"Some men see things as they are and ask why, I dream things that never were and ask why not." ~ George Bernard Shaw ~ quoted by RFK
Is it better to aim high and not reach, or to aim at average and reach it? Is it better to be good or to be fair? Is it better to be an optimist or a pessimist? An idealist? A realist? A cynic? A pragmatic? Some may have answers. Me...I'm still trying to figure out the questions.
I have an acute sense of fairness and have been disappointed ever since I discovered that life is not fair. It should be, it ought to be and I'll never understand why it isn't. Babies should all be born perfect, children shouldn't die, kittens should all be wanted and loyalty should always be rewarded. I am an idealist...
I don't expect life to move along smoothly. I expect Murphy and his law to rear their ugly heads. The drought ends while my house is half-way through a new roofing job; the water pump quits working two days after the the closing and I get the flu as soon as I've used up my last sick day. I am a cynic...
I don't dream big. I try to keep my aspirations in the realm of the possible. I'll never have that Mercedes 450 SL so I dream about a new Honda Accord. I surf the Internet in search of travel deals to Charleston...not Venice or Paris. I am a realist...
My glass is usually half full. I look for the silver lining. My ex used to refer to me (somewhat disdainfully) as Pollyanna. When I arrived home, the ballgame I was attending having been rained out, to find it was raining in my living room, I commented on what a great story this would make in years to come...and so it has. I am an optimist...
Life doesn't go according to plan...at least not according to my plan. It's a great job, just what I want, the benefits and salary are good, the hours are great, the interview went OK...but I'm not counting on it. Aim low and I won't have as far to fall. I am a pragmatic...
I worry and expect the worst. I take leaps of faith and hope for the best. I make a plan...and a back-up plan - or I dive in with no plan at all.
I close my eyes, cross my fingers and step forward...
Monday, October 18, 2010
Sunday, October 10, 2010
"The Wives of Henry Oades"
The Wives of Henry Oades is a first novel by Johanna Moran...and it is an amazing one. Based on an old legal abstract, that may or may not have been a hoax, the author tells a story of a man who, through no fault of his own, ends up with two wives...and two women who, through no fault of their own, end up married to the same man.
Henry and Margaret are a young couple living in England in the late 1880s with their two children and another on the way. Henry, presented with an opportunity to go to New Zealand for two years as an accountant, is eager to accept this promotion and honor; Margaret, good wife that she is, accompanies him...although she is reluctant to leave home.
After a grueling sea journey, they arrive in New Zealand and make a life for themselves. They are a loving family, obviously devoted to one another and to their children. In due course, Margaret and the children are kidnapped by the native Maori - Henry arrives home to find them gone, their home in ashes and an unidentifiable body in the rubble. While friends and townspeople are sure they are all dead, Henry refuses to give up, searching for them for months. He eventually comes to accept what everyone else seems to know and decides he can no longer stay in New Zealand. Not wanting to return to England without his family, Henry sets sail for California. He begins a quiet life there and finds a new career path, all the while still mourning his family. After a time he meets Nancy, a young widow with a newborn and no one to turn to; they marry and begin to build a life.
Six years after their abduction, having managed to escape the Maori and years in captivity, Margaret and the children arrive on Henry's doorstep. The worlds of Henry, Margaret, Nancy and the children are turned upside down. When the town learns that Henry Oades has two wives, they assume he is Mormon and ostracize the family as well as levying legal charges of adultery, cohabitation and bigamy. There are trials, traitors and tribulations that would confound King Solomon.
I can not recommend this book highly enough. I read it in two sittings, staying up until five am to finish and then was sorry to have to put it down. The characters are well-drawn, the writing is excellent, the story gripping, heart-breaking and thought-provoking. It can not leave you untouched.
Henry and Margaret are a young couple living in England in the late 1880s with their two children and another on the way. Henry, presented with an opportunity to go to New Zealand for two years as an accountant, is eager to accept this promotion and honor; Margaret, good wife that she is, accompanies him...although she is reluctant to leave home.
After a grueling sea journey, they arrive in New Zealand and make a life for themselves. They are a loving family, obviously devoted to one another and to their children. In due course, Margaret and the children are kidnapped by the native Maori - Henry arrives home to find them gone, their home in ashes and an unidentifiable body in the rubble. While friends and townspeople are sure they are all dead, Henry refuses to give up, searching for them for months. He eventually comes to accept what everyone else seems to know and decides he can no longer stay in New Zealand. Not wanting to return to England without his family, Henry sets sail for California. He begins a quiet life there and finds a new career path, all the while still mourning his family. After a time he meets Nancy, a young widow with a newborn and no one to turn to; they marry and begin to build a life.
Six years after their abduction, having managed to escape the Maori and years in captivity, Margaret and the children arrive on Henry's doorstep. The worlds of Henry, Margaret, Nancy and the children are turned upside down. When the town learns that Henry Oades has two wives, they assume he is Mormon and ostracize the family as well as levying legal charges of adultery, cohabitation and bigamy. There are trials, traitors and tribulations that would confound King Solomon.
I can not recommend this book highly enough. I read it in two sittings, staying up until five am to finish and then was sorry to have to put it down. The characters are well-drawn, the writing is excellent, the story gripping, heart-breaking and thought-provoking. It can not leave you untouched.
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