Reading and Writhing

    YeGads, I'm reading a book, am almost halfway through. Of the autobiographical genre, I would have called it, but the writer calls it a memoir. I guess that makes a difference, in regard to lawsuits and such. Two observations  I've made:   I'm viewing the author from a different perspective than before I started reading the book, and I realize I could never write this type of book about myself.
    The writer takes an in-depth analytical approach to life in general and human behavior in particular. His efforts to be rational and reasonable and to treat everyone equally in the name of justice translates to his viewing himself in the same light. What he perceives as flaws in his character and mistakes he has made are examined and described with a scrutiny that presents him as less than admirable, and he acknowledges that.  I suppose that can be perceived as a manifestation of superiority by some critics:   "Here I am, with all my shortcomings laid right out before you, so I deserve to be respected, if not admired, for that."  His mantra is the truth must be told, in the name of justice and democracy, and it was his responsibility to uphold what is the basis for our country.
   He does not seem to refrain from detailing accounts of his less than admirable behavior, even when no one but himself could have been aware  of how he acted, or even thought. He recounts how when he was a youngster, a robber broke into his home where he was alone with his brother. The robber held a gun to his head, and threatened him and he was sure he was going to be killed. In the depths of his fear, he spilled everything he could to try to save his life, directing the burglar to every last source of cash that was in the house, and even denouncing his parents, saying he didn't care enough about them to try to identify who had robbed them, He writes that his brother had money in his pocket which he kept secret, and seemed more in control of his situation.  That is why I say I could not write this kind of memoir about myself; while I might confess to unadmirable character traits that were in the public domain, I would not want to admit to despicable behavior that was known only to myself.
     A HIGHER LOYALTY comprises 14 chapters, and 281 pages. Only Chapter 12 deals with Trump, and it is 17 pages long. All the media controversy about the release of the book centered on its  attack of the president. It's difficult to believe that was the purpose for writing the book. The author is a deep thinker who'd expected to be secure in his job as FBI Director for years to come, and suddenly found himself without a job which he loved.  The book covers his body of work, dealing with subjects from Watergate to Waterboarding, and his views and opinions on the various presidents he'd interacted with.  His memoir also describes the love and respect he has for his wife, and the heartbreak they felt when their baby son died shortly after birth.
   I would suspect that few  political commentators, supporters and detractors alike, have read more of the book than the chapter called "Trump Tower." 
 
   

May 17, 19**

Literary Lessons

   When I was young---that is, before I married and had kids----I used to spend as much time as I could reading, all types of books. I especially was interested in historical novels, not for the history per se, but for the intensity of the characterization of the many individuals who were players in whatever story was being told. Through hundreds of pages, the characters were so finely and thoroughly developed that the reader felt more understanding of them and what motivated them than with real-life people. The author described them physically and psychologically in greater detail than could be known about one's contemporaries.
    Many of the figure in literature had complicated thought processes and some had devious minds. Loyalty, betrayal, reparation, pride and, yes, prejudice were all powerful forces in motivation, and there was no particular hurry to extract whatever justice, or revenge, was deemed due. Strategy may thought to have been abandoned, but by the climax of the novel, was found to have been a perpetual force in how life played out. Some things were never forgotten, but put on the back burner until the time was right.
     It seems in today's society actions are taken rashly without much thought to consequences. What happens today is forgotten tomorrow. Or so some think, those who have failed to explore the complexities of human behavior, which the authors of yesterday developed in their characters, both good and the evil, as in Shakespeare's villains and heroes.  If today we tend to ignore what goes on in people's minds, that does not mean that something has not been etched in their minds forever. We see people acting out the drama of what happened to them years ago, some slight or insult unable to be forgotten. As witness the inexplicable atrocities that psychiatrists and human behaviorists attempt, too late, to find a reason for.
     World leaders would be major characters in any book ever written. Assume their mental makeup and massive egos have led to their status, and assume further that they are hypersensitive to anything that affects them in any way. From intelligence gleaned from even reading about the workings of the minds of others, one should be able to recognize the sensitivity of the other, as equivalent at least to his  own.
   To be blinded by one's own sense of self to the risk of denigrating another power player is a dangerous failing. We have on the world stage at present two such figures. If one insults the other by name calling, for instance, the result is not just a similar retort, but most likely a lifelong resentment and a desire for revenge, especially in a brutal ego-driven world leader.
      If one unloads epithets and insults, and thinks they will be forgotten, that has to be a grave mistake. If one  player is half the age of the other, strategy favors youth, with as much as 50  years to plan that strategy. Or much less, if the younger has already served up the older as a world class sucker who cannot realize his own shortcomings and so is doomed to levy disaster not only upon himself, but on the country he represents.
 
 

Spring trees

The two rhododendrons look mostly dead. The dogwood tree is more than half dead. The flowering crabapples by the side of the house are flush with deadwood. These two trees are not much better. Strange, because I don't think I've ever seen so many beautiful trees in bloom , everywhere but here.

Gaslighting

 Most likely the  manifestation of a Dark Tetrad character

What's in a name?

  Note to Town of Milton:   Your fund-seeking efforts may be well founded, but mightn't you reconsider the name of the facility. "Boyhaven" sounds a little creepy, don't you think?

Mother's Day