It's Tougher on the Other Side of the Desks

I just finished conducting my first Speaking Tips class for ESL learners - it was exhilarating and exhausting at the same time. It's like any organized gathering though - as long as you do 90% of your work BEFORE the event even starts, everything will turn out all right.
I learned a number of things and I read short speeches (Including that of a 1775 letter by an unnamed Indian to the Governor of Massachusetts, which was a harbinger of guerrilla warfare), which I would have never perused before, so there are silver linings all over the place.

Just finshed these, Just started this:

Back from the beach, I just finshed:

Stephen Booth: Blood on the Tongue
Blind to the Bones

Very atmospheric, British detective procedural with a Scully and Mulder-like team. A bit slow for some, but I think I'd prefer to call it "rich".

Team of Rivals; The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln - Doris Goodwin.
Best Book EVAIR! Extremely well researched, but quite readable and memorable. Stray phrases from the book keep popping up in my mind all day. It's a book that's worth whatever you pay for it!

I'm on Twitter!

I'm figuring Twitter out! Who will be my first follower?

I'm Back and Still Reading!

Current Books I'm reading:

• Blind to the Bone - GREAT ATMOSPHERE!!

• I Should Have Stayed Home- Worst Travel Stories from Harare to Eternity - Title says it all

• Without Fail - By Lee Child

• A Widow's Curse - not yet started, but it sure looks good

This Just In...

This might be old hat to many of you, but today, the sudden realization hit me - there is almost no greater pleasure than having something at hand when you need it.

It's a difficult satisfaction to notice and enjoy, because:

• if you have the item when you need it, your gratification is immediately met, with no "gap time" in which to grasp the difficulty you might face NOT having it.
• if you do not have the item at hand, it is like the Prodigal Son - you're so swept up in other emotions - frustration, exasperation, anger, impatience - that when you get your desired item, the emotions are over-blown in the other direction, and you only notice the circumstances under which you were able to retrieve or attain this needed item. Or you're full of self-congratulation for having attained it.

But if it takes you a minute to retrieve what you desire - from a store you already have, the satisfaction is immense.

I figure if everyone was given the simple pleasure of knowing something would be there when he/she needed it, fear and panic and outrage and most wars in general could be diminished, because I feel evil - other than pyschopathic evil - comes from not knowing if there'll be enough for you, so you'll working unethically to tip the scales in your favor. Knowledge that "you'll be okay" could be a great pacifier.

Time spent in Africa really hones this sense of satisfaction - when it is experienced, because it is there that foresight can make the difference between a thirsty night and a comfortable one, or pain or the absence thereof. It takes experience to gain enough foresight to avert the simplest of discomforts in Africa - so listen to those who've gone before you! According to Mary Kingsley - Always, always boil/filter your water.

I Did It!

BookJools is now an official "sole proprietor" business!! I filed for a Federal Tax ID Number, I submitted a "Doing Business As" form and I am in two craft shows this fall: These beautiful objects are now on sale to the public! I'm donating some for charity fund-raisers, and I'm thinking of donating a portion of every bookmark sale to the charity of the purchaser's choice. That'll take a little organization on my part, but I think I can do it. Right now the glass-and-charm bookmarks are $3.00 each, and the bookmarks with sterling silver charms on them are $8.00- $10.00 depending on how much the original charm cost me. Please e-mail me at bookjools@hotmail.com to order -and you can request the number, color, length and theme you'd like! Wish me luck!

There's No Cloak of Invisibility Over Congress

The saga of representative William Jefferson (R- Louisiana) is showing us how many Congressmen are (incorrectly) assuming that their offices are sacrosanct and above the law. Separation of powers? In fact, the Constitution notes that a member of a Congress is priviledged from arrest except in cases of treason, felony and breach of the peace while Congress is in session. But :

1. Rep. Jefferson had been subpoenaed for certain documents in September, after he had been caught on videotape in July accepting $100,000 in marked bills from an FBI informant for "help in securing business deals in Africa." He failed to turn over those documents.
2. An 83-page affidavit, justifying the search and identifying the items sought was in place for the judge to review before granting the warrant.
3. A special "filter team" was put in place to review each document for sensitive issues of confidentiality, and if such were noted, those documents would NOT be handed over to law enforcement. This is certainly due care to avoid catching too much in a "sweep".

As stated on the radio the other day, "The people of America are more concerned with maintaining Law and Order than with nuances of the doctrine of "Separation of Powers". The fact that evidence is stored in a Congressional office, as opposed, say, to a home freezer, should not render it immune from seizure as evidence. When many people point out "there has been no precedent set for a warranted search of a Congressional office", it just means that we've been letting some likely criminals get away with too much in the last 219 years.

As for William Jefferson's assertion that he is not guilty, after $90,000 worth of the marked $100 bills were found wrapped in alumium foil in his home freezer - well, that man just gives lying a bad name.