In Flanders fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved, and were loved, and now we lie In Flanders Fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe: To you from failing hands we throw The torch; be yours to hold it high. If ye break faith with us who die We shall not sleep, though poppies grow In Flanders fields.
– John McCrae, 1915
Though thankfully I was never in a war, this is an important day for me. I remember.
Remembrance Day (Australia, Canada, Colombia, UK and Ireland), also known as Poppy Day (South Africa and Malta), and Armistice Day (UK, New Zealand and many other Commonwealth countries; and the original name of the holiday internationally) is a day to commemorate the sacrifice of veterans and civilians in World War I and other wars. It is observed on November 11 to recall the end of World War I on that date in 1918.
Outsider follows journalist Brett Popplewell as he uncovers the story of Dag Aabye, an aging former stuntman who lived alone inside a school bus on a mountain, running day and night through blizzards and heat waves.
The book chronicles Aabye’s life from childhood to the silver screen, reflecting on our notions of aging, belonging and human accomplishment.
Dag Aabye is often credited the world’s first extreme skier.
His life is extreme, as well.
GREAT ending.
Into the Wild meets Born to Run meets The Stranger in the Woods in a fascinating true story of a marathon-running hermit and a journalist’s quest to solve the mystery at the core of the enigmatic man’s existence
Obituary writer Bud Stanley is semi-depressed. One night he gets drunk and posts his own obituary.
His company assumes he is dead and removes him from their employees list.
Turning up at work, the computer won’t let them fire Bud because he’s technically dead in their system. 😀
Catch-22.
I love it.
And there is a lot of humour. I laughed out loud more than once.
Thurber Prize-winner and New York Times bestselling author John Kenney tells a funny, touching story about life and death, about the search for meaning, about finding and never letting go of the preciousness of life.
Suspended from work, Bud meets a woman and they start attending wakes and funerals of strangers.
There are some interesting philosophical discussions about the meaning of life. Important.
Two additional characters really appeal: Leo, a neighbour’s son, and Bud’s best friend Tim.
So … plenty of good content. But ultimately I’m not sure I can call this book a success. I nearly quit several times.
The plane is jam-packed. Every seat is taken. So of course the flight is delayed!
Flight attendant Allegra Patel likes her job—she’s generally happy with her life, even if she can’t figure out why she hooks up with a man she barely speaks to—but today is her twenty-eighth birthday. She can think of plenty of things she’d rather be doing than placating a bunch of grumpy passengers.
There’s the well-dressed man in seat 4C who is compulsively checking his watch, desperate not to miss his eleven-year-old daughter’s musical. Further back, a mother of two is frantically trying to keep her toddler entertained and her infant son quiet. How did she ever think being a stay-at-home mom would be easier than being a lawyer? Ethan is lost in thought; he’s flying back from his first funeral. A young couple has just gotten married; she’s still wearing her wedding dress. An emergency room nurse is looking forward to traveling the world once she retires in a few years, it’s going to be so much fun! If they ever get off the tarmac. . . .
Suddenly a woman none of them know stands up. She makes predictions about how and when everyone on board will die. …
How would you live your life if you thought you knew how it would end? Would you love who you love or try to love someone else? Would you stay married? Would you stop drinking? Would you call up your ex-best friend you haven’t spoken to in years? Would you quit your job?
For me it was less a plot than a series of slices of life. The characters unrelated — other than their reactions to what happened on the plane.
At times I found the book long.
Still — it’s unique. And it will make you consider your own life.
Are YOU living each day as if you already know the year of your death?
Gumption is a humorous, philosophical look at some of the people who have inspired Nick over his lifetime. For example, as a young man he was a huge fan of the film Billy Jack (1971) — and its creator / star Tom Laughlin. He attended Tom’s funeral in 2013 and spent time with the family.
While focused on personal heroes, Nick finds time to expound upon many of his favorite topics such as religion, politics, woodworking, agriculture, creativity, philosophy, fashion, and, of course, meat.
Though I’ve never been much of a fan of poetry, one that frequently comes to mind is Ozymandias.
I met a traveller from an antique land Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone Stand in the desart.[d] Near them, on the sand, Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown, And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command, Tell that its sculptor well those passions read Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things, The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed: And on the pedestal these words appear: “My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings: Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!” No thing beside remains. Round the decay Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare The lone and level sands stretch far away.
Rick McCharles 