I can relate. There is a group of three houses on one property up the street that I call the WTC (White Trash Compound). Over the years, we've met some of the kids/adults who live there. From what I've heard from the other neighbors, they take in a lot of foster kids. There is one woman, "the mom" who I see the most often. She seems sort of normal, and takes one of her children (not sure if this kid is foster or not) to the bus stop every morning. It seems like most of the other kids have disabilities, and go to other schools, or stay at home. She also has an adult brother who hangs out in front of the property smoking cigarettes most of the day. He always looks very dirty, and he also supposedly has learning disabilities (there is definitely something wrong with him). They don't really cause any problems, but their property is a mess. Lots of garbage everywhere, old vehicles etc. This morning while we were waiting at the bus stop, two teenaged girls came out of the house and started swearing and beating each other up!!! I took my kindergartener back in the house because I didn't want her to see/hear it. The "mother" actually came out of the house and was watching them swing at each other. Finally, she told them to take their argument inside. It was very strange. Luckily, they live about 5 houses away. If I had to live next door/across from them, I don't know what I would do.

Literature says nothing to those human beings who are satisfied with their lot, who are content with life as they now live it. Literature is the food of the rebellious spirit, the promulgator of non-conformities, the refuge for those who have too much or too little in life. One seeks sanctuary in literature so as not to be unhappy and so as not to be incomplete. To ride alongside the scrawny Rocinante and the confused Knight on the fields of La Mancha, to sail the seas on the back of a whale with Captain Ahab, to drink arsenic with Emma Bovary, to become an insect with Gregor Samsa: these are all ways that we have invented to divest ourselves of the wrongs and the impositions of this unjust life, a life that forces us always to be the same person when we wish to be many different people, so as to satisfy the many desires that possess us. Mario Vargas Llosa Even when reading is impossible, the presence of books acquired produces such an ecstasy that the buying of more books than one can read is nothing less than the soul reaching towards infinity . . . we cherish books even if unread; their mere presence exudes comfort; their ready access, reassurance. A.E. Newton

Finished Kathleen Tessaro's "Debutante". Not exactly "chick lit." since it doesn't stress designer clothes or "looking for 'Mr. Right' ". Has depth of character and good background development. One of the characters is partly based on the Mitford sisters. It jumps back-and-forth from a modern-day woman to a back-in-time woman. The woman from the past is revealed through a series of letters she wrote, which pop up in each chapter. A unique, intriguing way to tell a tale; but then I like these sort of parallel universe stories. In the Author's Note section I was disgusted to learn of how people (mostly women, it seems) were locked away in institutions for no good reason. In one case they only had typhoid (no mental problems), and after they were cured, they were kept locked up ... some of them for 60 years ! ! The cure for typhoid was discovered in the 1950s ... some of those women were locked up till the 1990s ! And this -- two women were listed in Burkes Peerage as having died, when they were very much alive -- were cousins of the late Queen Mother. It seems the girls' parents didn't want to deal with their upbringing; so just left them at an "institution" for life. They were later joined by three of their first cousins -- also retarded. One of those girls was sent on to Ketwin House, which was closed down amid allegations of sexual and other abuse. Her "stay" there had been paid by the NHS !! -- even though her family was wealthy. These sorts of things make my blood run cold. And to think, these are perpetrated by intelligent people. And -- worst of all --- in the case of children -- they were put there -- and abandoned, sounds like -- by THEIR OWN PARENTS.

Hello everyone, My name is PAM. I write it in all CAPS as there used to be about five Pam's here and this was an easy way to help differentiate. Not an ego thing, honestly. I hail from central PA. I have been on RP since the mid-1990's and remember the Spike years and being "Disneyed". I visit here regularly but have posted less frequently since I 1) got divorced and 2) started to work full time. But now I am getting back to RP and it feels great to be back "home" amongst friends. George Gissing is my favorite writer and I tend to go on and on about him occasionally. I do enjoy the classics but need to read more of them. As I get older, I find I am spending less time on fluff and more time on the non-fiction and the classics. (Present book club book EXCEPTED... ugh... true crime by Ann Rule.. someone SAVE me, please.) I read almost anything except romance, western and sci-fi. LOVE well-written non-fiction especially micro-histories. I shall definitely be crushed one day by my books. I love to garden but need more time. I enjoy needlework but need more time. And when it comes right down to it... I put away the needlework, let the weeds grow, and pick up a book. I am in three book clubs but often just show up for the wine. (AstroKath... Rosemont Estates is one of my favorites.) My favorite thing about RP is that reading is such a solitary passion (not hobby, PASSION), but here at RP, I can share with like-minded, intelligent, kind, people. Oh, and I am engaged and soon to be married. Life is so good. PAM