reading (Twice 22)

Today I finished Bradbury's "Twice 22." It's actually two books in one: The Golden Apples of the Sun and A Medicine for Melancholy. The latter I must have read before because all of the stories were familiar. Of the former volume I'd only read a few of the stories no doubt in some other compilation. The stories date from 1948 to 1959, but aside from the occasional reference to the year 2000 being the far future they remain very readable.

"The Murderer" is uncanny in its prediction of today. The names of the devices are wrong, but the behaviors are dead on. It's a tribute to Bradbury's insight and understanding of psychology. "En La Noche" is five short pages which imply volumes that couldn't be spoken in 1952 and are too thoughtful for today.

39. Ray Bradbury "Twice 22"

rideabout

Yesterday we got up early, had a quick breakfast, then got out the door. Our stated destination was the Robert Frost Farm down in Derry, NH. It was a pleasant two hour ride down in the van. (  The sun was warm and traffic was agreeable and it was very nice when we got to the farm. )

When we left the frost house we decided to head north in a wandering circular trip of nearly epic proportions. We travelled up Interstate 93 through the white mountains through the beauty that is Franconia Notch in the fall. Then we skirted the top edge of the mountains east past the Presidential Range to Gorham and Berlin, NH. After stopping briefly in Berlin we wandered our way east back into Maine and southeast to Portland. We left at around 9am and returned around 8pm, quiet tired, having covered nearly 400 miles through incredible mountains and valleys.

The van performed flawlessly through everything. The mileage on the first fill tank of mixed city commuting and highway driving was just a smidge over 20mpg.