Left Behind, pp. 77-80 Buck Williams was on his way to London when the mass disappearances occurred and his flight returned to Chicago. He had gone to Chicago to "mend fences" with one of his "Global Weekly" colleagues: "… [the]bureau chief there, a fiftyish black woman named Lucinda Washington." We meet Lucinda in a flashback because she is a Christian and therefore, in the present of the story, she's dead/raptured. She's the first Christian character we meet whose faith seems... Read more
Left Behind, pg. 77 Here's how Chapter 5 begins: Buck Williams ducked into a stall in the Pan-Con Club men's room to double-check his inventory. Tucked in a special pouch inside his jeans … As a general rule, it's probably best not to begin a chapter by having the protagonist enter the stall of a men's room. Nor to have him untuck anything from his jeans. It turns out that Buck is just checking on the thousands of dollars of... Read more
The "Get Motivated" seminar is coming to Philadelphia. "Attend This Dynamic Seminar to INCREASE Your PRODUCTIVITY and INCOME," reads the full-page ad that promoters of this traveling circus took out in our Sunday paper. The seminar promises: "Motivation! Inspiration! Career Skills! Wealth-Building!" And, of course, Lots of Exclamation Points! Among the featured "live and in person" speakers here in Philly will be Eagles coach Andy Reid, speaking on "How to Lead Your Team to Victory [or at least to beat... Read more
For 35 years, the PBS television show "Sesame Street" has been teaching children to read. That means teaching them what sounds letters make and how those letters join together to make words. But it means much more than only that — not just letters making words, but words making sentences, and sentences making stories and statements. Literacy involves a great deal more than just phonics. "Sesame Street" has a long history of understanding that, which is why this recent news... Read more
Left Behind, pp. 66-68, 73-76 This is the most human-seeming and almost successful passage in the book so far. Jenkins, for once, eases off the expository gas and lets the reader look around as Rayford Steele explores the home he dreads he will find empty. The result is a little set piece where, for the first time, Rayford almost seems human. Jenkins seems to realize that the key to this scene is the selection and presentation of details — the... Read more
I was going to post something earlier about the simultaneously overdone and underdone media frenzy over the death of Pope John Paul II. I didn't get a chance to do that. I was too busy the past few days racking up overtime participating in that same media frenzy. (Yes, I'm part of the problem — but, hey, time and a half.) Despite the fact that news agencies had been working on this story for years, most of what's been offered... Read more
My main impression of the late Pope John Paul II comes from reading his encyclicals. These documents are among his most important contributions, yet for all the discussion of John Paul's "legacy" in recent days, these pillars of that legacy barely register. In his encyclicals, John Paul rarely seems content merely to proclaim — he wants to argue, to persuade, which makes these documents much more engaging and interesting than you might expect. He seems always to bear in mind... Read more
Left Behind, pp. 71-73 Two things happen over these few page of the book. The surface-level thing is that Buck Williams talks to a customer service agent in the airline club and she helps him to charter a private flight to New York City. Suddenly it was Buck's turn at the counter. He gathered up his extension cord and thanked the young woman for bearing with him. "Sorry about that," he said, pausing briefly for forgiveness that was not forthcoming.... Read more
So where were we? Page 71? We've been at this for a year and half and we're only on page 71? I'm going to try to keep our ongoing book review from devolving into another weekslong lapse by imposing a more orderly schedule.* Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the first installment of Left Behind Fridays. I take as my inspiration the selfless devotion TBogg and World O' Crap have demonstrated in their willingness, week after week, to subject themselves to... Read more
I want to highlight one final item from Rick Warren's appearance on "Larry King Live" (transcript here). Warren is a megachurch pastor and author of the best-selling self-help book "The Purpose Driven Life." Time magazine recently featured him as the most-influential of it's 25 Most Influential Evangelicals, noting that "on the eve of the presidential Inauguration, Warren… delivered the Invocation at the gala celebration." If I had the chance to deliver such a sermon, to preach to the president on... Read more
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