Once upon a time, I was at a university, and a high-ranking fancy person from Shell Oil showed up. It was a university in Texas, maybe that was why. He was from the top brass, I think -- he was actually Dutch, all smooth and tall and polished. But if you listened carefully to what… Continue reading The smooth-talker from Shell Oil
Author: mh
Boxcar Children — their ages book by book
#1 Boxcar Children -- Henry 14, Jessie 12, Violet 10, Benny 5 (this is baldly stated by the author, something she stops doing just a few books in, which is why I have to compute their ages in other ways.) #2 Surprise Island -- Henry 15, Benny 6 (as stated by the author). Jessie and… Continue reading Boxcar Children — their ages book by book
Beside the Bonnie Brier Bush
I recently found out that many of the books that Lucy Maud Montgomery mentions reading in her journals -- obscure books from the 1800s -- can be found in the Loserville Library. When I say obscure, I mean they are obscure today. They were best-sellers back in their time. One of them is Beside the… Continue reading Beside the Bonnie Brier Bush
Claremont McKenna
When I was little, I had a secret fantasy of attending Claremont McKenna College. If I had known then as I know now that it's right by Loserville, I probably would have squashed that idea. But I hadn't really researched the place. My romantic notions of the place were based solely on the fact that… Continue reading Claremont McKenna
The Norwegian Tree at Union Station
Every year at Christmas time, the Norwegian embassy puts a Christmas tree in the main train station in Washington DC. It's an ugly looking tree: Norwegian Tree at Union Station They do this every year. I don't know for how long, but back when I was passing through Union Station all the time in the… Continue reading The Norwegian Tree at Union Station
When evil overplays its hands
I was reading a book called "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Written By Herself", published just before the Civil War. The author is Harriet Jacobs. Harriet was born a slave in 1813 on the Albemarle Sound in North Carolina, and she spent about 10 years trying to escape. When she finally did,… Continue reading When evil overplays its hands
The Home: a book from the year 1839 sounds like it was written today
The Home is a book about a family in Sweden in the early 1800s. They have like 7 kids. The author is Fredrika Bremer. I got to know her through an exhibit I saw at the Swedish museum in Philadelphia. I found The Home in the Loserville Library, in Swedish. In the original Swedish, the… Continue reading The Home: a book from the year 1839 sounds like it was written today
Sneaking off to see the Alamo while at the San Antonio train stop
I have been to San Antonio twice now, so you might assume that I saw the Alamo. Yes, the Alamo of "Remember the Alamo" fame. However, both of my visits lasted only about an hour, and took place in the middle of the night, because my visits to the city have actually been train stops… Continue reading Sneaking off to see the Alamo while at the San Antonio train stop
A mass-shooting tour of the USA, mostly by train
A few years ago, I took the Sunset Limited train from New Orleans all the way to Loserville, that is, Los Angeles, that is, Trashyville. Such a romantic way to travel. It took two days and two nights. This is the train's route. And as I rocked gently and peacefully to the train's railtrack lullaby,… Continue reading A mass-shooting tour of the USA, mostly by train
Scottish-Swedish words
I've been reading two books written in days of yore, both set in Scotland. One is Waverley, which was published in 1814, and one is Beside the Bonnie Brier Bush, published in 1894. So they were both published on opposite bookends of the 19th century. I'm reading them because they are both books that Lucy… Continue reading Scottish-Swedish words
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