"24 Carat Characters" * ~

There is a good chance that while visiting The Neat Little Bookshop, folks will run into interesting people, "24 carat characters" ~ a phrase coined by a local author* who frequents the shop.

One of the interesting people with whom you may have already brushed shoulders is Shane Carmichael, owner of The Parrothead Cafe ~ the newly renovated restaurant on Lake Erie ~ Haldimand, Lakeshore and Kohler Roads. No, it is not open yet, to answer the most-asked question; however, Shane is winding down a job this week in Louisana, U.S.A., that has delayed the launching of his lakeside dream.

We look forward to seeing you at The Parrothead Cafe, Shane.

*Author, Lawrence Miller,The Avro Arrow A Picture History, Lorimer, 2011

Lascelles Abercrombie, British poet and critic, in response to a serious challenge to a duel by Ezra Pound, suggested to his opponent that they " bombard each other with unsold copies of our own books."
Pound, having far more "weapons" than his opponent, immediately withdrew the challenge.

~ The LITTLE, BROWN BOOK OF Anecdotes, Clifton Radiman, Little, Brown and Company, 1985
(Note: Choice of weapons in a duel lies with the party challenged.)

On the Subject of Whether An Author's Personal Life Should be a Factor When Critiquing a Book ~

"Even if there are no themes in the work that resonate with the life, great writers are not machines that produce, out of nothingness, a series of words that happen to be more perfect than other people's words; they are flawed mortals, often imprudent and uncivil, who are so large (that's what greatness is: size) that every part of them deserves to be understood."

Anne Radiman disagrees that when critiquing a book, to "slide into biographical details [is] to admit a lack of critical perception."

She suggests that "if you know that Melville was a terrible husband, you may be able to make more sense of the sealed-off, sea-bound world of Moby-Dick, where everybody was male, even the whale."

~ Anne Radiman, At Large and At Small, Confessions of a Literary Hedonist, Penguin Books, 2007

Fields of Freedom Kohler, Haldimand County

The Story of The Poem "In Flanders Fields" and the Red Poppies that We Wear.

Throughout History, the scarlet corn poppy has been a symbol of life. But after the publication of "In Flanders Fields" in 1915, it became a universal symbol of remembrance.

Linda Granfield's The Story of the Poem by John McCrae, illustrated by Janet Wilson, Lester Publishing, 1999.

Veteran Harold Schaus was sixteen years old when the war broke out. He had six weeks of basic training at Camp Borden, Ontario, and was eventually shipped across the Atlantic on the Queen Mary in December 1942, docking in Glasgow, Scotland. More training, more courses ~ the only good thing during this period was meeting the lady who would become his wife, Edna. She was seventeen. He was nineteen.

In July, 1944 Harold's advanced party in the Argylls landed in France approximately five weeks after D-Day. His description of front-line battles, charging up hills where the Germans were well dug in, German counterattacks and the inevitable human losses leave the reader solemnly grateful. "I had a friend who went there after the war and they toured the battlefield. He said he couldn't believe they would send us up that hill without softening it up for days. It was impossible to think we'd try it."

The Argylls' attack on Hill 195 where the German advance was stopped, was later "taught at the Royal Military College in Kingston, Ontario, as how to plan a night attack."
Schaus' detailed description of the realities of war and the hardships these soldiers endured are shocking and riveting. "Lest We Forget," wear a red poppy proudly, attend the Remembrance Day Service at the cenotaph tomorrow and remember to say "Thank you, Mr. Schaus for your service." Harold and Edna reside in Haldimand County.

~ Soldiers' Stories, Kirk Du Guid, First Choice Books, 2009

Veteran Lothar D. Lewis came into The Neat Little Bookshop the day we opened and expressed his love of reading. He offered to staff the store to keep it open an additional day of the week. "Lew" is gone now, died alone at his residence in Cayuga at the age of sixty-four in 2009. Lew, as everyone knew him, purchased many of only one type of book: Non-fiction ~ Vietnam war. No historical fiction for Lew.
Frankly, we did not know quite what to think about this immaculately dressed man -- walked poker-straight, smoked and drank too much, took a lot of pain-killers. It was not until Du Guid's book came out that everything fell into place. It all made sense.

Lew got to read his chapter in Soldiers' Stories before he died because author Kirk Du Guid provided each soldier with a copy of their story prior to publication.
Lew served in the U.S. Marine Corp in Vietnam. His story is told with humour, heart-breaking honesty and with lurid detail. Rest in peace, our friend Lothar D. Lewis. Thank you for your life -- your service -- and thank you Kirk for telling it.

Soldiers' Stories, Kirk Du Guid, 2009 First Choice Books. Available at The Neat Little Bookshop

A Poppy Is to Remember ~Heather Patterson & Ron Lightburn

North Winds Press, 2004, A Division of Scholastic Canada Ltd.