Presents

I love receiving books as gifts. If a book is given to me as the first surprise to be unwrapped, that spells doom for all the other presents that sit, waiting, under the tree. When I unwrap a book, I must look it over and see the cover art; turning it over, I look at the author and his 'creds'; flipping over the cover, I read the chapter headings. This is my ritual. I MUST do it. It's just sad that it takes about 20 minutes. What normally happens is that I have to be poked and prodded to get back on the task of un-wrapping the other, less-inspiring gifts.

This Christmas was good for me, as I received a total of six books. I got no socks, no deodorant, no toothpaste, no wallet, just books. YES. Four of the six where in the Czech language, so I'm happy to say that this has been the first true 'bilingual' book binge I've had in my life. I requested some of the titles, but for the most part, they were a surprise. Two of the Czech books I received are 'classics' in their own right. Their titles are, "Babicka" by Bozena Nemcova and "Saturnin" by Zdenek (something). Babicka was written in the year 1855 and is considered to be the most famous Czech book ever written. It is a nostalgic story about life in the Czech countryside. Two interesting side-notes to the book, are that the setting takes place in the town of Litomysl, which is only about 10 miles away from Policka; and, that the book was written during a time when German was the offical and most powerful language in the Czech lands. One could say that Nemcova (ironically her last name means "German woman") is the Czech language's Chaucer.

Jamie's mom Debbie came to visit us bearing gifts. I got a couple thermal t-shirts and resting under the shirts, in the sparkley, gift bag was, yet again, another BOOK. This time, though, it was in English. She bought me Steinbeck's "Travels with Charlie", a book that documents John Steinbeck's travels around the United States with his k-9 companion. The book is a series of personal reflections where Steinbeck is attempting to get a feel for 'his country and his people'. In a small way, it is a story of falling back in love with America. He fights. He argues. He misunderstands. He gets frustrated. Ultimately, he is left confused. For me, it is a fitting place to start my 'trajectory' back home. So, as I make my descent back towards the landmass known as North America and towards the Appalachian hills cut by the Ohio River, I am hoping to take some advice from one of our greatest writers in how to fall back in love with 'home'.