New Prompt: Having Dinner with Fictional Characters from novels.

Which five characters from novels would you have dinner with?  Interesting concept, huh? Well since currently Craig Johnson is one of my favorite authors, and he writes the Longmire "modern-day western" series, I think it would be great to have dinner and hang out with Sheriff Walt Longmire, Henry Standing Bear, and Cady Longmire. Of course, we would have to have Walt's secretary Ruby there for comic relief and maybe include Deputy Ferguson if he wasn't too shy to attend.  We could have antelope steaks and all the trimmings. Sounds like a fun time. Oh, and Rainier Beer. That's all Walt will drink.

If you haven't read any of Johnson's Longmire books, you really should. They are wonderfully written and give a lot of insight to the relationship of modern law enforcement on and off the "reservation.' Walt Longmire is a man's man with a soft heart. His best friend since childhood, Henry Standing Bear, whom Walt refers to as "Cheyenne Nation" is a classic modern day Native American, well educated, and speaks his mind clearly and concisely never using contractions.

The Longmire series has been made into a TV series, now produced by Netflix. It was on for four seasons on "regular" TV, but that network cancelled it. The outcry from the public was so great that Netflix has taken over the production of the series the last two seasons. I binge watched the latest season of 10 episodes recently and now have to wait a whole year for the next season. Meanwhile, I will continue to read on in the Longmire series. My only regret is that our own library doesn't have them all. When I tried to order them on inter-library loan, I found that they are on a waiting list at almost every library in our group. And on e-book, they are also always checked out. Must be a popular series to other people besides me.

I hope Craig Johnson keeps writing these novels which take place, incidentally, in Wyoming.

Until next time,
Peace,
JE

Reliving Life

This post prompt said, "if you could be any age for a week, what age would you choose?  As I look back on my 71+ years of life and try to choose a particular age, I find it hard to single out any particular year. I know that I wouldn't relive my teenage years for anything. They were miserable in so many ways, that revisiting them in my mind is painful enough! I don't remember too much about my early years, but I do remember those carefree years between age 7 and 13. They were glorious. We owned a lake cottage and would move there as soon as school was out and stay for the summer. I lived in a bathing suit. No shirt, no shoes. If I got hot, I dove in the water and cooled off. We had fun neighbors with kids my age, so that was fun. I didn't always have to spend time with my older brother like  at home. We had older neighbors who loved kids, baited hooks for me, removed the fish from the hooks for me if they were too wiggly for my small hands. There was woods behind our cottage where all of us kids built forts, played cowboys and indians, and had a blast.
  Those years spent  carefree, away from the hustle and bustle of "life"were grand. I remember them well.
   My early twenties were pleasant, too. But for a whole different reason. I was a college student, learning my way through life. I drank a lot of beer, swore a lot, and generally raised a goodly amount of "hell." Probably, if my parents knew all, they wouldn't have been too proud of me, but back then, we guarded our friend's secrets and they guarded ours. I survived it all and came out alright. Alright enough to marry the love of my life, father 3 children, go through the death of one child, raising of 2 more, the ups and downs that go with any relationship, yet I survived that, too.
  Now, at this ripe old age, I have come out on the other side of life, not to damaged, a whole lot wiser, though that might be questionable by some, and still kicking. I still drink beer, just not so much, I have curbed the swearing a whole lot, and I don't feel like raising too much "hell" anymore, but still think, "life is good!"

And The family grew!

This very morning at 1:05 AM EDST, my son's family grew just a bit more. A little bit, by the way. Annabelle Jo came into this world. She weighed in at 7 lbs, 9 oz and @ 19.5 inches long, she was a light weight compared to the rest of the grands. But she is a beauty. I will post a pic at a later date. I haven't met her yet, but am going to the hospital later on this evening to become acquainted.

                                                                                 

This brings the "Grand Count" up to 5 for my family. My oldest grand being Big E at age 23, then there's a big jump to Princess K, age 8, RJ, age 6, Toby, age 3 and now Annabelle. Mom and granddaughter are both doing fine. Mommy was tired having been doing the "labor" thing for about 16 hours, but thanks to modern meds, and a epidural, she said it wasn't too bad. She was more hungry than tired.  I admire women. They can take more bodily punishment than we men can. If men, and I being one of them, had the babies in the family, each family would only have one, I am sure!!

Anyway, that's my grand announcement for now. This has to be living proof that our God is good...all the time.

Until next time,
Peace,

JE

#5: My Favorite Rainy-day Movie

Of course I have several favorite movies, which makes this a tough one. If I was choosing a good one for a rainy day like it is today in "not so sunny Indiana," I would have to choose,"Dances With Wolves." (The extended version)
   First of all, Kevin Costner is probably my all-time favorite actor. He is as talented in front of the camera as he is behind it. His talent shows both in this movie.
   I love American history and this is it. It holds back nothing. It shows how brutal the Civil War was, how inadequate the medical care was during that combat, and what a lost cause the war was to the South. I abhor the treatment of the Native Americans by the whites. I also admire the Native American way of life, which is truly shown in this movie.
  I have seen this movie 24 times. Twice in the theater, the rest on either VHS or DVD. I know that seems like a lot of wasted time, but I like the movie and I see something I missed every time I see it.  We used the beginning scenes of the Civil War in my 8th grade American History class. My students were fascinated, especially when it was explained to them that this was actually based on facts and research.
  I have always been interested in the Native American culture and way of life. With the help of many leading historians and experts, the scenes of the life of the Lakota Sioux depicted in this movie were as real as they could possible be made. The buffalo hunt is fascinating and after reading how it was filmed, and that no animals were actually hurt, it became even more fascinating.
   I also liked the love story between John Dunbar and Stands With a Fist. I'm an incurable romantic at heart, so this was another part of the movie which drew me in.
   The cast was wonderful, the acting great, using many Native American stars, and actually giving some their start in the motion picture business.
   All in all, it's a wonderful movie experience. At almost 3hrs and 45 mins, it takes a lot of time, but it keeps my interest, even though I can quote many lines, both in English and Lakota. And, yes, I will probably watch it again and again. But first, I have to figure out how to hook up my new DVD player. My old one quit!

Other Rainy Day picks might be:
An American President
When Harry Met Sally
Postcards from the Edge
Grand Torino
Bridges of Madison County

Until nest time,
Peace,

JE