JAMES

We have a tortured past in our country because of the scourge of slavery. Many have described that shameful period of our past through historical texts or fiction, including Harriet Beecher-Stowe, Marilynne Robinson, and Mark Twain - the latter of which wrote both Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. However, none of those books truly captures what slavery felt like to the slave using a first person account. Because of that, I was so thrilled to hear about Percival Everett's recent book, James, a re-telling of Huckleberry Finn told from the perspective of the slave, Jim (i.e., James).

While the story is largely the same as Huckleberry Finn, there are some very important tangents and distinctions. First, we hear James' voice in normal diction, rather than as slave mumbo jumbo. This humanizes James and provides a very stark contrast between his personhood and the inhumanity of the white people he encounters.

I will not spoil the plot, but I cheered and routed for James in a way that I have not for other fictional characters in other books. That is a credit to Everett, who has re-imagined and modernized this character in a way that I think Twain would have been proud of. Check it out for yourself! You, too, will come away changed!

THE TRUMAN SHOW

I have always loved history, especially presidential history. Therefore, I could not miss the chance to visit the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library in Independence, Kansas during our trip to Kansas City this week.

I have been to only two other presidential libraries: the LBJ library in Austin and the George W. Bush Library in Dallas. The former is a remarkable place, while the latter was quite underwhelming - just like its namesake.

The Truman Library sits somewhere in between. However, I certainly found my visit to this museum to be the most illuminating since I was unaware of President Truman's origins and many of his signature accomplishments. We were fortunate to have a wonderful tour guide during our visit named Bill. He helped to put Truman's life and his administration in context, providing a much clearer picture of how transformative his presidency was.

During many moments of the tour, I found myself drawing parallels to today: anti-democratic and authoritarian movements, racism, and a nation divided. These issues are not unique to our age, and I took comfort in knowing that Truman was able to meet these challenges in his time. I hope we are able to do the same this election year. 

At end of the tour, I asked our guide Bill, what can we do to not repeat the same mistakes as bygone era. He said, "you start by making a visit to a place like this and learning from the past." Learn, I did - on that day!

KANSAS CITY, HERE I COME

We have been down in Kansas City the past four days for Cate's soccer, and I have really enjoyed visiting the town. 

We were here two years ago - again for Cate's soccer - but this trip is quite a bit longer, allowing us time to explore. We have eaten very well! Our first meal was barbecue, of course.

We have also had some outstanding ice cream at a local place called Sylas and Maddy's (3 trips in 3 days)!

I follow a journalist on Instagram, who is originally from Kansas City, and she gave me many good recommendations. Who knew Kansas City had such a great bagel shop?

They also have Torchy's Tacos!

Good think I have been going running every morning and doing extra mileage to burn off all these yummy calories!