CHOOSE HYPERBOLE

Wordsmiths and politicians are known for hyperbole. So are bloggers who want to get a point across to readers!

In 1816 Thomas Jefferson sent the message, "I cannot live without books," to John Adams.
Was that fact or hyperbole? For readers it probably reads as fact but in truth it's a greatly exaggerated quote used to express Jefferson's love for books.

I, as most librarians, have a propensity for the written word as well. 

Librarians lean toward literature. Fact or hyperbole? Probably fact. But these days many are information techies so maybe it's hyperbole for us "old schoolers!"

Readers have chosen genres---mystery, science fiction, biographies, etc. 

I have a predisposition for "quirky" books. The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry. Keeper of the Bees. Once Upon a Town: The Miracle of the North Platte Canteen.

Many of my quirky choses are books with love and appreciation of books as an underlying theme.

Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress. Mr. Penumbra's 24-hour Bookstore. The Book Thief. 84 Charing Cross Road.

Last month I added a new one to the list.

A warm cuppa and The Reader on the 6.27. 

I had died and gone to heaven! 

Ooops, I hope I chose hyperbole...because I want to finish that book.

"Digni-TEA"

On you was I cast from my birth, and from my mother's womb you have been my God. Be not far from me, for trouble is near, and there is none to help. (Psalm 22:11-12, ESV)

The importance of dignity was emphasized throughout the book, Unbroken, (Hillenbrand) as humiliation and shame continued to wear down the prisoners in the Japanese War camps. Dignity, with any semblance of respect as a human being, was what they needed. It came, albeit rarely, in a variety of unique ways, even thievery. Stolen food, namely sugar.

"And in a place predicated on degradation, stealing from the enemy won back the men's dignity." (p. 244)

Anytime a country espouses their sacred duty, as a leading superior race, to eradicate or enslave members of inferior ones, the first tactic is to take away the dignity, thus robbing them of emotional strength. (Ibid, p.43)

It has happened throughout history and is happening, as I type, to my friends in Ukraine, and families of my South Sudan church buddies. 

Thankfully, I finally "found" an uplifting book about WWII. Once Upon a Town. A work of non-fiction, it is a WORTHY read about the kindness of the towns folk in the small town of North Platte, Nebraska (12,000) and it began on Christmas Day 1941. Some folks called it a miracle! Troop trains stopped for only a 10 minute break, but all aboard were welcomed!

The numbers alone are staggering---enough to make one cry. 
Every day of the war--3,000 to 5,000 military personnel came through North Platte and were served food, drink and magazines by the towns people, from 5 am until the last train passed through after midnight. Not with government money but $$ from their own pockets---ration tickets and gardens.Toward the end of the war, that number grew to 8,000 a day, on as many as 23 separate troop trains. Six million soldiers passed through North Platte and all were greeted at the depot. (p.7)
This is their true story---a love story between a country and its sons. (p.8)
A story worth sharing.
Pic not loading--will try later.

Digni-TEA---a cuppa needed by all mankind.....and served with gratitude to GIs by North Platte residents as a way of honoring the brave and dedicated sons, wearing our nation's uniform.