Reading Rambles...

I feel as though all I did in February is sleep, read, and work. And eat. Mostly I wanted to sleep. I did manage to finish several good books, including the Oscar Wilde bio. From there I went on to a William Styron bio, two Jeffrey Deaver "Lincoln Rhyme" books, and Linda Fairstein's "Death Dance." Not to mention the dozen or so other novels and/or mysteries that aren't necessarily part of a series or a regular author that I read.

 I have also gotten about a third of the way through Taylor Branch's "Pillar of Fire," the follow-up to "Parting the Waters," which won the Pulitzer. Subtitled "America in the King Years, 1963-65," this book is a history of the Civil Rights era which was actually a very memorable part of my childhood. I remember sitting with my mother in front of the television, watching the news of marches and beatings and bombings, fires and firehoses, lines of police in riot gear confronting masses of peaceful protesters. My mother was deeply affected by all of it, which I suppose affected me as much as the terrifying images, and since she was to die within a few years, that whole time is carved into my spirit in the way that scars will sometimes release some of the pain that originally caused them, years after the fact. I'm not even sure that will make sense to most people, but I know what I mean. In any event, I am learning more than I bargained for about that period, the change makers, and people that I previously admired, who end up seeming not quite so admirable. Meaning the Kennedy administration, not King.

Daylight Savings Time will soon be upon us, and Spring perhaps not so long after. I am ready to let go of Winter.

Pillar of Fire : America in the King Years 1963-65 (America in the King Years)

Taylor Branch