Book Club



 Book Club was an interesting meet tonight
Smaller in numbers than meeting one , I missed the presence of the cheerful Faisal but the group was certainly buoyed up by two new members, a bright, chatty lesbian couple from Savannah, Georgia .
Our book was Three Hours by Rosamund Lupton which is an exploration into white supremacy radicalisation within a private English School and the subsequent armed attack on teachers and pupils one snowy morning.
I enjoyed the book , unlike most of the group , but the conversation grew rather intense when one of the facilitators asked the American couple their take on it, given the fact they had only just arrived in the country and that school shootings were very. Much a product of the US
The women looked at each other carefully and the dark haired girl told her story of when she experienced a school shooting as a child where many children , her friends,  were killed.
It was a sobering, moving and total unexpected moment that shocked us all.
And in the silence that followed ,the blonde partner , smiled a big smile and said simply
why do you think we have come to the UK to live?”
These two women, bright democrats both  then told us stories of their experiences of guns, gun crime and gun mentality .
They were neither exaggerating or angry, just resigned and tired of it all
And when they had finished 
Discussing a novel didn’t quite seem the most pressing thing to do





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Ignorance

 
On Monday morning I was sitting here at this desk in our study when, on the other side of the road, something caught my eye. It was a telephone engineer at the top of a telegraph pole. He was making some kind of intervention concerning the various wires that meet there.

One of them comes to our house and I assume that without that wire, I would not be able to send out blogposts to the world at large. Blogposts that have no doubt  created puzzlement and angry debate in internet spy centres run by government agencies in both Russia and China. But to be honest I have precisely no idea how this process works for I am no technophile.

There are lots of things I do not understand. After all, we cannot know everything so I just cruise along  untroubled by my ignorance. Although I have snapped thousands of digital images with digital cameras, I have no idea what a digital image is or how that business works. All I know is that digital images are infinitely superior to the old prints we waited for after completing rolls of film. And if you know how digital photography works, please don't tell me because I know that I would just glaze over and forget it all before the breaking of a new day.

How televisions work is another long tolerated area of ignorance for me. I prefer to think of that process as pure magic for the technical explanation would baffle the hell out of me.

At the end of my Valentine's Day post, I referred to electronic car keys. If you drive a motor vehicle, you have also most likely got an electronic car key. I can lock Clint with my key from fifty yards away  and at night when locking our front door I often press "Lock" on Clint's key just to make doubly  sure he's secure. The indicator lights flash orange through the front  door's glazed panels to tell me that my press has been successful.

Again, I have absolutely do idea how electronic car keys work and so I often smile or shake my head in amazement. Who ever invented these keys deserves to become the king (or queen!) of a small but prosperous  mountain kingdom. I just typed into Google, "Who invented electronic car keys?" and the answer came back - Paul Lipschutz who worked for an automotive supply company called Niemans in the 1980's. His applications for various US patents were granted in that same decade. They all related to car security. I doubt that there is a statue of  Paul Lipschutz anywhere in the world but maybe there should be one.

And how do microwaves work, TV remotes, bar codes, refrigerators, satellites?  My ignorance of these things  is quite comprehensive.



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Yes

 Jesus,

Thank you

For loving me

Enough

To die

A death

I still

Can’t understand

Thank you

For showing up

You show up

In private

You show me

In the secret stillness

That you 

Hold me up

When my body fails

And my soul lacks

Even when

I don’t think

I have more

To write

You say 

Get to work

As long

As you live

You will type

Because when

You share

You live

You shine

The glimmer

The shimmer

Appear 

You will not

Let me fall

Into depression

The constant battle

I have 

To be content

In the body

You’ve given me


As soon as you learn you are disabled, you learn you will need help. Mental health help. It’s not an option. It’s a necessity. As much as water, I need help and medication. I won’t apologize for it. Get help if you need it. 



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People Watching

 After dog walking, I treated myself to breakfast in Sainsbury’s cafe.
I also bought two large coffees and read my book in a comfortable booth.
When I was eating breakfast I people watched .
Next to me two middle aged friends met up for tea and sympathy.
They hadn’t seen each other since December and hugged a greeting
Their conversations were animated and warm and loud and as I looked around I noticed a frail slightly older lady with a crutch leaning against her table watching them.
Her expression looked sad but there was more to it and I know I read it correctly 

It was envy.


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