The Debate

I can’t believe I’m going to spend an hour  90 minutes tonight watching the Presidential debate. We don’t watch any political stuff normally – I tend just to read the transcripts later. But the folks at Malaprop’s, Asheville’s iconic bookstore, asked me to participate in a televised post- debate discussion Tuesday evening. So I figured I ought to see the Real Thing in order to see body language, hear tone of voice, and absorb all those other nuances lost in reading the transcript.

This is not going to be easy as I have a visceral negative reaction to DT – he disgusts me with his smirks and posturing and name-calling. 

Yes, I’m carrying a lot of prejudice against him. But I doubt there are many Undecideds out there. I’m going to do my best to pay attention to how the two candidates present their plans for the future and what those plans are so that I can sound rational and intelligent and not use bad language.

Keep me in your thoughts . . .

The Tuesday night discussion will be streamed live 7-8 pm on WLOS   http://wlos.com/live  

Sun Day Morning

The Battle Continues . . .

In the never-ending battle against bunnies and Bambi, John has constructed these handy-dandy garden cages.

In the picture above, you can see how the deer have cropped off the tops of the peppers. 

I wanted some fall collards, kale, and broccoli, as well as some lettuce so John used PVC, netting, and plastic ties to construct these lightweight, two part covers for two of the box beds.

It's  an elegant solution (I hope) to the problem. The picture below shows some shade cloth added for the lettuce.

He says he can build taller ones for next year's peppers . . .

Luckily the deer don't seem to like the peppers themselves . . . maybe they tried one of the jalapenos. And, except for flea beetles earlier, no one messes with the eggplant.

The Kittehs Remind You

Got Some Time To Satisfy My Soul

The Risen

A good blog friend sent me a copy of THE RISEN and I devoured it pretty much in one gulp. Set in nearby Sylva, it's the story of two brothers and the girl who changes their lives.

The writing is pure Rash -- thoughtful, crystalline prose, complex, self aware characters, and an eye (and pen) attuned to the smallest details of setting. And there's a complex moral issue to ponder -- can Evil be justified if Good results?

What threw me was that the book reads like a mystery -- a very, very good mystery -- and I found myself trying to solve it, to anticipate what was coming. This isn't a put down -- it was just a surprise.

Though as I tell my students, there's a mystery at the heart of every story -- will the protagonist get what he wants?

I loved the final pages of the book -- as the author played a bit with the fictional reality.

Ron is speaking tonight at UNCA -- tickets through Malaprop's. If only my class didn't meet then.

Go HERE for a NPR interview with the author.

Photo credit Ashley Jones

Sitting Here in Limbo . . .

No news re book . . . as I said before, this is the hard part.

But this is a nice ear worm to have. (If the picture link doesn't work, go HERE.)