I haven't read a lot this past month, and there's a reason for that. In fact, I was tempted for a while to do another Special Insert because of what's been occupying my time. Thankfully, I waited long enough, and I'll explain that at the end of this entry. So, let's start with a quote from Rene Descartes.
"The reading of all good books is like a conversation with the finest minds of past centuries."
Non-fiction
The Crusades - Michael Paine ($13.00/$1.00, 144 pages, copyright 2005, pocket-sized Hard Cover)
This is how I like my history - the entirety of the crusades, in less then 150 pages. No elaboration on socio-economic situations, no family trees, and no segues into the personalities of individuals. As Joe Friday used to say, "Just the facts, ma'am." I enjoyed it.
Series
The Goliath Bone - Mickey Spillane with Max Allan Collins ($23.00/$.50, 274 pages, copyright 2008, Trade Paperback)
This is an uncorrected proof copy of the last Mike Hammer novel. In fact, Spillane died in 2006 but left notes with Collins in order to have this one completed. It deals with an archaeological find - the thigh bone of the biblical Goliath - and how various factions will stop at nothing to claim it for their own. The dialog and the established Spillane characters ring true, but this takes place in Manhattan in "real time" (post September '11) and I had a hard time picturing Mike Hammer still kicking ass in his 90's. It was OK.
Sherlock Holmes
The War of the Worlds - Manly W. Wellman and Wade Wellman ($9.95/ Gift Card, 226 pages, copyright 2009, Trade Paperback)
This is part of a series called The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, where different authors attempt to add to Conan Doyle's legacy. This one takes the H. G. Wells classic and posits how Holmes would have been involved. It includes several of the usual Holmes associates - obviously including Watson. What makes this fun is that it includes that other Conan Doyle-created character - Professor George Challenger (main character in The Lost World, among other stories). The ending is obvious, but the fun is in following how the characters react/interact to situations/each other. I enjoyed it.
EXPLANATION
April is Donate Life Month. Without going into too much detail here, I contacted the Governor of New Jersey's office on Thursday, March 31st, to see if they would issue some sort of statement. I got no answer by Tuesday, April 5th, so I resent my request. When you make a request like this, you have to pick a "topic" from their list. Having thought about it overnight, I resent my request on Wednesday, April 6th, using a different topic. Due to this change, I got an email on Thursday the 7th which included the official New Jersey Donate Life Month proclamation. I thanked the Governor's office the same day, but reiterated my request that someone issue a statement - something that would go out to the public. No response. I emailed the Governor's office again on Tuesday the 12th. By Thursday the 14th, I still had no response. At that point, I emailed everybody I can effect with my vote - 2 U. S. Senators, 1 U. S. Representative, 1 State Senator, and 2 State Assemblymen. By Monday the 18th, I'd received 3 system-generated "thanks, and we'll be in touch" responses.
That was when I decided to just drop it. My blood pressure was running high, and I didn't see anything else I could do.
Today, I got an email from my State Senator's Office with a copy of the Press Release they issued in support of Donate Life Month. No one else has responded.
Will the Press release get published? I don't know. Is my Senator up for re-election? Does he mean it? I don't know. Is there a moral to this? I don't know. All I know is that I reached someone, and he said something. That's all I wanted.
I repaid a little of what I owe.
Postscript
April 26th. Late today I got a phone call from the Governor's office - in fact, from the person I had been emailing. He apologized for the delay, and for the fact that his office had no plans to issue any statement at this time. He said that I was welcome to contact the office at any time to see if they could arrange a future statement or appearance. I told him that I appreciated his response, and we left it at that.
To be honest, anyone or any organization can do the same thing - contact the Governor's Office about a statement or appearance. But I got a response, and that was all I was really looking for.
Apologia
Also, I asked above whether my State Senator really meant the Press Release his office issued. The answer is "Yes". He is the co-sponsor of the New Jersey Hero's Act, which mandated the teaching of the need for organ donations to grades 9 through 12, and required the Motor Vehicles Corp. to make more of an effort to get people to sign up.
Keep reading, and think about signing up as an organ donor.
