A Snow Tale

Once upon a time, there were two middle-aged adults who lived in the South. They were going about their normal activities of work and taking care of things when they heard a weather forecast that they just couldn't believe: their town was to get several inches of snow in one night! In the past 19 years they had not seen this amount of snow, and since it wasn't very cold outside, they weren't sure that the snow would actually come to fruition. "Can this be correct?" the former northerners wondered. But they were awakened one morning at 5 a.m. with a variety of sounds that told them that the power was off. They looked out the window and saw that the reports were correct - there was indeed a lot of snow on the ground. The next 24 hours were very tiresome and difficult for the couple, as they drove around town looking for hot spots and outlets where they could get free internet as well as some outlets to recharge their dying cell phones. Starbucks closed at 4:30 pm because they only had two employees who could make it to work. Most of the restaurants were closed. The libraries were closed. It was no use. They wore coats, two sets of clothes, socks, and more in order to sleep that night but sleep did not come. Nevertheless, the power returned at 5 a.m. and the heat slowly began to warm up the house again. Now there only problem: when will they have adequate water pressure??

Thus goes the tale of our lives during the past couple of days. It hasn't been easy, but I think about how hard this must be on the elderly and families with young children. So it could definitely be worse.



I have several topics today that I'd like to discuss. Last time I stated that I would write something about how church hymns are often written as poems first. For example, consider the well-known hymn, "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross," written by Isaac Watts in the 18th century. Charles Wesley once said that he would give up all of his other hymns to have written this great hymn (hymntime.com). It's one of my very favorites. I studied this hymn as a poem while an English major at Georgetown College. I remember Dr. Ellers talking about this poem in that small classroom with just a few English majors. As a Christian, I appreciate the message of this poem/hymn, and I love the beauty of the language: "When I survey the wondrous cross, on which the Prince of glory died. My richest gain I count but loss, and pour contempt on all my pride."  What beautiful vernacular. I love his use of the word "survey" because it asks me to actually STUDY or EXAMINE the cross as I look at it and ponder what Jesus Christ has done for me. The hymn writers of old clearly had a way with language. Another one of my favorite hymn writers is Fanny Crosby, a blind woman and missionary who often received only a few dollars for the lyrics of her hymns. One of my favorite Crosby hymns is "All the Way My Savior Leads Me." Fanny Crosby was another gifted poet who could explain her faith in a beautiful way.

One of my readers recently asked me to share more about a good book that I discussed, All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. This book is beautifully written and is still on the NY Times Bestseller List for hardcover fiction. It takes place in Europe in the 1940s. The first main character who is introduced is a blind 16-year old French girl named Marie-Laure LeBlanc who lives in Saint-Malo. in France. The second main character is a teenage orphan boy named Werner Pfennig who lives in Germany. The book tells the two stories of these characters during war time, but the two do not meet until late in the story. The girl is raised by her loving father, and the boy lives in an orphanage where he is forced to fight for the Germans during WW II. Werner seems to have a natural ability to repair and use radios, so he is enlisted to do this type of work for the Germans. Both Marie-Laure and Werner are young people who are forced to leave their homes against their wishes, and the war has made life unbearable for everyone in Europe. Even in the midst of great hardships, these young people find joy in the simple things and cling to the hope that their lives will one day be better. As I read the book I didn't expect that the two characters would meet. I was just happily reading two parallel stories without thinking about the connection. But they do meet briefly and they are both happy, but they are once again separated by the war. Read this beautiful book to find out how they met and what happened to them later on. It's a story that is so beautifully written that you won't want to put it down.

One of my readers recommended the book The Bridge on the Drina by the Yugoslavian, Ivo Andric. It was translated from the Serbo-Croat by Lovett F. Edwards. This is a classic example of a historical novel about the violent history of the Balkans from the early sixteenth century to WW I.  The book is a little bit difficult to read, partly because it's a translation and partly because it has so many difficult names in it.  I've read about half of it so far and look forward to completing it soon. I'm listening to another novel while I'm driving, a book by Sophie Kinsella called I've Got Your Number. So far this book is just as hilarious as the other books by Kinsella that I've read: Can You Keep a Secret?, Confessions of a Shopaholic, Shopaholic and Baby, Shopaholic and Sister, Shopaholic Takes Manhattan, Shopaholic Ties the Knot, and The Undomestic Goddess. Incidentally, a hilarious movie was made a few years ago about the Shopaholic books.

Now to continue my list of books that I've read since 1984:

1. Evensong by Gail Godwin
2. Father Melancholy's Daughter by Gail Godwin
3. "C" is for Corpse by Sue Graton
4. "N" is for Noose by Sue Grafton
5. Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith
6. No Longer Forgotten compiled by Charlene Gray
7. Once Upon a Town by Bob Greene
8. The Brethren by John Grisham
9. Gray Mountain by John Grisham
10. A Painted House by John Grisham

Stay tuned until next time...

Melissa