So Long, Big Sandy...

Today is a bittersweet day. After 17 years and 174,000 miles I say goodbye to Big Sandy, my beloved Chevy Avalanche. She was the best and most reliable vehicle I've ever owned. Big Sandy handled ice and snow in Colorado like it was nothing at all. She plowed through wind storms in Oklahoma and torrential downpours in Indiana as if it were a pleasant day. She brought our son home from the hospital back in 07. She hauled mountain bikes, mulch, sod, luggage and everything you could think of without a sweat. She was a great vehicle for watching movies at the Drive-in. She was outfitted with a new bluetooth sound system a few years ago as a Father's Day present to me so she sounded awesome. She still looks great. But all good things must come to an end.

Back in 2002, the first day I drove the Avalanche to work, a fellow employee said she loved my new truck and said if I ever wanted to sell it, let her know first. It's 2019 and today I sold Big Sandy to her and her husband. I know she'll have a good home.

The Jeep Rules

It is a tradition among Jeep enthusiasts to wave at fellow Jeep owners as they pass each other on the road. It reminds me of when we owned a Mini Cooper. Mini drivers often wave at each other on the road. Another Jeep tradition, which I was not aware of before I purchased our Jeep, is that many Jeep owners like to seek out other Jeeps in parking lots and park alongside their fellow Jeep Wranglers.

My wife discovered this today when she parked at the grocery store. When she came out she found another Jeep had parked by our Jeep. It's a fun thing although it might take some getting used to. On two different occasions, when we had our Mini, I came out to find printed invites in our wipers to join Mini Cooper Clubs. I expect being a Jeep owner will be similar to being a Mini owner in that it's a tight fraternity.

photo: our Jeep is on the left.

More Book Stuff

I've been talking a lot about Ulysses lately but it's not even my main read at the moment. I'm actually only reading about two to four pages a day of Ulysses. Right now my main read is High Fidelity by Nick Hornby. I'm really diggin' it. I'm about a third of the way through.

Here's what I've read and finished so far in 2019...

Eleanor Rigby by Douglas Coupland (I really liked this one, one of my fave Coupland books. Lots of emotional depth. Funny, witty and absurd. )

Lake Success by Gary Shteyngart (Liked okay. Enjoyed some of his other works a lot more. Did enjoy the topicality of the narrative.)

Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis (This I read out loud to my daughter at bedtime. I've read it several times in the past four decades. Really caught my imagination as a kid. Now, I find it one of the weaker entries of the Chronicles of Narnia. Still...it's a good book.)

Shame by Salman Rushdie (Wow. Great and powerful book. Rushdie is a master)

The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell (Mixed emotions on this one. My least favorite Mitchell book...but he has such amazing skill as a writer that that's not a real criticism. It's still a better read than most books by amazing authors. Some segments are super powerful and emotionally wrenching. But the supernatural premise is hard for me to take seriously.)

Miss Wyoming by Douglas Coupland (Another Coupland! A good entertaining read that I enjoyed thoroughly. I didn't connect emotionally as much with this one as I have with some of his other works. But this is good stuff.)

Shakespeare and Company Paris: A History of the Rag and Bone Shop of the Heart by Various Contributors including Sylvia Whitman. (A beautiful biography and history of the most famous book shop in the world. Great photos, sketches, poems, and vignettes. It was even more compelling since I had actually been there. This is a treasure of a book.)

Clarifications on Ulysses

This is why you need to refer to study aids when tackling Ulysses. Apparently, James Joyce did not mark his chapters or episodes in his book. The only numbered delineations are three main sections (or "books"). So what I finished yesterday was not an episode but the first major section.

I discovered this by reading up on the book online. I found some handy guides that even gave the page numbers where new episodes began. You can tell where they start because there is often a paragraph break at the end of an episode. The next episode's first sentence is typed in ALL CAPS (at least in my edition).

The episodes correspond generally with the story of Homer's Odyssey on which Joyce loosely based the structure of the book. I went ahead and post-noted where each of the eighteen episodes began for easy reference. I like to know how much longer I have to read in a section. Gives me an idea of where my next destination is.

So I can see why so many people have been intrigued by this book. It's not just about the read. Joyce once said that he had "put in so many enigmas and puzzles that it will keep the professors busy for centuries arguing over what I meant." He's right. There's the narrative, then there's the puzzle. Fascinating stuff.

So the good news is that I'm farther along episodically than I realized. I'm now on episode four when I thought I had just finished one. Even though I'm on the same page number I still feel like I've accomplished more knowing I only have 15 episodes left. Funny how our mind plays tricks on us. I'm thinking that was part of Joyce's intention...to show how our mind plays tricks on us.

Ulysses Chapter One

I've been reading at least two or more pages a day of James Joyce's Ulysses. Ulysses is divided into eighteen "episodes" or really long chapters. And I'm proud to say I made it through the first chapter or whatever you want to call it. Only seventeen more to go! I'm still on pace to finish by the end of April 2020, which is my goal.

I was feeling good about the read until about the last couple of pages of the chapter. Then the narrative began to wobble and phase in and out. This was completely expected. I've been told that the book becomes even more obscure and surrealist as you move along.

I like to consider myself pretty well read, but many of the metaphors are lost on me. I may have to break down and refer to an episode guide as I go along. Still, I'm proud to have made it through the first chapter. But here's the challenge: I've made it this far at least three times before in the past 20 years. It's from here on out that I've gotten bogged down and chucked the whole thing.

But today I start on the second chapter. And I will make it!

The Era of the Jeep

This weekend I bought a Jeep. Guess she's my mid-life crisis vehicle. She's a 2019 Jeep Wrangler JL Sahara. Ocean Blue Metallic. I don't get new vehicles for myself very often (I've had my truck seventeen years and 174,000 miles) so I got a lot of options on her. I plan on keeping her a very long time. We get a new vehicle for my wife every five years or so, so that's a different story. But I plan on having the jeep around for the next two decades...if she's a good vehicle. So I wanted to make sure I had her loaded up for the long ride. So far she's been great fun to drive.

I had to have her specially ordered and when I got her she only had five miles on the odometer. We put 200 miles on her just over the long Easter weekend. I took off the two front freedom roof panels on Saturday. That was a blast to drive around in, much cooler than even a sunroof. My wife was just a little too short to help me get the back roof off. It's not that heavy, just kind of awkward to get off if you're short so I'll have to have a buddy help me take it on or off. So I wasn't able to go full convertible with it yet. My son's growing fast so he'll be able to help me with it soon.

Now, I gotta put the beloved seventeen year old truck up for sale.

Projects

My son has a history project presentation over Iraq due this week. He's taking it pretty seriously. Thanks to my friend Omar for loaning him the kaffiyeh.

Some Thoughts on Notre Dame

The photo above shows some pages from my journal that I wrote a few days after we arrived back in the United States regarding our visit to Notre Dame.

The Next Day

I've read this morning that the fire at Notre Dame was apparently sparked accidentally but that an investigation is underway to determine the cause. I did hear that the roof is a total loss. But that at least one of the rose windows was survived. Apparently the organ was also saved from destruction along with many other precious works of art. The stone walls and the flying buttresses also appear intact. The iconic bell towers also survived the fire.

Despite the massive losses, Notre Dame has managed to survive and hopefully will be able to be salvaged to some degree. Looking through my photos, taken last September, I am now haunted by the fact that much of the Cathedral is lost forever. I will never look at those videos and pictures in the same way. It was such a spectacular place. Even in its burned and bruised state today, it is a place of wonder and glory.

Bells of Notre Dame Cathedral

As I type this I don't know anything about what caused the fire at Notre Dame. I don't know how much of the church has been saved.

I posted this video last September. My wife took this video during our tour of Notre Dame. After the video we went up the 300 steps to the top of the bell tower for even more spectacular views. Such an amazing work of art. Such a tragedy.

I hope no one is hurt. I hope that this was simply an electrical accident of some sort. I hope this was not a deliberate fire.

Notre Dame is Burning

I am beyond horrified to see the images of the fire at the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. So utterly shocking and depressing. I certainly hope that the cause of the fire is not a deliberate act of terrorism or arson.

My wife and I were just there seven months ago so now I feel an even more personal connection to this iconic structure. We purchased a copy of Hugo's Hunchback of Notre Dame at the Cathedral's Gift Shop. I am currently reading a history of the Shakespeare and Company Bookstore located directly across the river from Notre Dame. We have a strong sentimental attachment to Notre Dame.

Visiting Notre Dame was a highlight of our trip to Paris. It is staggering in its beauty and scale. I feel blessed that I got to walk up the over 300 stairs to the top of the bell tower and see the amazing steeple that's now gone.

I hope beyond hope they are able to contain the fire and that somehow most of the structure can be somewhat salvaged. What a horrible tragedy.

My Tsunde Oku

The Japanese have a word...TsundeOku...which refers to a stack of purchased books still yet to be read. I actually have several of these stacks hidden out of sight so my wife won't get too impatient with me for hoarding books. Above are all my current stacks consolidated into one stack next to my bed. I must admit it's kind of embarrassing and this doesn't even include the ones on my Kindle. A Marie Kondo intervention may be necessary. I am working on it. I am always reading. I just see books that I find interesting and that I want to read. So I put them on the "next" stack. All those books will be read! Eventually.

The Book Sale

Every year on the second Friday and Saturday of April, our county public library holds their annual spring book sale. Every year I take AP European History Seniors across the street to buy books. It's a treasure trove of literature, both classic and trash. One dollar a book! It happens every spring and for me has become a ritualistic reminder that the end of the school year is less than six weeks away.

Today I only bought three books. But they are weighty books. Big books that have often been intimidating either for their length or difficulty of content. I've read Tolstoy before but never War and Peace. The difficulty of content does not scare me, it's just a long long book. But Pynchon and Proust are infamously difficult to read from what I hear. I've read long portions of Swann's Way in grad school so I know a little of what to expect. I expect both to be more accessible than Ulysses.

But three dollars for these behemoths of literature! What a deal what a steal!

I may take my son over there after school and get some more!

Another Go at Leopold Bloom

So I've tried to read James Joyce's Ulysses several times. I like to read (a lot) and this book has been my white whale (sorry for the obvious mixing of metaphors). I think the farthest I've made it in this book is around page 40 or so before declaring the whole thing nonsense and throwing the book aside for another five years before trying again. Each time I think to myself that maybe I'm ready this time. Maybe I've evolved intellectually enough that I'll make it through. Nope.

Part of the problem is I'm not motivated enough to use the study aids available that help explain each and every sentence of the book. It's just not worth that much to me to do that much work for this particular work. I might do that for Shakespeare, but not Joyce. I know, I know...James Joyce fans are saying I'm short-changing myself.  

But I'm going to attempt this literary Odyssey (ha!) again. I'm a glutton for punishment, I guess. This time I've got a plan. I'm only going to read two pages a day. That's right. Two pages a day. I might go further if I find a particular section compelling. But otherwise, I'm limiting myself to just two pages a day. I'm sure I risk ruining the flow and rhythm of the narrative...but nothing else has worked for me so far.

Reading two pages a day will be less than a five minute daily commitment. I can handle that. If all goes according to plan, I should be done with Ulysses in 384 days...give or take. I should be done around April 28, 2020. I do plan on reading short chapter summaries to help me along.

I started two days ago and am already ahead of my goal! I'm already on page 12. Yes, I found it easier to go past two pages in a day when there wasn't the pressure of trying to solely focus on this behemoth of a book. I can read other books I find more compelling while I'm also tackling a day in the life of Leopold Bloom for just a few minutes a day.

Ah, how we start big projects with such enthusiasm. I'll keep you apprised of my progress. There's a super good chance this plan will crash and burn like my other attempts. I'll look at my two-page-a-day plan and laugh at how quaint an idea it was. So naive I was back in April 2019, I'll think.

Maybe not. I'll let you know.

Talents

A couple of weeks ago the kids performed at a church talent show. The Boy played "Hey Jude" on the alto sax just because he likes that tune. The Girl sang "Reckless Love." Both looked great. Both played and sang great. Fun night.

Shakespeare and Company Podcast

Whenever I need to get away from the environs of the classroom for a moment during my conference period I download the latest podcast from The Shakespeare and Company Bookstore. Reminds me of my visit to Paris last September and takes the mind away for awhile. Also gives me some great ideas for my next read.