Lake Okeechobee, Florida

Lake Okeechobee is a gigantic fresh water lake in the middle of Florida. It's clearly visible on any state map since its 730 square-mile size covers an area half the size of Rhode Island. The lake is not so visible from the highways and roads around it. Dikes were constructed after two hurricanes devastated the area in the 1920s. We drove to the top of one of the dikes to enjoy the views. All of the parking lots are by marinas, so we had a good view of people's boats.

Boats ready to sail the Okeechobee

Some empty docks

The lake is populated with a variety of wild life. Manatees, alligators, and various fish swim in the lake. Manatees like the shore area but we didn't see any. Alligators sun themselves on the shoreline but we didn't see any. People fish off the piers but we didn't see any catches (and hardly any fishermen though there were plenty of poles out).

Beware the manatee!

Alligator-free shoreline

Fishing lines with not enough people!

The lake is impressive in size, with no shore appearing on the horizon. On the other hand, it isn't very deep. The average depth is nine feet, rendering it unnavigable by larger boats.

We had a quick picnic lunch on the dock and were on our way to further adventures in Florida.

Some nice palm trees

76 Golf World Family Fun Center, Florida

On state route 76 in Stuart, Florida, is 76 Golf World Family Fun Center. In addition to a driving range and two mini-golf courses it has a lot of other attractions for children of all ages. J and L and their cousins went for an afternoon of fun. The first thing they tried was the "world famous" bumper boats. The four cousins had the waters all to themselves and after some navigational practice were able to bump into each other deliberately.

Bumper boats

J and L try to make a connection

"World Famous" according to the boats themselves

Head-on collision

Congestion on the waterway

J and L in new boats on their second try

Another big hit with the kids was the inflatable obstacle course. The course wasn't very long but it had a fabulous slide at the end. After a climb that was challenging but conquerable by even the smallest cousin, the slide was a great reward. They tried a couple of times to slide down at the same time with mixed results.

Inflatable obstacle course

J shows his cousin how to climb

L starts early in the synchronized slide event

More asynchronous sliding

From the obstacle course the cousins went over to the go-kart race track. Sadly the youngest cousins were too small to ride on their own. J and L had the track to themselves. After a few trial laps, they made it around with no trouble at all.

Getting ready to race

L's early crash

L recovers quickly

J on the move

Next up was a bouncy castle. J decided to try Spider Mountain, a climber that looked very difficult (as in I didn't think I would be able to do it). I was a little nervous to see him ascend, but up he went with his usual dauntlessness.

Spider climber!

J near the top

Our final attraction was the trampoline basketball courts. In spite of the ball being there, the kids used it only as a trampoline. What's more fun than jumping up and down on something that makes your jumps bigger?

L doesn't do basketball

J jumps but doesn't shoot

76 Golf World was a lot of fun even if we didn't ever golf!

St. Christopher Church, Hobe Sound, Florida

While visiting the grandparents we went to St. Christopher Church in Hobe Sound for New Year's Day service. The church is a small, Spanish-style church built in the 1950s from donations by the Devine family. It was dedicated in 1953 by the archbishop of St. Augustine, though the church is now in the Palm Beach diocese.

St. Christopher Church, Hobe Sound

Above the door is a fine statue of the titular saint carrying Jesus. I especially like the tender way that Jesus is laying His head on Christopher's.

St. Christopher statue

Statue detail

Inside is a typical basilica layout with a central nave and two small side aisles leading up to the sanctuary. The amount of marble is quite impressive. Since we were visiting during Christmastide, decorations were still up.

Nave

Sanctuary

Detail of St. Christopher from above the altar

Detail of the nativity below the altar

On either side of the sanctuary are fine statues of the Blessed Virgin Mary and her spouse St. Joseph.

Mary

Joseph

The baptismal font in the foyer is also marble but is a little spoiled by the lock on it!

Locked baptismal font

The stations of the cross were festively decorated which, like the lock, seemed a little odd.
 

Eighth Station of the Cross, Jesus Consoles the Women

Outside in the courtyard is a pieta. The walkway around the courtyard is lined with small altars to various Marian apparitions and saints.

Pieta in the cloister

Larger nativity outside the church

Our Lady of Lourdes altar

The church also has a St. Vincent de Paul thrift shop, the rectory, parish offices, and several other buildings. I couldn't resist taking a picture of their mailbox.

Church-shaped mail receptacle

School Construction

In December, J and L did a lot of construction at school.

L went after-hours to make a gingerbread house. All the kindergarteners were invited. After a long presentation by the teachers on how to build the house, the kids were let loose to construct theirs.

L begins construction

I should note that the "gingerbread" house is made of graham crackers adhered to an empty, small milk carton by white icing. After the Fall Festival, I think our culture has adopted a dangerous trend of substituting graham crackers for gingerbread. In twenty years, will children be asking why they are called "gingerbread" houses when there is no gingerbread involved?!? L had fun decorating regardless.

Hard at work

Happy with the results

J's math class has been working on 3D shapes. In order to have a more tactile experience, they built Shapetownville, a large model town with houses, buildings, roads, and other bits.

One view of the town

Ava's hospital and Megan's church

J built Columbia Mall with a friend. Everyone built their own home, using an empty, small milk carton.

Columbia Mall

J's house (the brown roof)

J was very proud of his work.

A happy builder

Book Review: Apocalyptic Organ Grinder by William Todd Rose

Apocalyptic Organ Grinder: A Dystopian Novella by William Todd Rose

In this dystopian future, the human race has divided itself into two factions--the clear-skinned survivors who are not infected and the "spewers" who have been infected by the Gabriel virus. The virus causes puss-filled sores which erupt with some nasty fluid that infects others. Being infected isn't a death sentence, it's just a change of status (and eventually complexion). Except that it is a death sentence if one of the clear-skins' Sweepers run across a spewer. The Sweepers patrol near their colonies and keep the infection at bay by killing any Spewers they find. The only way to get rid of the virus is to get rid of all the carriers, right?

When the virus first broke out, a war broke out as well. The war between the spewers and the clear-skin was seemingly futile. The spewers abandoned the old cities and the war when one of their own realized a better way. Living apart and in harmony with nature as much as possible is a much more viable option than a war that leaves everyone dead.

All this history is far enough in the past that it is referred to by the characters in a heightened, fairy-tale like way. The novella begins with this fairy-tale told in a mythic style, though that soon gives way to a straight-forward narrative of one Sweeper who comes into conflict with a Spewer woman whose family had been killed by him.

The story weaves an interesting history with a compelling conflict. The conflict is more compelling because the view point (and the sympathy) switches between the two sides. Both sides are shown with some truth on their sides. Both sides see the other as a danger to be dealt with quickly. Issues of revenge, humane treatment, and innocence naturally flow from the narrative.

This novella is a fascinating study of two sides of a war and of two people who struggle with the horrors in their life. It isn't perfect but it is very interesting to read and think about.

2015 Personal Reading Challenge (and 2014 Review)

Moving back to America over the summer, we were reunited with the books that were in storage for three years. Twelve boxes' worth of books. We thought about whether we were ever going to re-read (or in some cases read for the first time) the massive collection that had waited for us. A lot of books were academic books. My wife has a computer science degree, I have one in philosophy. Hers are from ten years ago so they are a bit dated. Mine are a lot of esoteric topics that would have been useful if I had stayed in academia but are shelf fillers otherwise. So we decided to sort through and make three groups: (1) ones we want to keep, (2) ones we want to get rid of, and (3) ones we want to read (or re-read) to see if we want to keep them. The "read and keep or donate" shelf looks like this:

"Read before donating" shelf

Oh, and this shelf...

More books on the chopping block

And this shelf...

We ran out of book ends!

If I had a full time job reading books I might possibly read them all in one year, but at my current rate, that's clearly impossible. Here's my ambitions for this year:

Books of fiction:

• Two from Michael O'Brien's end time series--I'm not sure which ones but I will list them.
• Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman.
• Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson.
• In this House of Brede by Rumer Godden (which I started in 2014 over Christmas, so this will be the first to finish I'm sure--there's a discussion on A Good Story is Hard to Find podcast).
• Everything That Rises Must Converge by Flannery O'Connor (which will be discussed by A Good Story is Hard to Find in early January).
• The Mistborn Trilogy by Brandon Sanderson.
•  City Beyond Time by John C. Wright--a Christmas present!
• Hell House by Richard Matheson--a birthday present!

Books on theology/religion:

• Jesus of Nazareth: Infancy Narratives by Benedict XVI--a Christmas present (how appropriate!).
• Fleeing Herod: A Journey Through Coptic Egypt with the Holy Family by James Cowan--also a Christmas present.
• Messiah: Origin by Matt Dorff--a graphic novel by the guy who wrote that awesome graphic novel of the Book of Revelation (and also a Christmas present).
• Triumph: The Power and The Glory of the Catholic Church by H. W. Crocker III. I think I got this for Christmas a couple of years ago.

Books on philosophy and science:

• The Meaning of Relativity by Albert Einstein--I'm dreading this a bit because it'll be tough and it may wind up a "read and donate" book.
• Unpopular Essays by Bertrand Russell--also close to the "read and donate" piile.
• If Aristotle's Kid Had an Ipod by Connor Gallagher--intriguing idea for sure.
• Two books by Mortimer Adler--Like O'Brien above, I've had these books for a while and been meaning to get them. Not sure which ones I will choose, probably the shortest ones!
• Two books by Josef Pieper--ditto above.

Books on writing:
Professional Blogging for Dummies--Leftover from last year, I keep meaning to up my game in blogging. Maybe without all the European wandering I can get caught up!

So, there's no zombie books on my horizon but I'm sure that will change.

My other reading challenge is the Eighth Annual Graphic Novels and Manga Challenge 2015. I'm signing up the for the Silver Age challenge, which is 52 books in a year. Last year a read 42, so I think I can make it. I already have some planned (continuing Saga, re-reading Y: The Last Man, trying out Avatar: The Last Airbender graphic novels).

Here's what I planned and accomplished in 2014 (I did read more books than listed below). I'm glad that the blogging book is the only leftover!

Zombie Lit

• Deck Z--A tale of zombies aboard the Titanic. Reviewed here!
• The Year of Eating Dangerously--The second novel featuring undead lawyer Mallory Caine. Reviewed here!
• I Ate the Sheriff--third Mallory Caine, zombie-at-law, novel. Reviewed here!
• Bill the Galactic Hero on the Planet of Zombie Vampires--I couldn't resist picking up this title when I saw it in a used book store in the Lakes District. Review here!

English Lit

• The Lord of the Rings--A Good Story is Hard to Find podcast is discussing this in February--can I finish it by then? This will be my fourth reading of what I consider the greatest novel of the twentieth century. Reviewed here!
• Writing Down the Dragon--A book about Tolkien's work which naturally supplements LOTR. Reviewed here!
• Brave New World--Aldous Huxley's classic distopia. Reviewed here!
• Are Women Human?--Left over from last year. Reviewed here!
• In Praise of Folly--Okay, Erasmus isn't really English, but he was good friends with St. Thomas More, so that's my excuse for putting him here. We visited The Netherlands and saw some of Erasmus's old stomping grounds. Reviewed here!

Christian Lit

• St. Benedict and St. Therese: The Little Rule and the Little Way--leftover from last year. Reviewed here!
• Life of Benedict by Gregory the Great--the pope's biography of the founder of western monasticism. If the pope writes a biography of someone, it's probably worth reading. Reviewed here!
• The Wisdom Books--Robert Alter's translation and analysis of the books of Job, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes. Reviewed here!
• Marriage is Like a Dance--a gift that looks too good to wait! Reviewed here!

Writing Lit (or is that redundant?)

• On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft--Stephen King's work leftover from two years ago. Reviewed here!

Graphic Novels

1. Hellboy in Hell #5, Dark Horse Presents #31 (in which Hellboy gets married!), Hellboy Christmas Special--reviewed here! 
2. The Stuff of Legend Omnibus One--reviewed here!
3. Time Travellers Hidden Rome--reviewed here!
4. Hellboy: The Midnight Circus--reviewed here!
5. Julius Caesar: The Life of a Roman General--reviewed here!
6. B.P.R.D. 1948--reviewed here!
7. Fanboys vs. Zombies Vol. 1--reviewed here!
8. Fanboys vs. Zombies Vol. 2--reviewed here!
9. The Stuff of Legend Omnibus Two--reviewed here!
10. Dark Horse Presents #32 (Hellboy unweds), Twilight Zone #1 and #2--reviewed here!
11. The Book of Revelation--reviewed here!
12. Bone Vol. 1--reviewed here!
13. Bone: Rose--reviewed here!
14. Ray Bradbury Chronicles Vol. 2--reviewed here!
15. Asterix and the Normans--reviewed here!
16. Serenity Vol. 1--reviewed here! 
17. Asterix and the Great Crossing--reviewed here! 
18. B.P.R.D. Vampires--reviewed here! 
19. Asterix and the Soothsayer--reviewed here! 
20. Witchfinder Vol. 2--reviewed here! 
21. Locke & Key Vol. 5--reviewed here! 
22. The Walking Dead Vol. 19--reviewed here! 
23. Locke & Key Vol. 6--reviewed here! 
24. The Walking Dead Vol. 20--reviewed here! 
25. Asterix and the Big Fight--reviewed here! 
26. The Walking Dead Vol. 21--reviewed here! 
27. Bone Vol. 2--reviewed here! 
28. Bone Vol. 3--reviewed here! 
29. Marvel Zombies vs. Army of Darkness--reviewed here!
30. Bone Tall Tales--reviewed here! 
31. Twilight Zone The Monsters Are Due on Mulberry Street--reviewed here! 
32. Bone Vol. 4--reviewed here! 
33. Bone Vol. 5--reviewed here!
34. Zombillenium 1--reviewed here! 
35. Bone Vol. 6--reviewed here!
36. Bone Vol. 7--reviewed here!
37. Zombillenium 2--reviewed here!
38. Bone Vol. 8--reviewed here!
39. Bone Vol. 9--reviewed here! 
40. Bone Handbook--reviewed here! 
41. X-Men: Days of Future Past--reviewed here! 
42. Saga Vol. 1--reviewed here!