Lindbergh

This week I have finished 3 books I've been reading this month. One of those books was the autobiography of Charles A. Lindbergh, the famous aviator and icon of the 20th century who became the first man to fly an airplane from New York to Paris. (We call that a Transatlantic flight. *Anson smiles intelligently*) To think that Lindbergh did this during an era when most people didn't even see aviation as having the potential for an incredible feat like this is astounding to me!

There are 3 reasons I wanted to read this book. One, I became fascinated with Lindbergh while our history class studied him in the 7th grade and I had to do a report on him. Two, Heather and I visited his grave on our first trip to Maui a couple years ago. We actually stumbled upon it by accident at a small church on the road to Hana. Three, there has always been something in me that kind of wished I was alive during the roaring twenties, depression-strained thirties, and patriotic fourties. It's weird.

There were many fascinating things about this book, Autobiography of Values. It struck me how this guy was such a fascinating man involved in everything from aviation, cartography, medicine, WWII bombers, politics, the environment, rocket science, and even mysticism! I probably wouldn't recommend it unless you really enjoy history like I do.

One thing I didn't know about Lindbergh prior to reading this book was that before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor he was quite the anti-war activist. Dead-set against America becoming involved in the turmoil going on between Germany, Russia and England he constantly gave speeches and met with politicians regarding his stance. I close this blog with an excerpt from one of his speeches that I found to be quite relevant for the debates echoing throughout homes, classrooms & offices today. I want to encourage you to comment this blog with your opinions regarding this statement:

"Democracy is not a quality that can be imposed by war. The attempt to do so has always met with failure. Democracy can spring only from within a nation itself, only from the hearts and minds of the people. It can be spread abroad by example, but never by force. The strength of a democracy lies in the satisfaction of its own people. Its influence lies in making others wish to copy it. If we cannot make other nations wish to copy our American system of government, we cannot force them to copy it by going to war..." (Autobiography of Values, p.194)

Memoirs from a Bookstore

My family and I had a crazy night on the town this past Friday! After a long day of playing & hanging out at the McMahon house we decided to swing by Jamba Juice for a nice fruity beverage and take a stroll around the Borders Bookstore here in town. There was this book about Ancient Roman History I’ve been longing to get (I know what you’re thinking….who wants a stupid book about Ancient Roman history?! Well, I do! I may be a total book-geek but I’m stinking proud of it!! The older I get the more I come to discover what pure treasure knowledge of the past & present truly is and how it relates to the quality of our future as a society and world. The more I study the history and current events of this planet that GOD has spoken into existence, the more I appreciate GOD’s Word and long for His Kingdom to be manifest. Actually I believe that if more people read good books instead of letting Oprah, Senators in the incubator called Washington D.C., and Jerry Springer tell them what to think and when to think it, we might actually be better off as a people and culture! Besides, this particular book focuses on Rome’s political and military history which when you think about it is actually so re- ...Ooops…there I go again…..what do you care? Anyway,). There are a few things I noticed while with my family in the bookstore during this excursion. I decided to share them with you kind young chaps who actually frequent my blog.

1. The children’s book section at Borders is A-MAZING! Annabelle was in awe of the colors and imagination that filled that place! Books and stuffed-frogs stacked to the rafters. Stories of talking elephants, flying kangaroos, princesses, bear families and more were everywhere as if they were screaming out for Annabelle’s attention. She was much more interested in this than in the Roman History section. Go figure!

2. It’s really difficult to flip through books while holding a giant cup of Caribbean Passion smoothie from Jamba Juice. I hope they don’t find that stain I accidentally left on a copy of Homer’s Odyssey.

3. My wife is so cool! The fact that I’m married to a woman who can have fun with me just strolling our daughter through a giant bookstore is AWESOME! It’s such a cool thing knowing we can have a great time just hanging out doing the simplest things! She truly is a Proverbs 31 woman!

4. Whoever woke up from a long night of sleep and suddenly came up with the idea of a giant bookstore with a giant café in it along with a giant magazine section right next to the giant DVD/CD section is right up there with Sir Isaac Newton & Alexander Graham Bell in my opinion! BRILLIANT!!

5. Barack Obama actually has 2 books on the National Bestseller list. Pretty impressive! He won’t be my choice for President in November of 2008, but you have to admit it’s pretty amazing that he’s had time to be a senator in Washington D.C., making crucial votes about U.S. policy and national security, traveling the speaking circuit, listening to and meeting with his constituents in Illinois, being with his family, learning what it takes to be President of a world superpower, and writing two Bestsellers all in the past couple of years!! {Anson winks while his tongue is in his cheek}

6. There are a lot of “Book-Grazers” in the world. You know…. people that somehow confuse bookstores for libraries. Get a card people!! Dang!

7. There is a book on the Bestseller list entitled The God Delusion. Man….that’s harsh! Sounds like that brother got burned by somebody or something real bad!!

8. Books are my weakness. My vice, if you will. For some it’s alcohol, for some it’s crack-cocaine, for some nicotine, for many it’s food or laziness. I have discovered that books are a weakness for Anson McMahon. The moment I walk into a bookstore my knees turn to jelly, I hear voices in my head luring me to the non-fiction and current events sections and I begin to see things “I must have or I will just die!!” Even more of a weakness to me than Best Buy is, and that’s saying a lot!!

Those are some things I learned last Friday night. But above all else I learned this: I love being with my family. Whether we’re at an Almond festival or a bookstore on a Friday night, we always learn something new. And to top it all of, I found my book on Ancient Rome! {Anson the book-geek smiles in eager anticipation}