I thought it was time to update everyone on the Back to History Reading Challenge that was issued by Shannon at Shannon's Reading Log. Yes, I've been keeping up to the challenge and read at least one book a month and often more. Here is what I've been reading.
February's Selection:
March's Selection:
A Light to My Path is the third book in the series and it tells of a young slave girl who is taken into the Big House to serve as a companion for the mistresses daughter. This novel is full of heart-felt moments and the reality of a young girl who is slave to a pampered brat.
I enjoyed both of these books and being a Civil War buff, I enjoyed the historical background in which the novel was set.
April's Selection:
Typhoid Mary: Captive to the Public's Health
Author: Judith Walzer Leavitt
Publisher: Beacon Press
ISBN: 0807021032
Early in the 20th century, New York City was home to thousands of immigrants. In 1904, an elite family came down with typhoid while vacationing on Oyster Island, a vacation resort for the famous and wealthy, including President Roosevelt.
Since typhoid was a disease believed to be caused by filth, squalor and unsanitary conditions, no one could figure out how a well-to-do family would get it. An investigation was begun by the New York City's Department of Health.
After some time, the Department of Health traced the typhoid back to a woman named Mary Mallon, a 37 year-old Irish woman who was a cook for the elite of New York. Apparently Mary was a carrier and though she would never actually get typhoid herself, she could and did pass it on to other people. Mary was very uncooperative and would not give samples needed for the Department of Health to determine just how she was passing on typhoid.
In 1907, Health Department officers arrested Mary and forcibly exiled her to a solitary existence in a cottage on North Brother Island. Everyone in New York was talking about Typhoid Mary, but she was determined not to give up the fight. She and her lawyer took the Department of Health to court to petition for her freedom. The judge ruled in favor of the Department of Health and Typhoid Mary was banned once again to her cottage on North Brother Island.
Eventually, Mary was allowed to return to New York to work as a laundress. Mary was admonished to stay out of the kitchen, as the typhoid germs were being passed on in the foods that she cooked. Two years later, typhoid broke out in a New York hospital. When Health Department officials visited the kitchen, they found Mary Mallon working there as a cook. Once again, Mary was exiled to a solitary existence in the cottage on North Brother Island, where she lived until her death in 1938. In all, Mary had infected 47 people - 3 of those had died.
Leavitt raises many questions in her book. Mary Mallon was a carrier of typhus bacillus, but so were many others in those days. Mary had the distinction of being the first ever carrier to be identified as such. Many men were also carriers but were never forced to live in quarantine and isolation. Was Mary's confinement due to race, gender and class?
At the time the Irish weren't exactly popular in New York. Many had come to America and ended up living in squalor. They were often blamed for spreading disease within the City. Mary was the only person ever put under isolated quarantine for being a carried of typhoid.
Disease ran rampant in New York until the streets were cleaned up by an army of sanitation workers. Leavitt does a marvelous job demonstrating the delicate balance between person freedom and public health. This book, though a little repetitious and slow at the beginning, was a great read about a time in American history that is seldom spoken of today.
I hope that you enjoyed learning about the books that I've been reading for the last few months. I've read others, many of which also had to do with history. If you want a light read, these books are not for you, but if you love history, you'll definitely enjoy any of them.
This weekend, take time to sit out on the patio and pamper yourself for a while by reading a great book. Have a safe and enjoyable weekend. ~Blessings, Mary~
Please keep my hubby in your prayers. He has to see a specialist tomorrow morning. I do not have much confidence in this particular doctor and would like you to pray that he uses wisdom. If I am not happy with his diagnosis and treatment of hubby's condition, I am going back to the family doctor and asking him to refer him to the doctor that hubby saw two years ago for a similar but slightly different problem. I'm not sure why doctors refer you to someone different each time, but I like to see doctors in whom I have confidence. I don't hesitate to ask for a referral for a second opinion.
We were to have rain today, but it passed us by. We could have used an April Shower. The water levels have pretty much returned to normal and the gardens are begging for a drink. I thought first thing this morning that we would have rain. The sky was overcast until about noon and then the sun began to shine. It was a lovely day but this evening it turned much cooler. We are to have nice temperatures for a few days and then next week it is to get cool again. I'm hoping for some spring weather instead of it going directly from winter to summer. We just got rid of the heat bills and if it continues being so warm, I will have to turn on the air conditioner. I'd rather have a month or so without those bills. We need a break! 
Mom was already there when I arrived and she was holding Evan. I had brought my camera along and got the above shot of the two of them. They is a difference of 81.5 years between them. This is her newest great-grandson. 
While we ate, Sherry put Evan upstairs where his father was doing some work on the computer. Evan's father, Rob, has his own contracting business, so was home doing some book work. Evan was quiet and when we had finished eating, Sherry went and got him. She is breast feeding, but fed him breast milk out of a bottle because she didn't want to breast feed with company present. Evan drank his milk and seemed content while we visited, but soon let Mom know that he was still hungry. 
Last night when Meeko and I took our final walk of the day, the moon had colored rings around it and then color jutted out underneath it, making it look like it was sitting on a sunset. I had seen rings around the moon, which are caused by ice particles in the upper atmosphere, but had never seen the effect that was beneath it. I Goog*led moonbow, but that wasn't it and I kept searching until I found what I was looking for. The ring around the moon is an indication that there is a storm coming - either rain or snow. (I hope it isn't snow.) The effect that was under the moon is called a moon dog, related to a sun dog. It was a very interesting night sky last night and I really wanted to share it.
First the canal itself and then we approached a little foot bridge that has a wooden floor and metal sides. This area is very pretty in the summer when everything is green.
The foot bridge is used for taking a short cut across the canal. People that live in this area often walk this way to go to the grocery store that is about two city blocks away. 
This area is on the southeast side of the foot bridge. This is where Meeko and I often see red-winged blackbirds, finches and other bird species. Further to the east is where the blue heron comes for breakfast. Pileated woodpeckers, squirrels, garter snakes, groundhogs, raccons, kingfishers and other bird and animal species call that area home. I'm rather avoiding it right now because the garter snakes are basking in the sun after a long winter of hibernation. I am not afraid of snakes but dislike them intensley, so stay on this side of the path. Later in the summer the snakes will make themselves less visible and that is when I will visit there. Meeko likes chasing and catching snakes and last year was bitten. You'd think he'd learn.
That's about all the news from here for now. It was quite a weekend and though I would have enjoyed gardening with the boys, it just wasn't to be. Take care everyone and remember to do a random act of kindness. Everyone needs to feel that they are special. 
Instead of gardening, we had supper (all of us but Jordan, he only ate a couple of bites) and then we watched Ratatouille on TV. It is the story of a rat who dreams of being a chef. I had taken the boys to the movie theater to see this when it came out, but we all enjoyed watching it for a second time. If you haven't seen it, be sure to take time to watch it. It is a delightful tale and your children and grandchildren will love it.
It was a beautiful day here on Saturday and it was nice to get out into the Great Outdoors. The robins were calling for rain but according to the weatherman we are not to have rain until Wednesday.