BLOGG ---THE FRAGRANT SPIRIT OF SPRINGTIME-- HIDDEN SHY BLOSSOMS

 Last fall when I posted my blogg and was choosing a painting to put with it, I hesitated whether to choose a female nude or a male nude. I chose the male nude as I thought it was less risque`.  My son, on hearing the reason for my choice, made me promise to post a female nude in my next post.  Here she is. 

It is springtime  and I think she perfectly embodies the spirit of spring.  She has the look of  the freshness of springtime, the sensual feeling we love so much in springtime and the promise of the lushness of summer ahead. At least that was what  I attempted to paint  but  she was not easy to paint, because like all spring flowers, she took her time to grow to become who she is causing some coaxing on my part. This blogg, however, is not about my painting but about the spirit of  spring and shy blossoms.

Spring flowers are always shy and hidden in the early spring but still  give us so much joy with their delicate hues and fragrances. We have so much pleasure in discovering them. I love to gently brush their shy petals with my fingertips to release their fragrances and  this spring, because  of the pandemic restrictions, I am  so lucky to have little opportunities to fill up my  days with distractions and instead  have lots of time to go outdoors to do this.

So it is true - there is always a silver lining in misfortunes such as the pandemic we are now experiencing and if we look hard enough this spring where we now have so much free time, we have the great opportunity to search for these  hidden shy blossom  and take time to "smell the flowers"

There are other hidden shy blossoms of a different kind.  Outside on my balcony I can gaze out over my back lane  and into a building belonging to the City Works. It is entirely enclosed with a high fence and locked gate. I can see the building, the fence and a high row of trees. Between the trees and this very functional building is hidden a beautiful huge magnolia tree.  All I can ever see are some  blossoms peeking through the branches. I can never see the whole tree. One spring day several years ago, I found the gate unlocked and open. I sneaked into the back yard and gazed long at this wonderful tree laden with blossoms. It was even sweeter for me as I was trespassing. The forbidden is always sweeter. Every spring I watch as the blossoms I can just glimpse turn from buds to full blown flowers and then drop wilted to the ground.  I feel sad for this hidden shy tree  and it's inability every year to show off it's splendor.

There is another shy tree that is hidden on my daughter's yard. It is a shy camellia tree crowded against  the back of a garage wall and  in the shadow of high pine and cedar trees. To see the tree you have to walk through  these barriers. Each spring when I go to see it, I expect the tree to not bloom and yet every year I am surprised to see this shy hidden tree bloom the most wonderful delicate pink blossom.  I am always amazed at the generosity and resilience of nature that gives us these beauties  in spite of our negligence and indifference  and I respect the humbleness of this beautiful  tree to always bloom in spite of having  no audience to adore it.

My Spring blogg is dedicated to another fragrant spirit.   It is dedicated to the memory of a good friend and great artist who died suddenly a few months before Covid 19 changed our lives. She is missed and it has taken me two years before I could write about this loss.  Irma was a great and fearless artist and a vibrant human being who lived life with enthusiasm. 

She lived life in colours like the flowers she loved in her hidden enclosed magical garden where she loved to paint. When one saw her one saw her in colours ranging  from shy violet, periwinkle and gold marigold through to robust gladioli.  These were her palette for living and also for painting. Her huge vivid paintings told the stories of life using the  great ancient myths for material.  Her last subject she was working on was inspired by the Greek Oracle of Delphi and her greatest wish and plan was to live in Delphi and commune with her muse.  Her plan was to go to there the next year. This did not happen.  Her life was cut short and so too were the paintings of the Oracle of Delphi. Her paintings  too,  like the hidden blossoms, were not shown for view and like the lovely camilia tree are kept shyly hidden. 

Hidden blossoms, shy flowers, unseen paintings by unknown artists are not lost.  They are here to be seen by those who wish to look for them. So dear readers take this precious uncluttered time to look for the hidden and shy beauties that are all around us in abundance.  Have a happy Spring.

BLOGG#2 MITTE AMBOS NUDOS AD IGNOTOS ET VIDEBIS

 

 No-This is not a lecture in Latin.--Heaven forbid. This ,surprise, surprise, is my annual Christmas Blogg dedicated to Good Cheer.

I am reading a book of essays by Francis Bacon just now.  I acquired this hundred year old book on Bacon's essays from my late husband-a bibliophile and occasionally dip into it. The essay I am on is "On Cunning."  It is a three page essay discussing the difference between a wise man and a cunning man and how you can tell the difference.  Bacon says you can tell because most cunning men are very successful in business and most wise men are not. The cunning are better at practical application but only  in their own  alley-or known field.  It was at this point in the essay I came across this Latin quote and promptly looked it up on the internet.   The quote comes from the philosopher Aristippus-a student of Aristotle. The translation I discovered, is-  " but send them both naked to those they know not,and you will see," which roughly means put them both in an unknown situation with unfamiliar persons, observe the outcome, and you will see the cunning men will flounder, the wise prevail. 

This amused me and pleased me-as I usually am not in the "have" category, so  I must be in the "wise" category.  I also thought it might be a good idea to make this essay a required reading for all voters.  A successful person  is  admired and often thought wise and an asset in the political field. But as we look at the mess that often happens in politics we see much floundering and nakedness.  The present  situation in our neighbour to the south is a good example.The out going president, a very good example of a cunning man who floundered badly, was completely hopeless in the unfamiliar crises engendered by covid 19.  There were, no doubt, many misguided voters  drawn to his questionable success and admired his cunning and fraudulent nature. However, when confronted with the unknown-the  covid 19 crises-and I promise this is the only time I mention that word, he was completely inadequate,out of his alley, a floundering fool and very dangerous. In fact he became a vicious animal backed in a corner. Over the past months he  floundered  more and more until in these final days he became totally unclothed- a weak totally naked man-an Ambos Nudos.

 

This blogg is supposed to be about Christmas and is meant to be  optimistic but I was having difficulty with optimism until I read Bacon's essay. I now feel encouraged by the fact that wise men are often not successful financially and since the rise of prices in everything recently, I have felt especially  unsuccessful financially. I felt like Scrooge-reluctant to spend my hard earned money on Christmas shopping and was envisioning a bleak cold Christmas. Then I discovered Aristippus the philosopher and his philosophy.  He not only believes cunning men become nudos under unfamiliar stress,but also believes the good life rests on the the fact that among human values, pleasure is the highest and pain the lowest and should be avoided. Also to avoid paining others. He declared there is no reason to not enjoy material goods but to use good judgement and exercise self control.  His motto is "I possess I am not possessed."  In other words he encourages the seeking of pleasure without letting it overpower us.

When I read this I immediately fell in love with this wise philosopher; changed my negative feelings towards this Christmas, and went out, did a little Christmas shopping and bought a half  bottle of my favourite champagne-Veuve Clicquot . I plan -in spite of everything happening now-to enjoy this  Christmas day with my champagne and a turkey dinner. Even if the worst happens and I have to be alone unable to be with my family and the turkey dinner  has to be ordered  from  "Chef-on- the run." I will enjoy Christmas.  I advise you dear readers to do the same and splurge-in defiance of circumstances- on whatever turns you on to help you enjoy the Christmas spirit. Have fun and enjoy a Merry, merry Christmas.

HAVE A JOYFUL CHRISTMAS 2020!!! EVERYONE

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LAURIE'S BLOGG # 1 AUTUMN AND WINTER HAVE COME AT LAST

 Summer is over at last and it is time for me to come out of it's doldrums and return to my blog.The beauty,the excitement,the joys of summer and also the frustrations of it as we dealt with the problems of covid 19 is over.  It had been a summer of good times and bad times  as we dealt with the difficulties of social distancing in our summer activities but it is over. We are now dealing with the covid fatigue

 

As I look forward to autumn I am excited. Autumn means new beginnings,getting rid of the old and starting the new-new projects, new plans, new ideals, fresh outlooks. Of course it is true the problems of covid still exist though they will be different  and will probably be worse but  as they say-"a change is as good as a rest." These were the thoughts that were going through my mind last Sunday morning as I was walking down the country road near my daughter's home.  It was early in the morning, the air achingly fresh and exhilarating.  The sun shone brilliantly, the wind was brisk, almost stormy as it rushed  through the forest even drowning the sound of traffic on the Pat Bay highway.  It was very very cold, my face tingled, my hands felt frozen and I jammed them into my pockets.  Yes. Autumn has come  but it is late and already tipping into winter.  I loved all the sensations caused by the lively forest that morning as I walked along and felt like dancing with the dancing trees, the swirling leaves flashing gold, the great cedars bending in the wind and even the dust gusting about irratically.  Suddenly a grey squirrel darted in front of me, sprang across the road into the forest and up a tree. It looked so free and lively.  I had a sudden pang of envy. How I wished I was him rushing effortlessly up a tree and be free from the limitations  of my own body. I longed to be him. In this mood I thought nothing would be as wonderful as being able to climb a high tree and fly from branch to branch.  The sudden pang of desire was so strong that  I said to myself "in the next life --I would like be a squirrel".

 

I don't really believe in any life but the present but if it were otherwise ---yes I would like to be a squirrel.  For one thing-squirrels are attractive: that gorgeous tail- that cute picture as he sits on a branch in a perky stance holding a nut between his paws. We are all familiar with that image. I like his diet of nuts and seeds. I could love that. Furthermore I would finally become -after years of failure- a true vegetarian.  Also the squirrel is not hunted and eaten by man-a big plus. Of course he has predators but look at the list-the elegant cougar, the wise owl, the noble eagle--Who could balk at that? Not too shabby to be hunted by these noble predators. Best of all he spends the whole winter in a cozy den surrounded by nuts and seeds-warm and fed.  He or she is very intelligent.  You can see it. But the most important thing is -the squirrel has an important purpose and is useful to the planet.  While he is busy collecting his winter supply of food, he is also busily spreading out nuts and seeds as he hunts for a safe place to hide them  As he is industrially digging holes everywhere around miles of forest to hide his treasures, he is also dropping precious nuts and seeds throughout seeding new forests. What a great thing to do. Yes, I would chose to come back not as the noble eagle or lion but the tiny insignificant squirrel.

Now this leads me to the real purpose of writing this blogg.  Last Sunday my daughter and I watched a new documentary by David Attenborough filmed in 2020 and just put out by Netflix.  David Attenborough ,as we all know, is famous for his visionary documentary films on Nature. He is now ninety three years old and  has spent the last sixty years warning us of climate change and destruction of our planet. This last documentary  he calls his "testimony of life". He is a vital and passionate man in spite of his age and endearingly an optimist.  I have spent the last sixty years of my life panicking  about destruction of our planet but like most people and politicians,have  reacted as an ostrich.  It is too scary a subject. I do try feeble gestures;never use saran wrap; never put my produce in plastic bags etc. But I know this is all not enough. and have felt more  and more panicky with the years.  For the first time since watching this amazing film I feel hope.  One of the things I like about David Attenborough is I know he is an optimist-and so am I. He feels that nature has the ability still to restore it's balance. I too have always felt that nature is stronger than humans who in their arrogance think they can destroy the planet. The planet and nature will survive. What will be destroyed is our version of the planet: Humankind and  civilization will be destroyed if we don't change-yes- but not the planet.  It will survive. He did say the destruction of our planet  is almost irreversible but there are three very basic actions by humans that may halt this. He uses the nuclear disaster of Chernobyl and the amazing recovery of it's habitat in the past forty years to point this out. Chernobyl was totally contaminated by the explosion and the city was evacuated. In the film it was moving  to see the recovery of nature in that  abandoned destroyed city. The whole large area was occupied by healthy forests and the wildlife. He talked about three changes  needed to make to reverse the damage-they are: cleaning up the ocean, eliminating poverty to lower birth rate, and increasing areas of  wilderness by reducing the use of domestic animals.  In other words -become vegetarian. Can this work?  Maybe not. but it is better to instill hope than inertia or frozen fear.

I think this film should be seen by everyone possible. There is much we can still do and we can still hope.  Have a happy autumn 2020.

 

 

       

   

 

 

 

VIEW FROM MY BALCONY DURING COVID19

My balcony faces west allowing me to look at  the back of the Royal Jubilee Hospital, three parking lots-two belonging to the hospital-one for the cars of the staff,one for supply trucks and another parking  lot of the medical building next door. My balcony also faces a small private Elementary school,it's parking lot,two dead end streets on either side of a big playground, a waterworks building belonging to the city, a helipad for the hospital helicopter and a big empty field. I also look out on a back alley. This is the view I see every morning when I get up and go out to greet the world with my first cup of coffee.

When the lock down started two months ago, there was suddenly absolute silence from my balcony. For hours I sat there listening  to the silence.   All day long  there was this silence -silence in the streets, silence on the sidewalks, silence in the playground and silence in the school. Even the helicopters and ambulances were silent. \The only vehicles I saw belonged to the staff of the hospital and the supply lot. Sometimes it felt eerie,sometimes peaceful, but always beautiful in it's quiet. If I woke before seven a.m. I could see the frontliners with their backpacks coming for their twelve hour shifts. At noon I watched taxis and  delivery vans delivering lunches donated by a grateful public.  It felt as if the world had stopped, and I was alone.

This abandoned feeling lasted for several days.Then one day  I saw a small family coming through the playground.  Two small children and a father all on bicycles came down the dead end street. They came through the playground, through the school area, down the other dead end  road and into the empty parking lot. The children circled around with enthusiasm while the father watched. I could see the joy and amazement in their eyes at this unusual freedom. Next I saw two young women sunbathing on the grass. As the days progressed more people came.  I started to recognize the different sets of children and watchful parents. I was amused by the antics of older children doing "Wheelies" in forbidden areas and the increasing  confidence of the toddlers as they cycled round and round  the empty roads.
One morning the next week I noticed several cars parked in the school parking lot and several people with large garbage bags entering the school. From that point on the cars were parked there every day and teachers were busy with home schooling.  One glorious day a week later I noticed several children running through the classroom. These were the children allowed back for special reasons. It was exciting and I know now how the people felt when the Pied Piper was forced to bring back the children in that sad fairy tale.


Eventually I too went out walking through the playground and field. The first day I did this I noticed four basket ball players throwing baskets while observing social distancing and I thought it looked odd. I questioned the oddness and realized it was odd because these were fathers and adult sons playing together. I had not seen this in the playground before. Usually the players were young adults. I could now see the effects of  Covid 19 and the lock down were slowly changing our behaviors. Here were Fathers spending hours playing with their tiny children, Fathers and mothers enjoying games with their adult sons and daughters. Suddenly because of Covid 19 there was time for family interaction. The rat race was temporarily stopped.
the sky was clear, the birds were taking over the sound waves, the ducks were taking over the empty roads and playground and people had time for their families.

 As I watched these developments,I wondered  what would be the outcome of all this. Would there be warmer family connections? Would our lifestyle change into something more organic and this would be the new normal? Or would we revert? Would Toddlers, used to freedom of the road want to  to cycle down the center of the road  when this is all over? Would parents and adult children continue to play together or be distant again?  Would the rush be on again? There were many questions.

One early morning last week as I entered the field, two brothers on bicycles entered the other end. The eldest was about eight and the young one about four. The bigger boy rushed down the field but the younger one started to cry and turn back so the older one went back to urge him on but still the younger brother shook his head and continued crying. At this point I realized I was the problem. The boys had obviously been taught social distancing, the little boy not knowing what six meters were, was frightened  and I was the threat. I shouted "don't worry, I am going back home" and did so. A few seconds later the little boy relieved whizzed past me with a big smile on his face. But I was saddened. What a lot of problems the little ones needed to process and understand with this crises and how will this affect them.
Early yesterday morning as I was out for my daily walk  I watched a young father showing his young son-a toddler-how to play "hopscotch.
The little boy imitating him perfectly hopped vigorously ,though inaccurately, through the hopscotch course-it was amusing and endearing watching this lanky young father and his chubby little son stamping and hopping in that old classic girly game.
One night last week in the evening during the warm spell, I was on my balcony again and watched a family picnic in the playground. They had spread out a blanket sitting around baskets of food and laughing. It was so grand to see that.
Today is Mother's Day and I can see much more activity from my balcony as the rules loosen and people and all mothers celebrate in a way they never have before. Most of us are still alone with Netflix-happy to be  alive and healthy.
Every night before I go to bed I greet the night and marvel at the clear sky and  brighter stars  and thank  them for giving us another night of shinning splendor in this strange time .

BLOGG # - EASTER MORNING

For the past few days I have been trying to write about a magical moment that happened recently to my daughter and I, but the words wouldn't come-they were sluggish ,dogged and heavy so I gave up. The truth is I haven't written a blogg for months.Perhaps I have become too rusty or perhaps my blogging days are over.
Somehow I have been lacking in enthusiasm,missing the light  spirit or "geffi" -a Greek word that explains it better.
However ,early this Easter morning I went out for a walk-I was alone , the sun shone,the leaves rustled gently in the breeze and I could almost hear the Easter Bunny stealing through the grasses. Everything felt fresh and new and I rejoiced  When I came home the words flowed.

Four days ago, my daughter came to rescue me from a doorkey disaster which she quickly solved.  She also topped up my groceries with a precious gluten free bread and the ultimate Canadian essential T.P.s! We then decided to go for a walk in the park near my apartment building.
The park is a mundane playground and  football field and is skirted by the lovely Bowker Creek. A foot path follows the creek.  We walked this path using the  "social distancing guide lines." This meant walking in line six feet apart and this also meant,  instead of talking, we were looking and that also meant we were "seeing." which was an advantage.  We looked and saw brilliant yellow buttercup-like flowers cascading down the creek bank to the water and masses of white chamomile blossoms scattered gaily throughout the abandoned playground.  Next we entered a  huge empty field with a foot path running through the length of it. The entire field was carpeted in the white chamomile interspersed with jewel like wild flowers.
 It was as if we were looking at a medieval tapestry. The air was brilliant, clear and magical. The sky glowed blue,  the trees shimmered green and palest yellow and the ground glowed in brilliant white ,gold and pink.  I could easily imagine gracious ladies and gallant knights covertly flirting in  this environment. Well- that is a bit over the top perhaps but not too far.- We decided to slow down and  look closer at the delicate minute flora.  The colours ranged jewel-like from delicate blush pink to pale mauve and gradually to vivid purple; the  blue flowers ranged from the palest hue to robust thrusting cobalt and throughout all these were the sparkling gay buttercups. We were alone, there was complete silence.  I said to my daughter- "it is as though we are walking through an alpine meadow or maybe in the meadow on Mt. Hymattos near our home in Greece as we used to do in spring so many years ago."  At this point a light breeze sprang up, lifting my hair and stirring the leaves on the distant trees to shimmering  gold and I felt the magic.  I have walked this field countless times but never have I felt this magic-it is an ordinary field often soggy. I have never seen such vivid colours in nature here, have rarely seen such a clear blue sky and I never imagine medieval ladies and gallant knights here either.
We finally ,after a long walk, decided to walk back to my apartment through the back lanes. The back lanes of Victoria are precious.  A reminder of long ago carefree times. We enjoyed  looking at the back lane gardens  and marveled at the imaginative landscaping of Victorians.
The next day I walked the same walk. It was not the same. The medieval tapestry was gone, the trees were not shimmering, there were less wild flowers and lots of dandelions. the sky was not so brilliant. On the grass instead of gallant ladies and knights there were two young women in brief  clothing using "social distancing" doing "jumping Jacks."  I was disappointed-there was no magic after all.
 Nonetheless I got over it when I realized that that first magical impact I had experienced the day before was due to the fact that the atmosphere must be clearer because human beings are finally staying home instead of rushing around in their cars,airplanes and buses and my eyes had been in shock-it wasn't magic after all--or was it?

So now after finishing my talk about my magical experience during this trying time, I wish you all a happy and safe Easter celebration.

IT IS CHRISTMAS_THEY ARE HERE AT LAST

She is usually blond,though occasionally brunette and more recently- in this new era of tolerance-of mixed race. She is attractive but not sexy, modest, intelligent,sensitive and overbrimingly kind.
She dresses well  but is not glaringly fashionable. Above all she has a beautiful smile and sparkling white teeth. Sometimes she is royal but usually she is an ordinary young woman in an ordinary occupation.
He, on the other hand, is usually royal, dashingly handsome,desired by all ambitious women, has great potential,but is usually modest in manner. He dresses in traditional clothes,looks wonderful in a tuxedo and even better in casual attire, especially when wearing blue jeans which emphasize his long limbs. He is ,of course, tall. His teeth are also perfect and white- A true prince in shiny armor.

The location is traditional-sometimes in a city-New York comes to mind-sometimes in a quaint village or rural countryside but always in America. The Royal prince or princess is always situated  in central Europe. The kingdom is small,quaint and has a name that is difficult to pronounce.
The general features to be expected are ; Santa Claus; sleigh rides with big horses; lots of snow, bells, pianos for Christmas caroling  and orphans to sing the carols. Christmas trees and Christmas carols are de rigor.  There is always a predictable romance- with invariably a brisk and flirty snow ball fight between the two protagonists.
What am I talking about?  The yearly Christmas stories of course! These are featured on T.V. at this time.  From mid November until Christmas Eve-those wonderful fantasies are churned out to get us into the Christmas spirit of giving and receiving.
 I could ,like most people,deny watching Christmas movies  but I confess I enjoy them. It is only mid December and already my  over indulgence in Christmas schmaltz can be seen. I have a perpetual smirky smile on my face and a blurry glaze to my eyes from drinking  in all this beautiful red and green sparkling bedazzlement.  My body and especially my lower back is stiff from sitting for long hours in the recliner while watching T.V. Christmas movies  and I have started to gain weight due to inactivity.  I have even missed most of my exercise classes.
Do I feel guilty? Not at all-not until I have reached a surfeit of  these  Christmas movies because I know that by December 24th it all abruptly stops and there won't be any more snow, bells, carols, princes and princesses and pretty young women,handsome men with white teeth or Christmas ornaments and sentiment and schmaltz again until November 2020.
Am I alone in this? I don't think so otherwise these movies would not be made. They are necessary  nostalgically to satisfy our need to return to our childhood-to return to the excitement of unrealistic expectations; the snow falling dreamily in the landscape; the  Christmas colours of red and green ;the the baked goods;  the sparkling decorations the carols -so politically incorrect at this time; the wrapped presents and of course the magic of romance, especially of princesses and princes, are  essential to us in our present time of rational practicality and sanity. All this is part of the package of Christmas -that wonderful holiday that brightens the darkest bleakest part of the year for us.
 So I indulge in this romantic insanity and revel in it.
Too soon Christmas will be over, we will again feel flat because none of our expectations for Christmas were really met and we get set to face the harsh life of reality in 2020.  There will be vast opportunity to think rationally after Christmas so take my advice, forget good taste,high quality intellectual stimulation,and correctness and get your required "fix" of Christmas B movies.
Have a  Happy Holiday.

HAPPINESS WHEN ON A JOURNEY

Happiness when on a journey depends on taking the right books to read. I have just  returned back with my family from a trip to Greece to see my  son who is living there and the journey was a success.We traveled there via Dublin which is the shortest air flight to Greece from Vancouver.  The first thing I do when purchasing my ticket is to plan my reading material which is essential for my peace of mind on a trip .On our flight to Dublin, Ireland, I read the September Vogue magazine. As all fashionistas know, the September Vogue is a huge tome of fantasy,outrageous fashion and unadulterated consumerism. As I had not flown in a long while, was nervous and not a confident airline passenger, being a white knuckled flyer, this was the only reading material I could concentrate on.  This material lasted me for the whole eight hour flight and I was content.

Once settled in Dublin I switched to a favourite of mine -a second hand yellowing penguin detective story by Nicholas Freeling I have owned for years.  This features the eccentric  Dutch detective  Van Der Val. His stories are rich delightful, funny and dark. He is married to a French bourgeois woman  who amuses me with her caustic sense of humour. She is a delightful woman who is also a good cook.  This story revolves around corruption in Northern Holland and Germany.  It has a European flavour with wonderful descriptions of the depressing northern cold countryside,wonderful descriptions of great and unusually named Dutch and German dishes,wonderful meals with wonderful bottles of wine, exciting and interesting conversation. This novel was just right for me to get into the mood for European culture and helped me to embrace it's accelerating environment.

I brought another book  for the next lap of the  journey to Greece. 'My Brilliant Friend' is a current best seller by the brilliant Italian author, Elena Ferrante. This book was set in Naples, Italy, during the deprived era of the immediate post war years 1950 and 1960.  The book revolves around two little girls growing up in one of the poorer areas of  Naples  It is a rich and intense novel and I recommend it wholeheartedly -but it was not for Greece.
It had seemed perfect for Greece because it also is in crises and poverty. However when we finally  reached our final destination,Naphpactos, a provincial town in rural Greece, I found it did not suit and laid it aside. It had too much of an Italian flavour.

. Naphpactos is a port rich in history with a walled castle surrounded by wild mountains teeming -in my imagination- with  unbelievable magical mythical creatures. My mood in this exciting atmosphere demanded a good read and I was bookless. We were visiting my son and his family who live there and he asked me if I needed reading material,checked in his storage place  and handed me a novel -redolent with a musty smell -"The Dark Labyrinth" by Lawrence Durrell an English author who had lived in Greece years ago. I accepted eagerly even though I had read it years ago. It was perfect.
The theme of the book was a fantasy,dark, very Greek,very mythical,very satisfying as only Lawrence could write. I settled myself on the balcony surrounded by Mediterranean flowers, Mediterranean sunshine, Mediterranean blue sea, Mediterranean light, musical Greek voices and raucous traffic noises and immersed myself in a modern mythical tale. It was about tourists who agree to tour a newly discovered ancient site situated in a remote cave in the mountains of Crete. The cave, a labyrinth, was famous-as all the locals knew-because it harbours a monster. The typical prosaic tourists innocently embark on this dark journey. This is a glorious spin on ordinary people in extraordinary happenings with all vast Greek layers ranging from sparkling light to deepest dark. I hugged this book and journeyed with Lawrence through this  great Greek experience during the whole three weeks I was in Greece and it was satisfying.
For the trip home,my grandson who was traveling with us gave me "The grapes of Wrath" by John Steinbeck. The book had not satisfied him in Greece. However it was perfect for the trip home for me.  It reminded me that I was moving back again towards the troubled times I had left behind  in North America-both the United States and Canada.
John Steinbeck is a glorious writer -with beautiful prose-echoing the fine prose of my favourite author -Jane Austin. He wrote finely crafted sentences with great sensitivity even though the subject was painful. I was very impressed and wondered why I had never read this monumental work before.His vivid reporting of the treatment of the  displaced migrants moving to California during the dust bowl era of the thirties reminded me of the status today of the displaced  refugees all over the world. and I found myself saying "We haven't come a very long way after all, baby."

I thought hard about this on the long flight home and about the ability  we humans have to make the same mistakes over and over.
I arrived home just in time and in a fervent mood to practice my right to vote.
 As you can see,dear readers,it is essential to select the right book as also the right clothes-another topic-for each country you go to.