Reflections from the Bottom of the Book Pile

A friend has lent me "First Family" by Joseph Ellis, I assume because he has learned of my geeky fascination with all things historical (whether they be accurate or not) and because he enjoyed the book quite a bit himself. Always looking for new books, I thanked him and placed it at the bottom of my reading pile, below "The Elegance of the Hedghog" by Muriel Barbery, "Doomed Queens: Royal Women Who Met Bad Ends, From Cleopatra to Princess Di" by Kris Waldherr, "The Bolter" by Francis Osborne , "The Dud Avacado" by Elaine Dundy, and, of course my coffee table book, "Modern American Usage: A Guide".

Having finished "The Elegance of the Hedgehog" during my unfortunate flight delay from Denver to Minneapolis on Monday (and also a little bit of Tuesday), I continued my leisurely reading of "Doomed Queens" and hit "The Bolter" pretty hard. Of course, you may remember that "Modern American Usage: A Guide" is my favorite reference book right now, and I read and re-read bits whenever the mood strikes. Since I am already reading two books for fun (and constantly referencing the work of Mr. Follett), and I have to read "The Power of One" by Bryce Courtenay for book club, and I haven't even started that one yet, "First Family" was at the bottom of the pile. I appreciated the book being lent, but had little intention of reading it until the end of April.

As part of my job, I am expected to constantly continue and further my education in many ways. Luckily for me, my district has a pretty good course catalog. While at the beginning of the year I was a bit too busy, I am taking full advantage of these classes now. The class I am currently taking is to get re-certified in CPR. There is an online portion as well as an in-person portion of the class. We were supposed to get the online portion two weeks before the class (which is on Monday), but that didn't happen. So I decided to bite the bullet and spend my Friday night eating over-buttered popcorn while sitting on my couch in my pink elephant pajamas and completing the required computer portion of the class.

I made it through a good chunk of the material, but after rolling my eyes at one completely ridiculous section concerning when to call EMTs (the portion of that test gave sample "injuries" and you had to decide whether or not to call the EMTs. Chapped lips? No. Excessive bleeding and bone showing through skin? Apparently, yes.), I was searching for a brief, three minute diversion. Rather than get up and walk around the apartment or risk getting involved on something online for a long time, I decided to reach for a book on the coffee table. "First Families" has a preface, and I decided to read it, contemplate for about one minute, then return to work.

Unfortunately, as you have probably correctly predicted, that is not how it went down. I am now completely entrenched (questionable vocabulary choice, I know) in the lives of John and Abigail Adams. The writing stlye of Joseph J. Ellis mixed with the individual styles of John and Abigail Adams in the excerpts of their letters have me completely fascinated. So engrossed was I in this book, I did not realize that I had read to page 30 - an entire 29 pages longer than intended - until there was a new heading.

So naturally I sent a message to the friend who owns the book, closed the coursework on the computer, boiled some water, and a read a little more. Now with my tea, I am reflecting on the small section of the book I have already read. The author seems to admire and idealize the love and relationship between John and Abigail, and his feelings are infectious. Having barely finished 16% of the book, I find myself creating an image of  a noble, affectionate, faithful, intellectually stimulating, understanding, and passionate love.

And that is something I aspire to achieve in my lifetime.