On the Road With Helen Keller and Harper Lee

"The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision." 

-Helen Keller (Brainy Quote)

 

{Photo provided by Wikipedia}

I learned a lot last week when I hit the road that took me from Durham, NC to Birmingham, Nashville, Munfordville, Upton, and Georgetown. In between these towns I did some exploring and learned a lot about two famous Americans that I admire, Helen Keller and Harper Lee. I appreciate my friend, Lauretta, taking me all over the state of Alabama to allow me to be a history geek for a while.

Day One in Alabama took us up north to the birthplace of Helen Keller in Tuscumbia. It was about a two-hour drive and well worth the trip. When we arrived we immediately saw the beautiful Ivy Green, the name given to Keller's home and farm. Although only a small portion of the farm has been kept, there is plenty of room to walk around and learn a lot. The cost of a $6 entry fee will get you a brief discourse on the life of Keller, and then you can roam around the house and property on your own. Outside you can see the water pump where Helen Keller said her first word, "water," and the cottage where Keller's parents lived when she was very small. She was actually born in the cottage, and later on it would become the home of Anne Sullivan, the 20-year old woman who was hired to teach Helen when she was five years old. One interesting thing that I learned about Sullivan is that she was living in a poorhouse when she was contacted by Keller's parents. In other words, she was desperate to have a roof over her head and food to eat because she had nowhere else to go, no one to help her get her feet on the ground after she got her education. I also learned that Sullivan was once visually-impaired herself but after several eye operations she was able to regain some of her vision. 

In the back of the yard you can see video of Helen Keller giving a speech in actual audible words, something that I didn't know she could do. She learned how to speak and her words were very clear. She had a very high IQ, something that doesn't surprise me at all, since she had so many physical limitations. But she didn't allow these limitations to keep her from enjoying life and inspiring others. I really can't think of a word that adequately describes the awesomeness of Helen Keller. She was a unique woman who changed the way we look at people with disabilities. If you ever plan a trip to Tuscumbia, you might want to plan your trip on a weekend when "The Miracle Worker," the play about Keller, is performed. The play is performed on Friday and Saturday evenings, June 3-July 9, of this year. I think tickets start at $15 per person. You can go a little early and tour the home before the show begins.

 Day two of our adventure took us in the opposite direction, way down to Monroeville, Alabama. Monroeville is about a 3-hour drive from Birmingham, so that was a long day. We took two friends with us, so we had a lot of fun. When we arrived in this small town we read some historical markers and ate our picnic lunch. Then we went inside the town courthouse, saw some interesting exhibits, and visited the courthouse. Nelle Harper Lee planned the courthouse in To Kill a Mockingbird after this courthouse where her own father, Amasa Coleman Lee, practiced as a lawyer. He was most likely the inspiration for the character of Atticus Finch in Lee's novels. I learned that Truman Capote was another famous writer from Monroeville, and we saw some of the "ruins" where his house once stood next door to Lee's home. Lee's home is no longer there, however, because her dad had it torn down many years ago. It's been replaced by a small ice cream store. We were the only tourists in the town square that day, so we got a lot of attention from the Chamber of Commerce representatives and the ladies working in the gift shot. They told us where to find Harper's Lee grave, just around the corner, so we went there and saw her grave and the coins lying on it. She died in Feb. of this year, but she was ill for several years due to the affects of a stroke. She spent the last couple of years of her life in a local nursing home. I think To Kill a Mockingbird will live on as a great classic of American literature for many years. It's a great story with the themes of injustice, racism, hope, and honor. 

On Thursday of last week I departed Birmingham and headed toward my hometown of Georgetown, Kentucky. Along the way I stopped in Nashville to see an "old" friend for a couple of hours, and then I continued north until I reached Munfordville, Ky on I 65. I then got off the interstate and drove around the town where I lived when I was about 10 until age 12. I saw that a new school has been built right net to the old one, and our little house looked exactly the same as it did many years ago. Close to the school I saw a historical marker so I decided to get out and read it. It told the story of Stanley Cottrell, Jr., a distant relative of the Thompson/Cruse side of my family. Stanley grew up in the Munfordville area and was a famous long-distance runner, so they finally decided to place a historical marker in town to celebrate his achievements. I think Stanley's father was my grandmother's first cousin, so that's how we are related. I was in elementary school with Stanley's two younger sisters, and I remember them clearly. Stanley began his running career by running the 8 miles from Horse Cave to Munfordville on a bet. Later on he ran from New York to California and in China. He was pretty amazing. Today he is in his 60's and lives in Atlanta. 

I finished listening to "Basic Italian" while I was driving on this great adventure, and I also listened to Alexander McCall Smith's book, The Miracle at Speedy Motors, the ninth book in the series, "The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency," by Alexander McCall Smith. So I learned a little Italian and heard a fun story along the way.

I hope you have a wonderful week. On Thursday I head out to the mountains to be a leader with the church teenagers at youth camp, so I'll be gone another five days for that. Meanwhile, I hope to get started on my next book, The Nest.

Adios,

Melissa Hill

Book Blogger

www.onegoodbookblog.blogspot.com

 

One Brave Girl Makes a Difference

 

"Peace in every home, every street, every village, every country - this is my dream. Education for every boy and girl in the world. To sit down on a chair and read my books with all my friends at school is my right. To see each and every human being with a smile of happiness is my wish. I am Malala. My world has changed but I have not." 

-Malala Yousafzai in I am Malala, p.313.

If you watch the news I'm sure that you've heard about Malala Yousafazai, the teenager who was shot in the head by the Taliban because she stood up for education. This amazing memoir is about love, hope, faith, and great courage in the face of incredible adversity that most of us cannot even fathom. The subtitle of this book is "The Girl Who Stood Up For Education and Was Shot by the Taliban" Malala did not just "take a stand" on one single day - she had been at it for quite some time, often giving a speech on the radio or working alongside her father who also was an advocate for education for all people. You see, growing up in Pakistan was not easy for a girl like Malala, because she loved to read and was curious about almost every subject. It's hard to believe that in the 21st century there are still places where girls are treated very different than their male counterparts. Not only were schools for girls often closed when the Taliban controlled Pakistan, they were not allowed to do some of the things that boys did. Women were not allowed to go out without a male relative beside them, and they had to cover their head at all times.All females were encouraged to wear a burka, but Malala refused. However, she always covered her head as you see on her book cover.

Malala's family was very poor, but before her father married her mother he was able to get an education. He became a teacher and started several schools. He placed a very high value on education and yet he experienced many setbacks in his work. Sometimes he didn't have enough money for the rent on the school, or the school was flooded, or he couldn't pay his teachers. But he pressed on, never giving up, because he wanted ALL children to get an education. Even when things became very dangerous in his country, he pressed on. He spoke out for education and became well-known as an education advocate, putting his own life at risk many times. At one point he changed his route to school because he feared that he would be followed and perhaps shot. It's hard to imagine how this family and so many others suffered so much during war time.

One day in 2012 when Malala was 15 years old, she rode on the school van with other girls when two young men stopped the bus and walked forward with weapons. They asked, "Who is Malala?" and right after that, three shots were fired, one of which hit Malala in the head. Two other girls were hurt but not seriously. Malala was taken to several different hospitals where she was treated for the wound. The bullet entered her forehead and went into her shoulder. It left her somewhat paralyzed or weakened on one side of her body, but a surgery to repair some nerves helped her get her smile back. For quite some time no one knew if she would survive, yet she did and she lives in Birmingham, England with her parents and two brothers to this day. She doesn't know if they will ever be able to go back to Swat, her village, but she is thankful for a safe place to live. She misses her friends and family back in Pakistan, and she hopes to see them again someday.

Next month I plan to attend my first book club meeting at the North Durham Public Library. If the group is interested in the same kinds of books that I find interesting, I hope to continue on with the group. The first book that was chosen is The Nest, a book that I'm not familiar with, but it sounds good so I look forward to reading it soon. I'm also going to start listening to another book by Alexander McCall Smith. It's one of his books that is set in Africa. He's the author of the Ladies' Detective Agency books and the two books that I've read that are set in Scotland. I'm sure I'm going to enjoy the book as I travel to Alabama and Kentucky next week I'm also listening to "Basic Italian" in the car, so after the trip maybe I'll be able to say a few phrases in Italian! No, I don't have any plans to go to Italy but if I ever do, I want to be ready.

Today while my car was getting an oil change I went for a walk on Watts Street, one of my favorite streets in Durham. There are so many old houses to admire, and the flowers and shady sidewalks are so pretty. When I was walking I saw a little park, and right in front of it was one of those "Little Free Libraries." So cute - and it was full of books. Hats off to whoever started these mini-libraries. I also saw a cute little rabbit that allowed me to take his/her picture.

Yes, school is out for me so I have a break from teaching ESL, and I'm trying to make the best of my time. So far I have cleaned out the shed, something that I dreaded but now it's done and the work wasn't too difficult. I have other areas that I want to clean out as well, but I'm going to try to pace myself on those projects. I'll write again in about 10 days or so or whenever I finish another book. Leave me your thoughts and suggestions, and THANKS FOR READING MY POSTS!

-Melissa Hill
Book Blogger
www.onegoodbookblog.blogspot.com

Two Great Reads

 

"It literally takes a village of dedicated, tireless, type A-personality people to make a single book live up to its potential and find an audience."

-Kristin Hannah, in her acknowledgements at the end of The Nightingale.

I finished two great novels this week and both were very emotional and gut-wrenching at times. The first one, The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah, is about two sisters who live in France during World War II. The other book, And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini,  (author of The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns) is akin to a family epic that takes place in and around Afghanistan beginning in the 1950s. Both of these books are good novels because they tell amazing stories, comment on true-to-life historical events, and their language is fluid, magnetic, and beautifully written.

The Nightingale was published last year and it became Hannah's twenty-second book, which is no small achievement. I cannot imagine writing that many books, although I know there are authors who have written many more than this. Nevertheless, Hannah's story begins in the small village of Carriveau, France in 1939, a turbulent time throughout Europe and the entire world. The two sisters are the main characters, and we follow them through the many hurdles of their war-time lives. Vianne, the married sister, has a daughter named Sophie. The mother and daughter are left alone when Antoine, Vianne's husband, must leave to join the fight against Hitler. Although Vianne is a teacher, her money soon runs out and she and her daughter face daily struggles to find a little bit of food so that they can survive just one more day. Meanwhile, Isabelle, the younger sister who is only 18 years old, is a drop-out of several boarding schools and feels abandoned by their father who turned to drinking when his wife died. After you read several chapters you learn the significance of "the nightingale," but I don't want to spoil that for you here. Isabelle becomes an underground secret agent who helps airmen find safety when they've had to eject from their airplanes. She is fearless and manages to evade the Nazis for quite some time due to her false identification papers. She is part of a large network of people who oppose Hitler and the Nazis, so the help of her co-workers was a large part of her success. Both sisters endure severe persecution when the Nazis take over France and do anything they wish to the French people. Vianne had to let two German officers reside at her house at different times, one of which was a good man but the other was pure evil. Also, she lost her best friend, Rachel, when the Nazis arrested her because she was Jewish. Her feelings of loss and guilt tore at her for a very long time. Similarly, Isabelle suffered greatly during the war, yet she found love and happiness along the way. She got to do something courageous and meaningful with her life, and this is what she wanted more than anything. The Nightingale is a very popular book right now, and if you haven't read it, I encourage you to do so. You won't be disappointed.

And the Mountains Echoed is a story that follows a family through several generations. The characters live in Kabul, Afghanistan as well as in Paris and San Francisco. The heart of the story is the sale of a poor man's three-year-old daughter, Pari, to a wealthy couple. The little girl is taken by her step-uncle, Nabi, to Nila and Suleiman Wahdati, the couple that Nabi works for in the city of Kabul. This is a story about love, redemption, dishonesty, and the power that draws families together even after many years apart. It's a story of forgiveness and gratitude in the simple things. To say this novel is emotional would not be fair to Hosseini because "emotional" is not a strong enough word. This book will cause you to examine yourself, particularly in the area of family loyalty.  How far would you go for your family? How much do you really love them, and how do you show it? These are questions that you will ask yourself when you are reading this book. You will also examine yourself in the area of materialism as you think about what really matters in life. Does it really matter that we get a bigger and better television? Does it matter that we have the newest and nicest car on the block? If you read And the Mountains Echoed you will realize that you have many wonderful simple things to be thankful for, and you will see that unconditional love is the most powerful and important thing that you can fill your life up with. This story is so powerful that you will not want to put it down. At times you will feel pain and sorrow, but the joy and love will bring you to a better place.

I'm almost finished with my tenth year of teaching English as a Second Language, and now I'm looking forward to some rest and relaxation this summer. Later this month I will travel to Alabama to visit a friend. We plan to visit the hometowns of Harper Lee and Helen Keller, so I'm looking forward to feeling like a tourist again - I can't wait! After that I'll go to Kentucky to visit my family there for my mom's birthday. I'll be on the road for a full week, but I'm looking forward to it. I hope to see Sharon, Sherry, Cindy, Elizabeth, and others while I'm in Georgetown, Kentucky too.

Have a great weekend,

Melissa Hill
Book Blogger
ww.onegoodbookblog.blogspot.com

"The Man Who Knew Infinity" and Books that Inspire

"You wanted to know how I get my ideas. God speaks to me." -Srinivasa Ramanujan, in the film based on a true story, "The Man Who Knew Infinity."


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We saw a good film last weekend that we had not ever heard of. "The Man Who Knew Infinity" is a movie about the life of a mathematics genius from India, Srinivasa Ramanujan. The part of Ramanujan is played by Dev Patel, one of my favorite actors who is also seen in "Slumdog Millionaire" and the Marigold Hotel movies. Patel is such an emotional actor, so he seems to be very effective when he plays the parts of intense, passionate characters. He does not disappoint in this latest film based on a true story, and he plays the part splendidly along side of Jeremy Irons who plays the role of G.H. Hardy, the professor at Trinity College in England who was responsible for bringing the genius, Ramanujan, to England for the first time. Hardy is mesmerized by the math proofs and other work that Ramanujan has done, and he mentors the young man and helps him get some of his work published. Ramanujan stays in England for a long five years, all the time trying to get some notoriety for his math work so that he can adequately support his young wife and mother back in India. I don't want to spoil the ending, so all I will say is that the ending is somewhat sad. I don't know why I have never seen a commercial for this movie, but I think people who like to read and learn will enjoy this movie. I imagine that it will be out on DVD soon because only one theater in this area was showing it last weekend, so look for it at the Red Box or get it from Netflix.

I'm almost finished listening to a good book, And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini, the author of A Thousand Splendid Suns and The Kite Runner. I find that Hosseini's writings are usually mesmerizing and works of art as stories. He weaves plots together masterfully and pulls in the reader so naturally that he feels he is right there in Kabul or Paris watching the action in person. And the Mountains Echoed is one of those books that I will be sad to finish. Let me take a moment here and say again HOW MUCH I LOVE MY PUBLIC LIBRARY, the North Durham Branch. I'm in the habit now of always having a book on CD from the library in my car so that I can enjoy more books. Our library has so many books on CD that it's usually a tough decision to select one, but most of them have been very enjoyable. And the Mountains Echoed is the story of an Afghan family who lives through wars, tragedies, and complicated relationships. The action begins in 1952 in Shadbagh, Afghanistan as we meet characters such as Nabi (a chaffeur), Nila (a poet), Mr. Wahdati (a wealthy businessman), Pari (Nabi's neice who is taken from her family and adopted out at a young age), and others. The story rolls on and on for many years so we actually get to meet the children and grandchildren of some of these characters as the story unfolds. If a character leaves the story for a while, you can be sure that many chapters later you are going to find out what happened to that person, where he/she went, what kind of life he had, etc. You will want to hang on to each and every part of the plot because Hosseini does not have anything in his plot that is not there for a reason. He wants you to be curious, he wants to leave you wondering why that person acted that way, why he ran away, and more. I don't want this story to end, but I know it must. I only have about 4 CDs remaining, so then it's back to the library I go to hopefully find another great gem on the shelf.

I'm also reading a wonderful, popular book that you may have already read, The Nightingale, by Kristin Hannah. I have about 150 pages left to go, and again, I'll be sad when the book ends. I don't want to comment too much on the book at this point since I haven't finished the book, but there are some points that I would like to bring out. First, this book fits snugly on the figurative shelf of the many historic novels set in Europe that I've read in the past few years. It is set during World War II in the village of Carriveau, France. It's the story of two sisters, Vianne and Isabelle, and how the war affects them and their loved ones. It's a story of perseverance in the midst of complete evil, a story that was all-too-true for all of the soldiers during WW II and the citizens of the war-torn countries involved. Truthfully, I doubt there was a single country in the world that was not affected by this war. I hope you will read this amazing book and find out what "the nightingale" actually is, because it does have something significant to do with the plot. At the risk of repeating myself in past posts, this book reminds me of some of two other books that I've read which were also set in Europe during WW II,  All the Light We Cannot See and War Brides. It also reminds me of movies that I've seen:  "Sophie's Choice," "Playing for Time," "Schindler's List," "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas," "The Hiding Place," and "The Diary of Anne Frank." 

As I close, I leave you with these words that we were able to sing when we were in Scotland two years ago, words that bring to my mind a beautiful trip we had while experiencing a taste of that beautiful country:

"The Bonnie Banks o' Loch Lomond" (published in 1841)

By yon bonnie banks and by yon bonnie braes,
Where the sun shines bright on Loch Lomond,
Where me and my true love were ever wont to gae,
On the bonnie, bonnie branks o' Loch Lomond.

Chorus:

On ye'll' tak' the high road, and I'll tak' the low road,
And I'll be in Scotland afore ye,
But me and my true love will never meet again,
On the bonnie, bonnie banks o' Loch Lomond.

Our boat ride on Loch Lomond was an experience that I will never forget.


-Melissa Hill
Book Blogger
www.onegoodbookblog.blogspot.com