May 17, 2018. Madison, Mississippi. Reading.

This morning was devoted to reading. Neither Ken no4 I had appointments so I stayed in my robe and read. Our cook came so our home smelled delightful and April was here looking after Ken so I stayed in my chair and ate breakfast and read...all morning. What a luxury. First I finish the Harold Arlen biography which I have enjoyed. I left at the end of December with a few chapters left so I was pleased to complete the book and his life. The writer all through the book mentions time and again that Arlen was not well known during his life even though he wrote many many songs, including the Wizard of Oz songs. I was skeptical because I was aware of his productivity even though I am not an expert on American songs. But since I have read the book, I have asked many people if they know the name Harold Arlen and they always say NO. So the author was correct. Even though his songs are familiar to folks, they are not aware of even his name let alone what he wrote. I have so enjoyed Lantern On The Levee that I have been reluctant to set it aside totally even after I finished the book, so I reread the forward written by Walker Percy, telling about his uncle, William Percy, the author of Lanterns. Now I am finished and will take it down to the shelves. The book is dated but charming. The rest of the morning I was reading back issues of Commentary and The Weekly Standard. I actually enjoy after the fact events in the old issues. And I like best the book reviews which never go out of date. One situation when reading until 1:00 is the need to get up and walk around the house, so every hour, I complete some task such as loading the laundry. I watch the clock and every hour I get up and walk around the house to help my neuropathy legs. Fortunately from one side to the other in our house takes plenty of steps. Then I dive back into my nest and put my nose back in the book or magazine. To make the morning perfect it started to rain which makes for a morning for reading. Perfect.