Immigration and Emigration

Yesterday, while working on the MassCat catalog, I encountered a skimpy record with the title The Potato Famine and the Irish Immigrants. When I find incomplete records, I search the title (and publisher, date, or whatever other information I have) in some other data bases to find a good record that I can import into my catalog. (I've put a lot of time and energy into this catalog and I feel rather proprietary about it.)

I used several different search strategies, double checked the spelling, tried a some other catalogs, but I wasn't finding anything that resembled this record.

Until I stumbled upon the title The potato famine and the Irish emigrants by P.F. Speed. The little information I had matched this record - except for Immigrants/Emigrants. Whoever keyed this title into the catalog was not paying attention.

We don't often use the word Emigrants. Living in the U.S. we read and hear news stories about Immigrants since it appears many people want to come here. And while they are Immigrants to the U.S., they are Emigrants from their home countries.

Working on this one bib record stimulated a lot of thoughts and feelings. One, of course, is language. Another (my pet peeve) is carelessness in recording information. As a cataloger, this is the bane of my existence.

And then there is the whole issue of Immigration and all of the animosity towards immigrants. That's too big a topic for me to tackle right now. However, I do want to say that where one was born is a matter of pure chance. I don't understand condemning people for wanting to live somewhere else.

Harry Truman Deserves Better

Harry S. Truman was U.S. President when I was born. I have no recollection of his being president, but I have read a lot about him. I've been interested in Presidential history since junior high school when I completed a major research project on assassinations and attempted assassinations of our commanders in chief.

Truman was mentioned in Robert Caro's biography of Lyndon Johnson; Truman was president during most of Johnson's years in the Senate. Truman was covered in the book Bland Ambition by Steve Tally about Vice-Presidents and had an entire chapter in Accidental Presidents by Jared Cohen. 

I also read Hidden White House by Robert Klara. When the Trumans moved into the White House, the place was literally falling down. It was HST who was instrumental in its restoration.

When I saw the title Saving Freedom: Truman, the Cold War, and the fight for western civilization by Joe Scarborough I borrowed it from my local public library. After the first couple of chapters, I was tempted to return the book without finishing it. I found it hard to read.

The research seems solid enough and most of the information is in the public domain, available to anyone willing to search. My major complaint is with the writing style. Joe Scarborough may be a published author, but he needs a good high school course in coherent writing. He's an amateur.

Scarborough uses too many pronouns. It was difficult to follow who was doing what to whom after a series of "he ..."

His sentences are sometime very long and when I re-read them, they weren't always complete sentences as a word had been left out.

Phrasing was sometimes awkward and occasionally a sentence contained a different preposition from one I would have used, as if a non-native English speaker had written it. I also found some misspellings that should have been caught by spell checker.

What annoyed me the most is that neither Scarborough nor his editor understand the difference between a possessive noun and a plural noun. MANY, MANY times I saw Truman's meaning the entire family and Trumans meaning something Harry owned. 

If you can overlook the errors in grammar, misspelling and poor writing, this is actually an interesting book about Harry Truman (both the man and the President) and the change in the United States' (note the apostrophe at the end because the noun is both plural and possessive) attitude toward the rest of the world. 

Despite Woodrow Wilson's plea for the U.S. to join the League of Nations after the first World War, the country chose to remain isolationist. After the second World War, that was no longer possible and the U.S. joined the United Nations and helped organize NATO.

Even though Henry Ford said "History is bunk" I think History is important and downright fascinating.

This 'n' That

 It's now about 11 months into the COVID shutdown. I've adapted to many things and feel as if I can't stand one more minute of many others.

I've sort of gotten used to staying at home, though I sometimes find myself planning for a weekend and wondering which friends to invite. M and I used to go out just about every Friday or Saturday night depending on what was happening. Since we were more active than most of our friends, it was usually up to us to initiate a get together with another couple or two. Now, many of our friends are not going to any indoor venue and some of the rest are not meeting with people regardless of the location.

Perhaps I should feel grateful. The fewer people with whom I come in contact, the less my chance of contracting COVID or even the seasonal flu.

Right now (as I look out on the snow-covered yard) I'm (not so) patiently waiting for spring and warmer weather when we can entertain on the patio or screened in porch. At least the days are getting longer.

I now have a walking buddy. C, who also leads senior exercise classes in Hatfield, walks nearly every day. Since she lives near the center of town, she many routes from which to choose and they are all relatively flat. Where I live, there is only one place to walk and it's all downhill. Which means on my way back, when I'm getting tired, it's all uphill. C and I have been meeting about once a week and walking around town in different directions. We walk about 3-4 miles (which is much more than I would do on my own); once we did nearly 5 miles.

Walking is good especially because I seem to have lost interest in Yoga and Pilates. Suddenly, I just didn't want to do them anymore. Maybe I just need a break. Or need different CDs and DVDs.

Of course, I've been doing a lot of reading. I began the V.I. Warshawski mystery series by Sara Paretsky. I'd forgotten how much I like her books. When I first discovered them many years ago, I read all of them. But then, as always happens, I caught up to her and she doesn't write as fast as I read. At best, only one is published each year. The same thing happened with Louise Penny. But it's been so long since I read Paretsky's earliest books, they're all new again.

And on my alphabetical list of potential duplicates, I've reached The most ...

Today, I'll be going into the MLS office. It's the highlight of my week.

So Many Books!

There is a tall pile of books on my bedside table. There is usually a pile, but this one is taller than normal.

The reason is that I've spent the last two or so weeks reading just one LONG book. In the meantime, most of the other books I had on hold arrived.

The long book (which I just finished this morning) is Ahab's Wife by Sena Jeter Naslund. It was recommended to me by a friend and so I ordered it through my local public library. I didn't realize it was nearly 700 pages long. It's sort of ironic that I didn't notice the number of pages as I'm the person who fills in that part of the description when it is missing in the MassCat catalog.

This book is different from most of my reading. It's not a mystery, it's an historical novel. Despite the intriguing first line (Ahab was neither my first husband nor my last), it took several pages for me to get involved in the story. Once I did, however, I was hooked.

Before she becomes Ahab's wife, Una spends several years on an island as part of a lighthouse family. Then she dresses like a boy and goes to sea on a whaling ship. She has many other adventures and the names of some of the people she meets will be familiar.

This book sort or reminded me of Elizabeth Gilbert's The Signature of All Things. There is a strong female protagonist who is not limited by the expectations of others due to her gender. While there is an  emphasis on science in The Signature of All Things, philosophy is more of the guiding force in Ahab's Wife. 

Given Naslund's beautiful, melodious prose, I'm finding it difficult to describe her book - as if I'm trying to compete with her talent and finding myself woefully inadequate.

Now I'm looking forward to the much shorter mystery books waiting for me in that taller than normal pile on my bedside table.

Just One More Week

On  Monday, December 21 the Winter Solstice will occur at 5:02 a.m.

This is my favorite time of the year. Not because I like winter - which I don't. It's my favorite time because the days will start to get longer.

I will likely be awake for this event. I tend to wake up around 5 a.m. and then doze until I get up at 7. I usually get to see the sunrise between dozes as there is a sliding glass door that faces south east directly across the room from my bed.

I like being able to see what's happening outside first thing in the morning. I know if it's raining (though I can usually hear it before I see it) or cloudy.

So far, the "winter" (it's not officially winter yet) has not been too difficult, though our first storm is predicted for tomorrow. 

I know there will be many challenges during the next few months. COVID-19 cases are increasing and there are fewer places to stay safe since it's too cold to spend much time outdoors. At the Council on Aging, we had hoped to begin offering indoor, in-person exercise classes to those seniors who do not own computers and therefore can't join the Zoom classes. That's not going to happen for a while.

This is the time of year that I send Christmas/Holiday cards to the people I do not see on any regular basis. For the last couple of weeks, I've been sending a card to just about everyone I know. I feel a real need to have some contact with people. I've always been sort of a loner and don't mind spending a lot of time by myself or only with my significant other. But I've reached my limit even though we haven't been totally isolated.

The positive side is that I've done lots of reading, lots of cooking, seen lots of DVDs and the U.S. Post Office is getting a little boost from all the stamps I've bought.

Old Favorites

 I've been reading a lot of new authors and I've enjoyed their books. 

But sometimes, I just want to read books by my old favorites: Marcia Muller (the Sharon McCone series), Carolyn Hart (the Death on Demand series with Annie Laurence Darling), Donna Leon (the Commisario Guido Brunetti series), J.A. Jance (currently reading the J.P. Beaumont series), Rhys Bowen (the Royal Spyness series), Faye Kellerman (Peter Decker/Rina Lazarus series). Janet Evanovich's latest book was just published and I'm now on the wait list. There are 297 holds on 122 copies, so it may be a while.

Actually, I'm getting less thrilled with Janet and her character Stephanie Plum with each book. It's as if she's trying too hard to be funny. But I keep reading them because there's a certain level of comfort with these old favorites. 

I'm seriously considering beginning the alphabet with Sue Grafton's books. I read A is for Alibi within the last couple of years; I'll probably start with B is for Burglar. I'm up-to-date on Sara Paretsky's V.I. Warshawski series, though I may start back at the beginning with Indemnity Only. It's been a long time since I read that.

I have a list of my favorite authors and I'm dependent on the site Fantastic Fiction to keep abreast of their works (and to read them in order on my retrospective jaunts).

I've also borrowed about a zillion old movies on DVD that I've been watching: Birdcage, as well as the original La Cage aux Folles; Hannah and Her Sisters; 9 to 5; Cinema Paradiso; Amadeus. 

M. and I are spending more time at home because it's too cold to be outside in the evenings. That means less (maybe no) inviting a couple of friends over for dinner. Or being invited to others' homes. I'm mentally preparing myself for 6 months of "down-time".

One bright spot is being able to go into the MLS office one day each week. I get to talk with another person who is across the room. We don't spend much time talking, but at least she's there. And I get to see different walls and a different view out of the window. The computer is better, the monitor is bigger than the ones at home.

Today is a work at home day. Guess I'd better get to it. I'm now up to "The flight ..."

Split Pea Soup

Now that the weather is cooler, it's time to make soups. 

One of my favorites is this Split Pea Soup. While the recipe calls for a ham hock, I leave it out and make a vegetarian version using vegetable stock. I don't remember where I found this recipe, but I've had it for a long time. 

I like a lot of vegetables in my soups, so I often double the celery, onion, carrot and potato. I never peel the potato. I also don't bother to puree the soup as the split peas get pretty mushy on their own.

1 ½ c. green split peas

1 Tbsp. butter or oil

1 stock celery, small dice

1 onion, small dice

1 carrot, peeled, small dice

1 Tbsp. flour

5 c. chicken or vegetable stock

1 ham hock (optional)

2 bay leaves

½ tsp. dried savory

½ tsp. dried sage

Pinch ground cloves

1 large potato, peeled, medium dice

2 Tbsp. fresh parsley

Rinse peas well with cool water.  Heat butter or oil in a soup pot over medium heat, add onion, celery, and carrot.  Cook stirring occasionally for 2-3 minutes.  Add flour and cook another minute.  Add 1/3 of the stock and stir until there are no lumps of flour.  Add remaining stock and ham hock and stir well.  Add split peas, bay leaves, savory, sage, cloves, salt & pepper.  Bring soup to a full boil over high heat, then reduce the heat until a gentle simmer is established.  Simmer stirring frequently for 30 minutes.  Add the potato and continue to simmer until all of the ingredients are quite tender.  If desired, puree about 1/3 of the soup in a blender, then return puree to the remainder of the soup.  Stir in the parsley and adjust the seasonings with additional salt & pepper.