Time Out

I'll be taking a little break from Three Minutes to Nine, a week off.  I'll see you back here on Monday, August 9, at three minutes to nine!  Have a great week.

Ginger

Ramona and Beezus

Did you grow up with Ramona Quimby?  She and her sister Beezus are the stars of a movie currently in theaters.  Both Tom and I knew them as kids.

They were characters in Beverly Cleary's children's books.  Set in northeast Portland, Oregon, they and their fictional friends, especially Henry Huggins and his dog Ribsy, lived in a neighborhood not too different than ours, and had experiences much like our own.  We loved those books.

We loved how Henry Huggins rode the bus to town and found this hungry, pitiful dog and tried to take the dog home in a box.  We loved the story about the guppies and the lesson about how rapidly they multiply.  We loved that they looked out for Ramona even though she was a pest, and how they expressed their feelings.  We loved it all because we identified.  It was like watching ourselves grow up.

When we were on vacation in Portland last summer we went to Grant Park to see the sculptures of Ramona, Henry and Ribsy.  It was a warm day and kids were playing in the fountains that are a part of the sculptures.  Next door to the park is the Beverly Cleary School, Hollyrood Campus.  We also spent a bit of time in the Beverly Cleary children's library in Portland's magnificent Central Library, enjoying a chat with the librarian.

If you've never met Beezus and Ramona, now's your chance.  You can see them on the big screen or, better yet, pick up one of Beverly Cleary's delightful stories from your local library.

The New Math

Do It Anyway

People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered; 

Forgive them anyway. 

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, 
ulterior motives; 

Be kind anyway. 

If you are successful, you will win some false friends 
and some true enemies; 

Succeed anyway. 

If you are honest and frank, People may cheat you; 

Be honest and frank anyway. 

What you spend years building, someone could 
destroy overnight; 

Build anyway. 

If you find serenity and happiness, They may be jealous; 

Be happy anyway. 

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow; 

Do good anyway. 

Give the world the best you have, and it 
may never be enough; 

Give the world the best you've got anyway. 

You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God; 

It was never between you and them anyway.


Mother Teresa

Corn on the Grill

Next time you have the barbecue going, grill up some corn.  It's easier than you can imagine, and tastes wonderful.  Here's what we did last night:

We put the corn -- husks and all -- directly onto the hot grill and cooked it for 7-8 minute per side.  Here it is, on the grill with the potatoes.

When the corn was done, we pulled back the husks.  Most of the silk came with the husk.

We served it up with creamed seafood and watermelon.  Delicious!

Two Compelling Films

Sometimes I get grounded from choosing the movies we watch.  I have to let other people choose for a while because I get too many heavy dramas that deal with cosmic themes and leave everyone traumatized.  I seem to be especially drawn to war films.  I don't know why that is.

We recently watched two such films, however, that you might want to see.  Though they were gripping stories dealing with difficult themes, they were well-told, compelling films that portray hope and courage.

I Am David is set in the early 1950s and tells the story of a 12-year-old boy, living in a Stalinist camp in Bulgaria, who escapes, with only a small satchel of supplies and the instruction to go to Denmark.  Having lived all his life in the camp, where deprivation and suffering surround him, he navigates a world he does not know and faces challenges he never had to face in the camp.

The Inn of the Sixth Happiness is set in China in the early years of World War II.  Gladys Alyward (played by Ingrid Bergman), an English parlormaid, has felt called of God to go to China, and has been turned down by the mission board.  So she books passage on the train and arrives in China to help an elderly missionary woman run an inn for mule team drivers.  The indomitable spirit that got her to China helps this "foreign devil" find acceptance in China and, eventually, provides the fortitude to make it across the mountains with 100 children, fleeing invading Japanese troops.

Gladys Alyward was quite upset about the inaccuracies in the movie, especially the love scene, which she thought soiled her reputation.  But Bergman was so moved by the story that she went to Taiwan in 1970 to meet the missionary.  She arrived just days after Gladys Alyward had passed away.  Bergman fell down beside her bed and wept, and a missionary co-worker of Alyward shared the Gospel message with Bergman, leading her to place her faith in Christ.  You can read the story in two parts here and here.

Trip to Snohomish

Tom's birthday started out with brunch at my folks' house.  Tim and Ted were both here from Alaska for Auntie Bet's memorial service, and it was nice to be able to spend time around the table with them as well as Dad, Mom and Peach.

Snohomish was our destination for the day.  Armed with our new camera (we still have a lot to learn about that camera!) we stopped in at the Snohomish Information Center to figure out what we wanted to see.

Snohomish is a historic town with its roots in logging.  It's a town that does home tours and garden tours and the downtown features many antique stores, tasty eateries and other tourist attractions. Situated above the Snohomish River, it is a user-friendly town.

One of our first stops was at the Art Gallery.  We enjoyed the variety of styles and mediums in the show and were especially drawn to the paintings of a Japanese artist, Sakae Ouchi.  His colors were vivid and full of life, paintings of Northwest mountains, lakes, barns and tulips.  As it turned out, the gallery attendant for the day was Mr Ouchi, a man who was, himself, vivid and full of life.  

Tucked into the corner of a building, we discovered a cozy, well supplied shop for fly fisherman.  It even had a colorful grab bag of used poles for beginners.  

I guess it was too much for Tom.  We found a park bench at Blackman Lake and he just gave out!

Or maybe he was just tired of being shadowed by his wife!