Alesandro Spends Time in a Labor Camp

“Hard labor, deep sleep, simple food, cold water, the lack of possessions, and the presence of the morning stars upon arising gave the quarry soldiers so much strength and energy that they might as well have been the rulers of Europe lost in manic conquest.”

Alessandro, the Deserter, Wants to Camp on the East Side of the Lake While the Sheepherder Wants to Camp on the Western Shore

“In the stars, clouds, and wind, Alessandro hoped to be able to restore what he had lost, for beyond the disintegration and the glare, by the tenets and faith of the West, were clarity, reconstitution, and love.”

A Break in the Fighting

“The beginning of August saw a great meteor shower. At night the River Guard lay on their backs, on the ramparts, and watched the sky disintegrate in trace-like shots of silver and white. The light was silent and the tracks of the stars were as flirtatious as girls in spring. They shined, they smiled, and they disappeared. “

Alessandro and Rafi Spend A Couple of Weeks Mountain Climbing

“The stars were not yet out, the air was warm, and they were slightly drunk on the beer and the altitude.“
-Mark Helprin, A Soldier of the Great War

To reach the unreachable star

An afternoon at the theater, watching a college production of The Man of La Mancha, I had not seen it before, though as a wee thing I loved the Glan Campbell version of The Impossible Dream... this is my quest, to follow that star, no matter how hopeless, no matter how far... I remember my little sis and i just belting it out in the living room, with the broad sweeping gestures of a true Don Quixote.
As if there are unreachable stars when you are a star wrangler. Of course we did not know then that we were budding star wranglers, that would come later.

This Is What Happens When I Try to Copy Sassmaster

I like how Sassmaster reviews and lists the books she reads each year. I wanted to do that, too, but I couldn't figure out exacatly where to do that. So why not just start a whole new blog on the topic? Like our friend, Sidearm, I advocate living boldly.

As it turns out, however, I don't really like reviewing books. I still like talking about them; I seem to particularly like talking about the experience of reading them.

I was fortunate enough to be visiting exquisite Lakeland artist, molldoll, at the time I started the new blog and she graciously offered a trade of a scanned copy of a mixed media collage piece of hers to use in the header simply for posting a link to her Etsy site. Remember, she doesn't give the stuff away for free anymore

Alessandro, 9, In the Gonola With the Unconscious Trumpeter

“In less than a minute they left the envelope of cloud that covered the mountain and were in the free air. The stars were everywhere, even below, swaying in grand nausea.“

-Mark Helprin, A Soldier of the Great War

Feeling Luney?

Lunar eclipse this eve...will you be watching?

Helprin On Stars Again

"It seemed unbelievable that the sky, twisting and boiling like burning phosphorus, was silent, for its light and motion suggested thunder, explosions, and the sound of the sea. The stars were busy and intent, as if before the moon came up they had to unburden themselves of all they had seen during the daylight hours, when they could not speak. Now they ran riot, and their light made the snowfields breathlessly dim."

She had an unequaled gift...

of squeezing big mistakes into small opportunities.

Mark Helprin Often Refers to Stars

"He stepped outward into space and felt the lovely light caress him with affection. He hadn't known that anything as cold and clear as moonlight could be so full of promise, and as he fell it seemed to him that his hands clawed a trail of white sparks through the air, but these were the stars." -Mark Helprin in A Soldier of the Great War.