"And I took the one less traveled by..."

As I was scanning through some things in my library today I came across an old, old compilation of Robert Frost poems. Of course whatever I was supposed to be doing got pushed aside and I started reading at random.

After being utterly swept up in the genius that is Frost, I finally got to a poem that explains my life, my heart and is a sort of mantra for my day to day. It really grabs at me every time I read it and is a keystone of my personal mental attitude.

"The Road Not Taken"

Two Roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that, the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

i doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

Even as I sit here typing it, it gives me chills. It reminds me to be brave, to take on challenges, and to follow my instincts. We all want to make something of this world and leave our mark, but for me it is absolutely essential. I am nothing if I'm idle. My survival depends on purposeful forward progress. I can often let my doubts and over examination of all the things that could go wrong stop me from taking the leap that I know if I committed to I could make. I will take that road less traveled because that is where I will find my purpose and my satisfaction.

Thank you Robert Frost, your genius and skill has given me an inspiration beyond compare.

A Personal Note

I'm guessing that if your reading this you somewhat know who I am and what I'm about but I decided I'm going to get a little more personal on this blog and let you know more about me; sort of ramp up the dramatic, human interest angle. I have no idea if it will work or how cheesy it will seem but it's worth a shot.

I moved to a new place about a month ago and now I live alone in a garage apartment which I love. It is in a great location and works so well with my lifestyle. I can walk out my door and be on the waterfront with less than a two minute walk.

However, the absolute best part of my new place is that it has two bedrooms which means I HAVE A LIBRARY! I am able to cross "having a live in library" off my bucket list. I know it's not huge but it is my first edition so to speak and it can only grow from here.

You don't get the whole glory of the room from the photos but it will give you an idea. The top picture is the main wall with my favorite touch of the Gryffindor banner! The short shelf in the middle is all "Unread Books". Yes, I know, I have a problem but in the store I cannot possibly choose just one!!

The photo below is the wall opposite the door with the desk, hand crafted! by my amazing father. He is quite the handy man and has blown me away with this skills a hundred times over. The lounger in the corner is one of my favorite places to be, especially on rainy days like we've had here for the past week.

To me, every book represents an escape. I've found a similar feeling in running but books just let my mind free of myself and my life and allow me to be anywhere and anyone I want to be. Books have shaped my life in a way that has no equal. I truly feel sympathy for people when they say they hate to read because that means they are stuck in reality all the time. 

Well there you have a little piece of me. My library is my safe place and I love hanging out there. Check back soon, I am in the middle of a great book and can't wait to finish it. Hope everyone had a good weekend!

"This was a legitimate end to a life of illegitimate beginnings."

Khaled Hosseini gained notoriety with the international phenomenon that was The Kite Runner ( see review in archives). I enjoyed the novel but was not blown away by it. I judge the true strength of a book on how often and how well I remember it and make connections to it. With the Kite Runner I didn't feel that, but like I said it didn't make it an un-enjoyable read. A Thousand Splendid Suns however will stay with and haunt me forever. I think women will latch on to this story more just because it centers around two unintentionally strong women and deals with such deep emotional issues that only women can truly feel the empathy for in the pits of their soul.

This story finds us in Afghanistan following the life of Mariam, a young precocious harami, or bastard. She is the daughter of a wealthy cinema owner and the maid of his household. Think modern day Arnold schwarzenegger. The scandal would have rocked the very religious and strict community so Jalil sends mother and daughter off to live in a hut unsuitable for the two and had them live out of sight out of mind, with him making once weekly visits in an attempt to ease this guilt.

Later in the story we find a grown up Mariam, whose life can only be described as tortured, difficult, and heartbreaking, colliding with a young, beautiful, full of potential Laila. Little does Laila know the circumstances of their meeting will leave her and the reader wounded emotionally with only more blows to come.  Laila and Mariam soon find themselves slaves to the same life and same hardships separated only by twenty or so years. This tale of two women who come together to try and salvage what life the cruel hand of fate has dealt them is a literary power house that will leave you inspired, heart broken, and full of indignation all at the same time.

Again here, as in all my posts, I don't like to give away too much of the plot lines because what I find most fascinating when reading novels are the things I never saw coming. And let me tell you, there is a moment in this book when literally my jaw dropped and I was simply dumbfounded. I'm just glad I wasn't in public at the time because I'm sure the face I made was not attractive. All through this novel there are moments that really hit home and actually connect with the reader, but this one in particular made my heart ache. I'm three days out from finishing this book and am still thinking about it constantly.

If there is only one book you are going to read this summer, I have yet to come up with a better recommendation than Khaled Hosseini's A Thousand Splendid Suns. It is a quick paced, easy read, that seriously pulls deeply on every emotional stand of your heart and soul. This book will for sure be a repeat read for me sometime down the road and will continue to haunt me for many days to come. I quite frankly am surprised at how long the feelings have lingered but that is not a complaint at all.



P.S. This book came to me as a recommendation from a fellow lover of words, J. Clark. She has been redeemed ten times over. Thanks for this one.

In honor of my childhood

      So, there is this Doctor. No, he's not an MD or a PhD; hell he's not any kind of doctor at all. But this individual has done more for my well being through out the years than any medicine or guy with a white coat ever has or could. Yes, folks, I am talking about the one, the only, Dr. Seuss! His fantastical world of creatures, characters, colors, and rhymes have shaped my entire life and still leave an infinitely large mark on my soul.

           
   







        I was looking through my bookshelves today and found myself lingering on all my old Dr. Seuss books. When asked, someone my age will be able within an instant to recall a fond memory or storyline from any number of his books. The books taught us through color, character, and rhyme to be good people, take care of the environment, believe in ourselves, and to give things a chance. I think I learned more from Seuss than I did from the majority of my teachers through out my years in grade school. Without realizing it, I was being taught some of the most valuable lessons of my life that I still revert back to in all kinds of ways today. Oh, the Places You'll Go is a spiritual guide for me and continues to be the single best source of literary inspiration in my  life, The Cat in the Hat taught me to have fun and be mischievous but always remember that you can never escape responsibility, and The Lorax taught me that the earth is something we need to protect.

       It is extremely rare to have an adult author who can so ingeniously tap into the psyche of a child and draw out the best in their personalities and sensibilities. Another man with this particular genius who comes to mind is Shel Silverstein and his timeless poems. I will forever be indebted to a man I never met nor knew very much about. I can only hope that sometime in every child's life they come across something so magical and everlasting as a classic Dr. Seuss book. Thank you Dr. for leaving an eternal mark on my life that only true genius and books can leave.