Friday, May 29, 2009

Do you remember?

My book discussion group had mixed reviews on Elmore Leonard's Stick. I like everything he writes and I appreciate his use of dialog but my group did not. If you have not read Stick, there is an interesting connection between Stick's ex-wife and her new squeeze, a Dental Faith Healer, a Reverend Daniels if I remember correctly. This mention of such a bizarre faith healing specialty brought us to question if this character was based on a real person, and if so, what the hey?

It only took a minute to ask Google about dental faith healers, and quick as a bunny there was this article from the Herald Tribune on Rev. Steve Jones the 50 year-old West Virginia preacher practicing his faith. Truth being stranger than fiction any day of the week, such a sub-specialty does exist.

Anyway, we set another meeting date for late July but did not pick a title to read and discuss so I have a mission to find the book for my last book discussion (probably) as library director here in Independence. I fondly remember reading Eric Sevareid's autobiography, Not So Wild A Dream so as I poked around looking for references to it to confirm my recollecion, I ran across this YouTube clip of Sevareid at the end of his news career with Walter Cronkite that I thought a few people might appreciate.



What a treasure of clarity. Whenever I heard Sevareid I rejoiced his logic and clear thinking. I may not like what he said but it was unambiguous and clear and stands in sharp contrast to everyone speaking from the idiot box these days.

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