Enlightened by Elephants

Sometimes the soul just hijacks you and takes you on an unexpected journey toward an enlightenment you didn't know you were seeking. And, then the adventure turns out to be in your own backyard. Such was our journey to the Endangered Ark Foundation in Hugo, Oklahoma.

Inspired by dreams and a book, we found ourselves on a weekend adventure to an elephant sanctuary that few knew about. Hugo is the last stop on the Indian Nations Turnpike at the Texas border and home to a variety of circuses that have wintered here since 1937.

Our morning caravan started out with a Starbucks (thanks, Carla G), big puffy clouds, and a light rain. We took the scenic route through towns like Mill Creek and Wapanucka arriving in Hugo in time for lunch at Angie's Circus City Diner. We had fantastic fried green tomatoes, catfish, onion rings, burgers, pie and two very funny waitresses. A girl named Levi and one named Sha'Mika. Levi was having a tough day so Sha'Mika helped out and had us rolling on the floor with how she came to have her name.


Turns out her mother thought she was going to be black and created the name for her but when she was born white, she couldn't think of another name. Sha'Mika had been deeply ashamed of her history telling her mother, "You are NOT my momma!" But seems to own it now.  Levi recovered from her trauma and both girls took good care of us.

Just around the corner from the diner is the elephant sanctuary.  Our guide, Arlinda, met us with a hug and commended Diana for her perseverance in setting up the tour. Here we were able to get up close and personal with the elephants. We spent about an hour riding around the sanctuary hearing stories about them and being educated on their lives and care. The people who run the Ark are really in love with the elephants. Living on a sanctuary in Hugo, Oklahoma is not as dramatic as living on a wildlife reserve in Zululand, Africa but we got a taste for what it's like to live with these great animals.

After the tour, we followed Arlinda to the Mount Olivet Cemetary to see Show Men's Rest. There is an area reserved for the part-time circus residents and the founders of the Ark are buried here as well as the famous young bull rider, Lane Frost. Then, we were back on the road for our evening accommodations in Kingston. Laura couldn't find anything closer to Hugo because of the rains and high waters. But, the house she did find was stellar. It easily accommodated all 11 of us. It had a couple of beautiful patios, fire pit and giant man-cave with pool and foosball. We stayed up til 2 dancing, singing and playing games. After a leisurely brunch the next morning we headed back to Norman,

We were so inspired by the elephants we've decided to host a fundraiser to help them raise money for a better watering system for the elephants. There will be more information about that soon.

The weekend was immensely satisfying. I told Arlinda that she had truly made a "dream" come true for me. We bonded with the elephants, the staff, and with each other. I have a feeling we'll be going back soon - and hopefully with a nice little check to help them out!

June Book Club 2015

BREAKING BOOK CLUB NEWS … … …

In a shocking development, June 5, Laura Madden does not bring a dish to book club! However, we forgive her. She’s had a lot going on the last month. And, we’ve agreed not everyone needs to bring something every time. So, this month, she gets a pass! On that note, our deepest sympathies go out to Laura & Terry on the sudden loss of their brother.  There are no words that lessen the loss, but we all continue to send our love and prayers.

In other news … Lou announced that she and Gene have sold the Holmberg House B & B. They felt the time was right to downsize and spend more time with their family who do not live in Oklahoma. They plan to be in Norman for a few months before they become full-time vagabonds!

Missing … from our meeting were Lou, Darby, Janie, Terry, and Denise. Be on the lookout! And, report their whereabouts!

And Now, Here’s something you’ll really like! Barb was our host for June and she made a savory African chicken dish served with rice to complement our book on African elephants.  Carla Anderson brought roasted Brussel Sprouts, Pam brought a salad, Carla Gibbs brought a garden/fruit salad and wine, Arnora brought a beautiful pot of Petunia’s and some fresh cherries and Diana brought dessert; a banana/mango/Nutella crepe. Barb also provided Vodka Pear Martini’s.

Our June Book: The Elephant Whisperer by Lawrence Anthony.  My Disclaimer: In May, I had a dream about an elephant and two days later I heard about the book “The Elephant Whisperer.” I was intrigued and put it on my Kindle. However, I had not intended to put it forward as a recommendation as it wasn’t a novel. But, during the course of conversation everyone seemed interested and now, here we are. To my utmost delight, everyone loved the book! And now we are slated to visit the Endangered Ark Foundation in Hugo Oklahoma this weekend.  

Book Review:  Lawrence Anthony and his wife, Francoise, own Thula Thula, a wildlife game reserve in Zululand, South Africa. The story begins the day that Lawrence receives a call from a woman looking to place a herd of elephants. They have been elsewhere in Africa. They’ve been mistreated and were considered a “rogue” herd. If someone else didn’t take them, the herd was going to be put down. Lawrence agreed even though he had never worked with elephants before and the natives of Zululand had not seen elephants in their homeland for over 100 years. The story was captivating from start to finish. It is not a novel but reads like one. It is an emotional and mystical story that reads at times like action/adventure, mystery, and romance. Lawrence is a definitely a man’s man; strong and seemingly indestructible. He is also a master communicator and not just with animals. But his most endearing quality is his heart and his unwavering love for the people, animals and environment that surrounds him. He has shown us a world that few get to experience and opened our hearts as well.

Unfortunately, it was with great sadness that we learned upon searching out more information about Lawrence and the elephants that he had passed away suddenly in 2012. The elephants that he had taken in marched for 12 hours across the reserve on the day he died and stood in mourning for two days. And on the anniversary of his death, they do the same each year. Francoise continues to run the reserve and the resort and perhaps there is a visit in our future. The book rated a 4.6. Lis liked it but didn’t think it was as well-written as she would have liked. The book has inspired us to journey on June 13-14 to the Endangered Ark Foundation in Hugo, Oklahoma. Much to our surprise, EAF is the home to 25 Asian elephants. Hugo is also home to several circuses that winter there and we plan to visit the Circus Cemetery.   

NEXT BOOKs – Lone Wolf by Jody Picoult at Diana’s and H is for Hawk in August at Denise’s.

May Book Club 2015

It is Book Club Ladies – Keep Your Shirts on!

Yes, ladies, literally keep your shirts on! We’re not that kind of book club! Though, we tried to be. It’s always so fun to walk into Arnora’s house for book club and be reminded of our 10th-anniversary professional photo! Arnora always proudly displays our “unofficial, not approved by Darby” photo over the mantel.  It brings a smile to my face every time! Y’all know what I’m talkin’ about!

Arnora outdid herself with the “fish dish” as our main course. We had some homemade salsas compliments of Jim and Janie, a fruit salad, bourbon sweet potatoes from Lis, a 3-fruit cobbler from Carla G, Diana brought a quinoa shrimp salad and I volunteered to bring the flowers in lieu of Arnora this time.  Our evening inspired this little “ditty”. Don’t judge me too harshly!

Gathered together we were

Outside as the glorious breeze

Rustled the ruffled Iris petals

Under the full moon, beguiled

As we pondered The Stolen Child

The layers of Changeling and human metals

The Stolen Child by Keith Donohue was indeed a layered story. The story is so layered, in fact, that we were still unraveling as it neared 11:00 pm. Because there was much detail and so many comparisons, this month I’ve quoted a paragraph from The Guardian Review that sums it up.  The story is told in nicely dovetailed alternate chapters. The Stolen Child counter poses a confessional by “Aniday” with one by his replacement in the world of humans – a changeling. Aniday, a textbook case of Stockholm syndrome, eventually comes to consider his protracted sylvan sojourn “the best years of my life”, while “Henry Day” grows up a supremely accomplished pianist and marries a woman who adores him, yet each feels trapped, helpless in his false identity. Each lives numbly, passively, mesmerized by loss, tenaciously mired in a gloom: no happiness can be admitted until it’s over, available to be mourned.

Laura's favorite quote from the book was "the room smelled of remembered bread."

The book has rated from 4 – 4.9 so far. Our next read will be “Elephant Whisperer” recommended by me.  I had not intended to put it forward as it is not a novel but an autobiographical tale of a herd of elephants on a game reserve in Africa. However, we seemed to have veered off on an animal theme. “Lone Wolf” and “H is for Hawk” are both future recommendations.

April Book Club 2015

                                                   

THE GIRL on the TRAIN

by Paula Hawkins

I'm very excited to offer the review of this month's book. But first, thanks to Janie for hosting. Unfortunately, we were missing Darby, who was ill. Laura's daughter, Megan, had read the book and joined us for the discussion, There was definitely an exuberant mood as we arrived and prepared for dinner. Janie had asked that we do a supper of light salads, appetizers, bread, cheese and dessert. As, you can see from the photos, that is just what we did. Our conversation continued throughout dinner and moved with us into the living room. It took us several minutes to settle down for the book discussion. 

April's book is considered a psychological thriller often compared to Hitchcock. In retrospect, I can't believe I didn't think to compare it to "Rear Window"! One of the aspects of the PT is that it emphasizes the characters unstable mental state and a dissolving sense of reality. Told from the first person narrative of three different women, Rachel's voice stands out as the main narrator.

Rachel Watson - ex-wife of Tom

Anna Watson - current wife of Tom and mother to Evie

Megan Hempwill   - wife of Scott, neighbor of Tom and occasional babysitter to Evie

When you put it like that, the common denominator is easy to spot. But, we only gradually see these connections as the story unfolds. Rachel is bereft at being unable to conceive a child with Tom. This sends her down a spiral of self-destructive alcoholism. Tom has an affair with Anna that finally ends the marriage. Anna is pregnant with Evie when she moves in with Tom into the home he had shared with Rachel. Meagan attempts to babysit Evie. Simultaneously, Rachel takes up a room in a friend's flat and takes a job in London. Rachel's life is further "derailed" when she is fired due to drinking on the job. She omits telling her roommate opting instead to board the train every day to London as if she's still working. 

Now, Rachel didn't have to go to London every day to keep up the pretense of working. But, she chooses a path that takes her past her old home that is visible from the train if the circumstances are just right. In order to keep from focusing too much on her old life and her husband's new one, Rachel "obsesses" on the new couple four doors down. They've moved in after she left and, not knowing them, she creates a story and gives them names. She idealizes them as the perfect couple until one day she sees the woman (Jess) kissing a man who is not her husband (Jason). The next day, Jess, whose name turns out to be Megan, turns up missing. Rachel is certain the man she was kissing had something to do with the disappearance and attempts to tell the police and then, Jason whose name turns out to be Scott. 

Rachel's alcoholism makes her not only an "unreliable witness" in the story but, an "unreliable narrator"; Laura's favorite topic! I did a little research and offer a few thoughts here. "The unreliable narrator is one of the trickiest literary topics to get right. Get it wrong, and the story is simply too frustrating or falls apart. Get it right, the pages can't turn fast enough." It's important for the reader to ask, "who is talking and what are they trying to hide?" 

The characters have a general struggle to grasp reality and suffer moral ambiguity. The relationships are complex and tortured. Fear and anxiety drive the psychological tension.  The author hits all the buttons for this type of thriller.

Pam and Lis found the characters unlikable, static, weak. and without redeeming qualities. Others sympathized with the women's pain as they learned more about their histories. Some weren't sure that the internal dialog concerning Rachel's struggle with alcoholism felt real, others thought it spot on. There was a lively discussion about whether or not Rachel had any awareness or change in her circumstances at the end of the book. I felt that she was on the road to recovery. She wasn't going to put down the bottle and become recovered overnight. But, the awareness that Tom was not the man she thought him to be and that she had been "gaslighted" throughout the marriage, gave her back a sense of reality. Lou astutely pointed out that Rachel could not have had any hope of redemption without the circumstances that unfolded.

The train is another character in the book. It is used as a means of transportation and also a metaphor for Rachel's life.  Trains can evoke thoughts of a journey, romance and, freedom. But, Rachel is on a commuter train, making scheduled and predictable stops. She is making a circular journey every day and one that is taking her to the heart of the pain that she tries so desperately to deaden with alcohol. Her life has derailed in every way and she is hitting bottom. The train also offers the opportunity for the voyeurism that is required to drive this story. And on this train she is surrounded by people but all alone in her anguish. And, the lives of the people that come together at this intersection are headed for a train wreck. The disappearance of Megan gives Rachel a sense of purpose that has been missing in her life.

One of the things that I really enjoyed about this book is that it followed a formula that I enjoy and have been missing. In recent years, I have noticed that authors have veered away from plots that build with tension, hit a climax, and then wind up the loose ends.  Many novels have characters or objects that seem critical to the story but evaporate into thin air. There is no climax to the story and the endings are anti-climatic and disappointing. This story's tension built, there were sufficient plot twists and turns and a dramatic climax. Though, we'd all guessed the culprit before the end, the author still did a good job of keeping us hanging in to see how it would resolve. 

The book rated a 3.6. Darby gave it a 3.5 but said it made her feel like a voyeur while reading it. But, aren't we all voyeur's when we're peering into the lives of characters we're observing in our novels? 

Our next book is The Stolen Child. 

March Book Club 2015

One Night Stand and an Electric Screw

Yes, ladies! Janie was celebrating her first full week of retirement from Tinker AFB and she celebrated by bringing a nice red wine to book club called “One Night Stand”. She paired that with her very high tech, battery operated cork screw! We definitely had some laughs with that!

We were a small but mighty crew of 7 and, we pronounced ourselves a quorum and voted on our next book, “The Girl on the Train.”  We were missing; Denise, Lou, Pam, Barb, Darby, Carla and Lis. So, that means that our lovely hostess, Terry, welcomed Diana, Carla A, Janie (obviously), Arnora, Laura and yours truly (Sherrie).  We had a very wonderful meal of fish tacos, hummus, beer bread, chips and salsa, guacamole, and a Mexican Chocolate cake with almonds. It was all “perfectly delicious!”

Our book, “Kind of Kin” by Oklahoma author, Rilla Askew, was a very good discussion and a much better book than my first impression.  Rilla Askew is an Oklahoma author and set her book in the small town of Cedar in SE Oklahoma.  The story revolves around “Sweet” Kirkendall whose father, Bob Brown, has been arrested for harboring illegal Mexican immigrants in his barn.  Bob refuses to defend himself on the charges.   Self-serving lawmaker, Monica Moorehouse has introduced legislation further for “English Only” so that Oklahomans don’t have to bear the brunt of expenses for translations. All the while, Sweet is trying to keep her disintegrating family from falling about.  She is caring for her husband’s dying stepfather, her sister’s son who has been abandoned and was being taken care of by her father and, her own son who bullies his cousin. To round things out, Sweet discovers that her husband is the one who turned in her father and Dustin. And, to top it off, Dustin runs away.  The author has personalized the issue of immigration as she studies the issues that dissolve families, dissect communities and split nations.

The story was layered and more emotional than I had expected.  To quote from an online review, “Sweet is continually called upon to make big decisions with enormous consequences, pitting her Christian ethics against her civic duties, in an effort to do the right thing.”

Laura was really bored with Monica Moorehouse.  She was a very static character who was shallow and self-absorbed. The only thing she really cared about was her appearance and what legislation she thought she could push through to get her the next step to Washington.  While I agreed with her assessment, I actually know people just like her.  I wasn’t bored with her so much as I understood the role she played as a catalyst for the legislation at the root of the story and her inability to make any kind of change.  Didn’t make me like her any better but, she served a purpose.

There are many more characters and much more action to the story.  I won’t take time to reiterate all the details here. The book was favorably received and rated 3.6. April 3 will find us at Janie’s house and our book will be The Girl on the Train. 

February 2015 Book Club

Book: Alif the Unseen Author: G. Willow Wilson

Hostess: Lou Christian 

Rating 3.6 

Arriving at Lou’s charming home and B & B we found it decorated for Valentine’s Day. The tables were beautifully set with red and white table cloths, candles and crystal confetti. I must say, that outside my family, you women are the loves of my life! Happy Valentine’s Day! Unfortunately, we missed Darby, Lis, Janie and Terry this month.

Our Valentine’s meal was delicious, as always. Lou served paprika and garlic chicken breast with roasted cauliflower. Barb brought salad, Diana brought hummus and bread, Carla A rice and warm spinach, Denise brought heart shaped sugar cookies, Pam brought Mediterranean deserts and I brought mixed olives and cheese. Jenny greeted us enthusiastically and Silky took a nap.

Our book this month was Alif the Unseen written by G. Willow Wilson and recommended by Pam.  Everyone, except Barb and Arnora, were very excited about the book. Barb and Arnora had a hard time getting into it. Barb doesn’t expect to finish though Arnora thought she might try again. Carla G had a hard time getting into the book but eventually liked it. The book was recommended to Pam by a friend who compared it to Harry Potter. There is a supernatural element to the book as the main characters mix with the supernatural elements of the various ‘Jinn’s” or Genies. However, it differs from Harry Potter in that our main and very human characters do not practice any magic. They are only able to see and communicate with the unseen world.

The book starts out with an old man, Reza, in Persia, at an undetermined time in history, taking dictation of a collection of stories from a “Jinn” with yellow eyes. After each days dictation, when the ink is dry, he mixes a very special varnish that he coats the pages with. This varnish keeps the book intact for more than 700 years. The book becomes the Alf Yeom and is at the center of the story. Unlike the priceless stone of our last story, the Alf Yeom not only brings unlikely characters together, but its mystery figures prominently throughout the story.

In a modern time in an unknown Muslim country, the Alf Yeom falls into the hands of Alif, a young computer programmer. Alif writes programs that protect his clients from hackers. He is in love with Intisar, a young woman out of his league and caste and engaged to another. Intisar breaks off the relationship and tells Alif she doesn’t ever want to see him again. She must marry the man she is engaged to. Heartbroken and angry, Alif tries to write a program that will identify Intisar no matter what device she might use to search him out on the internet. In his attempts to become invisible to her he outwits himself and writes a program that works better than he intended. It takes on a life of its own.  As it turns out, Intisar’s fiancé is a powerful member of the State who is quickly on to Alif and wants his knowledge. Very quickly, Alif and his childhood friend, Dina are on the run from this man and the state. Intisar has possession of the Alf Yeom. She has paid a handsome price for the book to use as research for her dissertation. She manages to put it in the hands of Alif. In his efforts to outsmart The Hand (what he calls the state) he and Dina find themselves in the Immovable Alley meeting with Vikram the Vampire and the veils between two worlds are lifted. 

Though Alif is not a teenager, I viewed this as a kind of coming of age story. Alif, is having his first love affair and circumstances separate him from his family. He’s forced to find his way in a dangerous world and fight is demons along the way. The book is fast paced and mysterious. It kept me turning the pages to find out what happened next.

The book is full of paradox: The mythical vs virtual; Irrational vs transcendent; East vs West; Philosophy vs religion; magic vs coding; and Government vs freedom.

The author is a comic book artist turned author and an American convert to Islam. She has woven together many layered and varied elements. It would not be a far stretch to imagine that she based the character of “The Convert” on herself.  

The book rated  3.6, one “I really, really liked it a lot” and one “I really liked it whole hundred ba-gobs!” A book that many want to read again.

Our next book is “Kind of Kin” and can be found on Amazon as a Kindle download for $1.99.

January 2015 Book Club

Book: All the Light We Cannot See Author: Anthony Doerr

Hostess: Pam Boeck

Rating: 

We kicked-off the New Year at Pam Boeck’s home; warm and cozy and smelling wonderful as we gathered on a pretty chilly January night. Thanks to Don, Denise was able to be with us. She is recovering nicely from her knee surgery but not up for the long drive.  Unfortunately, Arnora and Barb were feeling under the weather and Laura and Terry were out of town.  The rest of us convened for a vegan sweet potato chili, green and pasta salads, bread, appetizers and two desserts! Pam made an oatmeal cake and Carla A made bread pudding with chocolate sauce.  Congratulations to Darby who returned from her trip to the Bahama’s as a newly married woman! What a great trip they had and we are all excited for her new journey.

Our book this month was “All the Light We Cannot See.” NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST
by Anthony Doerr.  The novel is about a blind French girl and a German boy whose paths collide in occupied France as both try to survive the devastation of World War II.

Marie-Laure lives with her father in Paris near the Museum of Natural History, where he works as the master of its thousands of locks. When she is six, Marie-Laure goes blind and her father builds a perfect miniature of their neighborhood so she can memorize it by touch and navigate her way home. When she is twelve, the Nazis occupy Paris and father and daughter flee to the walled citadel of Saint-Malo, where Marie-Laure’s reclusive great-uncle lives in a tall house by the sea. With them they carry what might be the museum’s most valuable and dangerous jewel.

In a mining town in Germany, the orphan Werner grows up with his younger sister, enchanted by a crude radio they find. Werner becomes an expert at building and fixing these crucial new instruments, a talent that wins him a place at a brutal academy for Hitler Youth, then a special assignment to track the resistance. More and more aware of the human cost of his intelligence, Werner travels through the heart of the war and, finally, into Saint-Malo, where his story and Marie-Laure’s converge.

Last month, I was jet lagged and slept through the discussion. Thanks to Laura, our guest book club reviewer! This month, I got smart and recorded the discussion so I wouldn't miss anything.

Most everyone really liked this book. Darby led the discussion. She didn't particularly like the writing in the beginning but enjoyed it more as she got into it. She liked how the story juxtaposed the war with nature, music and art. Marie was studying the ocean snail and they go on living regardless of the damage the war was doing. Life is going to continue no matter how you try to bomb everything out, steal the art, squelch the creativity. Life is going to rise again in the grass, the flowers, the songs. Marie is so drawn to the snails.The war is not defeating them.

Diana interjected that art and music is the thing that pulls us back together after the violence. The arts are transcendent.  Werner knew he should report the broadcast but he couldn't. It reminded him of his childhood and his sister.  Even Volkheimer knew and was affected. He gave the rifle to Werner, "Go, take the rifle. Do what you have to do." It's speaking to humanity after all they've been through. Some were reminded of scenes from Shawshank Redemption.

What stood out to Denise was how brave Etienne became in the end. After all his post war traumatic stress, he pulled himself together and left his house to search for Marie. And, he kept looking for Marie's dad.

Darby said that the journey was more important than the ending. That as monumental as the stone had been in the beginning of the story, in the end it didn't matter whether it was in the model of the town, or the sea, or who had it. It was how the stone brought people together that was the important thing.

Every time Claire de Lune was mentioned, Carla G stopped reading and found the music on You Tube and listened to it. Most thought this book would make a great movie and everyone wanted to see the models that Marie's father made for her.

I liked the book in the beginning. I thought it had lovely language and I was intrigued by the characters and the mystery of the stone.  I agreed with many of the above comments and, I too enjoyed the natural element of the story that juxtaposed the ocean and the snails showing how nature is not phased by the war.

However, about mid-way the story started to drag for me. The mystery of the stone never materialized. While Darby she was glad that the story was not about the stone but how it brought people together, I was disappointed.  I wanted something more mysterious. 

The story reminded me of The Book Thief in the way it was about children during the time of WWII. It reminded me of Hugo in the way that Werner tinkered with radios the way Hugo worked on the automaton. And, the ending reminded me of Cold Mountain in the way the story leads you expect the two main characters will have some kind of relationship but spend the whole book apart, and come together in the end for the briefest of moments before one of them dies. I liked it find – I just had higher hopes for it.