Before I get to complaining and excuses, let me plug a G. K. Chesterton novel I hadn’t discovered before. Gems like, “…our democracy has only one great flaw; it is not democratic.” and “As mistaken lovers might watch the inevitable sunset of first love, these men watched the sunset of their first hatred.” challenge my own attempts at pithy statements. (Ok maybe those aren’t exactly spectacular, but I’m only starting the book. Besides, I like them.)
It’s knowing these treasures exist that makes any book by Chesterton, which the first few lines will tell you is no penny thriller or pulp sci-fi, worth the concentration required to harvest his ideas. They’re deep. Thoroughly probed in all their obscure nooks. You may not agree with all his conclusions. But the journey is filled with rewards for the effort.
Oh yes, my new-found treasure is The Ball and the Cross. Public domain. I got my copy from Free-eBooks.net. But I’d be very surprised if it wasn’t also on Gutenberg.org. Have I recently sung the praises of reading on the tiny screen? Jim’s Reason # 38 why eBooks are better than paper: you never lose the page when you fall asleep reading.
My goal of dictating a mostly unedited post daily for November’s #DigiWriMo ran off the rails early. Until it dissappears, one doesn’t realize how valuable or scarce private time with WiFi can be. It’s just not possible to even HAVE deeper thinking, never mind articulating it carefully when surrounded by people who have their own agenda for you. Add the fatigue of weather-related travel delays and poor connectivity for voice recognition and you’ll understand why I’m pecking this out at forty thousand feet enroute to Saskatoon, a day late to my meetings and two days behind my writing ambitions.
