Carrying the Fire

Mind-numbing conference calls make for great opportunities for posting.

A couple of weeks ago I was having a conversation with one of my service managers about good books. He recommended that I pick up and read "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy. I was somewhat intrigued knowing that the author had written "No Country for Old Men" which recently had won the Academy Award for Best Picture. (No, I haven't seen it yet and am still debating on it).

I picked up a copy the book on Tuesday and finished it Wednesday night. All I can say is WOW! This has to be the best book I have read in a long time. It details the journey of a father and his young son living in a post-apocalyptic world. The sun is osbscured by nuclear ash and it is very cold. The only possessions of the father and son are kept in a shopping cart as they journey on The Road. The father carries a pistol with only two rounds in it. They must scavenge for food and avoid what few survivors they encoutner. The journey's end contains no promises of a better life, but they must go, because they are "carrying the fire".

Yes, this was an Oprah Book Club selection. Yes, I consider it a love story (between father and son). And yes, I loved every page. McCarthy's prose is stark if not beautiful. I loved the style and I am so glad that Barb was asleep whenI finished the book. I did not want her to see my emotions. She never lets me live that stuff down.

Pick it up and read it. Let me know your thoughts.

http://www.amazon.com/Road-Oprahs-Book-Club/dp/0307387895/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1214580554&sr=8-1

What the Schmatz?!

Weird things are abounding in the burgeoning metropolis of Clinton, Utah. I have been having strange dreams as of late. Last night was probably the most surreal of all. I dreamt I was in training, in Jerusalem to become a Rabbi. Yes, a Rabbi. As part of my final test, I had to recite a Yiddish prayer verbatim, including all of the slurring of Ls and such at the Wailing Wall. My little Jewish friend (I don't know his name, nor did I know I had a Jewish friend)and I passed our final trial. We were both given new blue satin Yarmulkes and prayer shawls. We then headed over to the public bath for a schvitz.
Maybe it is my inner Jew coming out in me. Maybe it is the fact that I watched Neil Diamond's "The Jazz Singer" about 5 times in the last 3 months. Or maybe it is a global conspiracy to get people hooked on purine foods. I don't know, but my Mission President's counsel to me before I came home was to remember my dreams. This is one that will be pondered upon continuously. So, L'chaim!