Are We There Yet? vol. 174

If we are lucky and school schedules cooperate, my family tries to visit southern Vermont a couple of times a year. While many people enjoy the winter season of skiing, my family likes the summer the best. The days are warm, and the evenings are cool. You can hike up mountains or meander through meadows. If you like the water, ponds, lakes, reservoirs, streams, and rivers are all around where you can swim, kayak, paddle board, or just enjoy your thoughts and nature’s beauty.

As I write this, though, southern Vermont is being inundated by a once-in-a millennia storm. Upwards of seven inches of rain have fallen in a brief period, leading to massive flooding. The town of Weston, where our home is located, is inaccessible because all the roads leading there are completely flooded. On Saturdays when visiting, we often go to the Londonderry farmers market along the West River. Now, that area is completely flooded, as are many of the businesses along Route 11.

What amazes me is how, in the span of a day, things can change so dramatically. On the weekend, we talked about taking a trip there at the end of this month. Three days later, and we can’t even get there. More importantly, my thoughts and prayers go out to the residents there and to all who are dealing with their own disasters. I hope that the rebuilding of the community and their lives can begin soon.

Take care and stay safe.

BOOK:

Old God’s Time by Sebastian Barry 

Recently retired policeman Tom Kettle is settling into the quiet of his new home, a lean-to annexed to a Victorian castle overlooking the Irish Sea. For months he has barely seen a soul, catching only glimpses of his eccentric landlord and a nervous young mother who has moved in next door. Occasionally, fond memories return, of his family, his beloved wife June and their two children, Winnie and Joe.

But when two former colleagues turn up at his door with questions about a decades-old case, one which Tom never quite came to terms with, he finds himself pulled into the darkest currents of his past.

A beautiful, haunting novel, in which nothing is quite as it seems, Old God's Time is about what we live through, what we live with, and what may survive of us.