The big news, of course: Sigh came back. The kittens have never ranged independently of each other before. They've always stuck close to one another, so this is quite a change. But all is well. To celebrate, I treated them all to a can of sardines, which drew them all in close. They could not resist that smell.
The other big news is that we've got our computer back, and it is just as good as new, thanks to Dan. He gave us some very specific instructions for when we got home and fired it up, and we followed the instructions to a tee. He did say he's never seen a computer accessed the way this one was, so he learned something new to look out for. Total bill: $90. He's a hero.
Today was a day spent on the electrical. Again.
And stones. Again.
We got a basket of onions and four more gargantuan tomatoes from Albert. $4.
I mentioned that I finished Demon Copperhead, and I was pleased that it ended on a positive note. The first half of the story was heartbreaking, that a kid was caught up in circumstances that he had no control over, taken from an abusive home and placed in another abusive foster home, and then on to yet another abusive foster home.
That is sadly not an uncommon story. Remember the Turpin kids? They went into foster care, and the youngest ones once again found themselves in abusive homes. The fact that people are taking care of children for money lends itself to being used by people whose primary motivation is the money, not concern for the child. I am sure there are many people opening their hearts to children. Unfortunately, there are some who definitely are not interested in that part of things at all. I have seen this play out personally.
Steve Reed was right when he said that midway through the book, it seemed as if Barbara Kingsolver was throwing every stereotype of Appalachian life into the story. The football aspect seemed to have been introduced only to be able to explain his drug addiction. But it was, strangely enough, easier for me to read once he got old enough to be making his own bad decisions.
I hate the idea of kids being helpless to effect any change to their world. I guess that's why I fucking hate what is happening in Gaza right now.
But I digress. I'm back on line. While I was able to keep up with blogs for the most part, I was unable to comment. I don't understand why. I had it all sorted out and working fine...and then just as suddenly, I wasn't able to leave a comment at all. But I've been keeping up with you.
Those poor Turpin kids, all children that are abused, it breaks my heart, over and over again. I've had jaw pain and headaches for weeks because of all the crap that's going on.
ReplyDeleteI am sorry, Pixie. Sometimes it gets overwhelming to me as well. I can only narrow my focus and change what I can change in those moments.
DeleteAll the time I was reading DC I kept thinking the book was being written in first person past tense, so hopefully it meant that Demon was going to survive all he was experiencing. I know it is fiction, but damned good fiction. The person in our group who had been a social worker working with the foster system, said the "system" fought her tooth and nail when she tried to make things better and this is in Michigan.
ReplyDeleteIn my county, we have one foster family. One. It is not nearly enough, and kids stay in bad situations and there is nothing to be done...yet we spend a lot of money doing nothing.
DeleteWelcome back!!
ReplyDeleteThanks!!!
DeleteI knew that book is too sad for me to read. So many mistreated children all over the world and it keeps getting worse.
ReplyDeleteIt ended on a good note, and I was glad for that. The ending brought to mind 'The Beans of Egypt County'. But in the end, these are just stories, and all kids don't get their happy ending, and it does break your heart, doesn't it?
DeleteCommenting is wonky for me on the phone or tablet.
ReplyDeleteI guess that I will never understand why one day I can comment, and the next, I can't. I don't know what is different.
DeleteI wish I could read her books, but I cannot handle stories like that. Real life is full of enough horror, why read fictional horror, is my thinking. But I know she is a good writer, and her portrayal of Appalachians is accepted by Appalachians, unlike JD Vance's sorry book. Interesting what you say about stereotypes though. I had not heard that particular insight from anyone else. We are, sadly so easy to stereotype! And yet, on my "holler", there are very few who fit into those stereotypes. We have a high percentage of college grads, only a few unemployed, several who own their own thriving businesses, and only one who has an addiction problem that I know of-- could be i just don't know about any others but I doubt it because it would be very difficult to keep a secret like that along this road. I kinda wonder if we are just an anomaly here!
ReplyDeleteI think that the difference is perspective. Stereotyping is ALWAYS done by those outside the community trying to define people with a very broad brush. You hear the word 'liberals' defined in unsavory ways, or ethnic groups being labeled, or women being labeled by people who are not women. Other countries. Stereotyping is the tool used to create the illusion of 'us' and 'them'. Since you live within that population, you might be aware of outsider's views, but I don't think that you recognize it as what it is, as comfortably as you move in your little corner of the world.
DeleteIt's funny, but I've never liked anything Kingsolver wrote aside from The Poisonwood Bible. I thought that one was outstanding, but it was all downhill for me after that. So I haven't even attempted to read Demon Copperhead and I probably won't. I did recently read a book I'm slightly obsessed with at the moment, and tomorrow I'm hosting my book club where we'll be discussing it. I plan to blog about it this week!
ReplyDeleteAnd I will be looking for it!
DeleteI've read and enjoyed a couple of her books but this one and The Poisonwood Bible were two that I just couldn't get into. I liked her biography Animal, Vegetable Miracle
ReplyDeleteYou're the third person who has mentioned that book. I will have to look for it.
DeleteMy mother was a foster parent back in the 1960s. She just did it for the money. She was never cruel or abusive but the care was lacking in affection and comfort.
ReplyDeleteSad, isn't it, that for so many kids, that would be a real step up...a home that had everything but affection and comfort.
DeleteGood news, clean computer!....and kittens back together...at what age do they turn into cats?
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure, gz, but we are surely watching it happen in real time. Scrolling back through my old posts, I see that it was mid June when I first began to write about them. I'm not sure how old they were at that point, but they are certainly 3 months old, so I guess that answer to your question is...about now!
DeleteIt's good to see that things are looking up for you now - it's about time!
ReplyDeleteOh, gees. You really set me back on my heels with that, Jabblog. I see my life in a pretty positive light. I mean, I'm lucky enough that whatever we decide to do, we can pretty much do it, whether it be building a house or taking a trip. Sometimes, we fall into a rut, and it can get tedious. Sometimes, crap happens, like the city nonsense. But in the end, we are fortunate souls. If I have ever given the impression that we aren't, that is not my intention.
DeleteSo glad Sigh is back, and computer is clean and protected! I couldn't read DC because I have to carefully curate what I ingest by reading, hearing, or eating for that matter, as it all affects me. Feeling helpless is untenable for me, and reading about helpless children, or animals, or other humans being hurt sickens me to my core and I want to vanquish all the perpetrators, if only with my sword made of words. And there is plenty to vanquish these days, it seems.
ReplyDeleteI totally understand that Karla. I've really had to cut back on my news watching. I don't think that I would have read Demon Copperhead if Barbara Kingsolver hadn't been this month's author choice for the book club. I got to the library late, and it was the only book on the shelf that I had not yet read. So...I read it out of duty, but it was, as always, well written and thought provoking.
DeleteGood news! I fully admit that I'm addicted to my blog reading portion of my day and would not enjoy living without it for days on end, when I'm at home anyway. I do quite fine when on vacation.
ReplyDeleteI like to start my day with coffee and a walk through blogland.
DeleteWhat a relief to get your computer back and in working order. And another relief- the return of Sigh.
ReplyDeleteI heard a podcast interview with Kingsolver over a year ago and she and the host briefly discussed "Hillbilly Elegy" and dismissed it as being far from the realities they'd known. I couldn't even read that book. Vance doesn't seem to care much about the truth.
I read it Mary. I thought that it made a lot of sense. Something that interested me is the way that he applied the term 'cognitive dissonance' to 'them', which is defined as when someone's beliefs, attitudes or values are inconsistent with their actions. He was applying it to 'hillbillies'...and whoa, man...does that NOT describe the evangelical movement? And after all his writing about hillbillies and cognitive dissonance, the boy has become exhibit A. I don't understand it.
DeleteI'm glad you're back and the computer is sorted! Despite the Appalachian stereotypes -- which admittedly are grounded in reality -- I did love the book. I'm glad you enjoyed it too, or at least its resolution. And what a relief that Sigh has returned! It's good to hear some good news from the cat world.
ReplyDeleteI know! Poor Jack! The Moon family (and Maurice) are dealing with that. Over at Just Me, Donna has had to have Blue put down. We needed a happy cat story.
DeleteGreat to see you permanently back on the old blogging horse Debby. I think swear words some times express our thoughts and emotions on a particular subject close to heart so well.
ReplyDeleteSometimes the subject is so obscene there are no acceptable words to express it.
DeleteI read Demon Copperhead a few weeks ago and found it equal parts disturbing and compelling, meaning it was such a well-written story it was hard to put down. But oh my, the sadness. Like you, I was pleased with the ending. Interesting about the Appalachian stereotypes. I really liked JD Vance's book Hillbilly Elegy someone mentioned in your comments. But oh, how I wish he had stuck to writing and practicing law rather than getting into politics! Do you notice he and Trump hardly ever appear together???? I don't think Trump gives him the time of day.
ReplyDeleteI bought the book when it came out. How Vance went from that to now is incomprehensible. The fact that he refused to stand for his wife when she was being persecuted by racists makes me wonder if his marriage will survive his grab for power. He is making an awful lot of very public gaffes.
DeleteCongrats on the fixed computer. You are so lucky to know the man who could get it done for you and at such a good price!
ReplyDeleteHe has been our go-to for 25 years now.he is a dandy.
DeleteI am 100% with you about Gaza and even wrote to all our elected congressmen and White House how I felt. I wrote to my friend in Israel also but she didn't believe all those deaths and destruction were happening. She thought it was all lies. Sigh...
ReplyDeleteIf she is reading The Jerusalem Post, that is the narrative the are pushing.
DeleteI read that some of your states don't allow same sex couples to adopt, yet clearly some foster parents aren't very carefully vetted as carers. I think I know who a child would be better with.
ReplyDelete