A River Ran Through it............. and I lived by the river

"Portneuf River" Pocatello Idaho

Once upon a time

Yes, really once upon a time this was the Portneuf river and I lived by it. Then later, after we moved away from it, the river was dug up and "cemented" over. It really did look like this, a long time ago in a town now far away. It flooded once. Then with that one flood the Army Corps of Engineers fixed it. Today it is just a cement ditch with high sides. No trees. Sad story.

I spent time on the river in a raft. Caught snakes and fish. Tossed rocks.

I guess in someways the book about Huck Finn by Mark Twain reminds me of this experience growing up. I did find a lot of interesting people by the river.

Things Change

My grandfather wrote poems. He wrote letters to the editor. He told the Republicans where to get off. He remembered his baseball years. He did it on this typewriter. It sits in my office at home. I bet he sent out a lot of letters on this.

The Postman used to bring letters

Speaking of Letters

I owned my own business for 22 years. Letters came often and some brought money. I could spot the envelopes that had checks. I could take a stack of 50 envelopes and pull the 4 with checks out in seconds. I have kept a lot of people busy typing letters over the years. Not in recent years however. I am not sure that I can remember the last time I got a letter.

Blue Sky and Short Pants

This mailman must be in the Southwest

I do like books and this book is about a woman who wrote a lot of letters about books.

Below is a picture of a few books I have and of the cover of one about Helen Hanff. Her favorite book store was at 84 Charing Cross Road in London. I've been to London. She spent years writing letters to the people who worked in this store.

The book in one way is like "Education of a Wandering Man". Both, as part of the plot and dialog, discuss the particular books the person is reading at that time in their lives. This enables you to see the events in the story line a little different and get some insight into the books discussed.