Bright, bright sunshiney day

Helen and Buddy headed back to St. Paul early this morning. Naturally the day she leaves is beautiful, sunny and in the high 60s, while most of the days she was here were cool and at least intermittently rainy. It didn't stop her from helping Tom work in the yard some, however, and yesterday afternoon they put in about 50 gladioli out front. This was particularly noble of her since she doesn't like them. But then again, she won't have to look at them. Peggy, on the other hand, is a big glad fan and will enjoy getting some from us from time to time for her flower arrangements.

Last night Helen, Buddy and I watched The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the first of the Disney versions of the Narnia tales by C. S. Lewis. We both thought they did a pretty good job of it. The next one, Prince Caspian, is due to be released soon, and ABC (a Disney company) used this opportunity to stir up interest in that new film. For those who have not read any of the Chronicles of Narnia, they are fantasies with a definite Christian slant. My favorite in the series is the seventh volume, The Last Battle, which serves as the apocalypse/end of the world. Although it was written in the mid-1950s, I always thought it presented the bad guys as barely disguised Muslims. I am sure Lewis did not intend that, and even if he did, the way things work out, it is obvious that at least in Narnia, it is not always so obvious in advance how people will be judged.

These are children's books, but I first read them in the monastery and found them engaging. If you are looking for fairly light reading with a clear message, you might enjoy them. I am sure your local library has them. The title of the entire series is The Chronicles of Narnia, and you can read individual books without having to read the whole set.

And that's the librarian's report for the day.