September 26, 2009
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Another heat wave has me confined to quarters. By noon it was well over a hundred degrees outside, so my gardening was limited to moving sprinklers every thirty minutes.
I used this as an excuse to be lazy and spent the afternoon happily engrossed in reading. "Happily" is not quite accurate as I read The Quiet American, by Graham Greene, which is anything but a happy tale. It's a brilliant novel about a cynical British journalist in Vietnam during the French occupation. Actually, it's about the futility and inevitability of war intertwined with a love story.
This was my first experience with Graham Greene and I'm hooked but I doubt I will have much success finding his other books at my local county library.
Our library system has a wonderful online reservation system that allows one to order books from any county library in San Bernardino County and Riverside County. You would think that it would be easy to find classic books like Catcher in the Rye and the works of Graham Greene but it's been my experience that it takes some time to get them if they are available at all. Order any John Grisham novel, or Danielle Steele novel, or even Stephen King novel, and it's readily available in full sized, hardback; but the last two classics I ordered were tattered paperbacks that came from remote desert libraries in Riverside County.
I was talking with our local librarian the other day when she was compiling a list of books to order and when I suggested we should have our own copy of Catcher in the Rye, she acted as if she had never heard of it. I suppose it makes sense to stock the books people want to read but shouldn't they at least have one hardbound copy of such a well known book?
Everyday I'm reminded of how old I am by another issue like this. I remember hearing my elders rail against the changes that younger generations embraced and thinking how square they were. Now I'm the square.
On a less bitchey note, progress on the new cat penitentiary is coming along nicely. I persuaded Mike to jackhammer out the concrete under and around the outdoor shower at the same time.
Mike whacked his finger when the rotary hammer got hung up and this is his grimace of pain. And here's the finished renovation.
I dug out the sod and Mike commenced building.
Bob had to check out the view from the new roof. 
A friend commented that it seemed like DB's life sentence was a bit tough for a mere assault and I pointed out that it wasn't his first offense. Mike noted that under the California three strikes law, judges have no power to grant leniency even if the third offense is minor. DB's just lucky there's no death penalty in our house.
Comments (9)
that is one hard strikin' cat there...
He's actually a big pussy.
I am glad you figured something out for that brute cat of yours. I have not read any Graham Greene but did enjoy the film, The Quiet American. I should go to the library, a very cost effective way to do something that I love, which is to read. Although I do get lucky and have friends who read quite a bit too, they either let me borrow or give me books. I have a fresh stack of give away books.
your library sounds lame.
and wth is that? you're building a cat prison?
Mike would fit in well in this neighborhood, whenever we break the chainsaws out the wives pull up lawn chairs to see who is going to get hurt first.
We don't get many hundred degree days here but when we do it's time to pack the canoe and go bar hopping (sand bar to sand bar) when your wet half the day it feels pretty good.
@ElevenStones - Yes, well I've suggested he wear a helmet but he just laughs at me. He wears those lumps on his head like a badge of courage.
@curtainsopen - My library is lame but it's close and it's free.
What, doesn't everybody have a cat prison in their back yard?!?!?
@queenie - Friends who share your taste in books are the best, especially if they're rich and can afford to buy them.
I confess, I saw the film first.
Your cats live better than some people. They are lucky to have you as owners.
@AprilsPlace - They would correct you on the "owners" as they consider us staff. Yes, I keep telling them how good they have it but you know how ungrateful kits are. They whine that their friends all get to play in the street and that I'm way too strict.
@judyrutrider - Chew just thinks we are part of his pack.
Posted a picture that's close to run off, sure looks different
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