tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post7000350070061721754..comments2023-12-27T22:26:20.552-05:00Comments on synch-ro-ni-zing: the oak book caseRuthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.comBlogger65125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-7611210829922218792010-06-05T06:56:29.074-04:002010-06-05T06:56:29.074-04:00Tracy, I hope hope hope.<b>Tracy</b>, I hope hope hope.Ruthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-67453045854432244842010-05-30T22:16:25.641-04:002010-05-30T22:16:25.641-04:00Yes, my Aunt Ruby lives in Grayling. Jason will be...Yes, my Aunt Ruby lives in Grayling. Jason will be done with the program here in August (and with law school!) so we will be headed home then. And once back stateside, I think a road trip to Michigan might be in order. I like road trips.lovely youhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16539017812562420257noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-3067261710449944472010-05-30T06:43:35.304-04:002010-05-30T06:43:35.304-04:00Tracy! You have an aunt in Michigan!? And how are ...<b>Tracy</b>! You have an aunt in Michigan!? And how are you going to get this piece your grandfather made from Michigan to Australia? Wish I could bring it over.<br /><br />Thank you for your good words, always.Ruthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-20158185544384710972010-05-30T06:42:05.779-04:002010-05-30T06:42:05.779-04:00Dear Joanny, welcome, and thank you so much for re...Dear <b>Joanny</b>, welcome, and thank you so much for reading and commenting. It is lovely to have you visit.Ruthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-42048061330958014572010-05-30T06:41:26.624-04:002010-05-30T06:41:26.624-04:00Jeanie, I appreciate your kind words very much. It...<b>Jeanie</b>, I appreciate your kind words very much. It's good touching the book case too, knowing my dad touched it over and over, opening those doors.Ruthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-34037365365271765782010-05-30T06:40:09.402-04:002010-05-30T06:40:09.402-04:00Nathan, yes, there was something palpable in the r...<b>Nathan</b>, yes, there was something palpable in the red room. Definitely spirit. It always frightened me. I guess it didn't help that I was reading Edgar Allen Poe at the time. :)Ruthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-74460395761571045442010-05-26T21:43:02.524-04:002010-05-26T21:43:02.524-04:00I love this post so much. It reminds me of my gran...I love this post so much. It reminds me of my grandfather who died before I was born. He was a carpenter, mostly a cabinetmaker. I wrote to my mom after reading this to ask her if she or my aunts have any of his work. My Aunt Ruby in Michigan wrote back to say that she has the very first piece he ever made and that I can have it. (She has a few other pieces she still uses.) I am so excited to know that his work is still around for our family to enjoy. I want to learn more about him. And, anyway, all this! because of your beautiful writing. I wanted you to know. Thank you.lovely youhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16539017812562420257noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-1118499264722182462010-05-26T07:07:53.175-04:002010-05-26T07:07:53.175-04:00A rich inviting essay -- your father's soul is...A rich inviting essay -- your father's soul is the time worn patina on the beautiful wooden bookcases and his essence is left between the pages of your favorite books.<br /><br />Joanny<br /><br />Lorenzo passed this lovely blog and short story on for those who love to read and write as a piece worth reading. So glad he did.joannyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12887903758347875767noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-23091716794765508072010-05-24T17:51:26.607-04:002010-05-24T17:51:26.607-04:00Oh, what a finely etched picture I have and how I ...Oh, what a finely etched picture I have and how I love the idea of the oak bookcase and mahogany as metaphors -- no, analogies, I think -- for these special people. <br /><br />Your gift for using words is indeed a beautiful one, finely honed. Yes, I can see it.Jeaniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17482528482559445943noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-25903418520149208932010-05-24T16:15:51.508-04:002010-05-24T16:15:51.508-04:00Aunt Ruth, your interest in his aesthetic matches ...Aunt Ruth, your interest in his aesthetic matches my interest in the subject of his passion, that is, the gospel.<br /><br />(BTW, I know you're interested in more than "just" his aesthetic.)<br /><br />How can one figure shine so many lights? And cast so many shadows? I can still smell the dry air in his second floor study... That same spirit--no, Spirit--used to inhabit the red room at the cottage.N. Carl Harthttp://thefamilyhart.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-25043705851138736262010-05-24T14:32:53.772-04:002010-05-24T14:32:53.772-04:00, I had no idea!
Did you go out to the roof to s..., I had no idea! <br /><br />Did you go out to the roof to sunbathe, as I did? That black tar sure got HOT.<br /><br />Hmm, the dream book. Rachel's book of dreams and life. Just for you, I think. You were very special to Grandpa.Ruthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-77251167626368717032010-05-23T21:10:02.791-04:002010-05-23T21:10:02.791-04:00I'm sad I was never allowed to explore the bac...I'm sad I was never allowed to explore the back study. It was like a secret fortress, but always locked and forbidden. On rare occasions I would be allowed to walk through it to get to the roof, but that was the extent of it. <br /><br />I once had a dream that the world was collapsing around me, and I had to lead some people to safety. But G'pa (already dead a few years) called me into his study (yes, the whole upstairs) and pulled a huge book out. He gave it to me to take on the journey. It had the answers we would need to survive. It wasn't a Bible, though. I have always wondered what the book contains, and suspect someday I may find out.Mrs. SwedeHarthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02325031538028090643noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-70542592246380463382010-05-23T17:21:36.779-04:002010-05-23T17:21:36.779-04:00Babs, I dunno, but I know that every time I read o...<b>Babs</b>, I dunno, but I know that every time I read one of your posts one word comes to mind: <i>hilarious</i>.<br /><br />:DRuthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-53756993076206398572010-05-23T17:14:10.593-04:002010-05-23T17:14:10.593-04:00Marcie, you are perceptive, he was elegant. Thank ...<b>Marcie</b>, you are perceptive, he was elegant. Thank you for your enthusiasm. :)Ruthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-48678520303070668392010-05-23T16:47:50.947-04:002010-05-23T16:47:50.947-04:00rauf, I wonder if you would have been a trouble ma...<b>rauf</b>, I wonder if you would have been a trouble making elder. I heard only a few stories about my dad's career of troubles with church elders. One was when he told the story of the Good Samaritan with the Samaritan as a black man. This was in the South, and it didn't go over well. Another was a different congregation, when a good number of congregants threatened to leave the church because Dad believed Jesus would return to take his children home <i>after</i> the tribulation, not before. Such troubles just based on what people believe, what's in our heads. My mother told Dad every Sunday after the service: "Carl, that was the best sermon you ever preached."<br /><br />I'm afraid we've gotten confused about <i>things</i>, rauf. We got used to acquiring so many things that the things themselves don't seem to have much meaning any more. It's good to have a few good things that get our attention, that we take care of, that we even meditate on. I think about the hands that touched these things!<br /><br />You designed your whole space to your needs, customized. That's very special, and organic, like an extension of you.Ruthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-30787201017443199172010-05-23T14:09:44.764-04:002010-05-23T14:09:44.764-04:00Hello, She Writes, I am glad Lorenzo sent you too,...Hello, <b>She Writes</b>, I am glad Lorenzo sent you too, thank you. I sure enjoyed your piece on Friends.Ruthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-36843739072547441732010-05-23T13:50:21.725-04:002010-05-23T13:50:21.725-04:00Thank you, Terresa, sometimes I think it's wha...Thank you, <b>Terresa</b>, sometimes I think it's what you put into that Ikea that matters, and into the oak, and the mahogany. There are some rich vessels that are not worthy of their contents.<br /><br />Oh dear, you and my father. He too was a redhead, as bright as yours before my memory. And wavy and flowing, and longish when he was young. And the things of the spirit - I think you would have had a grand time with him. And he would have felt quite shy, sheepish, and gallant around someone as lovely as you.Ruthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-57835531789822945762010-05-23T13:26:08.260-04:002010-05-23T13:26:08.260-04:00Thank you, dear DS, for your comment, and the seco...Thank you, <b>dear DS</b>, for your comment, and the second to Arti's <i>Gilead</i> rec. I'll get it, read it, and tell you both my thoughts about it. Promise.Ruthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-57711425763402858602010-05-23T13:21:32.181-04:002010-05-23T13:21:32.181-04:00Why does that one word continually come to mind wh...Why does that one word continually come to mind when I read your posts?<br /><br />Beautiful!Babs-beetlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10309239308633895951noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-59031904323287122252010-05-23T13:14:16.825-04:002010-05-23T13:14:16.825-04:00Sweet Arti, ohhh my heart melted when I read your ...<b>Sweet Arti</b>, ohhh my heart melted when I read your comment comparing my post with the, for me, nostalgic and warm Atticus Finch and Scout. I have not read <i>Gilead</i>, but thanks for the reminder to look for it, since I had heard about it years ago. I will follow your guidance and put it on my list for the library, and reading this summer.<br /><br />I would love to write a memoir-ish book about my family memories. It's daunting, but maybe these posts are slivers from that big timber. You have to start somewhere, right? Someone even suggested a book just for the family, a collection of these posts, to cement the memories. With Blurb and other self publishing entities, it would not be so hard. Thank you for your encouragement, which means so very much from you, my literary friend.Ruthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-57905118756158943702010-05-23T12:05:28.900-04:002010-05-23T12:05:28.900-04:00Thank you, book-loving Susan. Oh we go through th...Thank you, <b>book-loving Susan</b>. Oh we go through this too. Should we keep books we've already read? I've read every book in this oak book case, I think, and yet I love them sitting there, part of the furniture. And you're right, they're like family too. <br /><br />Don't you love the smell of library books?Ruthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-57068178803514132682010-05-23T11:22:54.846-04:002010-05-23T11:22:54.846-04:00Love the metaphor of your father being 'oak...Love the metaphor of your father being 'oak' - in all of its strength and luster..and understated elegance. Beautiful!!!Marciehttp://www.marciescudderphotography.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-87272444515437258582010-05-23T09:36:29.545-04:002010-05-23T09:36:29.545-04:00Cathy, you have made a profound observation compar...<b>Cathy</b>, you have made a profound observation comparing the generations this way.<br /><br />I had an uncle who was more humble than my father. When I was flying to his funeral in Virginia, I was struck with how he was modest and self-deprecating, as you described your father, and how we - friends and family - were traveling from around the country to say our final good-byes, like spokes, and he was the center. I wrote a poem about it. It's a shame that we often wait until someone is gone to reflect on their impact. Maybe that's just how it works, but I think it would be nice to have "appreciation" services for people while they are still alive.Ruthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-31395856547461488622010-05-23T08:49:11.553-04:002010-05-23T08:49:11.553-04:00Thank you, Shari, sweet woman. I was so tickled to...Thank you, <b>Shari</b>, sweet woman. I was so tickled to see your post on the country goose after this. :)Ruthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-59384475755188016572010-05-23T08:39:33.690-04:002010-05-23T08:39:33.690-04:00Thank you, Pauline, I love hearing this from you, ...Thank you, <b>Pauline</b>, I love hearing this from you, a wordsmith.Ruthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.com