Vincent Was An NKVD Agent

Thirteen years ago ...

James 1:19-27                                                           September 2

Martha @ Dakota ES; Danelle’s family moving.         10509.02

Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: 

For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. 19-20

1 Corinthians 12; Psalms 135-136

Give honest and sincere appreciation.

Praise ye the LORD. Praise ye the name of the LORD; praise him, O ye servants of the LORD.

O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth forever.

Martha has a busy day; after school, she gets to zip to Kmart and work until 2200 tonight. My day’s getting long, and I need to set my goals for book three as well as afford to get book two on its way to publication! Please let me get some quality time with my wife; soon her disregard for me WILL drive me away. And that would be bad.

Asimov, Isaac, Greenberg, Martin Harry, and Olander, Joseph D. (Eds.).  100 Great Science Fixtion Short Stories. Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1987.

ISBN 0385130449

I don’t remember the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s being known for bad puns (from the anthology’s first story, “A Lion of Paw” to the last lines of some, like “Splend is a many lovered thing”). The stories the editors chose for this science fiction collection may not be (and are not) all great, but they’re ... distinguished examples of what can be accomplished with a beginning? Middle, or end in five pages or less. Two stories are comprised of one line! I’d say nine-tenths of them wouldn’t appear dates to a modern reader, but all of them stood the test of time. Whether they’re still worth the reading is up to you.

I seem to be repeating myself ...

Keep in mind the above journal entry was written before Martha and I had kids! As I type this entry while I’m home after a second shower after spending time plucking weeds out of our backyard and around the house — it’s a waste to mow with so many brown patches right now — about the only things that have really changed for me, the only things that really change us in the long run (quiet Keynes!) are the people we meet and the books we read. Alas, you and I know many people who distance themselves from the latter as soon as they graduate!

Shame.

This weekend I got done with two books that I didn’t write — unless, of course, you want to indulge me in being the 19th century artist Vincent van Gogh (in the “graphic non-fiction” book Vincent by Barbara Stok, translated by Laura Watkinson ISBN 9781906838799) or the former Soviet secret service agent Anatoli Granovsky (in the autobiographical account I Was A NKVD Agent, LOC 62-13462). On second thought, maybe I don’t want to be indulged in the latter.

On the home front (can you believe we’re on the last third of 2018 already?) it’s been good for me to realize when I’m home I really can BE home. I don’t feel as tense as I have the last few months, mixing looking forward to being treated like a responsible adult and dreading going in to work ... I don’t need the stress of that. Yes, we’re down to four assistants working the warehouse full time because one person quit without warning and another’s on vacation, but the latter will be can and another person’s coming on full time Wednesday, and even I would rather get another person started that deal with someone who’s convinced they are so good.

Because nobody’s that good,

David