighbors, the Bairs and it was nice to see them go by this morning, suggesting the lake may be cleaner than I thought, as I have seen little swimming or skiing recently.  It was a green color or variations of green the past week or two, though clear out towards the end of our dock.


It's cooled off a bit, a result of the rain, I suppose, about 68 right now and it looks like the high my be in the 70's today, not 80's.

Hazy, Humid, and Hot

Morning Haze

A close morning, no breeze, 70 degrees, perhaps getting in the high 80's if not 90's in the area, an unusual Labor Day Weekend report.  This makes me think of the satirical Borowitz Report for today, where his headline is Labor Day outsourced, to China, of course, because Americans don't know what work is anymore.  Not so funny I guess.  Yesterday, we spent getting caught up on shopping, not fun, but we are set for the weekend, marinated leg of lamb tomorrow, with ratatouille, one of our favorite dinners.  Today, we are just going with the left overs, or whatever we find in the fridge or freezer.  It's going to be too hot to sit outside, so we have already closed the windows, to keep the coolness inside, so we will do lots of reading, perhaps organizing, which never stops...something can always be organized better!  Since I am in need of tires, I think I will go off to Sam's Club today and get some put on my Pilot, order some for the Accord.  Nothing like spending money on tires.

I am really enjoying THE SUBMISSION, a book recommended by Patsi.  It's about the awarding of the 9/11 memorial design, the committees deliberation, their choice, then the realization that winning architect is name Muhammad Khan.  What ensures forms the crux of the book.  So far, very well written, researched, and thoughtful, as Amy Waldmann ably explores many points of view, from the survivors families, to the jury, to the press, to the families of firemen who also died in the attack.

I spent a couple of hours at Sam's Club, getting new tires for my Pilot, Michelins, for 750 bucks, the best all weather available.  I checked at various places and they are all about the same, the same perks, the guarantees, so I want with Sam's, which is nationwide in case I have a problem.

A Day and Evening to Ourselves

Overcast and Fog

Another foggy and overcast morning, as its difficult to see the other side, though I occasionally hear a boat on the lake.  It's supposed to clear up later, then cloud over as rain is forecast for the weekend.  It's going to be hot and humid, highs in the 80's though cooler here on the lake, I suspect.


Since my sisters left on Wednesday, we met Ron and Linda for dinner on that evening, having drinks on the Hotel Lenhart porch, then delmonico steak dinners at the Seezurh House to finish off the evening.  They had returned to the lake on Sunday, and we hadn't seen them since mid August so it was good to catch up, though we spent most of the time talking about our weeks with the kids.  They will be here for a couple of weeks, before heading back to Murraysville in mid September.

Yesterday, Thursday, the Scholtz's asked us to go out for dinner but we did not feel like going out again, so we asked them if it would be all right if they just came to our house for a simple dinner of homemade turkey soup, fresh corn, and Slovenian sausages.  They seemed happy to do so and brought a homemade cherry pie for dessert.  They are the couple that's going to Turkey at the end of the month, so we tried to fill them in on all the delights they might find in Turkey.  And, as usual, as we talked, I think we allayed some of the fears most Westerners have of going to an Islamic country.  There tour is very thorough, as they make a huge circle beginning and ending in Istanbul; they go to Cappadocia, in the far east, then head south to the Mediterranean coast, then to Ephesus and the Aegean coast, until they return to Istanbul.  The only weakness is a lack of time spent in Istanbul but they will have two days there.  They left very excited about their tour, so we were successful in selling of the virtues of visiting Turkey.

Dinner with the Scholtz's 

I have to admit we are both looking forward to an entire day and evening alone, with nothing we have to do, nothing we have to cook and if we want, we don't have to do anything.  We certainly enjoy company, going out to eat but it's also nice to just have the house to ourselves for awhile.  It goes wit the quotation from yesterday about home...home for us ends up being alone.

IRON HOUSE: JOHN HART

As usual, Hart sets his novels in the south, this time North Carolina, and its focus is two brothers, Michael and Julian, orphans, who spend their early years in the Iron House, a violent home for boys in North Carolina.  Michael, the stronger of the two, protects his weaker brother Julian when he can but when a bully is killed, Michael flees just as Julian is adopted by a Senator and his wife, Abigail, a victim of child abuse as well.  Needless to say, time passes, the brothers lose contact until things change for both.  Michael has become the adopted son of a crime boss, his hit man so to speak, and Julian still lives with his parents, a recluse though a writer of children's books.  When Michael's benefactor dies, he must flee the revenge of the family.  Coincidentally, he has fallen in love with Elena, hopes to change his life, and the two of them flee to North Carolina, in a rain of bullets and shootings.  In his flight, he ends up finding his brother, realizes that he is in danger, tries to save him, and in so doing, the connection between the crime boss, the senator, his brother, Abigail, and himself is discovered.  The connections are a bit strained as Hart struggles to bring things together.  He writes well and I liked the first half but got a little tired as he struggles to bring justice to the 'evi doers' without harming the innocent.  A mix of New York, Appalachian and corrupt politics inform this novel.  I would give it a B.

Lighting, Thunder, and Rain Welcome Dawn

Al fresco dining

Pre Prandial Cocktails

I especially like yesterday's entry from SUNDIAL OF THE SEASONS, so I include it below, because it explains so well my feelings about travel and the return: enjoy

“Homecoming”, from Hal Borland’s SUNDIAL OF THE SEASONS

More than half the pleasure of going is in the return, as any traveler knows.  To go, to see the far place, the place beyond the horizon, is exciting; but to return is satisfying as few other things can ever be.  To know after absence the familiar street and road and village and house is to know again the satisfaction of home.known street or park.  Home, where one can feel and touch and see and find comfort in familiar things.  The place where one belongs.

Man, being man and an ambulatory creature with a degree of restlessness in his blood, must be up and gone from time to time.  He must go, if only to assure himself that the horizon has no boundary.  He must move from here to yonder, if only to know that he is neither slave nor prisoner.  What are hills for, if not to have a father side?  And what is the purpose of that distant rim of sky if not to lure a man beyond his own small orbit?  But once one has gone, one must come back.

And that is the final satisfaction of a trip, whether it is a vacation or just a journey -- the return itself.  The homecoming.  The trip back, and the home at the end.  To go is good, but to come back is best.

Few of us are that kind of traveler who can be at home forever away from home.  The new, the strange and the different have their lure, but one needs a place to call his own.  One needs to belong somewhere, to feel the roots, however tenuous, of identity with place.  Home, we call it, whether it be a room or a house or an apartment, a farm or a plot of grass or a well-

More Bro's

Bean Baggers

Patsi and Linda

 I sit here, listening to the thunder, awed by lightning, though the rains have not arrived. Perhaps we will miss the storm though it sounds as if its rolling over the roof of our house.  I assume it has awoken Evie as she finds it difficult to sleep with the thunder and lightning so she should be up soon.  It's a humid morning, about 64 degrees, and we have some rain forecast on and off during the day.  Some sun later perhaps, with a high of 82 and higher tomorrow, typical for the start of school.  I always remember the heat and humidity of my first days at school when I was young, returning home to a lake that was still inviting despite the summer being over. Actually, the gentle rain is competing with NPR, enough so that I have gotten up and turned off the radio to just listen to its patter.  It seems like its been a summer with rains in short supply though we certainly got enough in April, May and June.  I can just imagine my new grass seed embracing and soaking in the luxuriance of this rain, stretching its seedlings upwards toward the warmth to come(a bit much, don't you think...I am trying to hard).