Richard Ward

Grampas Are for All Seasons Richard Ward

This is a book of a thousand topics, words, aphorisms, phrases from sages of all ages, unique definitions, famous speeches of Frederick Douglass, Lincoln on Thanksgiving, Washington's bow to the Almighty, the genius and youthful traumas of Percy Bysshe Shelley, the author's take on contemporary issues- ethics, politics, religion, behavior, economics, foreign service- meeting King Hussein, the run to Petra and to Qumran, trials of women in Kabul, the descent to the Khyber Pass and to Kandahar and the ascent to not so lofty Katmandu, the trip from Kyrenia to chaos in Cyprus, war travels and experiences in the Pacific, a year living with the Brits, where monarchy reigns but not so supreme, lots about Catholicism, philosophy and mythology, poetry, passion, senescence, love, God. The author's thoughts good and bad about Harvard, education, sports-his own and Britain's Soccer Hooligans-, a plethora of insights and observations from his years of note taking on life and living regarding abortion, cohabitation, sex, entertainment, writing, the quality of belief, Christianity, Heaven and dozens of other issues. This is, in a phrase, literally a dictionary- a compendium or Common Place Bookof entries gleaned from the author's lifetime of ruminating about a thousand different items that triggered his interest and found there way into his notes and journals. Organized within a subject framework instead of alphabetically, the book's chapter headings would have summarized these topics: Wit and Wisdom From Sages of All ages; Chosen Words and Phrases with Meaning; Foreign Vistas; The United Kingdom- A Long Look at Albion; War, A Man and His Ship; When Can Mythology be Relevant?; Of Place, Space and Time; The Bible Speaks to Us: Of Religious Matters; Morality and Behavior in Modern Life; Insights and Philosophies About Living; Sports: An Elixir at Any Age?; Family Matters; The Human Thing About Us; Pathways to Success; Lessons for Life From Poetry; Africa's R