My Garbage Disappointed the Coyotes, A Book Review, Etc.

My Garbage Disappointed the Coyotes, A Book Review, Etc.

Yesterday I spent all day writing for Gather and listening to a book on tape. I failed to take my bag of garage to the dumpster before sundown. Jane’s pit bulls, in their new kennels, began barking about 3 a.m. last night, but being farther from my bedroom than they used to be, they aren’t as loud and don’t bother me as much. I ducked my head under the covers and ignored them. Smokey Joe wasn’t barking so I didn’t think it concerned me. Well, he did bark a couple of times, and from my snug space under the covers, I told him everything was OK.

I lied! There was a coyote at my back door that walked right by the open door to my pet food shed and attacked that bag of garbage I had left outside. He dragged the bag part way up the hill where the coyote trail comes down a little wash under the barbed wire fence. When I finally stirred myself and went out to shush the pit bulls, I could see a trail of TV dinner boxes and old cat and dog food cans and two days worth of used kitty litter strewn about. Not much treasure for a hungry coyote. So, I have had my walk for this morning, while I picked up all the trash. There is a light wind blowing from the east so the papers were drifting far and wide. At least I got to see another colorful sunrise while I did it. 

The book on a DVD I am listening to is “The Looming Tower” by Lawrence Wright, and the sub-title is “Al-Quaeda and the Road to 9/11”. It has 14 discs! The title doesn’t really do this book justice. The author starts way back near the beginning of the 20^th century with the story of an Egyptian man who eventually wrote books that now inspire the Islamic troublemakers of today. I don’t know how to pronounce his name much less spell it. Then we hear the story of a man who was his follower, and added to the philosophy that makes the case for Islamic governments. I am only up to the 4^th disc and the story is describing the early life of Osama bin Laden. His father, Mohammed bin Laden, had no formal education, but was a much respected construction engineer who worked on repairs of some of the most revered mosques in Arabia.

This sounds like it could be pretty boring stuff, but somehow it isn’t. The more I listen, the more I want to listen and learn more. It reveals exactly what motivates these people who are madmen and terrorists to us. The old adage says, “Know thine enemy”, or is that from the Bible? This book describes a way of life I knew little about. I thought I knew from the extensive reading I have done all my life, but there are a whole lot of things in this book that are new to me. The author is very good at bringing out the details.

This recorded book is read by Alan Sklar, who has won awards for his craft while reading over 100 notable books for audiotapes. He skill adds a lot to the pleasure of listening to this book. I prefer a man’s voice on the audio books, because I have a hearing problem when it comes to higher voices. Sheesh! I can’t see right, I can’t hear right, I have a bad knee and my memory is failing!  To quote another Gather fan, “Getting old ain’t for wimps!” Well, he didn’t say ‘ain’t.’

 I think I will have another cup of coffee ( decaf! ) and then do some chores before 10 o’clock when my three favorite British comedies come on BBC. They are ‘As Time Goes By’, ‘Are You Being Served’, and ‘Keeping Up Appearances’. Then, I had better take a serious walk with Smokey Joe on this beautiful balmy day. I would like to hike up to what I call the 'Big Thumbs Up Rock' but I think it is known as Lost Valley Rock' It is about 5 miles away so I probably won't ever make it, but maybe if I go a little farther each day, I can get in shape to go all the way. 

You frozen folks back east take heart. Our last week’s bad weather might have clobbered you a lot worse than it did us, but next week you might get some of the lovely spring weather we have right now. See you later.