We were honoured to welcome our cherished special guest, Charity, to our book chat on Sunday. Charity has known Greg Mortenson and his family for years, and she was so generous in sharing her remembrances and thoughts with us about Greg and his journey...our sincere thanks, Charity!
BGE: Welcome to Book Chat! Hey, Miss Jill, welcome! Nice to see you here...
softdrink: Howdy! I decided to be early for once.
BGE: Very cool! I've been walking around with a tmer set to remind me to show up! I live in fear that I'll forget!
softdrink: Uh-oh, I think my mom is on the phone...be back in a few...so much for good intentions.
BGE: No trouble...go, I'll wait for you. Back in a few...gone for a fresh cup of tea. Please come in and make yourself at home, I'll be right back...and so will Jill...
suncoast: Hi everybody. I am sorry I just didn't get to read this book
BGE: Back now...welcome Ginger, Welcome Panda! Not to worry, Ginger, please stay for the discussion, ok?
Panda: Hi - just choosing my colour!
suncoast: Right!
Panda: Am I late - did I miscalculate time zones?
softdrink: Okay, I'm back. Hi everyone!
BGE: How lovely to see everyone today! Welcome to Nancy!
Nancy L: Hi, everyone!
suncoast: Everybody likes burgundy today.
BGE: I think they do! Panda, you are right on time! Welcome, Charity!
softdrink: Not anymore...I've switched over to pinky-red.
BGE: I was hoping you'd come today, Charity...
Charity B.: Thanks, new to this
Panda: Just as I sit down, teenager asks for food - I gave her a map to the kitchen.
BGE: That's ok, we all have been new to it, once upon a time...I'll change colour, also.
Nancy L: Me too. I think I'll try turquoise.
BGE: How about basic black???
Panda: Always chic!
BGE: Thanks, Panda!
Whooooa, Nancy, hard to read that colour!
Charity B.: Bill is making me coffee so I can talk here. Just woke up awhile ago.
Nancy L: I agree. How about royal blue?
BGE: How are you feeling Charity? Would you let everyone know what you've had done?
suncoast: I think I have sapphire
Charity B.: Pretty good. Day by day, you know.
BGE: When was your surgery?
Charity B.: A week ago last Thursday.
BGE: Yikes! And you are up and around? Charity had back surgery....
Charity B.: I'll live.
suncoast: Forgive but I haven't been on the board that much. What kind of surgery did you have if you don't mind me asking? And if you do just tell me to mind my own beezwax.
Charity B.: Spinal stenosis and numbness and pain down my leg.
suncoast: OMG back surgery. No fun!
Charity B.: Neurosurgery cutting out around the spinal cord.
BGE: I invited Charity to come because she taught Greg in school! Here's her post on the Books topic:
“Greg was an adolescent when we lived in Moshi, Tanzania. I had him as a student at International School Moshi. His father, Dempsey, and Dr Otto Walters, German medical missionary, together brought into fruition their collaborative vision of a regional medical center that became, in 1971, Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre at the foot of Mt Kilimanjaro. My hubbie Bill was the first Pathologist and put together the Pathology department and lab. The Mortensons are very special people. I still remember our newly-arrived family having "high tea" with their family on the veranda of that house in Moshi which Greg mentions with such fondness.”
Nancy L: Charity, wishing you a speedy recovery.
Charity B.: Yeah, let's talk about
suncoast: Holy Cow!!
Charity B.: Greg (sorry)
BGE: That's a quote from Charity's post on the books section. So, can you give us a little bit of info about him…when you taught him, where that was, and so on...then we can start the discussion.
suncoast: I should have bought the book, but I kept thinking my MIL would call any second.
Charity B.: Greg's family lived in Tanzania for several years. They met Dr Walter in the Usumbara mtns and talked about a medical center.
BGE: And you were his teacher in school! How cool is that?
Charity B.: He was in 8th grade. Intl School Moshi was new. Medical center was built and housing for expatriate staff built, and school built for their kids.
BGE: I love the connections we have with others...6 degrees of separation...
Panda:The not so small world of Slowtrav!
Charity B.: Greg's mother, Jerene, was headmistress of the school. Greg's father, Dempsey, was business manager at the medical center. They were such special people.
BGE: That's amazing! I couldn't believe the connection when I read your post, Charity
suncoast: So he comes from a family of missionaries.
Nancy L: It sounds as if his early life prepared him for the path he was to take as an adult.
Charity B.: Very persuasive, but in a soft sell way. I guess you would call them missionaries, but not hard core at all.
Panda: He obviously gets the 'can do' attitude from his father.
Charity B.: Yes, very quiet, calm, but persuasive.
suncoast: More like volunteers.
BGE: I think there's some of that in him, as well, Charity…
Charity B.: Jerene persuade me to teach at the school, even though I hadn't come to Tanzania planning to do that.
suncoast: She whispers....(I switched to flamingo...)
softdrink: nice choice!
Charity B.: Dempsey traveled the world gathering funds for the hospital, and gathering doctors, and gathering all the things needed to house staff and get the hospital goods.
BGE: I don't know how someone knows how to do that!
Charity B.: Living in a foreign country for many years helped prepare Greg for that life.
BGE: It's amazing to me what one person can accomplish when determined.
suncoast: So Greg had a great example and also a practical one of what it took to get something like this off the ground. He also probably had connections.
Panda: So there was a pattern to follow - yet Greg's initial attempts at fundraising were not very sophisticated.
softdrink: It didn't sound like he had connections when he tried to get CAI off the ground; except for mountaineering connections.
BGE: I was shocked that he only received one cheque from his 500+ letters!
suncoast: Not in a bad way, just people he could rely on for advice and know-how.
Charity B.: Greg looks a lot like his dad (who is dead now), and had much of his same quiet spirit, but determination.
Nancy L: I was surprised to read of the support he received form the climbing community. Somehow, I hadn't expected that.
Charity B.: I think Dempsey was comfortable talking to anybody in any milieu (sp?). Made people feel like friends.
suncoast: Are they Christians?
Charity B.: Yes, Lutherans
BGE: So, let's start our discussion about Three Cups of Tea with Jill.... did you finish the book and would you like to begin our discussion about the book?
Charity B.: I haven't finished reading it. Let others discuss the book.
BGE: We'll go down the list, so Ginger, you are on deck after Jill!
softdrink: Okay. Yes, I finished, although I skimmed some sections. While I find Greg's efforts to bring education to Pakistan and Afghanistan amazing, I have to say...I found the book to be BORING. It was like reading a textbook in parts.
Panda: I agree - was this the co-writer? Is this an 'as told to'?
Charity B.: It sounds like it.
softdrink: I think so. The style so did not work for me.
suncoast: I have no deck to be on.
I'm just here to listen, learn and ask questions
Panda: I did get used to it, but it needed a better editor.
BGE: He had a co-writer.
softdrink: I think they should have left it with the Parade article. I was thinking the book garnered a lot of attention for the cause, which is good, but that's just what it was...a way to gain more attention.
Charity B.: I did find it amazing that Greg had so much presence of mind and faith to walk on alone when on that mountain.
BGE: Is that a bad thing? Gathering attention?
suncoast: Which probably explains why my FIL is still trying to read it.
softdrink: No...but they could have done it with a better writer.
Panda: I found what he did wonderful, but I would not have persevered if not for this meeting - and I haven't actually finished it yet
Nancy L: There are more eloquent authors, yet I was so caught up in the adventure of the book that I couldn't put it down.
softdrink: Panda, the end was actually better than the beginning, I thought. I liked the post 9/11 sections.
Panda: Yes - it did get better. The opening was hard going. I will finish it.
BGE: Panda, what did you think of the book, generally...
Charity B.: I thought it needed a better editor. I'm beginning to appreciate the value of a good editor.
Panda: Well, so far - it is a fascinating story of resolution and grit, but the writing style gets in the way.
BGE: I called CAI to ask if Greg could be a part of the chat today, or answer questions like Alexandra Fuller did. They thought it might be workable, but not so at the last minute. Still, they sent me a great package of information.
suncoast: It couldn't be any friggen’ harder to read than Wicked!!!
softdrink: I was waiting for you to bring that up!
BGE: Ginger!!!
suncoast: LOL!!!!
BGE: Nancy, have you finished the book?
Charity B.: Greg was in Santa Barbara last week speaking at our largest theater. He does a lot of traveling to get funds.
Nancy L: Yes, I have and I was able to overlook the writing style (I've read worse).
suncoast: He was in Naples a month ago at my PIL church. The North Naples United Methodist Church and Country Club.
BGE: Did you go?
suncoast: I wasn't invited.
Charity B.: There is a private school in SB that raised enough money to fund one whole school for Greg's organization.
BGE: Awwwwww….
softdrink: LOL!!!
BGE: Holy cats, Charity! That's a lot of $$$
suncoast: I was just lucky to be on the waiting list for the book.
softdrink: Wow, Charity...is that a high school in SB?
BGE: Wonder if we could do that among the Slowtrav membership? I don't think it is the format for that, but still.....
suncoast: It's a very worth cause that I would donate too.
BGE: I really loved reading this book, never bothered about the style because the content was so great...I couldn't put it down and was so amazed at the guts and the initiative that made Greg keep on keeping on, when there seemed no reason to do it.
suncoast: It's a good example of what average Americans can do for love of others.
Charity B.: This private school had him in SB to speak 2-3 years ago. Bill and I went. We spoke to Greg before he appeared. He greeted us so warmly. He was a kid when he saw us last. During his speech he introduced us to the crowd (and it was a crowd). Very gracious.
Panda: Maybe part of the drive is in his mental make up - not unlike climbing.
suncoast: We get such a bad rap now that I'm for anything that can revive our image as a giving caring nation.
Charity B.: Softdrink, it was a K-8 school, I think.
suncoast: Wow, goood observation!!!
BGE: I have a dear friend who has a son who has summited Everest and so there's a connection for me, because of that. I have a general understanding of the dangers in that kind of endeavor so I was hooked when he was separated from his guides...yikes!
softdrink: That's even more impressive.
suncoast: Did he separate by choice?
BGE: No, he was lost, and the villagers found him and nursed him back to health...
Panda: I don't really get climbing ( I don't like heights) - so dangerous. The thrill of achievement, I suppose (and the view)
BGE: …and then he asked them what he could do to repay them and they asked for a school
suncoast: Probably scaling Everest is way easier than trying to build a school for girls.
I also think the BIG Guy had something to do with this.
BGE: No doubt!
softdrink: I'm with you Panda. My palms sweat just thinking about heights.
Charity B.: Especially in Pakistan
BGE: I loved the explanation of the bridge that was built for the village!
suncoast: Tell me...
BGE: Someone asked Greg about the new bridge...
Nancy L: I think he had a vision of what he wanted to do. It just took him awhile to acquire the skills he needed. The qualities, I think, were always there, and the mountaineering experiences in his situation were most valuable.
BGE: …if it had changed the villagers' lives in any way by allowing the outside world in. BUT...it actually changed it in a very different way. The villagers' daughters get married, leave the village, they live far away in the husband's village and never see their parents again. The bridge allowed them to return and allowed their parents to visit them!!!!
Panda: That point really stood out for me, too.
suncoast: Oh how beautiful!
BGE: I KNOW! As a mother and a grandma, I cannot imagine not ever seeing my daughter or her kiddies
Panda: I've just been reading about women's lives in the Yemen, in particular early marriage (10 /12) and it broke my heart. Really low female literacy.
BGE: For me, this book reduced to a fine point how little people need for survival and how much we think we actually need, when in fact, we don't.
Charity B.: Two good comments
BGE: A dollar a day for a teacher! A school for the price of an SUV! Amazing and thought-provoking for me.
softdrink: Back to the teacher's salaries...
BGE: Yep...cheap!! It's stunning how little it actually takes
Panda: The Swiss benefactor said, when he gave the original donation, “My wife could have spent that in a weekend!”
suncoast: It sees obscene doesn't it, our materialistic obsessed culture?
softdrink: Did I miss something, or did the beginning of the book never explain how the teachers would be paid?
BGE: Don't remember, Jill...anyone else?
softdrink: It was clear at the end, but was the salary included in that original 12,000 estimate?
BGE: I never thought about it, so I don't know...anyone?
softdrink: I spent two-thirds of the book obsessing about who paid the teachers.
Nancy L: Hadn't Greg planned to pay for the first teacher in Korphe himself?
BGE: I think they'd have worked for free to get the kids in school, and they were teaching a day here and a day there...and the kids were doing their homework in the dirt with sticks.
Panda: it's always a big issue about fundraising efforts - big pieces of, say, medical equipment donated, then no means of maintaining or running them.
Nancy L: Footnote: from the funds he raised initially.
BGE: Do you think that the l-o-n-g time in negotiations for the first supply purchase was because Greg was a foreigner? The locals didn't trust him or didn't believe that he was actually helping them with no ulterior motive? How many people do you know who would sell everything they own to help someone on the other side of the world?
Charity B.: When we moved to Tanzania, our goods were shipped and didn't arrive and didn't arrive. Dempsey and I spent so much time trying to locate them.
Then, I thought, "This is what Jesus meant when he said to the rich young ruler, 'If you want to follow me, you must SELL ALL of your goods and give it to the poor'. And the rich young ruler went away sad because he couldn't do that." Here I was wasting so much time and energy trying to locate personal belongings. Time and energy that could have been spent doing worthwhile things. I understood, then, why Jesus told the man to get rid of ALL of his goods.
suncoast: I was just thinking of that parable.
BGE: Charity, that is so perfect. You are given what you need at the time, for the lesson you are meant to learn.
suncoast: I don't know any person who would do that.
Panda: if it is your project, your obsession…
suncoast: You get those crazy cult people who tell you that, though. But somehow I think this is the real deal.
Nancy L: As he gained trust, many new doors were opened to him.
Panda: He wasn't asking anyone else to do it.
Charity B.: There are some people, and I know some, who are committed to a purpose, such as getting rid of the death penalty, who work year after year to achieve their goal.
BGE: That's the beauty of it...he did it himself! I connected with this book on another level...I have begun supporting KIVA and Women for Women International, so it is a tiny way of doing something for others.
Charity B.: What is KIVA? What is Women for Women?
BGE: It shows me in blatant terms how much I have and how much of that I don't really need…..oh, sorry, typing and not reading...I'll get you the links...back in a moment...
suncoast: Uh oh, this might be bad.
BGE:
http://www.kiva.org/Panda: I can get out of crouch position…….crash!
suncoast: Okay one down, one to go
BGE:
http://www.womenforwomen.org/softdrink: Ginger was remembering the links that took over the board!
BGE: Hahahahahaha! Y’all are SO Funny!!!
softdrink: It's safe now.
BGE: I crashed the chat room with a very long link last book chat!!!
Panda: How could we forget?
suncoast: whew!
BGE: Charity and Nancy...you would have been hysterical...I think I'll look for THAT link again, just for fun!
softdrink: No!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Nancy L: Please do!
Panda: Let me get my helmet!
suncoast: Step away from the link, NOW!
BGE: Ok, ok, ok...except I have no clue how I did it!!!!!
I think there was a screaming graemlin that appeared on the link, that I didn't post! It looked like the chat room was screaming in protest! ANYWAY, Women for women was started by a woman for the women around the world that war decimates...you get a sister in a country and you send $$$ and gifts and such to help, also letters and cards and so on. VERY interesting.
Nancy L: I'm going to look into that.
BGE: KIVA...started by a couple of college students to loan $$$ to people around the world to help them with small businesses...when I say small, I mean small...baknig bread for sale in the neighbourhood, for example
Panda: The headlines are always about the fight - the real battle is in surviving on the domestic front
BGE: Sorry for my soap box, I'll get off it now.
Panda: It's appropriate to the book subject.
BGE: Greg's message has been about the women...change the lives of the women and you change the world that they live in.
Charity B.: There is a German couple from Minnesota--a radiologist and radiology technician--who went to KCMC in 1970 with us--who are still there! I saw a recent picture of them, and they don't look like they have aged much.They are some of the committed people I talked about. Yes, I agree about the women. I've never understood, however, why women raise their sons to be warriors.
BGE: Greg talked about the Taliban scaring mothers into giving their sons up for
martyrdom. When the mothers are more educated, they won't part with their sons!!!!!
So, he makes each village council promise that a certain %age of students in the new school will be girls.
Funny story...because the villagers are not educated, they couldn't figure out what %age it amounted to and had ALL the girls in school the next year!
Charity B.: I really appreciate those links.
Brenda. I like both of those ideas.
Nancy L: I learned about the Taliban schools a couple of years ago, producing generation after generation of extremists. Education is an effective tool for breaking that cycle.
suncoast: As is travel.
Panda: Changing the theme a little - the book referred to the Irish traveller and writer Dervla Murphy. She wrote Where the Indus is Young; A Winter in Baltistan. I read this ages ago and her other books. Not for any good cause, but she really gets in to communities and opened my eyes to some of the lesser know regions. I also loved Cameroon with Egbert (egbert is a horse). Sorry, went a bit off topic.
suncoast: Would you consider going there for a vacation?
Panda: No, too much tall stuff .... and guns.
suncoast: Tall stuff?
softdrink: Mountains.
suncoast: Oooohhhhhh!!! Duh
Panda: Fall-offy things - ledges, gorges - the full suite
softdrink: Obviously, you're not scared of heights!
Charity B.: You don't like mountains?
softdrink: Panda and I prefer the flat stuff!
Panda: To look at from a distance. Actually, I used to ski but that seemed different.
suncoast: Heights scare me a little but only when I'm in a car. I think if I could ride in by horseback or hike I would be fine.
Nancy L: Did you-all know that joywriter (Nancy) works directly with the mountain women of N. Carolina in creating their own cottage industries?
suncoast: Awesome!
Charity B.: I think the terrain in Afghanistan and Pakistan is amazing! All of that rock and sand, but with those gorgeous snow-covered mountains on the horizon in every direction. Joywriter is a poster?
Nancy L: Yes, Joywriter and her husband Thom were in Savannah with us and are now posting from northern italy and Lake Como.
BGE: Well, I cannot find that killer link! I tried, girls! I tried.
softdrink: Gee, what a shame.
BGE:
Charity B.: I've sat as long as I can, girls. I guess I'll have to go, now. Any more questions before I go?
softdrink: Didn't it pop up in the transcript? Thanks for joining in Charity!
BGE: Thank you so much, Charity! It was such a gift for us to hear from you...
suncoast: Hope they gave you some good drugs!
BGE: Thanks for sharing about your life ...we are blessed!
Panda: Above and beyond the call of duty - hope the back continues to improve.
Nancy L: I have to say goodbye for now but loved joining you all and can't wait for our next book. Ciao.
suncoast: Yes thank you and I hope you heal fast.
BGE: Thanks for coming, Charity.
softdrink: Bye, Nancy!
suncoast: What are we reading next?
BGE: Thanks, for joining us, Nancy!
Charity B.: You are good folks. You are so interested in the world and current events. Keep up the good work.
softdrink: What is our next book??
BGE: I don't know...any ideas? We have that list of books, if we cannot find a good one that is current.
suncoast: We loved having you Nancy, until next time.
BGE: Thank you Charity...kind words from a kind woman! I appreciate your stopping by...go and rest and have about 3 cups of tea!
suncoast: Tea and valium is a good combo
softdrink: I just read a great YA book, but it's hardcover.
Charity B.: Ha! Ha!
suncoast: Wine and valium is better though.
BGE: That’s ok, what is it, Jill?
Charity B.: Bye…
softdrink: The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks
Panda: This country still runs on tea
BGE: Mine too!
Panda: YA?
softdrink: young adult
BGE: So, any suggestions, good book? Jill...tell us!
suncoast: What about A New Earth, the Oprah pick?
BGE: Yep, I'm reading it, a good book, makes me think a lot!
Panda: About?
BGE: Jil, tell us about the book!
suncoast: I'm reading it and I confess I'm getting about 65% of it, but it's interesting and actually has the same principals that Greg is following.
softdrink: Hold on a sec...
BGE: Sorry, Panda
suncoast: Sorry Jill, please you go first.
softdrink: This is what I wrote on my blog about Frankie...
Frankie starts her sophomore year at prep school by attracting a cute, smart, personable guy. Oh, and he's a senior, too. Woo-hoo, life is looking good. Except Frankie begins to notice that Matthew (the cute, smart, etc. guy) and his buddies don't really treat her like an equal. They notice her boobs, but not her brains. So she sets out to to prove that she's just as good as they are. Of course, the guys are never going to accept her or admit that she's smart, but boy, does Frankie impress the heck out of the school with her efforts. Not that they know it's her behind all of the genius pranks suddenly being played around the school. They think it's Matthew and his Old Boys club (aka the Hounds). No one realizes that Frankie has uncovered the secrets of the Hounds and that she's smarter than the rest of them. When they do discover what she's been up to, suddenly she's shunned. Because what she's done just isn't done. However, Frankie does succeed in defining herself, and realizing that she doesn't need Matthew and his type in her life. Which is why I love this book. Yes, Frankie is a criminal mastermind, but she is also a strong teenage character. Go Frankie!
It's a quick read, but like I said, it's still hardcover.
BGE: Shall we keep it in mind and wait for the softcover? Or, read it in HC now?
suncoast: Yes please, unless we can get it from the library. I'm on a stupid budget with the ecomony
softdrink: Sure...I think it would make a good discussion, especially since we're usually all women. Or I can mail it to someone and we can pass it around.
BGE: Mail it to me, but it takes ages to get here. Ginger, wanna read it?
suncoast: I am trying to get all my books from the library so whatever we read is fine with me.
suncoast: Sounds good. Sounds fun for a change, too.
BGE: So, we have two on the board...
softdrink: It is fun, and there are a few things to think about in respect to the actions Frankie takes and how the guys act towards girls.
BGE: A New Earth and The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks
suncoast: Hey, I suggested the Wicked bomb so I'm okay with whatever we choose
BGE: Anyone else have a good book to read for us?
Panda: Don't know if it would be available here - most late teen type books are onoly available in paperback and certainly form the library
softdrink: We could read the Oprah one next, and if we can all get to my copy of Frankie in time, discuss it the next month. Darn, I forgot England.
Panda: What is the New Earth about? sounds ecological
softdrink: Sorry, Panda. Can you get A New Earth?
BGE: OK, so A New Earth for next month ok with everyone?
softdrink: Sure
suncoast: In England I mean?
BGE: I can bring you a copy, Panda...I'll be in London soon!
Panda: I'll try - is it newly out?
suncoast: I want to read a good English ghost story.
BGE: I think it is about a year old.
Panda: Whooo!
BGE: The Hounds of the Baskervilles, Ginger!
suncoast: I have a paperback version so it's been out there awhile.
Panda: Sorry, that's about the ghost.
BGE: You are too funny!
Panda: My mother lives near the setting for Hound of the Baskervilles - when the mist comes down......
BGE: Hoooo-oooooo.....scary!
softdrink: Believe it or not, I've never read it.
BGE: Red eyes shining in the dark.....
Panda: Oh, do-corny but creepy!
suncoast: How about The Turn of the Screw? I have never got that book reading it. I have to watch the movie.
BGE: s-c-a-r-y...but not as scary as Psycho was for me, when I first saw it...still don't shower comfortably!
softdrink: After Brenda's comment, I think I'll pass.
BGE: Ok, back to topic... A New Earth...ok with everyone?
suncoast: Yep
softdrink: Yup
Panda: Ok
suncoast: Gotta go, love you guys!!!
BGE: Cool, and the 3rd Sunday of June is…June 15th ...Bye, Ginger!
Panda: Better see teens are going to bed - in middle of exam hell here.
BGE: Is that too soon, rather have it the 21st?
softdrink: Ewwww...good luck with that.
BGE: Either's fine with me. Thanks for coming, Panda!
softdrink: Doesn't matter to me...how long is the book?
Panda: Eldest has 7 hours of exams on Tuesday, due to bad scheduling.
BGE: It isn't too long, but it is not an easy read, as it makes me stop and digest what I have read and then go on. Yikes, Panda! That is exam hell!
softdrink: Might as well stick with the third Sunday, otherwise I'll never remember the date.
Panda: Started last week and last one on June 13 - our children are the most over examined in Europe
softdrink: A month of exams?!?!?!
BGE: Ok, that works for me...the closer to the end of June it gets, the closer I am to my trip to London and Paris and the more stressed I'll be! Gee, Panda, that is a LOT for a kid to do!
Panda: 4 latin papers alone, last week. Just venting a little.
softdrink: Well, at least they're learning something!
BGE: So, 15th of June works, and A New Earth it is!
softdrink: But still, that's rough. The exams, not June 15th.
Panda: Latin poetry - a party piece for life!
BGE: Sorry, I have to go...wish I could stay and talk more!
softdrink: LOL! Thanks Brenda...see ya next month!
BGE: Thanks for coming, Jill and Panda...I always appreciate your wisdom, both of you!!! 'bye!!!
Panda: It's been fun - now to bed!
softdrink: Yeah, well, fooled you!
Bye!
BGE: 'night 'night!
Slow Travel Talk 
Did your kids love his children's book? Tell us, tell us!
