Yes, deceased Pearl S Buck has a new book

Fortunately for us, a complete manuscript was recently found in a locker slated for auction here in Texas. It is her last known work and would have been written during the time that she knew she was dying and was also living in Vermont. The name of it is "The Eternal Wonder" which chronicles the life of a young man (genius) from adolescence, his education, and romance with a beautiful Chinese girl in Paris and New York. It is scheduled for release in October in both hardcopy and digital.

 I read "The Good Earth" in my BPW book group many years ago and it was wonderful. If you have not read it, I highly recommend it. I enjoyed her writing style.  Her understanding  about the human spirit, endurance, traditions, loyalty and children rings true and reigns throughout this book. To say that I learned much about Chinese traditions and China during a particularly difficult part in their history is an understatement.  I was deeply saddened by their “trials” of the family in this book and was also reminded of how petty some are who have much (here and abroad).

Pearl S. Buck was a great author who died of cancer in March 1973. She was a Pulitzer and Noble prize winner, both well deserved.  She was a child born to missionaries, lived many years in China which certainly explains her connection and understanding of the Chinese people along with hardships, loyalty (however misplaced) plus preserving traditions which included cultural beliefs.  Her capacity for loving included children in particular.  She and her husband adopted six children and she started the Pearl S, Buck Foundation to afford opportunities for children in need. 

 You can rest assured that I will be making the purchase of her last literary work "The Eternal Wonder", and hoping that the pre-order option is made available. 

Lisa See and Amy Tan have been providing with me with satisfactory reading options who I feel are in the same caliber as Pearl S. Buck.  Just sayin....

July holds more than fireworks

It is incredible to note so many dates, milestones and occurrences that have shaped us as Americans and women in the month of July.  From fireworks in celebration of our July 4^th Declaration of Independence to including such notables as the women’s rights convention in 1848, the first “physical” step on the moon in 1969 tied to the inadvertent missing “a” which literally affects the meaning of that most memorable sentence made by Astronaut Neil Armstrong on that momentous date, the inauguration of the five-digit zip code, birth date of promoter and showman P. T. Barnum who opened “The Greatest Show on Earth”, birth date of automotive pioneer Henry Ford and probably THE most notable, at times most financially uncomfortable, the creation of the income tax withholding in the US.

On a fun note, I absolutely love to go to the circus, which for Houston, TX, is usually each July. However, I have attended one in the last nine years since I would prefer not to go alone and my nieces and nephews feel that they have somewhat outgrown it since it is may considered juvenile by their peers and I have no grandchildren to parade about. Well … !!!

What is juvenile about stepping out of the many professional demands in our life for no other reason than to become one with the joy, happiness and awe of the visual for what really is for me one of “ The Greatest Shows on Earth”. What is juvenile about the demanding training schedules, strenuous exercise, skills, requisite disciplines and their driven commitment to excellence by each circus performer and acknowledging each through our attendance? What is juvenile about the skill of designing and creating the costumes that dazzle and adorn the performers, EVEN THE CLOWNS? What is juvenile about seeing on the face of a child their fascination and absorption of  the  seamless, graceful, perfectly timed performances of the acrobats, lion tamer, elephants parading, horses prancing about with their acrobatic riders, and etc. that still mesmerize me as I devour a pretzel adorned with mustard, root beer and my “once a year” hot dog.

Yes, I have an absolute appreciation for the circus, whether in the ring or behind the scenes. Now you know that for me the month of July is complete when it includes attending a circus which in Houston, Texas, shortly follows the fireworks and the many magnificent firework displays that celebrate our independence formalized on paper in our Declaration of Independence signed and witnessed on July 4, 1776.