Now that I spend at least 1.5 hours commuting back and forth from work on public transportation each day, reading books has again become a consistent part of my daily routine. I enjoy how books can transport you into another time and place…turning those 45 minute commutes into pleasant escapes from work, dissertation, and other stresses that so often buzz around inside my head. Being transported away from the crush of people on the bus and the all too often stop-and-go snail’s pace of rush hour traffic through Jerusalem is a definite added bonus!
In the past few months I have been transported to a variety of places within the pages of books. Some books touch an emotional chord within me, such as the biography written by a Sudanese man and his experiences serving as a translator and guide for foreign journalists during the Darfur conflict. The novel that tells the story of a young boy living in Birmingham, Alabama during the Civil Rights movement challenged me to think about how insidious the comfort of status quo can be simply because the known status quo, even if unjust, feels safer than the unknowns of change. Some books drive me into reflective states about spirituality and what it means to live as a Christian in this world. And other books, long ago childhood favorites that I have been rereading, bring happy, sentimental reflections about my youth.
Among these sentimental childhood books that I have recently been enjoying are the Little House on the Prairie books. They have been difficult to find. I don’t know of any public library in the city…let alone a library that would also have English books. I have managed to collect a few books of the series from friends. Unfortunately I was just a few days too late in stopping at a used bookstore, learning that a teacher had just been in and bought the entire series in stock. So I have been reading what I have found, but am determined to read them in order! I am currently stuck, since I have not yet located the title “By the Shores of Silver Lake”.
Last week I stopped at another used bookstore in center city that has a large selection of English books. I had hoped to have luck in finding the missing books in the series. But alas, I was not successful. Even more discouraging, the owner said that when the Little House books do come in…they sell very, very quickly. Seeing no immediate end to my pause in reading the Little House series, I soothed my disappointment by picking up several other books, including two more books from the Chronicles of Narnia series…equally difficult to find in this city and also on my list of childhood favorites that I want to read again.
But I consider it true providence that I found this book among the messy stacks of unshelved books lining the stairs to the second floor of the store.
How could I resist a book with such a title, especially when I read the back cover and learned that the book was a memoir written by a doctor who practiced in Lancaster County, PA?! When I opened the book and began to read, I was immediately transported back to beautiful, green, and rural Lancaster County. In a book it is rare to read about Schaum’s Corner in Brownstown (just a mile or two from my childhood home), Railroad Avenue in New Holland, the signature hotel in Blue Ball with its infamous hanging blue ball, and Sensening’s Feed Mill in New Holland (my father’s feed mill of choice!). It is equally rare to read a book where the main characters have names like Stoltzfus, Reiff, Martin, or Weaver…names that have always been familiar and known to me. My mouth watered at mention of PA Dutch delicacies like Shoo-Fly Pie, Mush, and freshly home-canned fruits. It wasn’t the most well written book I have ever read. And I certainly don’t agree with the reviewer’s comments on the back cover comparing it to the work of James Herriot (one of my all-time favorite authors). But for sheer sentimental value, this book was a winner. And without a doubt, helped fill the reading void while the quest for the Little House books continues.
