It beats me how people can keep secrets for years, in this case, over sixty years.  Although I realize that I have never suffered trauma, like Eva did in The Book of Lost Names by Hanna Harmel.

The setting is France in WWII.  Eva is Jewish.  When France was first invaded by Germany, there was a section of France that people felt safe, called the Free Zone.  Gradually, that was not so, but in the beginning of the story, we see Eva's father picked up by the Gestapo.  Eva and her mother run to the Free Zone.  Eva's mother proves to be a pain in the a$$.  

The mother wouldn't leave their Paris apartment: what if their father came home and couldn't find them, where are we going, we don't know anyone there, etc.  

Eva worked for the resistance by forging documents.  However, the work was inside a Catholic Church.  The leader was a Catholic priest.  Eva falls in love with a Catholic.

As you can imagine, the mother complained the entire time. Poor Eva was torn between saving Jews and her mother.  Fortunately, the mother lost and Eva continued her work. As the war progressed, their town and the Free Zone wasn't safe.  They had to escape to Switzerland.

The title of the book, The Book of Last Names, comes from Eva's code.  In an old Catholic book, Eva put the true names of the people, whose names she changed in a code.  The ending of book has Eva responding to advertisement, looking for the book's owner.  Eva responds and she is united with the book.

I learned about forging as resistance, in this story.  It saved many lives.

You Don't Understand the Incarnation

 When Jesus was conceived in Mary, He took on human flesh.  That includes all of humanity.  He acted human.  I can think of three times when He acted like something I would do.  One is in Luke 2: 41-52. The family left Jerusalem without Jesus.  He was old enough to hang out with His friends, or travel with His cousins, etc.  So, Mary and Joseph weren't initially aware that He stayed behind.

In thinking back, I can recall many times I didn't tell my parents where I was, when I should have been in another place.  Skipping school, or church, or hanging out with kids I knew my mother wouldn't approve.

Another time, Jesus must have been tired, worn out, and had little patience, and he snapped at a woman and called her a "dog."  Matt 15: 21-28 and Mark 7: 24-30.  Anyone who has hung around me, especially when I haven't had enough sleep, knows that I have little patience.  To this day, I recall snapping at a student that had a little crush on me.  I pray for her.  She even came to my wedding and sat in the back.  I still feel remorse.

Lastly, Jesus cries out, in the Garden of Gethsemane, "Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me." Haven't you found yourself in a situation where you prayed to get out of it?  Why did I ever volunteer to Lector, fund raise, chaperone, etc.  Right now, at age 80, I pray to die before my children and husband.  But like Jesus, I add, "Not my will but Yours, Lord."

Jesus had two natures and His human nature was like ours.  If you don't think so, then you don't understand the Incarnation.

Of and/or From

 It drives me crazy that many think that the First Amendment says "Freedom from religion."  No it's "Freedom of religion."

Think about it.

Why would our Founding Fathers say "Freedom from religion", when the reason they came to America in the first place was to be free to practice their religion?  The Amendment says the government will protect you so you can practice your religion, not keep religion away from you.  

                                  Religion in the Colonies Map Worksheet by Ace Up Your Sleeve | TPT

A Politician's Dream

Tea Party in 1773 may happen again, but instead of tea, it might be coffee.  Well, no.  We love our Dunkin Donuts Coffee too much to just toss it into Boston Harbor.  I think we might just throw Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., in Boston Harbor, or at least hang an effigy of him from the Liberty Tree.

Our Health Secretary has declared war on Dunkin Donuts for containing too much sugar.  Our governor, Maura Healey says, "Come take it from me!"  

People in New England love Dunkin' Donuts.  It seems like there's a "Dunk" on every street corner in Boston.  We love it so much.

You may think it's a silly thing to make a big deal over, but think about it.  It's exactly what a politician would latch onto, to publish herself.  It's not THAT important but will keep your picture in the newspapers for a bit.

The Samaritan Woman

 John 4: 5-52 is about the Samaritan Woman.  This is a long passage and accordingly has a lot of meat in it.  So, what surprised me in thinking about it, is that I realized at least two new facts that I never realized before.  The first is the fact that Jesus doesn't ask the Samaritan to convert to Judaism.  Come to think of it, He doesn't ask the Romans to convert, either.  Perhaps just belief in Jesus is what counts.  Think of Dismas on the cross.  He doesn't say he is sorry.  He just expresses belief.  

Doesn't this dismiss any divisions in religion, we may have?      

To change the thread: it is said that the Samaritan woman had five husbands.  Think of the times.  Women had no power--no say in marriage or divorce.  Therefore, five men rejected her.  She had no authority to reject them!  The poor woman!  Five times she was thrown out!  I am glad she found Jesus.

Question

 How does the foreman on a jury get picked?  Do certain people have an aura of leadership?  Is it intelligence?  Alertness?  Poker face?

Just wondering. 

Whenever I am in a role where I am placed in the front of an audience, I look over the crowd of faces. I see some that look very attentive. Are they more intelligent than the others?  When the speaker tells a joke, they laugh out loud. Others don’t. Why?  Didn’t they get the joke—weren’t they listening—are they thinking about it—just naturally poker-faced?

What do you think?  

Culture is Important

 This is another Book Club recommendation, A Calamity of Souls by David Baldacci.  The calamity is the mix of morality between races.  This is set in the American South of the 1960's.  Segregation had just ended and is grudging, not accepted, but rather enforced by law.  People still automatically kept the same roles as before segregation ended.  Blacks automatically sat in the back of the bus, went into back doors, and didn't mix.

The story begins with a black man, Jerome, being arrested for the murder of his two white employers.  Immediately, the reader sees the language and treatment, the accused endures.  Jerome's mother-in-law asks Jack Lee to be his attorney.  They know each other and live in the same town, albeit different segregated neighborhoods.  

Jack knows he doesn't have the skill nor experience to win the case, but he was willing to give it his best.  In walks Desiree DuBose, a hot shot civil rights lawyer from Chicago.  Plus, she's black. Together they try to defend Jerome.

This book should be recommended reading for high school history/literature classes.  I was alive then and had forgotten how bad it really was.  It was bad, really bad.  Desiree stood up to all the vile harassment and hateful vitriol.  Besides the evil vibes, Jack's sister was killed, Jerome's wife was arrested, also, and all the families involved were traumatized.

The reader of course knows Jerome is being railroaded, but the story includes how the witnesses play out on the witness stand.  It seemed Jerome had no chance.  Reading their testimonies and Jack and Desiree's rebuttals sound convincing, but the jury is all white and not Jerome's peers.  

The ending is satisfactory