Bush on Oprah -- Loved His Interview

Yesterday, I will admit to watching Mr. Bush on Oprah to promote his memior Decision Points. 


The interview with Mr. Bush was very telling in my opinion.  He is ready to face the criticism over the job he did as President (POTUS).  Personally, after serving in the military under his command; I never thought he was smart enough -- alone to wreck the havoc he did.  Nope that honor belongs to Karl Rove and Don Rumsfeld plus the other heavy pockets in their political machine.  I still think Mr. Bush was not totally clueless.  I do believe he was either ill-informed or just placed himself too far above the common people to find out the truth. 

Mr. Bush was quite funny and personable during the show and, in my opinion it was one of the best interviews he has given.  He showed his human side instead of the cocky fly-boy arrogance that used to chap my arse raw.  I will also say here, his is the first book I have paid for up front before its release.  I started it last night and I will tell you; I kept checking the signature page to ensure he had in fact written the book alone.  He has done a pretty damned fine job of writing and so far I am impressed with his style.  I will leave you with a few of the quotes I pulled from the book.

On his parents and his mistakes:

"Eventually their patient love affected me.  When you know you have unconditional love, there is no point in rebellion and no need to fear failure.  I was free to follow my instincts, enjoy my life, and love my parents as much as they loved me."

On the muck racking of others concerning his POTUS job performance:

"But his self-righteous attitude was a fore taste of the vitriol that would emanate from many college professors during my presidency."

On faith:

"If you haven't doubted, you porbably haven't thought very had about what you believe."

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Special Note here:  I do respect him for not muck raking Mr. Obama over the coals.  Mr. Bush did learn from his past and this I find admirable and rather charming.  JMHO

My Side of the Mountain (Trilogy)

I am so excited; I finally remembered the book I read as child and found the set on eBay.  I can't not wait for it to arrive.  If you have children (grandchildren) -- especially adventure loving ones as I do; then find this set.  I rank it up there with Phantom Tollbooth.  Awesome!


Here is a sneak peak of the description.

"By Jean Craighead George - Dutton Children's Books (2000) - Hardback - 640 pages - ISBN 0525462694



The trilogy about Sam Gribley's adventures begins with My Side of the Mountain when Sam, a nature-loving boy runs away from the city to live off the land. His home is a tree; his hunting partner, a young perefrine falcon named Frightful. In the second book in the trilogy On the Far Side of the Mountain, Sam's younger sister, Alice comes to share his retreat and his adventures. In the concluding third book Frightful's Mountain, Frightful makes his journey towards independence."
 
I don't know about other folks but, I have this desire to share with my boys the love of books I read as a child - teenager.  We did not have all the electronics as children do now so, books were my escape.  I would check out books from the school library every Monday and just devour them.  Some of my favorites I have been able to find:
 
Phantom Tollbooth
Mark Twain
Tom Sawyer
Black Beauty
Ramona the Brave
Stuart Little
The Borrowers
My Side of the Mountain
Escape to Witch Mountain
Little House on the Prairie
How to Eat Fried Worms
Ramona (the series)
Are You There God, It's Me Margaret (kinda girlie)
A Christmas Story
The Gift of the Magi
The Jungle
Legend of Sleepy Hollow
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Clan of the Cavebear (there are now six books)
Flowers in the Attic (I stopped reading when the original author died because the voice changed.)
 
 
About puberty I discovered poets:  Emily Dickerson, Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass (my all time fav), Grimm's Fairy Stories, Edgar Allen Poe, and Robert Frost.
 
Without my mother knowing it; I would even read the more adult popular novels she was reading at the time.  I guess, I am just a literature junkie and would read the phone book; if it was my only choice. 
 
Tomorrow, I will read to the boys a short story by Mark Twain called, 'On the Decay of the Art of Lying.'  It's really funny.
 
What were your favorite books while growing up?