Books I Read in 2011, Vol. III

MY LUCKY LIFE IN AND OUT OF SHOW BUSINESS: A Memoir
Dick Van Dyke

From the publisher: "A colorful, loving, richly detailed look at the decades of a multilayered life, My Lucky Life In and Out of Show Business, will enthrall every generation of reader, from baby-boomers who recall when Rob Petrie became a household name, to all those still enchanted by Bert’s “Chim Chim Cher-ee.” This is a lively, heartwarming memoir of a performer who still thinks of himself as a “simple song-and-dance man,” but who is, in every sense of the word, a classic entertainer."

From me: A review I read online kind of complained that Van Dyke goes into more detail about his personal life (struggles with alcoholism and divorce) than about the roles that made him famous. I can't say I disagree with that, but honestly, as I was reading this, the thought never crossed my mind. I simply enjoyed practically every page. There are lots of anecdotes and plenty of soul-baring and I was sorry to read the final page. The author quotes himself to open the book, and it's a good summary: "If I'm known for giving people decent entertainment and raising good kids, that's all right. I'll have lived a good one."

Page 56/Sentence 5: Portrait: He told me to relax, it was going to be a good meeting. Landscape: "At least she died like a man," said Thursday.

THE GOD DELUSION
Richard Dawkins

"A preeminent scientist - and the world's most prominent atheist - asserts the irrationality of belief in God and the grievous harm religion has inflicted on society, from the Crusades to 9/11."

Okay, I didn't actually read this book. I only finished the first four chapters. You can read why in a note I posted in September. Suffice it to say that I was not overwhelmed by Dawkins' flawless logic...and I was distracted by his spider-webbing from thought to thought instead of laying out a clear, linear argument for his beliefs.

56/5: What expertise can theologians bring to deep cosmological questions that scientists cannot?

FIRE AND RAIN: The Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel, James Taylor, CSNY, and the Lost Story of 1970
David Browne

"Fire and Rain tells the story of four landmark albums of 1970, the intertwining personal ties between the legendary artists who made them, and the ways in which their songs and journeys mirrored the end of one era and the start of another."

It's been who-knows-how-long since I've read a book in the same year it was published, but I was looking forward to this from the moment I read a review in Entertainment Weekly. And I was not disappointed. The author apparently had excellent access to all the players involved in the tale and has made a good case for 1970 being a pivotal year...not only in popular music with the demise of the three groups mentioned in the title, but on college campuses and political backrooms as well. I realize that makes this sound like an academic treatise, but it is anything BUT that.

56/5: Kortchmar didn't think Taylor would actually call Asher; his friend already seemed battered by his experiences in life and the music business.

THEY THOUGHT FOR THEMSELVES: Ten Amazing Jews
Sid Roth

"Author Sid Roth was instructed in a dream to find and interview people who had broken through the mold of their previous experiences to achieve their destiny. These are the people he interviewed. These are their stories and this is your time for your breakthrough."

This book had been sent "out of the blue" to my dad, and I read it during a week of vacation Back Home Again in Indiana. A few of the stories involved talk of supernatural healing and appearances of white lights that make me kind of suspicious, but hey, the people say it happened to them...who am I to call them liars? Particularly interesting were the multiple times the book documented Jewish people who held on to their religious traditions but who did not really believe in God at all...until the truth of Jesus as the promised Messiah got through to them.

56/5: My upbringing was very Orthodox.

WINNIE-THE-POOH
A. A. Milne

This space is usually a quote from the dust jacket or promotional website, but seriously, does anything need to be said here about one of England's greatest exports?

This came pre-loaded as a free gift in my iPad's iBooks app, and I couldn't have been happier. It was a real treat to read these stories again after Who Knows How Long and delight in just how positively clever Milne was. Normally, I would put a relevant quote from the book here...to prove my point...but methinks it would serve the reader better to just read this whole book for oneself.

56/5: Landscape: "I was just beginning to think," said Bear, sniffing slightly, "that Rabbit might never be able to use his front door again." Portrait: "It reminds me of something," he said, "but I can't think what."

GOD IN THE DOCK
C. S. Lewis

"Forty-eight essays and twelve letters written by Lewis between 1940 and 1963 [the year of his death]. Here the reader finds the tough-minded polemicist relishing the debate; here too the kindly teacher explaining a complex abstraction by means of clarifying analogies; here the public speaker addressing his varied audience with all the humility and grace of a man who knows how much more remains to be known."

I've liked Lewis for a long time. First, because of Narnia; then the Space Trilogy and The Screwtape Letters; but more deeply for Mere Christianity as he found ways to say exactly what I thought but didn't know how to express. He does much the same here, and I'd like to find a copy of this book to purchase, preferably an e-book I could carry with me in my iPad. Listen to just this small snippet about Jesus: "We may note in passing that He was never regarded as a mere moral teacher. He did not produce that effect on any of the people who actually met Him. He produced mainly three effects -- Hatred -- Terror -- Adoration. There was no trace of people expressing mild approval."

56/5: The man may be thinking about winning a war; he may be wanting to be a General because he honestly thinks he has a good plan and is glad of a chance to carry it out.

Roth Family Christmas Epistle 2011

 

KELLY JO (22) – Following a cross-country trek (literally…ALL the way across the country) this summer, participating in way-cool dance events with her No. 1 Man (Dustin—The Wind), K.J. started a full-time nanny job with two families and has officially moved to Saint Paul, where she bikes more than drives, dances when she can, and still loves coffee.

CURTIS (24) –Curtis and his bride, Christine, still live in NYC, working in a couple high-end eating establishments as they audition their little hearts out. They both escaped the New York hurricane by, of all things, being in Florida…performing in a regional theatre production of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. Curtis had the same role his daddy did when he was in a local theatre production of the show! The big C-mas gift last year for us all was flying them in for a visit in January. We had a blast.

SHONDA (28) –Air Force hubby, John, has received his orders to return to the States from Germany (where he and Shonda have been for almost 4 years) in February. Sad news this year was the passing of their German shepherd, Aby. Hopes are high that the weather will allow them a short visit in Minnesota before reporting for duty in Little Rock, Arkansas.

ANGEL (31) –is teaching first grade for the 8th year, but gave a substitute a steady gig through Spring Break starting December 4th, when Jesse Darrel Stanley made his early arrival. His due date was Dec 30, and he was only 5 lbs, 13 oz, but mommy and son are doing fine. Husband Phil already has The Knack for soothing his son, who doesn’t necessarily like having his diapers changed. Phil’s baby pictures have been consulted and it is official, Jesse looks enough like him that they better start labeling the photos.

DEBBIE – Finished the 4th and final CD in the Hope series, living letters of HOPE, and has been blessed with multiple speaking and singing engagements…to the point that it’s all paid for. Next project: getting enough funds to restock the 3rd CD, which is almost gone. (More info at http://www.restinhimministry.com) Debbie has healed well from an Achilles tendon repair this summer and is pretty excited about being a Grandma to a little guy who is only 9 miles away.

DEWEY – With the wonderfully-welcome addition of becoming a Grampa, last year’s entry could just about be repeated… still Technical Writer with Harris IT Services; Actor/Choreographer/Asst. Director with Giant Step Theatre; elder and worship leader with Valley Christian Church; blogger at almostthetruth.blogspot.com…well, one change, there’s a new and improved www.almostthetruth.com website available for perusal, but that’s about as important as the ever-decreasing number of hairs on Dewey’s head.

MAY THE HOPE OF CHRIST DWELL IN YOUR HEART IN THE COMING YEAR AND FOR ALL OF ETERNITY!

Books I Read in 2011, Vol. II

SMOKE AND MIRRORS: Short Fictions and Illusions
Neil Gaiman

"In this, Gaiman's first book of short stories, his imagination and supreme artistry transform a mundane world into a place of terrible wonders—a place where an old woman can purchase the Holy Grail at a thrift store, where assassins advertise their services in the Yellow Pages under 'Pest Control,' and where a frightened young boy must barter for his life with a mean-spirited troll living beneath a bridge."

While most of the stories here were dark and supernatural (The retelling of Snow White, "Snow, Glass, Apples," cast Snow White as a young vampire that sucked the life out of her father...and was excellent) there were a couple of laugh-out-loud moments...like this: "Sitting in the bus shelter in which he had unrolled his sleeping bag one night, he had begun to translate key descriptive words [in the tour book he was using]: charming he decided, meant nondescript; scenic meant ugly but with a nice view if the rain ever lets up." And now that I quote it out-of-context it doesn't seem so all-fire funny, but when I was sitting in Buffalo Wild Wings reading it, it was a gasser.

56/5: I had never seen the Devil before, and, although I had written about him in the past, if pressed would have confessed that I had no belief in him, other than as an imaginary figure, tragic and Miltonian.

WHAT'S SO GREAT ABOUT CHRISTIANITY
Dinesh D'Souza

"Best selling author Dinesh D'Souza (What's So Great About America) looks at Christianity with a questioning eye, but treats atheists with equal skepticism. The result is a book that will challenge the assumptions of both believers and doubters and affirm that there really is, indeed, something great about Christianity."

I generally like the field of apologetics (look it up), but usually am slightly disappointed by books written by preachers. Well, Dinesh is not a preacher, and this book was not a disappointment. He responds to the relatively recent deluge of atheist tomes with deep, thoughtful, logical reasoning. He may or may not "convert" anyone, but he at least makes the case that a person doesn't have to check their brain at the door to embrace Christ. If I had more than two thumbs, they would all be WAY up for this book.

56/5: I also want to focus on the Christian exaltation of the low man, the common man, and the underdog.

THERE AND BACK AGAIN: An Actor's Tale
Sean Astin with Joe Layden

"...not only an extremely personal and immensely readable behind-the-scenes look at what it was like to be involved in one of the biggest movie franchises of all time [Lord of the Rings], it's also the true story of an underdog who succeeds in making his dream a reality."

If you've read Volume I of this look at the books I read in 2011, you should already realize that I'm rather partial to biographies and memoirs of actors and entertainers. I like the insight on how it all happens, and this book is overflowing with the reality of the whole process: auditioning, working with an agent (or two or three), keeping one's ego in check, etc. I will give Mr. Astin kudos for not white-washing himself...he certainly comes across as a self-centered, egotistic, whiner. At least he ADMITS to it all and says he doesn't LIKE that about himself.

56/5: During preproduction, I was waiting and trying to help work through the necessary bureaucracy in the eager hope that the army would agree to be involved in the making of the picture.

THIS TIME TOGETHER: Laughter and Reflection
Carol Burnett

"What follows are some...stories that I've shared over the years in response to various questions. Some have to do with our gang on the variety show, embarrassing moments, famous people, not-so-famous people, family, and so on."

Show biz memories from a highly-respected and mostly-hilarious woman...very easy read with some real laughs, but also some insight into Ms. Burnett's upbringing, personality, and sensibilities. Great story about getting into a high-class ice cream shop in NYC by pretending to have a wooden leg.

56/5: This being my first eBook library loan, page 56/ Sentence 5 is flexible. If I'm reading on my iPad in portrait orientation, it would be, "I'm sorry, I didn't know," but if I turn the tablet sideways and read it landscape, it's "All of a sudden I was famous: the flavor of the month."

WASHINGTON: A Life
Ron Chernow

"In a book that pays meticulous attention to the decisions made by Washington during wartime, with a step-by-step march through the eight years of Revolutionary War battles, Mr. Chernow arrives at a carefully considered assessment of his subject’s capabilities. He sees the successes and failures of Washington’s military decisions. But he places much higher value on the great man’s political instincts and shows how they rarely failed him. And he argues that Washington’s ability to hold his soldiers together and set a proud, stoical example mattered more than any individual battle could."

I figured I needed to expand my horizons beyond short stories and celebrity memoirs, and this was available from the library as an ebook, so I gave it a shot...and I'm glad I did. Yes, it's history, and I can't really say it reads like a novel, but Chernow's style is straightforward and easy to follow. I learned a lot I didn't know, not only about Washington but about life in these here parts way back in the 18th century.

56/5: Portrait: Even amid the trip's escapist pleasures, George had a conspicuous habit of improving himself, turning everything into an educational opportunity.
Landscape: Even when he toured the thirteen states as first president, he methodically recorded the topographical features of places, as if he remained a working surveyor.

LOVE WINS: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived
Rob Bell

"What if the story of heaven and hell we have been taught is not, in fact, what the Bible teaches? What if what Jesus meant by heaven, hell, and salvation are very different from how we have come to understand them? Author, pastor, and innovative teacher Rob Bell presents a deeply biblical vision for rediscovering a richer,  grander, truer and more spiritually satisfying way of understanding...."

I came to this book with plenty of baggage and preconceptions. It has gotten more than its fair share of press, both positive and negative, because it really does present a different understanding ("truer"? hmmm...) of some fundamental faith tenets. More than once, I had to stop reading and ask God to help me lay aside my prejudices and bent toward argument so I could really digest what the author was trying to say. It's just that he said it all in such a sly, slick, vacuum-seller kind of way, I always felt like I was having something pulled on me. And there were far too many instances of Bell saying, basically, "This is what the Bible says, but THIS is how we should understand it" for me to be comfortable. And his redefining of heaven and hell gives me the creeps. (After telling a story about seeing young children in Rwanda who had arms or legs removed by machete, he says, "Do I believe in a literal hell? Of course. Those aren't metaphorical missing arms and legs." Well, I'm sorry, but "hell" does not equal "bad things happening in our time/space continuum".)

56/5: Prior to that, then, after death we are without a body.

I'm Now on Amazon!

 

The Book Cover: Ta-Daaa!

As I was writing our family Christmas letter (finally!) I had to do some quick fact-checking about my book, Almost the Truth About Youth Ministry: Salesmen, Secretaries, and Smart Alecks, and found out that it is now available for purchase at amazon.com.

This is not earth-shattering news, of course, but it was kind of a thrill for me. Makes the book feel just that much more official, you know? And people are more likely to be hanging out around amazon.com than lulu.com (even though I get a bigger share of the $$$ when it's purchased directly from lulu).

If there's a youth minister in your life that you haven't given a copy of this to, what better way to celebrate the New Year?

Later...

Roth Family Christmas Epistle 1999

 

KELLY is a ten-year-old 5th grader who began piano lessons and playing flute in band this year. She now has braces and is looking forward to finally having enough room for all her beautiful teeth.

CURTIS is in 7th grade and looking forward to turning 13 in January 2000. He has put the 21st Century Kids performance troupe aside in favor of involvement in church, school, and community theater. He was in the local children's theater's productions of Jack & the Beanstalk and Charlie & the Chocolate Factory AND had a feature role in our church's fall dinner theater.

SHONDA is now 16 and a Junior. Mommy & Daddy need to get more motivated to help her practice driving so she can drive herself to FCA and madrigal rehearsals and youth group. Some ideas about what-about-after-high-school are beginning to float around.

ANGEL, our 19-year-old college sophomore, has recently gone through some "okay, now what am I really doing here?" kind of wrestling. She's planning on a month in an inner-city Chicago elementary school in January, and will probably spend a semester next year at Cincinnati Bible College. [Editor's note from 2021: That Cincinnati semester never happened.]

DEBBIE is celebrating being cancer-free, one year after her double mastectomy. She had a follow-up/clean-up surgery in June (Happy 20th Anniversary!) and really is doing great. She spent 2 1/2 weeks in Austria in late June/early July housekeeping for the church leader training center there.

Having been out of the full-time ministry for a year, DEWEY has been bitten by the acting bug again. He had a paying gig at the Dakota County fair for 13 performances of a Chautauqua (look it up), and just finished playing a guy at the ages of 19, 29, 42, and 68 in our church's dinner theater...followed by a stint as Grandpa Joe in the same Charlie & the Chocolate Factory that Curtis was in.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

The months zoom by, the children grow up, and out lives are lived. We've grown to appreciate the little pockets of extra time with the family that Dewey's 3rd shift schedule affords, but still are open to whatever door God opens next. If there's anything that Christmas can teach us, it's that God's blessings can show up anywhere, anytime.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

The Year That Was: 1998 with the Roth Clan

 

For those of you who don't already know, you're about to find out that 1998 was Quite The Year for us...

JANUARY  -  Curtis turns 11; Angel plays Baruka in the high school production of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory; Having sold the old building, Valley Christian Church begins worshiping in an elementary school while waiting for the new building to be completed.

FEBRUARY  -  Shonda turns 15; Kelly turns 9; Dewey & Debbie attend Couples' Retreat; upon arrival, they get a phone call telling them of Dewey's mom's heart attack (She's doing fine, PTL); Debbie's dad's cancer advances, & she spends what is to be her last week with him in Wyoming.

MARCH  -  Angel is a Kit-Kat girl in Cabaret, Dewey enjoys a retreat with "A Few Good Men," his support group of peers (some of whom used to be his students).

APRIL  -  Shonda & Angel rock the house at a state solo/ensemble contest; Dewey, Debbie, & Angel spend Spring Break playing with orphaned/abandoned children at Casa De Ninos, San Luis Potosi, Mexico.

MAY  -  Angel attends and sings at her Senior Prom; With the VCC leadership wanting a more-administration-less-hands-on style of youth ministry, Dewey is given the choice of going to another church and starting over (again) or staying at VCC as a volunteer youth coach/D-Group leader and transitioning into another career. He chooses to avoid moving his family and, after 14 years in paid youth ministry, starts looking for transferable skills that he can "sell" in the mainstream marketplace; An hour after deciding to go see her dad again, Debbie gets a call saying that he has passed away.

JUNE  -  Angel graduates from high school, 13th in a class of 600; Kelly sings, with Angel's accompaniment, in her school's talent show; Curtis performs in his school's talent show, too; Dewey's last official act as VCC's youth minister is leading the youth group's trip to Christ In Youth's Indiana Conference.

JULY  -  Family attends the wedding of Dewey's niece in Indiana as part of vacation; Curtis thrives at church camp.

AUGUST   -  Dewey turns 41; Kelly goes to church camp for the 1st time; Debbie and the kids go to Wyoming for Debbie's niece's wedding and to spread her father's ashes.

SEPTEMBER  -  Kelly begins 4th grade; Curtis, 6th; Shonda, 10th; Angel starts her freshman year at St. Olaf College, Northfield, MN, just 25 minutes away; Debbie turns 40; Angel turns 18; Curtis auditions and gets accepted into a recording project for a group called "21st Century Kids;" Dewey begins work as a proofreader of financial documents at Merrill Corporation, St. Paul, 3rd shift, and also puts in 2-3 hours a day at a friend's insurance office.

OCTOBER  -  VCC moves into the new church building; Curtis records background vocals and a few solo lines for "21st Century Kids;" Dewey earns some extra $ by scaring people at the Minnesota Zoo's haunted house; Debbie gets a call saying they want to take a second mammogram to get a better look.

NOVEMBER  -  Way cool Rich Mullins memorial concert by the Ragamuffins at VCC; Debbie's 2nd mammogram leads to a biopsy which leads to a diagnosis of ductal carcinoma, a quite-curable form of breast cancer.

DECEMBER  -  Kelly sings in her 1st concerts with "Heartbeat Chorus" at the YMCA and a local mall; Curtis learning dancing as he prepares for stage performances of "21st Century Kids;" Shonda does her own dancing and singing in her high school's musical revue, "On Stage;" Angel sings in one of the choirs for St. Olaf's Christmas Choir/Orchestra Festival; Debbie has a double mastectomy and is given every hope that no further cancer treatment is needed...just more healing from the surgery.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

And so, we keep doing what we've always done, hanging on to the Lion's mane and wondering where this part of the Ride will take us. Dewey keeps looking for more satisfying work (especially something that takes place, say, during the DAYtime), Debbie is praying for the pain to go away, and the kids keep growing. God is in control, but He's pretty consistent in NOT letting us know too far in advance what His plans are.

"To live will be a great adventure." (Peter Pan, in Hook)

A Roth Family Christmas Letter 1996

 

Sponsored in part by a grant from the U.S. Postal Service ("Lick It, Stick It, and Forget It") and by Readers Like You

Greetings from the Great White North! We got ten inches of snow a week or so before Thanksgiving, and I think it's here to stay. But that's okay, because so are we!

Hold your breath...this will be as painless as possible. (But most of you actually like getting a yearly update, don't you?)

Ooooh...a big breakthrough for our 1 1/2-year-old mutt, Charky (or Charkey, or Charkie; we haven't standardized the spelling yet). The Gray Ghost now knows how to beg. (We're thinking of having him work a busy corner in St. Paul, but he doesn't know how to "stay.")

Kelly is 7, in 2nd grade, and loves it when Daddy can go on a field trip with her or come to school and help make gingerbread houses. (Daddy gained 2.7 pounds on that last bit of community involvement.)

Curtis will turn 10 in January, and he's doing great (of course) in 4th grade. He's had a series of solos and speaking parts in school and church musicals. He really shines. (Memory check: did we tell you last year that Dewey baptized Curtis in November?)

The newest teenager in the house, Shonda, turned 13 in February. Her year involved another change of schools for 8th grade because of some boundary shifting by the school district, but she is doing SWELL at adjusting...again! Shonda also changed from fluting in band to singing in choir and loves it. And the biggest change of all came in September when Shonda made her OWN commitment to Christ and was baptized into him on Angel's birthday!

Our Junior, Angel, is now 16, but hasn't gone in for her driver's test as of this writing. Guess she's too busy earning A's in all her classes...including the college-level ones. (Yikes! I used the "C" word!) Her silky-smooth singing voice continues to be used in Fresh Faith (church's teen choir) and other special music for worship.

Debbie is closer to 40 than 30 and has had a great year. She was able to turn some negative experiences of her past into a well-received and very helpful speaking engagement at our church's Ladies' Retreat in October. It went so well that one of the ladies is working on getting Debbie to do a presentation at a convention in Texas next year. The house cleaning "business" is going well, too. Actually, too well. Debbie is cutting back a few customers in an attempt to save her knees, her wrist, and her sanity.

Dewey is enjoying his last year in the 30's as he continues to serve as Youth & Worship Minister at Valley Christian Church. This year saw an exciting revival of purpose and focus that led to some totally awesome (dude) changes in the way youth stuph is done around here. Also, if you have access to the weekly publication, Christian Standard, be looking for a humor article about church secretaries. ("A Lesson in Species Identification")

Oh yeah ... almost forgot ... Dewey, Debbie, and Angel took a teeny-weeny, little trip to Panama on a mission trip this summer. What a great experience! And what a thrill to introduce Angel to our friends down there!

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

Our wish for you this Christmas is that you sense the warmth of our feelings for you, even though this may very well be the only communication you've received from us all year. God has given a richness to our lives because of knowing you.

All things are continuing to "work out for the good, for those who love God."

HAVE A MERRY, JOYOUS, BLESSED CHRISTMAS!