TheBanyanTree: Potpourri

[Margaret R. Kramer]

In a space of a week, we’ve gone from hot and dry and desert-like conditions
to cool and wet conditions.  It rained and rained and rained last week.  The
trees look happy again.  The ponds and lakes are full.  And we had grass
almost to our knees.  It finally stopped raining on Friday and Ray and I
were able to cut our grass and weed the gardens.

Ray and I didn’t win the Powerball Lottery last night.  According to CNN, a
single winner won who purchased a ticket in Indiana.  We didn’t even have
the Powerball on any of our four tickets.  Now the pot goes from $300
million back to $15 million.  I don’t know if we could live on $15 million.

There was something in the news recently about how most adults don’t even
read one book a year.  As a reader, I can’t imagine that.  Now, I’ve read 20
books so far this year, which to me, is a piddling amount.  I use the
excuses “I’m busy” or “I’m tired” a lot for my lack of reading.  I read two
newspapers every day (the Minneapolis and St. Paul papers), I read
magazines, I get lots of magazines in the mail – Time, People, National
Geographic, Martha Stewart Living, Oprah, Everyday Food.  Ray gets Readers’
Digest and Popular Science.  And we actually read them all.

There’s such a push to get kids reading, but how are kids going to learn to
enjoy reading when the adults in their lives don’t read?

I just finished the last Harry Potter book and started The Road to
Terrebithia.  I’m reading that young people’s book, because I enjoyed the
movie so much.  I have piles of books all over the house that I need to
read.  It’s difficult for me to imagine a house without books.

That’s it.  Not much going on in my brain today.

Margaret R. Kramer
margaretkramer at comcast.net
margaret.kramer at polarispublications.com

In my garden there is a large place for sentiment.  My garden of flowers is
also my garden of thoughts and dreams.  The thoughts grow as freely as the
flowers, and the dreams are as beautiful.
~Abram L. Urban