Let's see if this different layout works. I did not want to go back to my dots, so this seems different and yet fitting.
Last night I finished reading "Barbara Bush, A Memoir" published in 1994. I picked it up on one of our travels where we stop at libraries and there it was hardback on sale. This book is a biggee, heavy, 532 pages, 4 appendices, lots of index pages and all around not something to take along in a purse. That is why it has taken me so long to get through as it was confined to the bedroom. This was a very nice book, surely resembling Barbara Bush who is quite comfortable in her own skin.
She is someone I would like to know, to sit with, to visit. Until the last when George lost the election the entire book was upbeat and even then she writes nothing negative, nothing critical just honestly writes it is a hard chapter to write. She almost wears out the word, "wonderful" or the phrases "we enjoyed" or "we like him/her/it/they very much."
Barbara Bush just is one nice fine lady and the Memoir reflects that. Absolute honesty with many excerpts from the diaries she kept religiously make it worth reading. On Pg. 30 about investing and "realism overcame idealism" is a great phrase. This covers her life and the life with George . The chapter on the time they spent in China is a great bit of history when compared to china today. Her revelation about her bout with depression is a reminder that she is only too human. The photos are nice reminders of the history they lived. The book closes with a letter she wrote to her children but never sent. Great wisdom there for anyone, including, page 523, "Try and oh boy, how hard it is, to find the good in people and not the bad. I remember many years ago that I wasted so much time worrying about my mother. I suffered so because she and I had a chemical thing......Expect nobody to be perfect. Look for the good in others. forget the other." Barbara absolutely followed that advice in this book. Pleasant reading, history and personal anecdotes.
Don't expect any stunning revelations, nothing bizarre, just good life lived to the best of her ability. Page 524, "Do not buy something that you cannot afford, you do not need it!" Remember this was advice to her children, but she continues, "If you really need something and can't afford it...for heaven's sake call home. That's what family are all about. Do not try to live up to your neighbors. they won't look down on you if you don't have two television sets. ...They're only interested in their possessions not yours." Too bad more in this country did not take her advice and live within their means. Things might not be so upside down today. I especially enjoyed descriptions of the Bush's relationship with the Gorbachevs. Through the insight she shares, it revealed to me that Mikhail and his wife Rasia must have been capitalists at heart. so if you want a long book with nice words about everyone, read this. I'll not keep it, however. It goes to the Library Sale. But a book worth reading.
