CHILDREN OF OTHER LANDS

I'm packing up my books in preparation for a move and to make the load lighter I have to sell books that have been on my shelf for decades. Geez, it's hard. It's like getting rid of old friends. These are books that have guided my thinking for decades and determined the course of my life. Yikes!

A typical book in the "sell" pile is this old-fashioned one (above and below): "Children of Other Lands" by Piper and Holling. I can't justify keeping it because it has no immediate utility but I've frequently thumbed through it over the years and have been seduced by its charm every time. I'll miss it when it leaves the house.

By way of an example of Hollings' work, here's a black and white picture that always reminds me how important culture is to a family. This modest room with it's dutch door and plates arrayed on a ledge, and the beautiful costumes worn daily by the women, reminded me how people who are steeped in culture have an easier time in life than the rest of us. They know where they fit in and what's expected of them, and that frees them to think about other things. Well...that's my admittedly romantic take on it, anyway.

   

It must be nice to live in a part of the world (above) where architectural styles are somewhat set and homes are expected to reinforce the culture of the whole community.

Of course I live in modern America and part of my culture is to change styles constantly. Here's (above) a beautiful picture (above) of a cluster of pueblo buildings nestled in a pocket of towering hills. If such a landscape actually exists I wouldn't change a single stone, but the picture compels me to imagine what would happen if the mountains were skyscrapers and the river a highway.

In my minds eye I see a modern city where clusters of tall, modern buildings are punctuated by rolling hills capped with Montemare-type bohemian villages.

But....the book has to go. You have to be ruthless when you're undertaking a long move.