A Sea Of Red

Depending on feedback, we could have separate threads for different types of books. As I mentioned in the Chapel, I've been reading a book that could be considered a waist of time (as could a lot of movies, music, videogames....) I tend to collect books but never finish them, esp. the ones that SHOULD be read:Bringing Up Boys, Dr. Dobson, series of books for diff. ages (beginning w/ 3 yr.) to talk to kids abt. IT, Left Behind- my mom just gave me the last one and I like the student center on campus BTW....
Anyway, the one I'm working on that doesn't serve a higher purpose but is easy to pick up for few paragraphs while PITA puppy goes out (has to be brought up steps to dirt hill in back yard; I taught him how to come down the steps), Ladybug wakes, etc. Nicholas Sparks, The Guardian is set in North Carolina; one of the characters seems to fit the description you guys gave of SC belles.

I just finished The Guardian last night, staying up late to find out the end and get it out of my head already. The antagonist was a real whack job. Periodically, I had to ignore the book in order to clear my head (as well as prioritize)- the foggy feeling was similar to when I watched "The Aviator". I watched "Message in a Bottle" but haven't read the book by Sparks; a friend of mine got the audio tapes from a library. There are other books by Sparks that have been put into movies (A Walk to Remember...).
I know the students probably only have time to read textbooks, esp. with football, debate, etc. starting up again. The Old Hags have many responsibilities and some very defined hobbies other than reading (video games...). Hence, a broadened topic. One of the main characters in The Guardian is a dog. When I began reading it we had just gotten a Boxer. (My husband said that more than $50. for a dog is too much- even though he's wanted a pug- but we got a deal . I'm not one to need a fullbred; my first puppy was a collie/shep- the cutest, fluffiest...long hair and wimpy....) Those few days of carrying him up the stone steps to do and reading while waiting were great, thanks to the beautiful weather. After I taught him to bound down the steps, he was leaping up the steps in no time, though he still tries to be lazy and go on the patio , esp. in rain.
My family growing up always had pets-ducks (eaten by a fox?), rabbits-red, albino, Dutch (boy-Fudge ((no comments, please)) and girl-VW)-calf- until it outgrew our backyd. but she didn't want to go back with cows- dogs and cats. My beloved Siamese was given to me by my grandmother; the cat was not typical and was with me for yrs.

Jasmen8182 wrote:... I've been reading a book that could be considered a waist of time...

could you change this to "waste"? It has been bothering me for several days now

Waist - the part of the body in humans between the ribs and the hips, usually the narrowest part of the torso. (mine is growing)

Waste- to consume, spend, or employ uselessly or without adequate return; use to no avail or profit; squander

and I've got a Jack Russell for sale- cheap.

just don't tell my wife/kids- I'd have to move. they love the dog more than me.

the grammar nazi slips up!

I felt it was my civic duty to point that out

Can't change it now or the other posts won't make sense; thanks for enhancing my personal growth. When I worked in a school temporarily, the curriculum used Hairy Harry the Homonym Hound. Glad and Sad were the "Antonym Twins"....

PAmedic wrote: and I've got a Jack Russell for sale- cheap.

just don't tell my wife/kids- I'd have to move. they love the dog more than me.


My son wanted a Jack Russell; we saw some for adoption back when I was looking on the internet b/c my husband wanted a pug. We also found Jugs- a mix of the 2 just mentioned.

PS I still can't get the jist of quoting-Medic already tried to teach me but I don't remember what thread to look at b/c it was a while ago.

My wife could go on for days about Nicholas Sparks, unfortunately. Ugh. She even mentioned wanting to go to a book signing once. I informed her she'd be on her own for that one. Yuck.

The last non-fiction book I read was somewhat political, but very good. It's called The Aquariums of Pyongyang, and is written by the only man (that we know of) to escape both a North Korean concentration camp, and North korea itself. It's a rare glimpse into what life in the hermit country is like. While the man obviously escapes, and that is good, it's definitely not a sunny book. North Korea is a strange, dark and disturbing place.

As for pets, we've got a dachshund and would love to get another. I am a huge fan of the wiener dogs.

Ok I'm taking the thread off books and on to pets because my wife and I participate in this exciting hobby/sport called Dog Agility. Anybody else out there interested in such matters? We have two specially bred (for athletics and bird hunting) Cocker Spaniels (we have rescued cats to appease our guilt for having pure breds). There are several groups out there who sponsor Agility trials; we primarily participate in AKC. If you haven't seen one of these events, its fun to see and for us its fun just doing the training. Its a great activity for kids because it gets them involved with the dog. You and the dog work as a team, running an obstacle course. Some people get a little too involved and trial every weekend - Friday thru Sunday - every weekend of the year. We try to keep our involvement at a sane level (once a month in Fall and Spring) and just have fun. It gets competitive because the dogs win titles if they do well. You can check out my webpage for more information and pictures of our dogs doing their thing.

As far as books - while I'm not working on my dissertation, I'm reading To Kill A Mockingbird - I love reading the great Southern writers - Flannery O'Connor, Walker Percy, William Faulkner, O'Henry.

Cocker Spaniels are cool ... we use to breed them when I was a kid. We rescued one from beign put to sleep a couple of years ago and gave him one shining year of golden retirement before he passed away (after costing us $1k in vet bills). Cockers are notorious for ear infections that stink to high heaven. VBut I digress.

We have a lab mix we adopted from a shelter when she was just a pup. Our next door neighbor at the time had a boxer that competed in agility and we let our pup try it for awhile. She got bored rather quickly and just wanted to wrestle with the other dogs. But its a rather cool sport nonetheless.

yeah, our first Cocker - Baggins - was a great dog but had some awful issues with skin and ears. For some reason Cocker ear skin just doesn't do what its supposed to do - move the grime out. We recently discovered a home remedy used by a number of other Cocker and dog owners that does the trick (one dog has a few ear problems - the other one is pretty impervious).

My favorite category at an agility trial is the novice or beginner dog one. You never know what the dog will do - they're excited the owner/handler is excited. At our very first trial my wife was running with our oldest dog and I was video taping. The next thing I know here comes the dog running across the ring, wagging her tail to see me! Very cute. One of her other firsts was to run a course perfectly only to be so excited at the end she had to - shall we say - go potty before she left the ring - of course that's a disqualification. So the crowd was cheering and then they were awwwing. I've also seen a lab go into a tunnel and run back and forth inside of it, scratching its back, while the poor owner is outside pleading for the dog to come out. Priceless.

I don't know abt. dog shows; it might be fun for my son to get involved in once in a while. How old do the dogs need to be for the agility? Our neighbors down the street have 4 boxers; the ears are cut but my husb. says ours won't have his cut- I love seeing his stub of a tail wiggle though.
Another book that mentions dogs is It Was on Fire When I Lay Down on It, Robert Fulghum. It's humorous; the first chapter had some perspective on weddings b/c he was a preacher. I had to skip the 2nd chapter b/c he told me to- I own a dog. I wasn't going to heed his warning but read a little bit of the "anti-dog" comments and decided not to put myself in a position to hate having a dog. If it weren't for the kids-and husband- I would PROBABLY be content w/out pets (to think I used to want to be a vet). Robert's other book is All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarden.

The woman that my neighbors got their momma boxer from is so into it that she had her dog's "seed" frozen.