Seriously, It's Time For Another Book Report

March, April, and May were busy months, but I did find time to do some reading.  Mostly I have been AWOL because of my big trips in May (10 days abroad and a week in the Midwest for work).  I've realized that I need to make reading more of a priority - so often I come home from work and it's easier to just sit in front of the TV and vegetate than to pick up a book.  Lately, my favorite pastime has been watching the new BBC series of "Sherlock!" but I'm now out of episodes (can't wait for new ones!!).  Hopefully June will find me reading some books that have been sitting on my shelf for far too long.

In preparation for my trip, I read Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw.  If you have ever seen "My Fair Lady," it's the play that musical is based on.  Much of the dialogue in the musical is exactly the same as the play, so I don't feel like I gleaned a whole lot of new facts (although Freddy's sister is a funny minor character that is not in the musical).  SPOILER ALERT: I was disappointed to find that at the end of the play, Eliza Doolittle marries Freddy (in the musical the ending is much more ambiguous).  I don't like that at all - Freddy is not her intellectual equal and he's a total spaz.  Shaw's intimation is that Eliza's only choice is between Freddy, who adores and worships her but is simply a slave who doesn't really know her or challenge her; and Henry Higgins, who treats her with no respect but is able to help her grow and become a better person.  Eliza, there's got to be more to life - have a little gumption!  I saw the play in London, and it was fabulous, especially with Rupert Everett as Higgins!

I also read "Citizens of London" by Lynne Olson, which I highly recommend.  It's about three Americans who lived in London during the World War II and were instrumental in convincing the American people and FDR that America needed to help Britain and enter the war.  The book focuses on Ed Murrow, CBS radio broadcaster; Averell Harriman, millionaire and Lend-Lease program administrator; and Gil Winant, former New Hampshire governor and US ambassador to England.  Olson's prose is engrossing and really readable - she made the streets of wartime London come alive with vivid descriptions and contemporary accounts.  I really liked learning about Gil Winant, who was a gentle and compassionate man, and I think he was a great American.  What really struck me as a read the book was how much the British people had to endure - so much suffering!!  I had heard about the Blitz before but this book made the horror and grimness of it real to me.  It was a terrifying time and I salute the people of London for their courage and determination.  I think if the Blitz had happened in America, we would have whined like little babies.  If you're considering reading the book, just be aware that all these men, though married, had affairs during the war - so just be prepared.

I also did finally finish my two books on American women, but I'm going to post that separately.

Hope

Yes, I have been hiding from you.  I did not fulfill my reading goal during March (but working on finishing the books for April, and am about 1 1/2 way done!).  So this post won't be about reading, but instead about Easter.

Unfortunately this Easter I will not be attending the sunrise service at the Lincoln Memorial, (see previous post here), but I wanted to talk about what Easter means to me: HOPE.  Hope in a future that is better, brighter, and more beautiful than yesterday.  Hope that renews and beautifies us, just like springtime does for the entire earth.

In a political context, hope is often considered foolish and impractical idealism - a false hope spread by politicians eager for our votes.  But I think politics can inspire us to create that better future.  True hope leads to action - action to help others and to give them hope and courage to face difficulties.

Is there a downside to hope?  Anne Shirley in a melodramatic moment once said that her life was a "perfect graveyard of buried hopes."  One of my favorite movies is "Shawshank Redemption,"  which takes place in a prison and has a bit to say about hope.  Red, Morgan Freeman's character, says this: "Let me tell you something, my friend.  Hope is a dangerous thing.  Hope can drive a man insane."

Hope can tantalize and torture us with things that can never be.  But that is only so if we put our hope in things that disappoint us.  I believe that Jesus is our Saviour, and in him we have hope for eternal life.  Elder James E. Faust said it well when he stated: "The unfailing source of our hope is that we are sons and daughters of God and that His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, saved us from death."  ("Hope, and Anchor to the Soul," Ensign, Nov. 1999).

Later in the movie Shawshank Redemption, Tim Robbins' character, Andy, writes his friend a letter, saying "Remember, Red, hope is a good thing.  Maybe the best of things.  And no good thing ever dies."  Have hope!!  There is so much goodness in the world, especially when you step outside the bloviating blogosphere and picayune punditry of today's American political scene.  When we have hope, like Andy, we can share it with others, as he did with his friend Red.

Neal A. Maxwell said it better: "Being blessed with hope, let us, as disciples, reach out to all who, for whatever reason, have 'moved away from the hope of the gospel' (Col. 1:23).  Let us reach to lift hands which hang hopelessly down" ("Brightness of Hope," Ensign, Nov. 1994).

So, celebrate this Easter by rejoicing in HOPE!  If you're religious, read the two articles quoted above.  If you're not, watch the movie Shawshank Redemption.  Share hope with those near you (whether geographically or emotionally) who are laboring under heavy burdens - they are all around us, and they need our help.

(Tangent: The frivolous part of me also associates Easter with hats, and new dresses.  I liked the hat picture here.)

Book Report - Part Two: Saga of Austen Continues

This month I actually finished TWO books, but I'll only share one of them here.  I just finished a book about Jane Austen written by a single evangelical Christian woman, it was an interesting perspective on Austen, and on life.  The book is "A Walk With Jane Austen" by Lori Smith.  It's an autobiographical account of a woman's travel through the places Jane Austen lived and walked.

The author perfectly expresses some of the same angst that Mormon single women sometimes experience when they get older and are still unmarried.  Plus, I just love Jane Austen, and I'm going to England in May, so it was a fun book to read to see where I should visit to walk in Jane's shoes.  One of my favorite parts was a prayer that she quotes which Jane Austen herself wrote:

Look with Mercy on the Sins we have this day committed, and in Mercy make us feel them deeply, that our Repentance may be sincere, & our resolutions stedfast of endeavouring against the commission of such in future. Teach us to understand the sinfulness of our own Hearts, and bring to our knowledge every fault of Temper and every evil Habit in which we have indulged to the discomfort of our fellow-creatures, and the danger of our own Souls. May we now, and on each return of night, consider how the past day has been spent by us, what have been our prevailing Thoughts, Words, and Actions during it, and how far we can acquit ourselves of Evil. Have we thought irreverently of Thee, have wedisobeyed Thy commandments, have we neglected any known duty, or willingly given pain to any human being? Incline us to ask our Hearts these questions Oh! God, and save us from deceiving ourselves by Pride or Vanity. 

If you've ever read any Jane Austen, you know that she was very good at pointing out the pride and vanity in the world, and gently chiding us for it.  I thought this was a beautifully composed prayer that really expresses the meaning of daily repentance and self-evaluation.

My goal for March is another two books: both about the heritage of American women, one by a liberal columnist and the other by a conservative Senator!  Happy Women's History Month!

(You can read the full prayer and one other one here: http://acacia.pair.com/Acacia.Vignettes/Two.Evening.Prayers.html)

My Funny Valentine

You may not know it, but I DO have a valentine's sweetheart.  Let me tell you about my special valentine:

- My valentine is smart.
- My valentine knows all the right moves.
- My valentine sometimes completes my sentences.
- My valentine can be bold (or not).
- My valentine is a multi-tasker.
- My valentine has a record of everything we've ever done together.
- My valentine remembers what I like and don't like.
- My valentine does whatever I ask (TRUE LOVE!).

You may have guessed, my valentine is Microsoft Excel.  Yes, the computer program.  As an accountant, I think it's going to be a long term relationship.

Joy

Here's my message of the day - find Joy.  I love the word JOY because it implies more than transitory happiness or contentment.  It implies that you have found something you treasure and hold dear.  Find the joy that lasts.

For me, baking is joy.  Here are some cupcakes I baked today for a friend's birthday.  Purple ones are chocolate, light pink ones are strawberry, and dark pink ones are red velvet.  

Republicans are...

Poopyheads.  There, I said it.  They are behaving like THIRD-GRADERS.  No, actually, that's too nuanced.  Republicans are behaving like small children in a restaurant throwing a temper tantrum because they can't order dessert.  Even third graders know better.

First, the name of their first bill? "Repeal the Job-killing health care act."  It's not job-killing.  Also, you are naming something in so incendiary a manner that even those who may agree with some of your points are amazed at your colossal lack of respect for people who have genuine disagreement with you.  You betray your childishness by naming something that way.

Second on Republican's agenda, I find the "Stop Taxpayer Funding for Abortions Act" offensive.  The idea of this bill is to stop taxpayer funding for abortions IN SOME RAPE CASES.  Thus saying that rape of a mentally incapacitated or drunk woman, for example, is somehow less of a rape.  That is just wrong, and offensive to me and all women everywhere.  That has moved beyond childishness to being a colossal jerk to women who are in an incredibly difficult situation (and you, as a heavy handed government interloper, would presume to make their personal decisions for them).

So, Republicans, enjoy your poopyheadedness.  I hope it leads to your downfall in the 2012 elections when the American people realize you haven't done anything except call people names and prey on society's most vulnerable.

P.S. I'm not saying Democrats can't be petty and petulant too (goodness knows they are masters of it), but I think Republicans are turning it into an art form.

Can't Sleep

Yep, it's one of "those" nights.  I'm exhausted, yet I can't sleep.  So I thought I'd share with you my insight-of-the-day.  It is this:

In the moments where I have to choose between being a good accountant and a good person, I choose being a good person.

Sure, I could have stayed later at work today (left at 8 p.m.).  But even if it hurts my job performance or annoys someone, there were more important things for me to be doing.  It was a good chance to take a deep breath, remind myself there are more valuable things, and keep that long-term perspective.  It's like that poem about how no one facing death wishes they had spent more time in the office.

Note that most of the time, I don't think being a good accountant and a good person are conflicting goals, but in the minority of cases where they're in conflict, I've recommitted to good-person-hood.  So whatever your occupation, don't let it interfere with the truly good and wonderful things in life.