What a difference a few degrees drop in the humidity makes. The temperature only dropped five degrees, from 90 to 85, but yesterday I almost died 
and today I spent a beautiful summer day at the beach.
I use to go to the beach every day in summer, but with gas prices at over $4 a gallon I think I will be making the trip just one day a week, kind of a mini vacation. Of course many people can’t get to a beach so I am not complaining, well yes I am.
I spent much of yesterday at my local Library. Air conditioning, free newspaper, magazines and books. You can’t beat that deal.
I am reading one of my favorite books, “On The Road” by Jack Kerouac, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_the_road . Kerouac wrote the book in only three weeks.
From Wikipedia:
“When the book was originally released, the New York Times hailed it as “the most beautifully executed, the clearest and most important utterance” of Kerouac’s generation. The novel was chosen by Time Magazine as one of the 100 best English-language novels from 1923 to 2005.”
It’s not a book for everyone and some critics find “One The Road” a sad, depressing tale. I love all the interesting characters and insights about 1940’s America. I was struck by the following, at the end of chapter 10, page 52:
“Boys and girls in America have such a sad time together, sophistication demands that they submit to sex immediately without proper preliminary talk. Not courting talk-real straight talk about souls, for life is holy and every moment precious.”
If anything that insight is more relevant today then it was in 1947.
8 comments
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July 10, 2008 at 6:26 pm
1godsgal
Hi Ed! I’m glad ur having a nice summer…ours is pretty great as well. It’s been 100 something the last couple of days….even without humidity it’s aweful, so I can’t imagine what you must be going through…..
I need to read a book. I haven’t for awhile and you inspire me….
July 10, 2008 at 7:02 pm
edfromct
Hi Deb. Let me say again how much I enjoyed your singing on Brent’s video chat. I also like your new(?) icon.
I saw from storie’s comment how you guys in Oregon have been getting 100 degree weather. I never know it got that hot in Oregon. Is that a little reminder from God of what may be in store if you don’t stay on the straight and narrow.
July 10, 2008 at 7:54 pm
1godsgal
LOL…Ya, my son took that picture yesterday, it’s fun! Thank you, it was fun doing the chat. It has been very hot, today wasn’t as bad…we usually get a week or two of 100’s in the summer, and a week or two of snow in the winter…
” Is that a little reminder from God of what may be in store if you don’t stay on the straight and narrow.”
I’d have to say yes…
I’m glad it’s the only heat I’ll have to endure! Love you!
July 10, 2008 at 9:27 pm
alece
i’ve heard some mixed reviews about j.k. something about his stuff being presented as non-fiction and then found out to actually be fiction??? know anything about that?
i’m intrigued and might like to read him sometime. is that his best book (in your opinion)?
July 10, 2008 at 11:57 pm
edfromct
Alece, “On The Road” is considered by far Kerouac’s best work. He died at the age of 47 from liver problems brought on by his heavy drinking.
From Wikipedia:
“It is a largely autobiographical work that was written based on the spontaneous road trips of Kerouac and his friends across mid-century America. It is often considered a defining work of the postwar Beat Generation that was inspired by jazz, poetry, and drug experiences. While many of the names and details of Kerouac’s experiences are changed in the novel, hundreds of references in “On the Road” have real-world counterparts.”
From some critics of the book:
David Ulin says in Book Forum that “even the most frantic of Kerouac’s writings were really the sagas of a solitary seeker: poor, sad Jack, adrift in a world without mercy when he’d rather be ’safe in Heaven dead.’” “Kerouac was this deep, lonely, melancholy man,” said Hilary Holladay at the University of Massachusetts. “And if you read the book closely, you see that sense of loss and sorrow swelling on every page.”
I don’t find the book that depressing, but if you prefer a very upbeat story with a happy ending you might not enjoy “On The Road”.
July 10, 2008 at 11:59 pm
alece
i actually love melancholy. i’m gonna add the book to my wish-list…
thanks for the info!
July 11, 2008 at 2:52 pm
tam
that is definitely relevant for today!
was also the year my mother was born, 1947.
(your post is going up next wednesday) im excited
July 12, 2008 at 6:21 am
Indian Lake Papa
Have a great summer ED, relax and enjoy reading – I need to find a good book for the summer.
Your bro,
Papa