Nonfiction

For those of you who are just beginning to read this column or have forgotten ever having read it, let me introduce myself--for those of you who might remember both me and the columns I write, a simple "Allo' Chickie" will suffice. I am Constance Cooper Clarke Yoxall, formerly of Chicago, then a resident of Liberal (having been chased out of several states but never anything involving the law!) and now, residing in Kerrville, Texas--except for the treasured times I come back to Liberal, with Himself, and get to treat it as a vacation!

I had left knee replacement Jan. 26 and I had forgotten what fun that procedure is, in the 11 years since my last one! I can attest to the fact that there is an excellent pre-op procedure that the Orthopedic surgeons are doing now--on the day of your surgery but before the actual surgery, they put a little "pain ball" in your upper groin area, where it remains for 3 days. No.1, my surgeon, Robert Mitchell who, by the way, got a degree from my college, Washburn Univ. of Topeka, is well regarded in the area of Knee and Hip surgeries in our part of Texas (no, his medical degree came from K.U.) and he sent home some excellent pain pills for my use--so, now, 7 weeks later, I occasionally have "twinges" in the knee, but am up and walking Rufus, doing therapy exercises and have lost some weight 'cause I really am not hungry.

So, those are the facts I've been dealing with and in the spirit of reality, I will now say the column is about Non-Fiction titles. One last word on knee replacement for those who are considering it--if you haven't made up your mind to begin the therapy, the next day and for the next 3 months, don't waste your surgeon's time and skill but be fully prepared to endure pain and the eventual lurch/limp that will require a cane for the rest of your life and a big dose of regret! And do not--do not--utter one word of complaint--you brought is on yourself, Miss Tweedle! Hopefully, you'll choose the smart turn in the road.

Onto books for the column and what a varied lot they are! From Polar Bears, to India, to the economic picture for those trying for a better economic future forecast. Let's look at "The Great White Bear; A Natural and Unnatural History of the Polar Bear", by Kieran Mulvaney, and be amazed at their contradictions as much as their similarities. For instance, they are white bears whose skin is black, they carry a massive body weight, walk in silence, and cross ice to catch prey. I found this odd, they live in an extremely cold environment and yet their problem is staying cold enough. These giant white entities "may wander thousands of miles over the course of a year, yet they begin life buried underneath in a snowdrift." Arctic nations have tried to cut down on and be mindful of the number of bears being killed for any use, not realizing there would be a greater danger, coming up, than how many seals were available or large fish for midnight snacks.

One of this country's top experts in seeing where and when and why animals go to where they travel says, "Almost all of what we know about polar bears we know from capture/recapture; flying out in helicopters, darting them, catching them, ear-tagging them, and then doing it again." Hudson Bay is a unique place to watch some of the interaction, in safe settings for some of the Summer, at least, to observe people and bears. The young bear, for example, might at shaking off the effects of a dart gun or shot, be ambling across the fields, headed for the ocean, and, safely back, are the usual crowd of eager-to-see-the-bears tourists and, believe it or not, locals. I didn't realize that Polar bears, upon seeing its prey of a fat seal on the ice floe ahead, flattened itself against the ice and carefully inched towards its prey. I thought they made a lumbering run at its dinner. Okay. Back to frightening facts. As the sea ice retreats--experts say that the ice that remains in place, now, through the Summer will be gone in 20 years--it affects the plankton and other facets of the area--and this is a real disaster looking to happen. Come and read this and then see how you might express your concern and what, if anything, can any of us do? Or are we witnessing the end of a species? If nothing else, take a few minutes to read the last chapter, "The Future", on Page 215 and reflect.

And another thing you might find worthy of reflecting on, particularly as you are hearing more and more of the international news, is India--what it was and what it's becoming now. Ergo, read "India Calling; An Intimate Portrait of a Nation's Remaking", by Anand Giridharadas, and this gentleman was going back to his homeland "less interested in its gold rush than its cultural upheaval" as old thoughts, traditions and customs collide with the new order. He uses the prism of his family and childhood memories "as he introduces us to entrepreneurs, radicals, and religious seekers, but, most of all, to Indian families." The main thing he finds is parents, children, cousins and siblings bending the meaning of what it means to be Indian today and the chapter of the Upstairs Chachas and the Downstairs Chachas and their individual ways of living and eating and standards "is worth the price of admission by itself."

Both halves of the same family lived in the same house, one in the upstairs and one in the downstairs, and while there is some--some intermingling of the two halves, it always seems to be disaster when they do. Men talk and tell their stories and opinions, in groups, women are silent and expected to remain without opinions or voice them. I can tell you now, that I would be put to the stake if they'd expect me to not express thoughts and opinions! Today, they are an independent power, in many ways, but one big hurdle--goal, if you will--eludes them--"we do not have anybody's kingdom over us but still we are not that much free--we need financial freedom, which we do have now--so when young people come ahead, the new generation, and they will start to live in the way we're talking about, India will really become independent, and we will really become a superpower. We will not depend on anybody else." This was said to our author by a wise and revered man in India, and it seems to be predicting what will eventually be--India will gain confidence and sense that new and different things are possible and it will become a superpower. Will it happen in 20 or 30 or only 15 years? We'll see, won't we?

Somehow, books with titles like this one--"Secrets of Happy Couples; Loving Yourself, Your Partner, and Your Life", by Kim Oliver, tend to turn me off, but then, it may be of value to couples who haven't been married for 60 years, so, let's see what it offers. I think this author sounds very reasonable in saying that there's nothing wrong with how to display or fit in with the other one our ideas of family values, for instance, and how we individually plan to do that in order to fit in with our mate's plan. The trick is in how to implement the 2 of you and come up with one workable plan. She says, "it is important to remember that all disagreements about strategies are most easily resolved when you take the time to discover the values that are important to each of you--regarding dating, driving privileges, family visits, holiday time, whether to get a pet, etc.--that are not being honored by the conflicting strategies." I just feel that if Himself does everything my way, Life will be less conflicted, the dog won't go hide under the bed during a "discussion of opposing ideas" and there will be singing and dancing from dawn till dusk!

Another excellent point is to listen to not only what your partner is saying "but also what he or she is feeling." Most of us feel that the "problem", whatever it is, is the other person's fault and the real problem lies with our refusing to accept that the problem is ours--rather, our thinking becomes, "if I am upset by something you do or don't do, then I am certain that you and you alone are the problem and I am going to do everything within my power to ensure that you understand just how much of a problem you are---I am taking my problem and trying my hardest to make it your problem." I, personally, winced at this last professional tid-bit as I've certainly done that! Actually, this book has some good points in it--you might come and check it out and wince with me.

The last book, "Disciplined Dreaming; A Proven System to Drive Breakthrough Creativity", by Josh Linkner, is about, in businesses, being aware of outsourcing, money availability, cost cutting and automation--all of this, to be sure--"but we can't lost sight of the driving force of prosperity, the reason that any company exists in the first place--CREATIVITY. Josh is president of his own company and, in the spirit of sharing, outlines a proven step-by-step 5-step process that will help you and your company team get real and get successful.

You can use "The Opposite" as a technique to take ideas to a new level--change the accepted version of only one cereal that's good for breakfast and make several, a Post did--Rice Krispie cereal was made into a candy bar and is now a competitor for Mars Bars or Hershey or anything else. Should you need recipes to create the company's "treats"--guess what? They have recipes on the products or you can get them off the computer!

Use "demos" for your ideas/products. Think it won't work? I merely mention Rachel Ray and other chefs you see everyday on TV--in the TV studio on their "kitchen" show. They show you how much fun it is to make a green bean casserole or decorate a child's birthday cake--everyone is willing to go right out and get the ingredients and try the recipe out that week--why? Because the presenter made it seem so possible and fun "I am trying to impart to you the Power of One. It takes only one fresh idea, big or small, to make a difference--to change your career, your company, your region, your country, and one idea is all it takes to change the world. In fact, one idea is the only thing that ever has." So, sit and think what your idea could be--no matter how small it might seem (remember little wheels on big suitcases?)--take the tools and concepts you'll learn in this book and charge! Forward! You can--and should do it.

The time has come, the walrus said, to exercise my knee--sit too long and you get "static knee" and you are encouraged to get up and walk around. Thank you for reading this and I hope I've piqued your curiosity enough that you'll want to read one of our selections. Warm weather is just around the corner, so stay positive, and stay warm. Take care. . .Bye-Bye.