Thoughts on "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr

“All the Light We Cannot See” by Anthony Doerr continues a streak of books that I have read that deal with World War II. For the past couple of years, I have been searching for and reading nonfiction and fiction pertaining to this time period. Historical fiction is fun to read as authors weave their characters into scenes that happened in reality. It is definitely one of my favorite genres.

World War II is so interesting because it forces me to self-reflect on what I would have done if I was a German living during the 1930's and 1940's. Werner, a teenage German orphan, is one of the main characters in the book. You can feel his despair and longing to be successful and to gain knowledge of the world, particularly when it comes to mechanics and electronics. His real world experience working on older radios leads him on a path towards joining the German military as his talent becomes recognized by military leaders. Despite objections from his younger sister, Jutta, Werner decides to go off to a Nazi military training school to further his education and become a soldier. As the war progresses, Werner’s skills in repairing and building radios and using radio frequencies to triangulate positions based on detected radio signals becomes invaluable to the Nazis as they snuff out resistance fighters in Europe. He is confronted with various dilemmas throughout the novel that threaten his success and his humanity.

I found myself pondering many questions about these dilemmas while reading “All the Light We Cannot See”:

• Is achieving success worth more than standing up for what is right?
• What is worth giving up my life for?
• Can I stand up to authority when authority is wrong?
• Can I stand up to the mob when the mob is wrong?
• What am I scared to lose that prevents me from doing the right thing?
• Is choosing to do nothing when I witness wrongdoings just as bad as the wrongdoings?

Contemplating these questions ahead of time will not prepare a person for what they will actually do if ever confronted with difficult situations. This is one reason I hesitate to condemn the actions of the military in combat and police officers while fighting crime in the street. When self-preservation is a natural instinct, everything and everyone else is an afterthought.

In the end, Werner is awestruck with Marie-Laure, another main character, and love ultimately transforms his thinking from his own self-preservation to thinking more about the well-being of another person. However, how far does this thinking go? Does Werner’s self-preservation only now extend to that of Marie-Laure?

“All the Light We Cannot See” is a solid novel with intriguing characters that is entertaining and thought provoking. It reinforces that doing the right thing and resisting despotism is difficult. Despite all the evolutionary progress humans have made, we are just animals looking to live another day.

Memorable Quotes

“After she has gone back to sleep, after Etienne has blown out his candle, he kneels for a long time beside his bed. The bony figure of Death rides the streets below, stopping his mount now and then to peer into windows. Horns of fire on his head and smoke leaking from his nostrils and, in his skeletal hands, a list newly charged with addresses. Gazing first at the crew of officers unloading from their limousines into the chateau. Then at the flowing rooms of the perfumer Claude Levitte. Then at the dark tall house of Etienne LeBlanc. Pass us by, Horseman. Pass this house by.”

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“Don’t you want to be alive before you die?”

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“Science, my lad, is made up of mistakes, but they are mistakes which it is useful to make, because they lead little by little to the truth.”

Father's Day Weekend in Red River

A scenic drive, a small mountain town, and a comfortable RV park make for a nice June outing. Over Father’s Day weekend, we took a trip to Red River, New Mexico. Red River is a cool mountain town in northern New Mexico about 40 miles from Taos, New Mexico in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. This was our first official trip in Connie, our “brand new to us” 33 foot Class C RV. This trip was hastily planned and so we booked the only available site at Roadrunner RV Resort that is located 1 mile from town. We opted to stay there since our family was there as well.

Preparation for our trip was surprisingly easy. We only stayed Friday - Sunday so we did not need much to get us through the weekend. Roadrunner RV Resort has full hookups so we did not have to concern ourselves with filling up Connie’s fresh water tanks and we had already packed most of our camping supplies. All we had to do was get the refrigerator turned on (push a button) and load up our food and beverages. I did add some water to the fresh water tank for the toilet in case we needed to use it on the short drive over to Red River from Albuquerque.

One of the neat things about this trip is the drive. It is about 3.5 hours but the varied terrain going from Albuquerque to Red River is interesting to observe. The route took us from Albuquerque to Santa Fe to Espanola, north to Taos and Questa, and finally, east to Red River. The most boring leg of the trip is the Albuquerque to Espanola stretch, mostly because my wife and I have driven this route so many times to visit family. However, Espanola to Red River is beautiful!

Things get interesting once out of Espanola and headed up the mountain past Velarde. The drive is along the mountain side on a 2-lane highway that borders the Rio Grande River. This stretch of river is very popular for rafting so it is fun to watch the many groups of rafters headed down the river bobbing up and over the rapids. During wet years (yes, we have those in New Mexico) the river can look absolutely violent with its white capped rapids as it rages southward. Unfortunately, this year, New Mexico has been dry so the river looked lower than usual and not as lively. Some of the climbs are pretty steep but overall, the drive up the mountain is not too bad even in a loaded RV. One of the coolest sights is a few miles out of Taos. After climbing over a steep incline, you can see the Rio Grande Gorge. It is quite the spectacle looking out over the flat mesa and seeing a large crevice cut through it. If you have never driven over the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge west of Taos, I highly recommend it!

Circumventing the Taos Pueblo due to construction was actually a treat. All the times I had visited Taos I never ventured much from the main town. Having to take State Road 240 gave us a chance to survey the “suburb” neighborhoods of Taos. There were a lot more houses out on the western end of Taos than I thought. The land is pretty open as well with a lot of the houses sitting on large plots of land. The road needed some work but it added to the rustic feel of the area.

My favorite part of the drive was from Questa to Red River. At this point, you are in the mountains again and it is very green! I was surprised how green it was considering the drought conditions. It is gorgeous country. Once in Questa, we took NM-38 east to Red River. There are some great US National Forest Campgrounds off 38. All of them were closed due to the lack of rain, but I believe they are now open. I would definitely stay at these campgrounds as they are set within pine trees and are near hiking trails and the town of Red River.

We drove into Red River and had to go through town to get to Roadrunner RV Resort. Surprisingly, Red River was pretty quiet this weekend despite a wine festival going on at Brandenburg Park. The campground closures probably had something to do with the lack of crowds. Roadrunner RV Resort is popular and for a good reason. Their check-in process is smooth and flawless. You drive up and you are greeted at their gate by someone with all the information you need about the park and Red River without having to park and leave your vehicle. This is so convenient when traveling around in a 30’ plus RV. The sites are close together, but most RV parks are set up this way. The best sites are on the south end of the park, which includes an “over 18 only” area and some of the more spacious sites that back up to the river (sites 59-70). Most of my family had these sites. The reservation process can be done on-line on Roadrunner RV Resort’s website.

Roadrunner is set up nicely for families. They have tennis courts, a playground, a dog run, and multiple road loops that make it difficult to speed, allowing people to walk around the park without having to worry about reckless drivers. There are quite a few sites with trees and shade and most sites will accommodate large rigs. From my experience, the 30-Amp, water, and sewer connections are all conveniently placed and service is stable. They also offer free Wifi but for a $5 per day charge, the Wifi is much faster and more reliable. I give Roadrunner RV Resort 2 thumbs up!

Most of our time on Friday was spent setting up camp, testing out all of Connie’s features, and finishing up some work tasks that I had to get done (the reason I paid for Wifi!). One of the things that I immediately noticed with a motorhome compared to a tent and a popup camper is just how simple everything is to set up! Within 20 minutes we had the connections going, the slides out, and Connie leveled to perfection. My wife did not yell at me once! It was glorious. 😀

On Saturday, we decided to visit Red River and check out the wine festival. We leashed up the dogs, put on our sweaters due to the cloudy, fresh weather, and started the less than 1-mile walk into town from Roadrunner. It was perfect weather and miraculously, much needed rain started falling and continued on-and-off until Sunday. The wine festival was pretty small and we were kicked out within 20 minutes because our dogs were not very well-behaved, according to security. No matter though. The 2 wines I sampled were not worth writing about. It is hard to beat the wines from Gruet, Acclaimed, and M'tucci's Rosso (I am a red wine kind of guy). We spent most of the afternoon wandering around town, watching the family’s kiddos have fun on go carts, checking out the shops, and scoping out the breweries and restaurants for dinner. I guess the dogs were better behaved because we received no other complaints. 😀 Once we decided on plans for the evening we grabbed a coffee from Steam Coffee and Tea and hiked back to Roadrunner in a steady drizzle.

We rested for a few hours and by early evening we started getting ready to head out. We set the AC in Connie to a comfortable 75 degrees for the dogs (their first test alone in the RV) and got picked up by my cousin to head back into town to eat at Brett’s Bistro. Folks, if you go to Red River and do not eat at Brett’s, you are missing out! Our entire family met up there and everything that was ordered from salads to steaks was absolutely delicious! Make sure to go hungry because the portions are massive. My wife and I ordered the chicken fried steak and got the “large” plate to share rather than the “extra large” and it was more than plenty to feed the both of us. The meat was perfectly cooked, no grease, minimal fat, and no nervy bites. The mashed potatoes were tasty and the vegetables were not overly fried. Would I go back? Most definitely! And I will try the filet mignon!

After dinner, we (the entire family) walked over to Red River Brewing Company and Distillery for dessert and drinks. The weather was cooler and still pretty wet but manageable. The nice patio at Red River Brewing also had a huge outdoor fire pit that gave off plenty of heat to hang out outside and enjoy the mountain scenery. Everything was perfect! My wife and I ordered their beer flight to start and could not have been happier. All the beers were very good and after wiping out the flight, I ordered the “Bad Medicine Honey DIPA” and sipped that while waiting for my carrot cake. The carrot cake was good and not too sweet. I enjoyed it. However, the dessert winner by far was the pecan pie cobbler. Yum!

The moment of truth came later in the evening when we went back to camp to see how the dogs fared alone in Connie. As we walked up to Connie, Baxter and Beau were sitting in the passenger seat looking out the window. We opened the door and Josie was laying down on the sofa. We looked around and everything was intact! They passed the test with flying colors!

Like most camping trips, we wish we could have stayed one more day, but responsibilities. 😞 Red River, New Mexico is a cute, mountain town with good restaurants and where outdoor activities abound. For our next trip to the area, I would love to try to hit the hiking trails and try some fishing out at Fawn Lakes or in the Red River. As for Connie the RV, I think she is going to work out just fine.

US Government and Roe vs Wade

 

Image courtesy of CLEANPNG.com

The United States of America is an interesting place with a complex system of government that seems dysfunctional and full of conflict. Many times the complexity results in many laws and regulations left in legal purgatory with no hope of being passed. Most US citizens lament this fact and accuse the government of being broken. But is it?

  To understand what is going on in US current events, it helps to understand how the federal government is set up and why it was set up the way it is. The federal government consists of 3 separate, but equal, branches of government: the executive, the legislative, and the judicial. The executive branch consists of the President, Vice President, Cabinet, and most federal agencies. The legislative branch is the House of Representatives and the Senate, which together, comprise the Congress. Finally, the judicial system is made up of the courts with the most infamous being the Supreme Court. Each of these branches have specific roles to fill, and by law, should not overreach their role by assuming the role of another branch. In addition, the roles are set up in such a way that a system of checks and balances is created that makes certain that the power of each branch is never exceeded. This design makes conflict inevitable and seems to be exactly what the Founding Fathers of the United States wanted in order to make sure the federal government was held in check.

  The most interesting branch of the federal government, however, is the Supreme Court. Tasked with interpreting laws made by the legislative branch, the judicial branch of government has an important oversight role in determining what legislation may be violating the Constitution. The lower courts usually make determinations on the lawfulness of a piece of legislation before the law is sent to the Supreme Court for a final ruling if an appeal process reaches this point. What the Supreme Court says is the final ruling on the law. If another law is brought forward to the Supreme Court that has legal precedent, many times the Supreme Court will let the precedent stand. However, the Supreme Court can overrule the precedent, which results in a change in the law as was done recently with the overturning of Roe vs Wade.

  Growing up Catholic, attending Catholic school from Kindergarten to 12 grade, and having a pro-life family has always caused me to question the decision of Roe vs Wade. I became curious about abortion in eigth grade and where the legality of such a practice began. During my eighth grade year, I started reading the Constitution and researching why the Supreme Court ruled the way they did, making abortion legal despite no explicit statement in the Constitution concerning the right to privacy. It seemed to me then, as it does now, that a very lenient interpretation of the Constitution was required to get to the decision. My feeling is the Supreme Court took a case and created a federal law based on weak Constitutional backing, making abortion legal and even going so far as to define pregnancy trimesters in order to specify the time periods when an abortion can be regulated and when it cannot. The behavior of the Supreme Court during this 1973 ruling seemed more legislative in nature than judicial.

  When the Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade a few weeks ago, I was not surprised. When something is declared lawful based on implied arguments and is then codified in the courts and not through the legislative branch, it is only a matter of time when those implicit arguments can be countered and overruled as a bad judicial decision. From a legal standpoint, the overturning of Roe seems like a valid legal action. From a social standpoint, the negative and positive effects of this ruling will be felt across the country. At some point, the United States Congress will need to create laws that address the various issues that abortion spans, including:

• At what point in life is a person a person?
• When does a person have Constitutional rights?
• A biggie: Do US Citizens have a right to privacy and should it be put into federal law and maybe even added as another Constitutional Amendment?
• What extent can a US state outlaw its citizens from crossing state lines to do something legal in another state despite being illegal in their own state?