Gritty Grace

by David Rust | Religion & Spirituality |
ISBN: 9780979195716 Global Overview for this book
Registered by wingGoryDetailswing of Nashua, New Hampshire USA on 6/19/2009
Buy from one of these Booksellers:
Amazon.com | Amazon UK | Amazon CA | Amazon DE | Amazon FR | Amazon IT | Bol.com
This book is in a Controlled Release! This book is in a Controlled Release!
5 journalers for this copy...
Journal Entry 1 by wingGoryDetailswing from Nashua, New Hampshire USA on Friday, June 19, 2009
I picked up another copy of this one for release, as the first one came with a personal inscription from the author - my father! He's been writing a regular column for the Tyler County Booster in Texas for some years now, and recently arranged to have the collected columns published, and here they are. (I've read many of them over the years, but far from all, so this will be my chance to catch up. And not just to see how often he mentions me {grin}.)

Later: Biased or not, I thoroughly enjoyed the book. The columns cover topics as varied as squirrels, hearing aids, WWII fighters, and oil rigs (during Hurricane Audrey, yet), and ranging from his childhood in rural Louisiana in the '30s through his dealings with the computer age.

A few samples: in "The Benefits of Laziness" my very own father admitted to fabricating all the data in a formal engineering report he had to write for college After fearing that he'd have to spend weeks doing research, he had an inspiration:
How was the instructor going to verify every cipher, jot, and tittle of all those reports? And the answer was simple: he wasn't. He couldn't care less whether the data was right. All he wanted to know was whether we could write a correct engineering report. Voila! I could make it all up! And I did.... And if there was a legitimate statistic in the whole shebang, it was an accident.

Oh, I wrote it up beautifully. I could write better than the average slipsticker. I had oodles of footnotes, a majestic bibliography, all exquisitely formatted in correct order. It pulled an A in the course, the only one given. It took me about two days to write it.... I expect the Statute of Limitations has run out by now, but if Tulane wants my sheepskin back I reckon they can have it. I must say it served me well. And even though I did well as an engineer, I did even better as a writer.
And in "More About Semantics":
Sometimes good semantics takes liberties with good grammar.... One of the more drastic examples I know of comes from Confederate General Nathan B. Forrest. No, it's not "Git thar fustest with the mostest," which he did not say. He was relatively unlettered, but not that unlettered. However, there is in my family a copy of a letter endorsed by him.

Written by a captain under his command, this beautifully scripted, elegantly phrased missive fills two pages, requesting a special leave from the fighting front. Diagonally across the first page, Forrest had scrawled, "I tol you twict, goddammit, No!"
In the "Jokery" column is this anecdote, which I don't think Dad ever pulled himself:
Another form of the aeronautical joke was sometimes pulled by a primary instructor, as a means of putting his student on the spot. Flying in a dual-control trainer, the instructor would get the pigeon's attention, take out his removable control stick, and throw it over the side. But one brash cadet turned the tables. Anticipating this trick, he hid an extra control stick in his cockpit ahead of time. When the instructor went through his charade, the student nodded intelligently and threw his stick overboard too!
"Cat People/Dog People" was a lovely reminder of our family pets over the years; "Uncle Bill" introduces the reader to the oldest of Dad's four uncles, whom I recall as a somewhat-intimidating, grizzled figure, but who was probably more intimidated by the presence of small children than we were by him. [Among his many quirks: after he'd chosen the VW Beetle as his vehicle of choice - because he could roll down the right-hand window from the driver's seat - he constructed a form-fitting "garage" for it, a Beetle-shaped wooden enclosure, counterweighted so he could raise and lower it easily. I think I have a picture of that somewhere; if I can find it I'll post it.]

I noticed that the book's back cover lists it in the "Christian testimony" category. It's true that some of the articles in the book contain my father's personal testimony of faith, as his faith is a big part of his life. Some readers might find those articles the most compelling, but there are plenty of columns that don't have religious overtones, for those who prefer their commentary that way! [FWIW, he and I don't have the same views on some things, but he's one of the most loving people I know. And he's always open for a good debate, even if it's unlikely that either party will change their views...]

Journal Entry 2 by wingGoryDetailswing from Nashua, New Hampshire USA on Sunday, June 21, 2009
I'm offering this for a book ray. [See the forum thread here.] The book is a hardcover that will probably weigh just over 1 pound with packaging, something to keep in mind when estimating shipping costs.

Bookray instructions:

When you receive the book, please journal it, and PM the next person in line for their address so you'll have it ready when you've finished the book.
Note: even if you've sent books to that person before, please PM them before mailing this one, to confirm that the address is correct and that they're able to take on a bookray book at this time.
Try and read the book promptly - ideally, within one month of receiving it. (If you expect to take longer, you can request to be put at the end of the list. If you find you're swamped with other books when the person before you contacts you about the book, you can ask to be skipped, and then let me know whether you'd like to be moved down the list or dropped entirely. If you receive the book and find it's taking longer than you'd planned to get through it, I'd appreciate an update in its journal entries or on your profile, just to let me and the other participants know you haven't forgotten it.)

When you're ready to pass the book along, please add your comments about the book and indicate where you're sending it, either through a journal entry or through the controlled-release-note option. [If you use the controlled-release-note option and specify your own country/state/city, we'll end up with a handsome map of the book's travels!] If you find that you're having problems contacting the next person in line, or don't think you can manage to mail the book as originally agreed, please let me know; I'll be glad to try to work something out.

Participants in mailing order:

katiesmama [FL - USA]
imawinn2 [WI - USA]
hereticcoy [NJ - USA] *** last heard of here ***

cheryllr [NV - USA]
Megi53 [VA - USA]
FancyHorse [AL - USA]
bananabrianna [Canada]
Sherlockfan [New Zealand]
.
.
.

Journal Entry 3 by wingGoryDetailswing at Nashua, New Hampshire USA on Friday, June 26, 2009

Released 14 yrs ago (6/26/2009 UTC) at Nashua, New Hampshire USA

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

I sent the book to katiesmama in Florida today, to kick off the book ray; hope you enjoy it!

Journal Entry 4 by katiesmama from Cape Coral, Florida USA on Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Gritty Grace has arrived safe and sound in SW Florida. I love the cover art! I'm looking forward to jumping in and will PM next in line for their address as well. Thanks, Gory.

Journal Entry 5 by katiesmama from Cape Coral, Florida USA on Friday, July 10, 2009
A delightful book! If your dad publishes more of his columns Gory, I'd love to be in the next ray as well:) I enjoyed the Christmas columns and Life in England the most; and I think I now have a much better appreciation of pilots!! Thank you for sharing. This book is on the way to Imawinn2 tomorrow, 7/10.

Journal Entry 6 by imawinn2 from Neenah, Wisconsin USA on Thursday, July 16, 2009
Gritty Grace arrived today. Looks like a great book of tales. I'll be reading it a.s.a.p. I'm in the middle of a short little murder mystery but I should be done with it within the week.

Journal Entry 7 by imawinn2 from Neenah, Wisconsin USA on Thursday, July 30, 2009
I sure enjoyed your Dad's book. I love his wit, positive outlook, and insight on the various topics of which he wrote. I also appreciate his sense of values and his "good ol' fashion" work ethics. Especially enjoyable was a glimpse of life back during the Depression and his experience as a fighter pilot during World War II. Please give your Dad my best and say Hi! to ol' Eph for me. ;-)

I already contacted hereticcoy and will send this off as soon as I get their address.

Journal Entry 8 by imawinn2 from Neenah, Wisconsin USA on Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Gritty Grace is now traveling off to hereticcoy. I dropped it off at the post office yesterday morning. Enjoy the stories!

Journal Entry 9 by rem_HSA-209781 from Howell, New Jersey USA on Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Rec'd this book in early August. I sincerely apologize for not journaling it's arrival sooner. I have been in the process of painting and moving furniture around so it ended up getting tucked in a box of books.

I didn't end up reading much of this book to its religious nature. I tried to get past it and enjoy it for what it was but it wasn't for me.

I will PM the next person and get it moving right away.

Rosie

Journal Entry 10 by wingGoryDetailswing from Nashua, New Hampshire USA on Wednesday, November 11, 2009
It looks as though this book may have stalled; I haven't heard anything from hereticcoy in some time. I'm especially sad about it as it's Veterans Day, and I'd hoped that more people would have been able to read about my Dad's wartime exploits by now.

[Hereticcoy, I hope you're OK; if you need help moving the book along, either in obtaining addresses or in managing the postage, please let me know!]

Journal Entry 11 by wingGoryDetailswing from Nashua, New Hampshire USA on Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Well, I don't know if this book was lost in the mail or is still with hereticcoy, from whom I've heard nothing in several months now, but in any case I'm going to re-start the ray as a ring, with my keeper-copy, and hope it makes it {rueful grin}. Here's the replacement copy, in case anyone wants to check up on its travels...

Journal Entry 12 by wingGoryDetailswing from Nashua, New Hampshire USA on Sunday, March 7, 2010
Updated to add: Megi53 has graciously picked up another copy of the book with which to continue the bookray, so my own inscribed copy can come home; how sweet is that! Interested parties can follow the progress of the newest replacement copy here.

Journal Entry 13 by rem_HSA-209781 at Farmingdale, New Jersey USA on Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Shipped original copy to Megi53 on Monday January 9th, 2012. I sent it with delivery confirmation. #03110820000031428209. Should arrive on the 14th.

I'm truly sorry for any trouble I've caused by letting this book stall.


Journal Entry 14 by rem_HSA-209781 at Danville, Virginia USA on Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Released 12 yrs ago (1/11/2012 UTC) at Danville, Virginia USA

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

See above JE.

Journal Entry 15 by Megi53 at Danville, Virginia USA on Thursday, January 12, 2012
I read this book last year, and loved it! Some of the daily columns were hilarious, some were poignant, and some were informational.

I'm going to reread a few of my favorites (especially the one about bicycles) and then send to my son-in-law in Afghanistan. After that, who knows??

Journal Entry 16 by Megi53 at Danville, Virginia USA on Friday, April 13, 2012

Released 11 yrs ago (4/7/2012 UTC) at Danville, Virginia USA

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Mailed to my son-in-law, deployed in Bagram, Afghanistan, for his birthday on April 17.

Are you sure you want to delete this item? It cannot be undone.