Orphan Train Riders. Their own stories

by : The Orphan Train Heritage Society of America.

A few weeks ago the children and I read a great book by Eve Bunting entitled "Train To Somewhere". It was a truly touching and eloquently written picture book that had both Seri and I in tears by the time we finished.

This book got me interested in the history of Orphan Trains, another event in our history that many today could go through life without ever being aware of. Between 1854 and 1929, an estimated 200,000 homeless children, mostly from New York and other eastern U.S. cities, were sent west on trains to be taken by families who either wanted a child or who wanted an extra hand to help out with daily chores. The Childrens Aid Society discovered this placement form to help deal with the ever growing number of street rats and orphaned children that were roaming the streets of New York and quickly filling up all the orphanages. Some were orphaned due to their parents death, others as a result of the heavy flux of immigrants coming into the country, and still others because their parents just could not afford to keep them.

Some of these children went to homes where they were loved and cared for, others as you can imagine, didn't.

This is a compilation of the stories of those children. It is a fascinating look at a part of our history. There are usually pictures of the children and their families, or of documentation that is helping them on their quest to try to figure out where they really came from.

It is a pretty large volume and I would not recommend reading it straight from cover to cover as after awhile the stories start to sound the same and can get repititous. Read at seperate intervals their message and emotions would remain intact and powerful.

Bait And Switch: The (Futile) Pursuit of The American Dream

Barbara Ehrenreich

The author of " Nicled and Dimed" returns to capture my intrest. I find her an intriguing author even though it doesn't make logical sense. What does a Christian, conservative, homemaker have in common with an atheist, liberal, professional?

In this book she attempts to enter corporate America. In her attempt she is exposed to it all from resume writing, to career coaching, job boards, job fairs and the all important, network, network, network....

Eventually she does end up with a job offer... from a variety of companies that are "commision only", Mary Kay, Melaleuca and AFLAC.

The book is enlightening in so many ways. The journal of someone in "transition" (since corporate workers are never unemployed). This may not come as a surprise to others but to me in my naive world it did. You can do everything right, go to college, get a degree, work hard for a company and still be let go at a moments notice for a variety of reasons under a variety of titles, "downsizing" "realligning" "restructuring", etc........ The average corporate worker is said to hold at least five different jobs in their lives. So scary......

I guesse Matt just lucked his way into the corporate world. He had wonderful training through our church employment office where they helped him with his resume, attire, and interview skills (considering he had never before in his life been to an interview above minimum-wage jobs). He was offered a job within two months with all benefits at a nice salary. The average worker in transition can expect to go at least eight months between jobs. This also makes me look at the situations of many people we know. Although our circle of friends is still somewhat limited to the military. One set of friends retired after twenty one years so the husband could go to work at Wallmart. He is now considered to old to enter corporate America and with only military experience there is not a thing he is "qualified" to do. Another set of friends includes the wife working for an agency that assists the elderly in getting to their appt.s and such and the hubbie working part-time at Lands End. The wife desperately misses the days when she was a stay-at-home mom and could be there for her children and my heart aches for them... They are all great people with good skill sets, but apparently that is not good enough. So what is there in life after the military?

The statistics don't reflect this in unemployment because many of them fall into the category of under-employed. Those people who went to college, have experience and relevant skill sets and are still reduced to working minimum wage jobs.

Far from a dry book, Barbara tells of her experiences with a lot of facts mixed in with sarcasim, witt and wisdom, who could not love reading her work? This one was especially fun to read because I read it outloud to Matt on a trip to the other side of the state to pick up my children from a visit with Nana. It was so much more interesting to read it with him and stop and discuss certain points along the way.

Inside The Mormon Mind: The Social Psychology of Mormonism

Elizabeth T. Tice, PH.D.

A short but very interesting read.

The author is a former Mormon who left the church in her late thirties. Her family and a majority of her friends are faithful Mormons. Unlike most anti-literature this book is the closest I have seen to an unbiased and truly scientific approach at looking at the Social Psychology of Mormonism.Of course some of her points are biased and not entirely accurate.But when you get through this and into the actual Psychology of it, it does prove interesting. The major point in the book concentrates on the Cognitive Dissonance theory, or in other words the idea that a person can't remain complacent with two ideas that are at extremes of eachother.

While as a psychology addict I find her arguments interesting I really think she missed the mark. The thing about scientific psychology is that most religion defies it. The very essence of faith defies logic. Yet for those who feel it, the logic doesn't matter, no matter what fancy name you classify it under. There are books that edify and uplift mentally as well as spiritually. While interesting, this is not one of them.

Many of our non-Mormon friends tend to think we are being "dupped". To them I reply as I once heard a friend relpy. "If I am being dupped, then bring it on." I look at what we have and at our friends and I am so thankful for our knowledge of the Gospel and for our obediance. We have truly seen change in our lives. Anyone who knew Matt ten years ago and knows him now can testify to the fact of his change. The strife, unhappiness, tension..... that I see in some of our friends daily lives does not exist in ours. Our family is extremely close, more so than most non-member families I have been aquainted with. We have been unbelievably blessed in every area of our lives, and we believe this is as a result of the obediance to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel. There is nothing I would change...... So again, if this is what being "dubbed" entails.......BRING IT ON!!!!!!!!!!

The Ladies auxiliary

Tova Mirvis

Wow, what a great book!! It had me hooked from page one. A fictional story that will make you ponder and think about many things.

The story is set in Memphis, a traditional orthodox Jewish community where everyones roots are dug deep. It is the responsibilitie of each citizen to ensure that standards are kept, everyones buiseness is theirs, and to continue this life style for all future generations whether they like it or not.

Into this tight community enters Batsheva. A Widowed convert to the Jewish faith with a past. The ladies all try to welcome her into the fold, but the problem is she has a different way of doing things and noone is comfortable. They are comfortable with routine, even if that means they have forgotten about the spirit and meanings of their rituals. Those things are no longer important, what is important is that you perform the ritual the same way everyone else does. The story will have you probing deep into those auxiliaries to which you belong. Some of the questions you ask yourself when truthfully answered hurt.

Within this story there is another. This one is about parents holding onto their children tightly in order to keep the outside world at bay and save their families. You began to question whether you yourself are holding on too tightly. Where is the line between freedom and protective barriers? What will guarantee me children who will not succomb to those dangers I am striving so hard to keep them from? And the questions go on.........

The author's writing style accentuates the book. The narrator always writes from a "we" standpoint and while you become familiar with the other characters, you are never really introduced to the narrator specifically. This technique give the impression that the story is told from the collective voice of the ladies. Without eachother they do not have their individual voice.