The News

I have been watching a lot of news on TV lately.  Hmmm.  I am not sure why they call it the news.  Because, although the first time I hear the story, it is news, but it gets repeated so many times that it eventually becomes "old."  And most of it is sad, traumatic, heart-wrenching, dramatic.  Even the feel good stories are dramatic. 

Let's face it, the "news" on television or the Internet is presented in a manner to entertain, not necessarily enlighten.   It is intended to be gut wrenching, and pull at the heart-strings.  It is intended to titillate, entice, tantalize, intrigue, and fascinate the viewer, ensuring they will "stay tuned" to watch the rest of the story.

The news is not really news any more.  It is the story of the day, or perhaps two or three "news cycles," but not necessarily "new." 

The news is meant to be "current events" but of course the "current events" offered has the climactic and dramatic story to entertain and entice the viewer.  "Current events" is probably a more neutral term to use.  But does not connote the drama presented by the news media. 

Oh well, I will still watch the news on TV. I will listen to it on the radio, and read news feeds while on the Internet.  At least I get several perspectives on the various stories by having so many news feeds at my disposal.

Review of Unbroken

Review of Unbroken, A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption http://laurahillenbrandbooks.com/. 

I almost never do reviews.

Wow, this is an amazing book. I saw the movie, so I knew the basic story, but there are so many details in the book that could not be included in the movie, understandably.  This is an amazing story.  And it reads like a "page turner" every page leading the reader to the next page. The author's talent in telling this story enhanced it to beyond imagination.

I read "Seabiscuit" by Ms. Hillenbrand, and it was a marvelous book. This was better. I am looking forward to Ms. Hillenbrand's next book.

Unbroken

I saw the movie, Unbroken http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1809398/ so I knew some of what to expect from the book Unbroken, A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption http://laurahillenbrandbooks.com/.  Or so I thought. And, I was right about the basic story. But this book was so much more, I am reeling, I am amazed.  I do not generally find biographies and non-fiction to be "page turners" but even though I knew the bottom line outcomes, I found myself wanting to continue on to the next piece, the next segment, the next story.

Louie Zamperini was an amazing man.  And, it takes an amazing author to tell his story.  Thank you to Mr. Zamperini, now deceased, for participating in the telling of this story.  And thank you to Ms. Hillenbrand for her marvelous writing!

Antique Roadshow

I do not know much about antiques, and really am not a person who would own a lot of antiques.  In fact, until the last few years, I could have cared less.  But I have started watching Antiques Roadshow on PBS http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/roadshow/index.html.  I enjoy watching it for several reasons.  It is educational. There is a lot of history, and the stories are wonderful.

I love stories.  I love listening to people's life stories, how things evolve and relate and inter-relate.  It is always exciting also, when someone has a really exciting piece that they knew little or nothing about.  Sometimes the excitement is the price, but just as often, it is the uniqueness, or the historical value, or just the story.

People Stories

When I was growing up, I loved people stories:  How someone met, when they got engaged, what their experiences were about events in their lives, how their romance progressed, what their wedding proposal consisted of.  I love people stories.

So, being a social worker is a good fit:  To do good care planning or treatment, it is imperative to have a good history, assessment or people story. So, people stories are important to my line of work.

I did not start out in life to be a social worker, but loving people stories seems to fit with being a social worker.  So, people stories are very important to me.

Reminiscing

Sadly, the father of a co-worker died last night. He had been ill for quite some time, and he had been in Hospice care.  He had been in a care home, as my co-worker needed to work, but needed him tended to. Some few weeks ago, she moved him back home.  He perked up for a while when he first moved home, but most recently went into a coma, and peacefully, as she described it, died.  For that, I am thankful.

That, and the sharing at work today of how my ancestors Anglicized their names, has awoken in me some very wonderful memories about my parents and grandparents.  I have been sitting here, listening to some very good music, and telling myself stories about my family.  Memories that I cherish and exemplify the best of my family. 

I do not go down memory lane very frequently.  But when I do, I try to find the pearls and gems that I most appreciate. And those have come to me tonight.

I am so thankful that I have a warm, full, rich store of memories of my family. 

Better Reading

On Facebook, a friend posted a list of 100 classic books, to see how many we had read.  I could mark 22 for sure.  Some of the titles were so familiar, I was sure I had read them.  But I was trying to be honest with my self.

I had decided a while back to try to vary my reading and get some non-fiction books.  I read one non-fiction book since then.  I have 5 mysteries sitting in the house now, 4 by one author.  I like to read series in order.

I think I want to work on more classics, too. Even if I read one this summer, one is better than none.

Ranch Day

Today was the annual Ranch Day at the Texas Tech National Heritage Ranching Center http://www.depts.ttu.edu/ranchhc/.  I know someone who participates, and years ago, those people dressed in period costumes were told not to talk.  Now, the day has become very interactive, with docents sharing wonderful stories about the buildings, activities, people and life style.  There were lots of activities for the kids, and they could earn points, "get paid" and shop  at the commissary.  I saw some adults participating, too. There were so many activities: carding wool, branding cattle (cutouts and paint) horse riding, rope making, washing clothes on a washboard, churning butter, making a corn husk doll, roping cattle (on a mechanical roping rig), to name just a few.  To earn money, the participant had to engage in 5 activities. I am not sure what they could buy.

I overheard one of the docents talking about the fact that people do not come out to see buildings, they come out to see how people live, and the activities the activities in which they engaged, and to hear stories about that lifestyle.  He is correct.

That is why places like Colonial Williamsburg http://www.history.org/ and Old Sturbridge Village http://www.osv.org/ are so popular.

I have been to Old Sturbridge Village twice.  I have been to Plimouth Plantation http://www.plimoth.org/ once.  It was fairly new when I was there, but they had some activities and docents in period clothing. The plan was to make it a working village like Colonial Williamsburg and Old Sturbridge Village.

I love living history.  I am so convinced that one of the tasks of humans is to learn history, and learn from history. Living history museums are a wonderful way to teach us.

A Spoiler

I may be unusual, but having some one tell me the outcome of a movie, story or book does not generally concern or upset me. If I know the outcome, it usually helps to sharpen my perceptions as I read, view or hear the story.

If it is a good story, one I have read, heard or viewed before, I already know the outcome. Sometimes, that makes the anticipation of the story even better.

I just finished reading, or re-reading, "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen.  I  have seen so many versions of the movies, I can not remember if I actually ever read the book or not.  So, finally, I did read the book.  The movies are so good, but the book really is much better. I think that is how it usually is?