It never ceases to amaze me …

the kindness and generosity, in general, of human beings. Sure, people can be selfish shits, so can I … but the evidence of goodness in people, for me, has a longer-lasting impact, makes more of an impression. This is obviously not true for the cynics of the world. As a matter of fact, it’s the opposite that would be true: Goodness, to them, seems flimsy and unsubstantial. It is the bad-ness that makes the impression.

Well, for me … I am stunned by the kindness of people. And I am stunned by the generosity.

I am thinking about this right now because I just received a gift in the mail from my Amazon list … sent to me by this gentleman right here, a gentleman who has, to put it mildly, a lot going on right now. But he took the time to look at my list, and send me 2 things I had asked for … because he likes to read my site every day and forget a little bit about his troubles. This, for me, is the greatest compliment.

I have tears in my eyes right now. Big Dan: fighting against his own body that is trying to destroy him – and yet still: he writes every day on his blog – thank God! It’s such a gift to read it. It is always a reminder that we should not take this life for granted. But now … with the gifts arrived … from this man I do not know, this man I have never met …

Honestly, I’m all choked up right now. It’s generosity like a blinding light.

So. What did he buy me?? Well, this is VERY exciting. I’m all a-twitter about it.

1. Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow. It’s massive. It’s a beaaauuuuutiful book, too – hardcover. And inside are all these glossy pages filled with stunning portraits of all the main characters in Hamilton’s life, including one of George Washington, leaning with his elbow against a cannon – a really casual open pose, very very unlike his later stiff self. I love the illustrations. Can’t seem to get enough of Alexander Hamilton, no matter how much I try to segue out into other interests. He is endlessly fascinating. I am very VERY excited to start this book.

2. Staying with that theme, Dan sent me a second book: Adams vs. Jefferson: The Tumultuous Election of 1800 (Pivotal Moments in American History). I’ve written quite a bit before about this election – it’s one of my passions from that period. To my mind, it is after THAT election that we truly became a nation. A nation unlike any other nation on earth. There was no coup, no overthrow … and these were two brand-new political parties who not only hated each other, but truly believed that the ruin of the nation would come if the other side was elected. (Huh. Sound familiar?) It’s an amazing story – the story of that election, and I’ve read it, of course, in the biographies of Adams and Jefferson – the ugliness of that campaign (which makes our polarization look like child’s play – These people were apocalyptically mean about their opponents). I started a book called Jefferson’s Second Revolution: The Election Crisis of 1800 and the Triumph of Republicanism, and did a couple of posts on it – but I’m going to be frank: The woman cannot write. I was forcing myself to get through it because of the story told, but she cannot write. If you see that book in a bookstore and feel like picking it up, remember my words: She is a bad writer. I stopped reading the book, and now another book has arrived – from Pastor Dan. It is a gorgeous book as well, and I’m reaallly excited to dig into it.

Thank you!!! I love my two new books! They have proudly taken their spots in Bookshelf # 6.