The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

 In the past, deciding what book to read next has been a really long process. I have stacks of books in a little shelf by the bed, plus a few boxes of books here and there in the attic, under the bed, etc. I usually will pick and choose, looking through the pile, but recently I've been doing something different. I'm just grabbing the next book on the stack. 

I've got books that have been in my to-read stack for so long I don't even know where they came from. Some books in my to-read stacks I bought two or three houses ago, and I just keep moving them from place to place. Time to finally make my way through this backlog of books and either read them or give them away.

Which is how I ended up reading The Thirteenth Tale, by Diane Setterfield. This haunting, beautiful book is exactly what I needed, and I'm not sure I would have picked it out of the stack if I had been pickier. Not because it didn't sound intriguing, but because I hadn't heard a lot of people talking about it. It's on the to-read list for a lot of my goodreads friends, but not many have read it yet. 

This book sits in the literary world somewhere between Jane Eyre and Frankenstein, with a dash of Girl Friday. A book seller turned journalist ends up interviewing a mysterious author essentially on her deathbed. The journalist, who has her own traumatic past, learns about the author's sordid, gothic childhood and uncovers murder, secrets and drama. Throughout, however, the mystery of what the "Thirteenth Tale" is remains... 

The most impressive thing about this book is that even when I had figured out the big secret, I was still completely enthralled by the storytelling. Usually, once I've solved the mystery I get bored with a book, but this one still kept me reading. Even though I knew what was happening, I was wrapped up in all the details of HOW it would happen.

As a writer, I always want to pay attention when an author can keep me intrigued even if I know the end of the tale already... (ie. Hamilton, or Titanic...) 

And that's all I'll say about that, because anything else would be spoilers. 

The next book in my stack is: 

The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd

I also recently read and enjoyed: 

A Tale of Magic by Chris Colfer

Education in the Time of Covid19

 I've turned to Facebook recently, with long posts on current events, and it strikes me that I may not always have Facebook to record those things. I should start posting such musings here, as well as getting back to my regular book reviews. 

So, today, some musings on education in a pandemic: 

On 9/11/01 I was in class writing notes to Nina and Venus in Elvish. We had been reading The Hobbit. Someone knocked on the door and told the teacher what happened. He came back in. He told us. He turned on the television. The rest of the day is a blur to me, but I know I spent a large chunk of the day in the music room with the other band and theater geeks, watching the news. The curriculum was put on hold because tragic history was unfolding before our eyes. We watched as over 2,000 people died.

We didn't fully return to math tests and The Hobbit for a few days afterward, because it wasn't possible. We spent class time talking about what had happened, what was still unfolding. The world was different. We were different. We were learning, but we were learning other things. We were learning about heroes, we were learning about mortality, we were learning about the importance of each breath.

So far, 160,000 people have died of Covid19 in America. People are dying today of Covid19. This minute, as I write this. And our children are around us, learning. They are learning about how we can respect others through the use of a mask, they are learning about how important it is to savor the hugs we can get, and they are learning that they are resilient, and can survive heartbreak and loss.

I know you want your children's education to continue, and I know parents need to be able to work and having public schools open is a huge part of that. But you can't look at the world today and think that we can make it look like the world one year ago. It isn't the same world. And learning doesn't happen in the same way in this world as it did in the world of 2019. We can't just go back. There is no going back. There is no perfect solution, only the solutions that will allow us to survive.

We have to stop seeking the world that was, and focus our energy on surviving in the world that is.

Brunonia Barry’s “The Lace Reader"

I have probably had a dozen people tell me to read this book, and somewhere along the way it ended up on my shelf, but I hadn’t touched it. Last week I was looking for something with a little magic in it, and I finally pulled The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry off of my shelf. It was exactly what I needed.

A little magic. A little history. A whole lot of Salem, MA.

It’s Salem that really won me. I’ve read a lot of books set in New England and often it is painfully obvious that author hasn’t spent a lot of time here. Perhaps they were inspired by one single trip to the region. I’ve written to authors to find out they hadn’t been here at all. This book, though, oozes Salem. I knew immediately Brunonia Barry must live in the area. She knows that little town, she understands how the town’s history has impacted its current tourism industry. She gets it.

Barry’s book has one unreliable narrator trying to figure out who she is, a missing woman, maybe a murder, maybe a suicide, some witches, a cult and a few psychics. So many intriguing details in this story, I couldn’t stop reading it.

The book is a tad confusing and for the first half I thought it was a bit hard to follow. It’s hard to tell what is reality, and what is not. It’s hard to follow the chronicle history of the characters as dreams and psychic revelations get in the way. I don’t want to say too much because spoilers suck, so let me say this the only way I know how: The confusion is intentional. Go with it. It will pay off.

I live just two hours north of Salem, and this book reminded me that I don’t spend nearly enough time there.

You may like Brunonia Barry if you like:

Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman

Chocolat by Joanne Harris

False Equivalencies and Confederate Monuments

I’ve been listening to a lot of podcasts in regards to the recent events in Charlottesville, VA, Baltimore, MD, Durham, NC, and upcoming events scheduled for this weekend. Here’s a collection of a few particularly good ones.

Feel free to comment with more podcasts you appreciated on this topic.

A Monumental Problem from NPR’s 1A
This podcast episode from NPR’s 1A touches on the history of the Confederate monuments, including opinions on both side of the argument. I consider this episode essential listening.

Charlottesville Rally Violence
This episode from the same show touches on the specific events in Charlottesville, how they played out, and where we are headed.

It’s Been a Minute With Sam Sanders
This episode discusses how to talk to your kids about current events, and how white people can help. (You should already have this in your podcast queue. You do, right?)

Portland Press Herald’s Opinion Podcast. This is a local Maine newspaper’s opinion podcast, but worth a listen no matter where you live. It covers not only Charlottesville, but what this says about our political atmosphere right here in Maine as we head into our gubernatorial election.



My last thought comes directly from a Facebook post I put up last night:

I have seen the phrase “false equivalence” used about ten separate times today. I used it once myself. And I heard it on a podcast. 

Basically, what I’m saying is that all your attempts to justify the confederate flag and confederate statues by comparing them to other situations... they’re all false equivalencies.

And there’s a reason you haven’t found an argument that actually is logical and effective...

Attempts to say that this is equivalent to Vietnam War Monuments and (seriously?) Muslim Mosques is absolutely ridiculous. Stop trying to justify your bigotry with examples that are completely unrelated. 

As Jillian Johnson on 1A’s “A Monumental Problem” episode says, “These statues were not put up to venerate confederates, they were put up as monuments to white supremacy.” 

And I’m not okay with venerating white supremacy any longer in this country. 

A Book Update: Politics and Feminism and a Book about a Book

What I just read:

Nation by Terry Pratchett

I’m relatively late to the Terry Prachett world. Why? I’m not really sure. I should have been here decades ago! At this point, though, every Terry Pratchett book I’ve read has been an entertaining insightful examination of our world. This beautiful book explores the path of a tribal boy becoming a man after a tidal wave wipes out his entire community. He befriends a woman named Daphne, and as they learn to speak each other’s languages, they also learn who they are and what their role in the world is.

People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks

I picked this book up just after the election thinking it was time for me to read something light and beautiful that would distract me from the horror of the political election. About thirty pages in I realized that this book was not going to distract me at all. It’s a penetrating examination of prejudice, holocaust and otherness. I’ve always had a minor fascination with the job of a book restorer, and this book is about those people, along with book creators, book saviors, and people who have been willing to live and die for a book.

What I’m Reading Now:

Our Revolution by Bernie Sanders and First Ladies: From Martha Washington to Laura Bush by Betty Boyd Caroli

Aside from making my way through the Game of Thrones series, I’ve also been reading about politics. Many of you know that last year I was a Bernie Sanders Delegate at the Maine Democratic Convention. I learned so much about politics this year, about how our system works and how a person can make change.

One of the things I’m fascinated by is how the women married to our past presidents have made change, most notably (currently) Hillary Clinton, who did a lot to reframe what the job of the first lady is.

With these two books I’ve been exploring these thoughts further and exploring my own role as a voter and socially-conscious person in this country.

What I just added to my To Read Shelf:

The Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klein

Notes From a Feminist Killjoy by Erin Wunker

My Book & Some Other Books

Hello blog readers! It’s been a while since I posted. I was a bit busy with...

THE RELEASE OF MY BOOK!

By The River is out now! Any book store you go to should be able to order it for you, and hopefully they’ll all have it on their shelves soon!

By The River is my short story collection based on Maine history. The stories range from Beluga Whales swimming up river into Bangor in 1954 to the building of Rumford’s "brick park.” By The River is an examination of strength, adversity and diversity in a state with some amazing heroes and some shady closet skeletons.

By The River is on Amazon and Goodreads. It’s also available on KOBO, Barnes & Noble and iTunes. Buy the book and share the book and most importantly review the book!

In other book news, remember last year when I kept raving about Kindred by Octavia Butler? I even put it in my favorite reads of 2015 post. It’s about to become a graphic novel.  I’m ecstatic about this! This incredible book is an eye-opening, thought-provoking masterpiece. I highly suggest you don’t wait for the graphic novel. Go read this one today!

Today I’m finishing up Blackout, the last in Mira Grant’s very fun zombie trilogy. This series is great fun. It’s the zombie series for folks who grew up hooked on Buffy and X-Files. It’s all about conspiracy, truth and how we balance right from wrong when the lines start getting fuzzy between them.

My Favorites of 2015 #amreading

According to Goodreads I read 62 books this year. These are the ten I loved the most and wish all of you would read and send me your thoughts on.

I should have read The Color Purple by Alice Walker years ago. It was suggested to me many times, but it seemed so sad I just couldn’t bring myself to read it. I’m so glad I finally did. I think often about intersectional feminism, and this book completely embodies those concepts, as it is a discussion of race, economic status, gender and sexuality all in one. I read a quote recently somewhere that said reading is important because it teaches empathy, and this book definitely fulfills that concept.

I read quite a few graphic novels and comic books this year, including Joss Whedon’s Serenity Series, but none stuck with me like The Sandman by Neil Gaiman.  I can’t even quite pinpoint what it is about this series, it’s haunting and contemplative and completely sucks you into the world he’s building. Like everything else Gaiman writes, I suppose...

If I were to name one single book I read this year that everyone should read, and not nearly enough people have heard about, it’s Kindred by Octavia E. Butler. When a black woman is sent back in time she becomes the protector of a white slaveholder who also happens to be her ancestor. If she can’t keep him alive long enough to produce a child, even as he treats her like a slave, then she will never have lived.
Read this book. Today.

I read quite a few plays this year, including Bertolt Brect’s Mother Courage and Her Children, which is just as incredible as its years of notoriety suggest, but August: Osage County by Tracy Letts stands out as one of my favorites plays to read versus watch. This Pulitzer Prize-winning play embodies a huge examination of family dynamics surrounding addiction, death and how we become ourselves while remaining part of a dysfunctional family.

I read Ireland by Frank Delaney early on this year, and haven’t put it down since. I keep picking it up to reread small sections, to visit this world again. My full review of this book says more than I can here. It changed the way I look at my own writing.

Drama: An Actor’s Education is John Lithgow’s autobiography, which I listened to as an audiobook also read by the actor. This fascinating account of his life prompted quite a bit of reflection into my own writing career, what I want from the world and what I can expect. Like Lithgow, I grew up with parents who are creative as well, which had a huge influence on my own creativity.

You may remember that early on this year I was gifted a huge collection of books on women’s history, among them a complete set of Gloria Steinem’s publications. I read her latest book, My Life on the Road, this summer. I wrote a very short review of this book, and feel as though I should have said more. There are quotes from this book littering the outside of my notebooks, and thoughts of certain moments float in and out of my mind daily. I’m currently reading Outrageous Acts and Everyday Rebellions, and I have read a few others. I almost feel as though I can’t write a full assessment of Steinem’s work until I have read them all. Each one seems to build upon the other, the collection an intense look at her own path through the world and feminism. My Life on the Road is the map, the outline of the rest of her work, and career and her life.

I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban by Malala Yousafzai. Long title for a girl who, by the age of eighteen, has already had a long career. There is so much I didn’t know about Malala Yousafzai, her father and her fight for education. As we look at the acceptance of refugees in our country, as we think about the value we put on education and the lessons we teach our children about schoolwork, we need to all remember the lessons of Malala Yousafzai. This young girl has much to teach us. Every child should know her name.

My friend Fire Lyte over at Inciting a Riot suggested Girl Waits With Gun by Amy Stewart to me, and I’m so glad he did. This book is about Constance Kopp and her sisters who find themselves on the wrong side of a spoiled and powerful bully. The year is 1914 and the world is changing, and with it so must the Kopp sisters. However, what struck me most about this book was the reactions I got to the title. I had a few friends and a couple of guests at the hotel I work at comment, each time negatively. One gentleman said, “Oh yuck, that sounds horrible,” based just on those four words. Girl Waits With Gun. There is so much power in a book title, isn’t there?

Is there anyone left who hasn’t read Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee? It seems almost cliche to include it in this list since it was, by far, the most talked about book of 2015. I already wrote a pretty extensive review of this book, if you’re interested in learning more. I do not believe in coincidence, and this book came out in a year ripe with discussion of racial tension and outspoken politics because America needed this book this year.

That being said, don’t read Go Set a Watchman without also reading Kindred. Seriously, everyone should read Kindred by Octavia E. Butler.

Ireland by Frank Delaney

I found this book in a $0.50 bin. I bought it because I thought it was one I'd already read that I wanted to pass along to my wife. A few pages in, however, I realized that it was a completely different book. And picking it up was a blessing, not an accident.

Ireland

“Tonight, I'm certainly going to tell you a story, but 'tis a story with a difference because, unlike virtually every other tale I tell-in this case, I was there. And yet I know that although I was there, and I saw people who were real, they have since become somewhat imagined-because I now view them through my memory. That's something every human being does-but storytellers live by it.”

The book is part Irish history, part a narrative about a boy named Ronan. Beginning when he is just a boy, the narrative takes the reader through his life, and his pursuit of one of the last Irish storytellers.

“The one joy that has kept me going through life has been the fact that stories unite us. To see you as you listen to me now, as you have always listened to me, is to know this: what I can believe, you can believe. And the way we all see our story-not just as Irish people but as flesh and blood individuals and not the way people tell us to see it-that's what we own, no matter who we are and where we come from.” 

Delaney, frequently called the most eloquent man in the world, is philosophical, fascinating and captivating. I'll be adding all of his other books to my already-oversized to-read list.

“I never met a librarian worth his or her salt who didn't perceive my passion for books. And without exception, each one would lend me a book on a subject we had been discussing. No paperwork, no formalities of any kind, no rules or regulations.

My unspoken side of the bargain was to protect them, in two ways; first by keeping the book unharmed - not that easy, especially in bad weather, but when it rained, I carried the book next to my skin. I can tell you now that carrying Gulliver's Travels or Lays of Ancient Rome or Mr. Oscar Wilde's stories or Mr. William Yeat's poems next to my heart gave me a kind of sweet pleasure.

The second half of the bargain often nearly broke my heart, but I always kept it - and that was to return the book safe and sound to the library that had lent it. To part company with Mr. Charles Dickens or Mr. William Makepeace Thackeray and his lovely name! - that was harder than saying good-bye to a dear flesh-and-blood companion. But I always did it - and I sent the book by registered post, no small consideration of cost given the peculiar economics of an itinerant storyteller.” 

I finished this book with both tears and goosebumps. Beautiful, poignant and, for me, life-changing. It is one of the best books I've read in years.

“Beneath its broad surface, storytelling should always work hard to say more than it seems to.” 

 What I'm reading next:

The Art of Happiness in a Troubled World

The Truro Bear and Other Adventures

When I Came Out

The year I was born Berkley, CA was the first location in the US to offer domestic partner benefits to city employees.

When I was in the first grade Hong Kong, Ukraine and the Bahamas decriminalized homosexuality.

The year I first admitted to myself I might be gay Ellen Degeneres came out, her career tanked and her show was pulled from the air.

The year I came out to my closest friends Matthew Shepard was killed and I heard people applaud his death as "one less queer."

The year I graduated high school Canada passed a law to allow civil unions.

The first year I could legally drink The Simpson's became the first television show to dedicate an entire episode to the topic of legal gay marriage.

I am thirty years old. In my lifetime nineteen states have legalized same-sex marriage. There are same-sex couples dancing on So You Think You Can Dance. There are so many homosexual people in public office I can't keep track. Ellen has one of the top rated talk shows of all time. Headlines this morning informed me that "gay neighborhoods" are no longer necessary and are becoming a thing of the past. A transgendered woman walked the red carpet at the Emmy's last weekend and the only thing they asked her was "what are you wearing?" And I can say "my wife" with little more than an extra blink from most people I meet.

If you consider the recent video of Daniel Pierce it can feel like we aren't getting anywhere, and we really do have a long way to go. There are too many children terrified to come out. There are too many people still being discriminated against. We are far from done.

But sometimes I just have to sit back and think... Wow. Look what has happened. Look how we've grown. How incredible is it that I've gotten to witness such amazing things first hand?

The Top 1%, Dickens and a Fangirl Moment

I finally watched the Jim Carrey version of A Christmas Carol the other night. Considering I am a huge fan of Dickens', particularly of this story, I can't believe it took me so long to watch this movie.

It blew me away. This version is so close to the way the book reads that I actually pulled out my copy of it and followed along. The moments just after Marley's visit when Scrooge watches the masses of ghosts out the window was haunting, perfect and exactly how I imagined it. 

Let's watch it, shall we?



Jim Carrey himself plays all three of the ghosts. This screams exact interpretation as he is haunted by his own past, his own present, his own future and sees himself in the flaws and merits of the specters taking him there. If it were possible for one actor on a stage to play four characters simultaneously in 1843 I believe Dickens would have wanted to see that play.

In How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster I was a bit disturbed to find this passage as I was thinking about Dickens this morning:

"Nowadays we think of A Christmas Carol as a private morality play and a nice Christmas tale to boot, but in 1843 Dickens was actually attacking a widely held political belief… There was a theory afoot at that time, left over from the Puritanism of the previous two centuries and promulgated most forcefully by the British social thinker Thomas Malthus, that in helping the poor or in increasing food production to feed more people we would in fact encourage an increase in the number of the impoverished, who would, among other things, simply procreate faster to take advantage of all that surplus gruel."

The past tense here really bothers me. Are we deluding ourselves into believing that this is a past tense issue and isn't still incredibly common in the political atmosphere today? People across the world are under the belief that giving someone a helping hand will just encourage the poor to remain poor. There is dissension between the classes, being fed by those who actually have the power to solve the problems but would rather hoard their money away. Let's get back to that thought in a moment, shall we?

In the beginning of the story two jovial people approach Scrooge to collect a donation for the impoverished. After a short conversation it ends with Scrooge's line "If they would rather die they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population." This line not only gets thrown in Scrooge's face later, it cements for the reader the kind of character he is - the cold, uncaring man he is - while making a political point right away.

(Can we reflect for a moment on Dickens' genius, here? The moments of the most profundity in his work are also the shortest scenes, packing more punch and holding the attention of the reader so that he is sure his message gets across. Brilliant. Anyway… done fan-girling. For now.)

There are people who claim to be Christian, leading men and women in politics who are perpetuating the fear of helping the poor, the disdain toward the impoverished masses. The "men of the cloth" who will have us believe that to be Christian is to be a Republican and to be a Republican is to be against helping others. When Scrooge asks the Ghost of Christmas Present why there are religious leaders, those who are supposed to be closest to god and the spirits, who are against helping the poor the ghost responds:

"There are some upon this earth of yours, who lay claim to know us, and who do their deeds of passion, pride, ill-will, hatred, envy, bigotry, and selfishness in our name, who are as strange to us and all our kith and kin, as if they had never lived. Remember that, and charge their doings on themselves, not us."

Shortly afterward two children, snarling and dirty, come out of the Ghost of Christmas Present's cloak. 

"'Spirit, are they yours?' Scrooge could say no more.
'They are Man's.' said the Spirit, looking down upon them. 'And they cling to me, appealing from their fathers. This boy is Ignorance. This girl is Want. Beware them both and all of their degree, but most of all, beware this boy, for on his brow I see that written which is Doom, unless the writing be erased. Deny it!' cried the Spirit, stretching out its hand towards the city. 'Slander those who tell it ye! Admit it for your factitious purposes, and make it worse. And bide the end!'

'Have they no refuge, no resource?' cried Scrooge.
'Are there no prisons?' said the Spirit, turning on him for the last time with his own words. 'Are there no workhouses?'"

Beware Ignorance, beware Want. 

I have obviously covered select few passages, and there is much more of a journey before Scrooge finally realizes the error of his ways. For Scrooge it is important to look at his own past, his own mistakes as well as what this may say for his future. Through these lessons he learns to enjoy life by living in the moment, spending time with family and treating his employees with respect and a fair salary.

There is a lesson in A Christmas Carol for all of us about how we treat those less-fortunate, and about not forgetting where we came from and what brought us to this point in our lives. But the greater message is really a political one. Dickens is sending a message to the Scrooge's of the financial world that carries right to Wall Street and Washington today. It is a call to those who are most fortunate among us to give more. Help more. The imbalance of wealth in this world is a centuries old problem with an easy solution, if people just learn to beware Ignorance and beware Want.

"'Man,' said the Ghost, 'if man you be in heart, not adamant, forbear that wicked cant until you have discovered What the surplus is, and Where it is. Will you decide what men shall live, what men shall die?'"

Fires, Carousels and Trapped Tourists

Imagine this: You are perusing souvenirs, listening to the hum of voices and carnival rides on the shore as you wander the pier. You are making your way toward the music playing on the far end of the pier which juts out over the Atlantic. It is dark, you have a tan from the warm sun and are wonderfully exhausted from swimming in the cool water. You're thinking about heading back to your hotel room when you hear yelling. You look to shore to see flames billowing from windows and people running. Everyone on the pier begins to move toward the shore in one swift flood but then the crowd slows and stops. There is the sound of wood breaking, flames cracking and you realize you are trapped. The entrance to the pier destroyed in a frightening display of courage by people bent on saving your life and the lives of those around you from the impending flames.

What really gets me about this scenario is that it has happened more than once. In 1907 some brilliant problem solvers tore up the entrance to the wooden pier saving countless lives and protecting the remainder of the pier from the flames.

In 1969 this scene was repeated, again leaving people on the pier safely watching waves of flames spiraling out of downtown Old Orchard. It's a frightening scenario and since I first read about it in an old postcard history of Old Orchard I can't shake it.

In 1909 a storm wiped out half of the pier. When a handful of men went out to what remained of the pier in a small boat a storm came up, trapping them with only a wood stove and a few quilts. After twenty four hours without relief someone noticed a power line running to shore and signaled the men. They were able to send cans of food and water out to their man made island. In the end a brave local took a small dingy out, carefully maneuvering it around the iron pilings in order to bring the six men back over the rough water. They were stranded for sixty hours.

I'm working on a feature article assignment for a nonfiction course and have been doing research into these exciting moments of Old Orchard history. The article is actually about the carousel that was destroyed in the 1969 fire, but I can't help but get caught up in the rest of the timeline and will probably write these stories more extensively in the future as well.

Vacationland is currently waking up and getting prepared for the upcoming tourist season. Looking at all of these photos makes me apprehensive as I anticipate the incoming barrage of tourists, but also excited. In the wintertime Old Orchard is a ghost town and although the dog and I have enjoyed having the beach to ourselves I'm also looking forward to the bustle and hustle of the tourist season (as well as the opportunity to escape it by driving North to visit family elsewhere.)

This is a unique area to live in full of interesting history.

People Trapped in 1909

Old Photos of Old Orchard and the 1969 Fire

(The bottom link is the source of the photos I chose here and deserve all credit for them.)

Thought of Today

Atrocities of the past are sad but the present is where we have to live. Peace does not come by further looking for revenge on past errors, but by stopping current pain and preventing future pain.

Idle No More Across Turtle Island

I was a teen when I first realized that racism is not a thing of the past. I can't blame my young self for this naivety. After all, I only ever heard about it in history class.

I was also raised with only a rudimentary history class teaching of what it means to be Native American. I knew the pretty turquoise jewelry, the drums we made in the first grade, and the elder who came into the school library in full regalia and fed us pine nuts. I, like most Americans, had no idea what happens on a reservation or even that our country's Natives still suffer at the hands of our invasive government. I was given an idealized view full of pretty historical photographs and ignorance.

I learned, of course, about the Trail of Tears. I learned about the small pox. I learned Columbus was an American hero. I learned that Natives today are completely cared for by the government and that they have been given good land and can live out their lives naturally if they please. In short, I learned falsities about the past and the present. My education on this topic was shoddy at best, full of complete lies at worst.

For the year that I've known Trisha and become acquainted with the members of her tribe I've begun a new education. I am completely humbled by the lack of knowledge I have on this topic of American reservations and the wonderful people who have inhabited this land for so long.

I have been frustrated by my own lack of knowledge. Frustrated that our government has put us into a position to be so naive, so unaware of the damage we have caused and the way it has ricocheted through generations of Natives. It is time we are honest with ourselves and embrace the truth. These are wrongs that can not possibly be completely righted, but the lives lost and those still here can be honored and respected. We have a duty to change our actions now. To be humble enough to put our tails between our legs and admit that we have hurt these people. To let go of our pride and recognize our faults.

This tribal member lives on a reservation in South Dakota. He is a perfect example of what the people in reservations across Turtle Island are suffering.


In Canada this week there have been protests and rallies. The headlines have been reading "The Natives are Restless" which, although a cute headline, completely undermines and demeans the fight itself. The fight that people who believe in equality are fighting everywhere.

There are plenty of articles about these protests so I don't need to write another. This one from Huffington Post does a good job of describing the situation. Essentially, the treaties made to protect the Natives and the land are being ignored. The few rights they have been awarded are being threatened. This is all part of an even bigger problem. The treaties are being ignored because the people themselves are being ignored. Their way of life has been destroyed, ridiculed and mocked. They have been disrespected beyond anything I can fathom and it has shattered much of their community and had a lasting effect on the
 people. It is a tragedy and it needs to be talked about.

I don't feel it is my place to speak for the Natives or to even attempt to express what they feel, but I can speak on what I feel as an outsider who has been so lovingly embraced by the members of one tribe. These are a wonderful people. They are strong and they have a spirituality I can only hope to one day experience. I respect them, admire them, and have completely fallen in love with their community. I am forever grateful for their acceptance of me.

The Native population was severely depleted by the actions of white settlers. They have been forced into a position of minority on their own land. There has been a growing interest in Natives spurred on by Disney movies and artwork but it is idealized, it is not sincere. It is an interest in a romanticized view of who a Native is. It needs to be more. We need to be interested in the harsh reality of the situation these people have been put in.

The education we have been given on this topic has been insufficient but with today's technology there is no longer an excuse. If you are not educated on the rights of others today it is by choice alone. The information is there, it is at our fingertips and we can access it with greater ease than ever before. We have no reason to deny the truth now. We have no excuse to be blind to reality.

As a descendant of those who have only lived here for a few hundred years I stand with Chief Theresa Spence. I stand for the Red Nations and all of the ancestors who have been here for thousands of years. It is time we recognize the importance of these wonderful people and allow them to live strong on their land.

Where America's Day Begins

I live on the coast of Maine. I was born in Portland. I have lived... well, all over. I am completely in love with Maine.

Two weeks ago I was walking my dog on the beach and a little boy asked to pet her. As he played with her he told me a lengthy story, in that adorable babbling way children do, about the dog he is about to get and how the dog's name is Steve just like his dad's name. (He emphasized this last point by putting his four year old arm around his dad and leaning his head in close.) Then he told me he was from Vermont and asked where I live. I pointed to my house and he said, "Right there? You get to live in Maine ALL THE TIME?"

Coincidently someone else recently said to me, "well, you're getting closer to moving out of state. At least you're moving SOUTH." Apparently they feel moving out of Maine is the ultimate goal.

The little boy sees Maine the way I do.

I love this state. Maine has cities, mountains, ocean, beaches, wonderful people and amazing animals. What's not to love?

So, here are some interesting facts about Maine.

-Bette Davis lived in Cape Elizabeth in a home she called "Witch's Way."

-An unsuccessful attempt at establishing a permanent English settlement in the New World was at the location now known as Popham Beach. Sir George Popham led the expedition in 1607.

-Senator Margaret Chase Smith from Maine was the first female presidential candidate.

-Portland Head Light is considered the most photographed lighthouse in the world.

-The first naval battle of the Revolutionary War was fought off Machias in 1775.

-A Mainer named Chester Greenwood invented earmuffs.

-Portland Maine's motto is "Resurgum" which means "I will rise again." The city was given this motto after a series of four catastrophic fires, the last of which on July 4th, 1866 left 75% of Portland's population homeless.

Malaga Island and the Daunting Task of Historical Fiction

I have hesitantly taken on a new and intimidating venture: historical fiction. Oscar Wilde said, "Anybody can make history; only a great man can write it." History is scary, but it is also one of my favorite things. I am fascinated by stories of the past. The simultaneous simplicity and complication, the beauty and horror. It started with Laura Ingalls Wilder, and has remained a life long love.

I have recently been captivated by the mysterious history of Malaga Island. Malaga is off the coast of Phippsburg, ME. In 1912 the Maine government evicted the 45 people who were living on the island. This move was spurred on by economic strife, eugenics and racial prejudice, according to most of the experts in the field. The Maine State Museum is opening a new exhibit about Malaga on the 19th of May and I can't wait.

Since most of my closest friends are probably tired of hearing me talk about Malaga I won't include more details, but Malaga: A Story Best Left Untold is a good website about it, with an interesting radio documentary.

Anyone else felt the terrifying exhilaration of historical fiction before?

The Way We Never Were

I often think I should create a blog entirely on this topic. This topic of nostalgia. Life was somehow better for the generation before us, apparently. "The good ol' days" reaction to things people do. In the good ol' days kids listened to their parents. Really? Did they listen? What about all those college students who threw tomatoes at the returning Vietnam soldiers? Were their parents all happy about that? How about the fathers and sons who ended up on opposite sides of the Civil War?

And of course, in the good ol' days kids were allowed to be kids. There was never a problem with child labor, right?

Michael Moore recently wrote a blog post about America's reaction to Osama Bin Laden's death. His claim in the post is that Americans weren't partying and celebrating after Hiroshima, nor were they celebrating after Hitler's death so the parties after Obama's recent announcement are evidence that Americans today are on a downhill path.

I completely agree with Moore that the celebration in the streets was less than stellar. I can't bring myself to celebrate any death, no matter who it is, though I did feel a sense of relief when I turned on CNN that morning. However I'm not sure this is an "America today versus America of yesterday" kind of problem. I'm not convinced we are any better or worse than the generations before us. There was the transgender woman who was beaten in a McDonald's recently while people taped it with their cell phones. Then again, if humans had cell phone cameras during the great depression or before the women's rights movement what may we have seen?

This next story is not for the squeamish.

That was your warning.

I am trying to find the book this story came from. As soon as I do I will credit it. There is a story I've recently read about a group of soldiers making their way through Japan during WWII. The author of the story specifically mentioned the dehumanization of the Japanese that had occurred during the war. A quick look at the propaganda sent out to American citizens demonstrates this. Propaganda Americans would not put up with now. The ACLU and Civil Rights organizations would be in an uproar and protests would occur all over the country. I can just imagine the tweeter feeds. However, during WWII this propaganda was everywhere, including comic books, cartoons, and magazines. Japanese were depicted as beasts, rats, nothings. When this particular American soldier and his troop came across a dead Japanese soldier seated upright at a gun, with the top half of his skull removed by a fast-moving weapon, they decided to set up camp there. They set their fire in front of him, sat around joking and laughing and pretending he was part of the conversation. They never once considered his lost life. During the night it rained. His skull was wide open, remember. It filled with water. The next morning they proceeded to play a game. Who can throw the most rocks into this man's skull?

Just pause now to take that in. This human being was turned into a game prop for these soldiers. This is one example out of many of the dehumanization of the Japanese by Americans. Of course, there are the concentration camps that our high school history books prefer to pretend didn't happen. Even my college history book says very little about them. Looking Like the Enemy is an eye-opening memoir of life in those camps if you're interested.

Watch interviews of the people who were on the Enola Gay the morning it dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. The man who flew the plane named it after his mother. The people they were about to kill were not spoken of. In the presidential speech about Hiroshima the city was simply referred to as an "important Japanese army base." Never mind the thousands of children attending school that morning. Never mind the chefs and the bankers and the florists. Who knows, maybe there were people in that crowd who were secretly against the war and hating their leaders for involving them at all?

Now think about that. America did that. And we are somehow worse now?

Now take a moment to think about the support Americans have given the Japanese since the tsunami.

On the other hand, Osama did something similar to humanity on September 11 that America did in Hiroshima. Complete disregard for human life. I don't know about you but I remember the terror of that day. I remember the horror. The ash being wiped off the journalist's news cameras. The people jumping from the windows. I still can't watch the specials on the history channel because I feel like I am reliving the moment that my country, the country I had been raised to believe was impenetrable, became vulnerable for the first time in my life.

These are all horrible things. Every one of them. The genocide of the Jews was horrific. Even worse than horrific. There aren't really words to describe it. The current genocides and murders going on around the world are just as horrific.

But that doesn't mean we, as human beings, are better or worse now. People talk about the words of violence between congressmen and senators today as a sign that our humanity is failing. Does anyone remember Preston Brooks, the South Carolina senator who severely beat Senator Charles Sumner on the floor of the United States Senate in 1865 and then was regarded as a hero for it by much of his state and was re-elected?

History is too subjective and I am too optimistic, a lifelong glass-half-full girl, for me to say for sure that we are better beings now. But I would argue that it is worth more examination and thought. More objective examination. Americans have made huge strides on civil rights and our treatment of others and we should be proud of this. The champagne dumped over the heads of our citizens in celebration of Osama's death was excessive, yes. But I am remiss to say that it is a sign this generation is actually worse than the one before. I would simply argue that maybe we are different.

Edit: The book the story from WWII came from is titled "The Good War" by Studs Terkel. That particular story was told to him by E.B. Sledge.

A Little Perspective

I am so tired of hearing things like, "What is this world coming to?" and "Man this world gets worse and worse every day."

A little perspective here...

When Columbus landed in the Americas in the 15th century the natives were considered "dogs". Not only was it okay to kill them it was almost fashionable to dismember them, take them as slaves, or kill their children in front of them.

It wasn't until the 1870's that states even began to create laws about domestic violence.

And up until 2005 it was legal for my boss to fire me for being gay in the state of Maine.

I survived

I have survived my first week of college. I have three hours of work this afternoon and then the next two days off. Planning on apple-picking, homework and spending time with the girl.

I'm really looking forward to almost all of my classes. Statistics isn't really much fun, but it could be worse. U.S. History I think is going to be a blast. It's Saturday morning and the teacher is very laid back and cool. My college writing teacher is a journalist and has the energy of someone who is a member of the press which makes class go by really quickly. And my Intro to Education teacher is hilarious. Incredibly good sense of humor and a lot of fun. I almost wish Monday wasn't a holiday because I don't get to go back to his class for over a week.

On that note, back to the books for me. I have a LOT of reading to do.