Non-fiction

Okay, it’s hot—and bound to get hotter.  It’s time to buy—and then chill—the watermelon and scrape the grill—plus, bathe the dog, check that the various animals have had their shots and plan where you will spend the fourth of July next year.  I was watching, as I passed by the telly, the beginning of another “America’s Got Talent” and, watching previews of some of the past or present acts (I couldn’t tell which), I was reminded of what I think Simon Cowell said, a couple of years back—“Why doesn’t somebody tell about 90 –percent of the contestants that they have no talent and to go home?” The man has a point, I thought for the hundredth time, as I watched some poor fat horn-blowing 55 yr. old ride across the stage on his tricycle and watching the judges hide their eyes.  Please, people, before you’d ever go on stage, ask some total strangers to evaluate your act and abide by their decision. It’s a sad fact that most of those on stage—shouldn’t be. 

Speaking of facts, this is the Non-Fiction column (I’m doing pretty well at this segue business, Patti, and soon may be giving tips to other writers!), and we have some interesting books to discuss. Attendez! You know how we have learned so much about the Kennedy’s, both private and public, early years and the tragedies until we felt we knew them very well indeed, and, in some well-known marriages, their spouses and children, right? Well, one of those attached-to-the-Kennedys-by–marriage was a truly dedicated public servant and one of those men whom a lot—a lot—of people leaned on. His son has written a delightful, brings-tears-to-your-eyes book; “A Good Man: Rediscovering My Father, Sargent Shriver”, by Mark Shriver. 

“Sargent, “Sarge”, Shriver –founder of the Peace Corps and architect of President Johnson’s War on Poverty—died in 2011 after a long and valiant fight against Alzheimer’s, and thousands of tributes poured in from friends and strangers”—from the man who drove the garbage truck, past Sarge’s house, to the waitresses who waited on Sarge at his favorite cafes where he went for 35 years. So many people called Sarge “a good man” that Mark wanted to find out why and how this continuing and old-fashioned phrase was used about his father—not from famous names but ordinary people. 

Mark also wanted to know the source of his father’s always-present sense of joy in life, and began thinking about stories from his own childhood and the bustling Shriver household, “and Mark zeroes in on the three guiding principles of his father’s life—faith, hope and love.”  This is also Sarge’s courage and grace “ during his battle with Alzheimers and Mark’s difficult journey as his son during that time.”  I truly was impressed with the not only Sarge’s way of being a father and example but also Mark’s anecdotes and letting me in on the family “secrets” of belonging, being loved and forgiven “cause that’s what we all try to do with our children. Give yourself a great gift of a wonderful “Summer read” and get your hot, little hands on this book.  There are color photographs of different times and events, and these, too, will be of interest. 

This next book, “The Real Crash;; How to Save Yourself and Your Country”, by Peter Schief, “who demonstrates how the infusion of billions of dollars of stimulus money has only dug a deeper hole—the United States government simply spends too much and does not collect enough money to pay its debts, and in the end, Americans from all walks of life face a crushing consequence.”  He goes onto say some obvious truths—“We’re in hock to China, we can’t afford the homes we own, and the entire premise of our currency is false.”  We’re probably too good a customer for China to ask us to settle even half of our debt, but, according to banking rules, if you can’t pay your debt you sell or give up something to the person or, in this case, China if they decide to call in the note or some of it—I mean, do we really need Alaska?

Our present system is broken, Schief says, “and there are only two paths forward—the one we’re on now leads to a currency and sovereign debt crisis that will utterly destroy our economy and impoverish the vast majority of our citizens.” Wait! Our learned author has a way out! “If we want to change course, the final destination will be far more appealing” and now we get to the nitty-gritty, “drastically reduce government spending, eliminate entire agencies, end costly foreign military escapades and focus only on national defense, stop student loans and mortgage interest deductions, drug wars, and all bank and business bailouts.”  Oh, yes,” America should declare bankruptcy, default on it debts, and reform our system from the ground up.” 

Does he mean, do you suppose, a new Constitution and Bill of Rights?  Doing away with common business practices? How would young people go to college, and, yes, I know they are in debt up to their eyeballs when they do go, for about 15 years to pay the loan back.  Would the average citizen even know what to do or where to begin? Is investing in gold better than the dollar?  The man does have credentials as an economist taking up a lot of the back flyleaf but I, personally, have no intention of reading the whole book and, at base, find some of his ideas “not doable”?. You wade through it and tell me what you think—leave a message at Memorial Library. 

To change pace, let’s look at “Eat and Run; My Unlikely Journey to Ultramarathon Greatness”, by Scott Jurek, who, “for nearly two decades has been a dominant force—and darling—in the grueling and growing sport of ultrarunning”, and, when I first heard of him, he went to Mexico to then with the Tarahumara Indians, “he has achieved all of this on a plant-based diet.”  In his early beginnings at running, he hated it. Now, keep in mind we’re not talking something as simple (and easier to understand) such as the Boston Marathon—he ran very—very long distances and “Scott’s story shows the power of an iron will and blows apart all the stereo types of what athletes should eat to fuel for their optimal performance.”  

His account of the, I have learned, extremely tough Hardrock Ultra—it is one hundred miles and you’ll have to conquer eleven mountain passes, six of them over 13,000 ft, and climbing a 14,000 ft. peak, a total vertical climb and descent of 66,000ft and veterans of it happily pointed out that “it would be more than would be involved in climbing and descending Mount Everest from sea level!”  Then, two nights before the race, he was playing soccer and in trying to wrest the ball from a 7-year-old, slipped on the wet grass and sprained an ankle!  Bad move. There’s an interesting amount of info in here as to how we program our brains for a physical challenge—the brain, upon understanding distance, effort, etc. refers to other times that physical exertion was required and how to keep the body going—literally going and not collapsing.  At one point, he developed a painful condition called Plantar Fasclitis, a swelling of the connective tissue that runs across the bottom of the foot. He writes, movingly, of his friends who were with him in races and, when he hit a “funk”, would be understanding and remind him when they, too, had been discouraged or wondering if  it was worth continuing. Really, you will enjoy not only learning about this extreme sport but getting to know an expert in the field who is all too human and honest.  

Okay, let’s come “down to earth”  a little with everyday problem and possible solutions with what kids need to succeed—“What Kids Need to Succeed; Proven, Practical Ways to Raise Good Kids—3^rd edition; Proven, Practical Ways to Raise Good Kids”, by Peter Benson. Sections of the book are; Building External Assets, Empowerment, Constructive Use of Time, Building Internal Assets, Positive Values, and Social Competencies.  

There are so many really excellent points made in this book by this team, that it amazed me it was all included in a softcover, 6 by 8 inches, and, well constructed, and each asset had a number, an interesting percentage stat to begin discussion of an asset i.e. “Asset #26; Caring and, under that, “Kids place high value on helping other people”, and in a box underneath that, “52% of the kids we surveyed have this asset in their lives” and then there’s two, sometimes three, pages of points about Caring. That format is for all the assets that young people have to have, ideally, to lead good and pleasant lives and avoid some of the pitfalls of bad judgment and bad friends and bad situations that all of them will have to weigh and measure and decide about.  

There are good points about what adults can do to help give positive assets to youth i.e. “Think about how you approach young people—when you work with kids, do you focus most of your energy on intervening and directing the crisis, do you discuss how to prevent problems, or are you attempting to promote and work on assets?”  “Could you commit to building one asset?”, ask these experts, even something as simple be more aware of and spend a little few minutes each day talking to and getting to know one child in your neighborhood, rather than just walking or jogging by them and ignoring them?  

There are quite a few sensible, helpful suggestions in here to help children learn, be creative, and care about others.  If you show that you care about them, it stands to reason that they’ll think about this when they meet and have to interact with people through their lives. Sometimes, just saying “excuse me”, if you bump into them shows that we all need to be aware of how we affect others. I know, personally, after a knee replacement and a Rotator Cuff surgery in a shoulder, the nicest ones in my time of “Oh, drat, how am I going to open the door to the store with one arm in a sling and the other holding a purse?”, the ones who hurried to the store door or my car door were the children of Kerrville—and no adults prompted them—they just did it and—and, I might add—with a smile.  You repeat what you observe, my dears, rather than what you are told, but reciting tales of kindness around the children reinforces the idea of showing compassion, don’t you agree? This small book is charming and hits the nail on the head—go check it out and see if you don’t agree with me. 

Okay, thanks for sticking with me and I wish you an air conditioner that stays on and a lot of iced sun tea.ad a passing thought for those poor people who lost their homes in fires and those who have no electricity—for the 9^th day!—in the Northwest—maybe our troubles are not too bad when compared with theirs.  Be sure and smile and speak to strangers—you were once one to the friends you have now!  Bye!