k1ypp

Just a quick note to inform readers that my book, THREE HUNDRED ZEROES: Lessons of the Heart on the Appalachian Trail is now available on bookshare.org. Bookshare.org is a website that makes books available for people that are sightless, blind or suffer visual impairments. 

http://www.bookshare.org/browse/book/425070

It has been over a year since I've submitted the book and it has taken that long since they have limited staff and a fair number of books to deal with. In any case, if you know someone that qualifies, do let them know. Authors receive no compensation for books posted there, it is merely a service to bring books to those that can use the help.

Dennis "K1" Blanchard

As I've noted before in this journal, I really get irritated with all the lies that circulate around the Internet. I'm no historian, and I may not have all of my facts correctly, but I have to point out errors in the following email that I received about immigrants. I've seen the text go by a few times, but this version had photos included:

Here is the email in italics, and my comments:

Subject: Fw: Good photos - Excellent points!!!





"Maybe we should turn to our history books and point out to people like Mr. Lujan why today's American is not willing to accept this new kind of immigrant any longer. Back in 1900 when there was a rush from all areas of Europe to come to the United States , people had to get off a ship and stand in a long line in New York and be documented." 

Sadly, whomever wrote this has very little knowledge of the plight of immigrants of that time. They were hated by a good portion of the population of those days. There were protests and all sorts of hate campaigns against them. Recall the Sacco and Vanzetti trials? Lynchings of Italians were commonplace.

"Some would even get down on their hands and knees and kiss the ground. They made a pledge to uphold the laws and support their new country in good and bad times. They made learning English a primary rule in their new American households and some even changed their names to blend in with their new home."

Most of those immigrants never did learn English, that is a total myth: When do immigrants learn English? They were making a pledge in a language they didn't even speak in many cases. Their kids learned it, and in many cases that didn't happen until the grandchildren come along. Most of the name changing happened because the people working with the immigrants didn't speak the same language. It wasn't necessarily government officials, often the ship companies and employers ended up changing the names. Certainly many immigrants did change their names, but it wasn't as simple as the above would have us believe.


"They had waved goodbye to their birth place to give their children a new life and did everything in their power to help their children assimilate into one culture. Nothing was handed to them. No free lunches, no welfare, no labor laws to protect them. All they had were the skills and craftsmanship they had brought with them to trade for a future of prosperity."

Most of them were being worked to death and had little time to help their children “assimilate.” The public school system was primarily responsible for that. Between 1880 and 1920 over 24 million immigrants arrived on these shores, huge numbers compared to what we're seeing these days. It is especially significant when you realize the country's population was around 76 million in 1900. The public school system saved us, not the non-English speaking parents.

"When we liberated France , no one in those villages were looking for the French American, the German American or the Irish American. The people of France saw only AMERICANS. And we carried one flag that represented one country. Not one of those immigrant sons would have thought about picking up another country's flag and waving it to represent who they were. It would have been a disgrace to their parents who had sacrificed so much to be here. These immigrants truly knew what it meant to be an American. They stirred the melting pot into one red, white and blue bowl."

When “we” liberated France we did have a little help from the Brits, Poles, French troops and others. Yeah, we were the primary players, but we didn't do it alone. I do agree with the writer though, I'm sure those “kids” in the invading force only served one flag...ours.


"And here we are with a new kind of immigrant who wants the same rights and privileges. Only they want to achieve it by playing with a different set of rules, one that includes the entitlement card and a guarantee of being faithful to their mother country. I'm sorry, that's not what being an American is all about. I believe that the immigrants who landed on Ellis Island in the early 1900s deserve better than that for all the toil, hard work and sacrifice in raising future generations to create a land that has become a beacon for those legally searching for a better life. I think they would be appalled that they are being used as an example by those waving foreign country flags."

This is also hogwash. Yeah, there are a few abusers, but most come here just like the immigrants before them, looking for a job and a new life and a safe place to raise their kids. There are millions of immigrants in this country that are working hard, giving their all, doing the jobs that would kill most average Americans (we refuse to do those jobs, like the Immokalee tomato pickers, try that for a few hours) and making this country a better place. I laugh when I see the “entitlement card” statement. What entitlement card? You'd think there was some Gold Card that one can get issued that opens doors and gives one the life of luxury.

Yes, there are a few bad eggs in the immigrants. The photo of the ones waving the Mexican flag were a small number and don't represent the immigrants in general. If they did, there would have been many hundreds of thousands of them out there waving that flag, not the few that showed up out in front of a high school in Los Angeles (they didn't even attend the school).


"And for that suggestion about taking down the Statue of Liberty, it happens to mean a lot to the citizens who are voting on the immigration bill. I wouldn't start talking about dismantling the United States just yet."

I don't know the context of the above, but I don't think anyone is seriously proposing the taking down of the Statue of Liberty. As for dismantling the United States, I think Congress is doing a reasonably good job of that these days without any immigrant assistance.


"KEEP THIS LETTER MOVING. FOR THE WRONG THINGS TO PREVAIL, THE RIGHTFUL MAJORITY NEEDS TO REMAIN COMPLACENT AND QUIET.
LET THIS NEVER HAPPEN!"

I sincerely hope this letter gets read by millions of people all across our great nation. God Bless America !!

Like so much of this Internet propaganda, it usually ends like this: take the lies, myths and misinformation and keep it circulating. Of course it always has to have the “God Bless America,” as if God would condone flushing immigrants down the toilet. Using God to hate people is such a wonderful ploy.

Sorry, but things like this just get my blood pressure up. My mother was an immigrant and the proudest American I have ever known. My father was in that D-Day invasion mentioned earlier. My brother was buried with a casket covered in that flag and I have all the respect in the world for my country, but I hate to see the red-white and blue being used as a tool to promote hatred. I really feel that was the entire purpose of this document – an anti-immigrant screed.

 Okay, I was wrong, I'll admit it. Back on 24 November, 2008 I predicted that unemployment would hit around 25%. It was the end of the Bush administration and things were dire. Actual unemployment, not the phony numbers that get released each month, was around 37%. When I wrote in Livejournal I didn't have those numbers so I figured, "How outrageous can it get":

...the economy is going to get much, much worse. How much worse? I think actual unemployment will hit perhaps 25% or more. Remember, the current numbers don’t even show those that lost their jobs and had their unemployment run out (I speak from personal experience there, when mine ran out, I was no longer “unemployed”). I don’t trust the numbers!

Little did I know how much in error I was. Here I thought it was maybe 15-18%, it was 37%! On 9 June, 2009 I wrote a follow-up to the comments above:

At the time we were facing an economic collapse of unparalleled proportions. The Bush Administration executed the TARP financial rescue for the banks (of course nobody was making any effort to rescue us) and there was lots of heat about that at the time. So far, it does look like it was the right thing to do. Had the banking system totally failed, I think we'd all be in much more dire straits than we are at present, not that things are all that hunky-dory for anyone, other than the extremely wealthy.

At that time the actual numbers were around 40% unemployed. I didn't know, honest! That was after a year of the Obama administration. To the administrations credit, it was a monumental task to merely slow things down, fixing a disaster like that doesn't happen overnight. 

Today a new report that actually tracks the true numbers, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, shows that we're now at 58.1% of the population employed, or 41.9% unemployed. See, I really was wrong, I figured by now we'd be at 25% unemployed. The good news is, it looks like it has been holding close to that number for about a year, the bad news is, it looks like it has been holding close to that number for about a year.

What we really should worry about now is the ripple-effects of this crazy, contrived, Budget Ceiling fiasco we just experienced. A bunch of lunatics that managed to get elected to Congress thought they had an edict from Planet Zork to hold the country hostage while they argued over how many angels could fit in the eye of a needle. They certainly were not looking for ways to exit their manufactured crisis, one that had no connection with reality. Why? Simple: Every previous President (Reagan 18 times, G. W. Bush, 7 times, etc.) have raised the limit to keep the country functioning. President G. W. Bush even threw in $4 Trillion in unfunded war bills, just to liven things up a bit. Now, all of a sudden, out of nowhere, the conservatives have found religion and want to exorcise this demon called the Debt Ceiling.

I'm all for reducing the national debt, I've argued in favor of that for years (The only Administration that actually did was Clinton-Gore). However, this contrived emergency was just totally politically driven and is a sham. We the taxpayers are going to be stuck with the bill, and I'm not talking about the rich tax payers, they're not even involved in this debate. It is the 58% of the population that is being called upon to sacrifice, not the people holding the money bags. 

A few days ago I had a letter-to-the-editor published in our local paper, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. It was regarding headlines on the previous days paper about the rich spending money on their expensive toys and the unemployment numbers:

Rich and rescue-ready?

I found the front-page headline on Thursday's paper fascinating: "THE RICH GET BACK TO BUYING."
How comforting to know that they're stimulating the economy. For 30 years, conservatives have been telling us that, if we just reduce the taxes on the rich, they will magically rescue the economy.

Sadly, as the article points out, almost everything they're buying is expensive and foreign — Mercedes, Prada, Gucci, not exactly "red, white and blue" companies.
The same issue's Business section front also had a headline: "JOBLESS RATE RISES ALL OVER." Maybe the rich and the Bush tax cuts are not rescuing us?

Folks, I don't know if you realize it or not, but we've been cutting government for 30 years. We've been cutting the taxes on the rich for about as long. To paraphrase President Ronald Reagan, "Are you better off now than you were 30 years ago?" I think not. 

All of the attention was on New Hampshire recently because of the GOP political debate. Much was made of the candidates doing a televised debate to score points with the party faithful. I have some advice for them, and the Democrats as well when their time comes: spare me.

If politicians really want to score points, here is a way they could do it. Hike the Appalachian Trail (AT). I mean it. There would have to be a few rules so it doesn't turn into a media circus. They'd only be allowed maybe five “zero days” where they'd be allowed to stage media events, interviews and the like. They would only be allowed a limited budget for gear, food, hostels and the like. Maybe they should fore-go their health care plan for the duration, like so many hikers that have no health care.

They could hike together if they wish, but I think they would find, like most thru-hikers do, that they have different paces and interests and before long would find themselves hiking with strangers that are more in sync with them. Those strangers may, or may not, be politically in sync with them, but they quickly learn that is not important on the trail, finding the next meal and place to bed down is more important.

As I hiked the AT I was convinced that every candidate for President, the Senate and the House should be required to do a thru-hike. It connects one with reality and brings one back to the basics. Day in and day out an individual has to carry all of their worldly needs on their back. They have to plan a budget, keep to a schedule, find shelter and meet their own needs. More often than not, they end up having to depend on others. How many of the people that run for high offices in this country have actually ever done that?

To my knowledge, not very many people of elevated political status in this country, have ever hiked the AT. I could be wrong of course. William O. Douglas, a former Supreme Court Justice does have a shelter named after him in Vermont, he did hike it.

The beauty of the hike is not the physical challenge, it is the mental challenge. Suddenly one is thrust into an environment where everyone is equal and everyone is at the mercy of the elements. The real beauty however, is the generosity of others; the other hikers, trail angels and people met along the way. Meeting people in small towns and boroughs that have lost their jobs and health care and they still offer a hand to you can be a very sobering experience. People that have lost their homes due to the financial meltdown that help you find a place to stay can be an eye opener. I don't say this lightly, I've met those people.

Debates in nice sanitary environments, with carefully guarded questions and bright lights tell us nothing about the candidates. A cold, dark shelter, surviving days on end of extreme rain and dealing with incessant insects, random snakes and bears could perhaps tell us far more about the candidates than any debate ever will. That would be a very bright light to shine on these individuals.

 Isn't it interesting how modern technology has changed things? When I was a youngster the advent of television was, well, WOW! Moving pictures, and not only were they moving, they were coming at us from all over the world, many cases in real time.

I recall on 24 November 1963 being glued to the TV, watching as they were bringing Lee Harvey Oswald out of the Dallas Police Station. If I recall he was being transferred to the Feds. As I sat, along with most of the rest of the nation, Jack Ruby, a local nightclub owner of some ill repute, walked up and shot Oswald, right there in front of our eyes, live. Think about that. Many more killings and murders were to follow "live," but I suspect that may have been the first one. (Something to check on a search tool?)

The President was dead, the assassin was dead and we were witnesses with a front row seat…the world would never be the same.

Tonight I looked at a YouTube film that I did a few months ago. It is a short piece about how to build a fire by rubbing sticks. What is amazing about the YouTube experience is that not only can the audience watch the video, perhaps not live, but certainly within minutes of filming, but the audience can immediately participate in the discussion. In the old days, all we could do was yell at the television and if really excited, write a letter.

In the case of my video, it has now had 5,231 views as of this writing. Think about that. An audience of 5,000+ viewers at a movie theater in 1932 would have been a hit movie. Here, I scripted, filmed, produced and released the final video in minutes and, hopefully, a bunch of viewers have enjoyed the show. It is very serious, interspersed with moments of humor. If you do watch it, I'll warn you, at one point the audio gets very loud. When editing it I contemplated turning the noise down, but realized that it added to the affect. Let me know what you think.

Dennis "K1" Blanchard

As much as I have ranted about this stuff over the years, I feel like the nutcase out in the town square yelling about the end of the world. Passersby merely glance at me and walk on, "Oh, that poor man," they must think. While we worry about gay marriage, flag burning, abortion, who's having an affair, Dancing With The Stars, American Idol (should be Idle), the Super Bowl and so on, the rest of the world is passing us by. China is not a military threat to us yet, BUT, the long range plan assures they will be (if they don't internally implode first).

We rush into Wal-Mart like crack pots, knocking each other down to buy cheap Chinese plastic junk. Don't believe me, just Youtube.com "2010 black friday," it's all there. We vote one party in for two years, and then vote them out and bring in the same bums we had two years ago! Then the ones in power think they have a mandate from the people (winning by 51% is not a mandate) and they swing everything in the other direction for two years. Gone are the days of negotiation and compromise. Its the
Red Team or the Blue Team! At least most sports leagues have more than two choices.

Anyway, this article from the Wall Street Journal set me off because there is a clear message there and I don't think anybody in this country has the long-range foresight or gumption to even rationalize what is happening.

China Clones It's Military Might

Granted, the Russian weapons systems are actually pathetic and not very effective against the stuff we've come up with. BUT, given time, the Chinese will perfect them. Remember the SAM's in North Vietnam? However, the Achilles Heal in all of our stuff is glaringly obvious and there was no mention of it in the article: Our weapons systems are now dependent on the Chinese to function. Flat screen panels, laptops, communications chips and so on are not made here any longer. We no longer make many of the electronic parts that are used in these systems and purchase them from off-shore suppliers, and have for some time. Even many of the raw materials are being cornered by China so they have control of the sources. We had better wake up soon, or one day, we may not wake up.

Guess I'd better go take my blood pressure medicine, which I suspect was made in India.

Dennis

This is just a quick note to bring things up to date. I’ve been off to some wonderful events and experiences these last few months and have been negligent when it comes to posting things here. Life has a habit of getting in the way and before you know it, months have passed.

First, here is a quick summary. I had the good fortune of heading off to my daughter, Áine’s wedding in New Hampshire. She and Matt make a fine couple. The wedding was wonderful and it was fabulous to be a part of it.

I then managed to have a number of events that allowed me a chance to present my Appalachian Trail photo show and incorporate a book signing following that. I had events in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Georgia. There may have been others, it is all a blur, if I have forgotten any other states, forgive me.

I never dreamed writing a book could so consume one. It has become a 24/7 involvement, one that I have not yet tired of. I’m meeting so many interesting people and continuing my hike through those encounters.

The weather here in Sarasota, Florida is getting really nice. I enjoy this time of year, it is cooler, the sun is less intense and the bike riding is outstanding. The dark side of that is that Florida has the highest bicycle fatality rate in the country, so it pays to ride cautiously here.

 

I’ve been very busy working outdoors. Owning a home means maintenance and traveling around the country means the list of things that need repair grew while I was gone. Hopefully in another month or so I will start to catch up.

Simultaneously, I’ve been working down through my email backlog. I still have about 250 to go and with nearly 100 a day that come in, that takes time, but I’m getting there.

That is my life in a nutshell, hopefully I can get back to posting more interesting things soon.

 

I posted the following on a writers forum where I'm publishing my book. All of my author friends tell me that I MUST Tweet. I thought you might find it both interesting and informative. If I'm really lucky, you might even be able to answer some of my questions. Just click the comments section following this:

Feel free to follow me on Twitter if you wish. I'll follow you, if I can figure it out. I think my address (is that what they call it) is @k1ypp . I said "think" because I'm not sure of anything at this point. I'm certain if you're a Tweeter, Twitterer, Chirper etc., you'll find me. I can't understand why anyone would want to follow me when I don't even know where I'm going.

Back on 24 November, 2008 I wrote a rant on "Trust."

I thought it would be interesting to go back and look at some of the things that were addressed in that journal entry:

•   The Economy

At the time we were facing an economic collapse of unparalleled proportions. The Bush Administration executed the TARP financial rescue for the banks (of course nobody was making any effort to rescue us) and there was lots of heat about that at the time. So far, it does look like it was the right thing to do. Had the banking system totally failed, I think we'd all be in much more dire straits than we are at present, not that things are all that hunky-dory for anyone, other than the extremely wealthy.

• CEO's

I wrote back then: "The public no longer trusts the CEO’s...we don't trust them." I think the current events of the Deepwater Horizon well blowing up in the Gulf of Mexico have just reinforced that thinking. That incident, the leadership at Toyota, and the other auto giants and the corporate influence in the Health Care Legislation has only confirmed how the CEO’s of the world have control of our lives.

• Politics

It’s getting difficult to keep track of all the scandals, divorces, rip-offs, graft and corruption in the political/corporate world. I say political/corporate because the two have almost become inseparable. The only time it seems anyone else is able to get a word in edgewise is when one of the Mega-churches has something to say. I see them as corporations that don’t pay taxes.

• The Military

I have to admit the military seems to be behaving itself a little bit better these days, but time will tell. Of course we’re still spending far more than we should be on all those neat military tools. I get emails from friends every so often extolling the virtues of some new military toy that they believe is a must have aircraft or weapons system that costs millions, or billions, and then the next email will complain about government spending and their taxes—they absolutely fail to make the connection and then go off and yell about the current administrations spending polices. I don’t get it.

• Leadership

In the original posting, I said, “Leadership is in a nosedive.” I don’t believe there has been any change there. Political leadership is too buried under the corporate thumb and corporate leadership is too beholding to the price of their stock. We may never get out of this dilemma.  

Predictions

In the original posting I then made a series of predictions. Lets see how things are going.

ECONOMY

Originally I had predicted things would get much worse. However, the Obama Administration made some rather risky and important decisions, and it appears that those measures did at least stabilize things. I think if they had not, things would have been much worse. It’s no bed of roses yet, but at least there does seem to be some stability. If those measures had not been taken, there is a very good chance that the freefall would have continued and we would be looking at the 25% or worse unemployment in my prediction, and by that I mean the official numbers.

COLLEGE LOANS

I’ve been seeing more and more about this in the news lately. I think this is finally surfacing and if it were not for the petroleum event in the Gulf of Mexico I think this would be getting lots more attention. I’m seeing videos on YouTube and CNN almost daily now showing graduates that cannot pay their loans and graduating high school students that are setting out for college and finding they cannot get loans, or the loans they are getting will not cover the tuition. We will be hearing much more about this topic.

GOVERNMENT BANKRUPTCY

For the same reason the economy stabilized (see above) the government financial situation had some life breathed into it. However, things are just in a holding pattern. The downturn in the mortgage world since I wrote the predictions has even been worse than I imagined and all of those foreclosed properties are failing to pay taxes and local and state governments depend on those taxes to function. This situation bears watching too, I don’t think we’re out of the woods yet. Several states are way in debt and there doesn’t seem to be much hope they will climb out soon without either raising taxes or a visit from the tooth fairy.

SOCIAL SECURITY

This situation hasn’t changed much, but it will, just hang on.

TAXES

As mentioned above, the taxes are coming. They’ve actually gone down some for many, but that is like the ocean disappearing beyond the horizon in a tsunami, it will be back and when it comes roaring in, brace yourself.

So, in all, not much has changed since the original journal entry. The good news is things are more stable. Instability in a country is never a good thing. My warning would be that while things are stable lets do some long range planning and assess just how we’re going to solve some of the greatest problems in this countries history. Add to that the matter of what may be the worst environmental disaster in our history and the future could prove to be very interesting.

 

A few days ago I received an email. The subject said: “Fw: Important.”

Okay, I’m game, so I look at it. Here is what it said:Too obvious what his agenda is.
 
More info on a prominent anti-American.....................not prominent in my eyes....


Seems the majority of the press are worshiping at his feet. If each person sends this to a minimum of twenty people on their address list, in three days, all people in The United States of America  would have the message. I believe this is one proposal that really should be passed around.

THIS WILL CURDLE YOUR BLOOD AND CURL YOUR HAIR

The name of the book Obama is reading is called:
The Post-American World,  and it was written by a fellow Muslim. 
 "Post"  America means the world After  America ! Please forward this picture to everyone you know, conservative or liberal. We must expose Obama's radical ideas and his intent to bring down our beloved America !
My response to this was: And this is "Important" how?

I'm certainly glad the writers of the comments took the time to explain to me what the photograph was about. For a moment there I thought the President was caught at a speed trap or something.

I read everything I can get my hands on. Ann Coulter, Rush Limbaugh, Al Franken, Bill Maher, Alan Greenspan, Hillary Clinton, Jim Wallis, James Moore and Wayne Slater, Jon Stewart, Barak Obama, William F. Buckley, Karl Marx, Che Guevara, Harry S. Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, etc., etc, etc. So, does this make me a Communist, Socialist, Conservative, Liberal, Radical Right/Left nutcase? Of course not. I would, however, consider myself well informed. I read everything and then make decisions and judgments based on what I learn. I just finished reading "The Agenda 21 Conspiracy," by N. L. Williams, an anti-UN conspiracy theory novel and am currently reading "Three Cups of Tea," by Greg Mortensen, about building schools for girls in Pakistan. Mr. Obama's reading list is at the bottom of this piece, not exactly literature from radical socialists.

The comments above are totally detached ramblings, and based on countless rumors, lies and misconceptions that have no basis in reality. However, they make great fodder for firing up radicals and racists.

Lately the Internet has turned into a "propaganda mill." Years ago newspapers were the main source of information. They may have had a left or right lean, but the best of the best did try to stay balanced and regardless, they all had editors that at least checked things for accuracy and correctness. Now the Internet comes along and stuff like this propaganda program, runs rampant.  The goal is to somehow prove that the current President is some Muslim whack job that has "taken over" the country and it just sickens me. He didn't "take over the country," they forget that he was elected. It was just as bad when the previous president had the other crowd pissed off; they had him depicted as Hitler, and worse, too.

99.9% of this stuff that circulates (and I say circulates, because I've seen this same one go by at least 10 times over the last year) circulates because someone WANTS to believe it, not because it is the truth. Every time it circulates it gets more lies added to it and grows even more out of proportion. At least the Nazi's and the Soviets were really good at propaganda (as were the WW II British), but the clowns generating this stuff don't even appear to have high school educations. The Internet is loaded with sites screaming about this stuff with NO research whatsoever. I often wonder if the authors of this garbage have read any decent books lately, or if they’re even capable of that? I find it appalling that educated, otherwise reasonable people even bother to forward this stuff. What is the agenda; do they really believe it? If so, what else do they believe and how on earth did they come to that conclusion?

Anyway, after that rather lengthy preamble, I did a quick check of several fact-finding sites and they all agree this is more garbage. Go to Snopes.com or Factcheck.org, or any credible news source and check and the real story is there.

My fear is, that nobody really wants the true story, and if so, I really fear for the democracy that I live in; Benjamin Franklin might have had it right. When asked, as he left Independence Hall on the final day of deliberation at the close of the Constitutional Convention of 1787,   “Well, Doctor, what have we got—a Republic or a Monarchy?” he replied: “A Republic, if you can keep it.”

The following is quoted from Snopes.com:

"The above-displayed photographs of Barack Obama carrying (and presumably reading) the best-selling book, The Post-American World, is a real one, snapped by Doug Mills of the New York Times in Bozeman, Montana, in May 2008. However, the  characterization of the pictured book as "a Muslim's view of a defeated America"  is erroneous: The book does not posit a "defeated America," nor does it express  a Muslim point of view."

("erroneous," they're being nice)
 

As for what the president has been reading lately, according to deputy press secretary Bill Burton, President Obama brought the following books with him to his August 2009 vacation at Martha's Vineyard:

* The Way Home by George Pelecanos, a crime thriller based in Washington, D.C.

* Lush Life by Richard Price, a story of race and class set in New York's Lower East Side.

* Hot, Flat, and Crowded by Tom Friedman, on the benefits to America of an environmental revolution.

* John Adams by David McCullough, a biography of the Founding Father and 2nd U.S. President.

* Plainsong by Kent Haruf, a drama about the life of eight different characters living in a Colorado prairie        community.