Last year I read an inspiring book by Jerome Groopman entitled The Anatomy of Hope. He says:
     Hope , unlike optimism, is rooted in unalloyed reality . . . Hope is the
    elevating feeling we experience when we see – in the mind’s eye –
    a path to a better future.
He goes on to talk about the importance of faith and hope in the recovery from disease, and outlines the difference between hope, false hope, and faith. It’s a wonderful book.

I’ve had reason to think about hope again this summer. First, Sarah’s boyfriend talked to a elderly Palestinian this summer while he was living in Israel. The man said he had no hope for himself, his children, or his grandchildren. His comments have not been far from my mind since I read them. You can read Adam’s whole entry here.

Then our book group read Thomas Friedman’s book The World is Flat. Friedman quotes a Chinese government official who said, “When people have hope, you have a middle class.” (p. 375) Friedman goes on to say that the world will never truly be flat for people who have no hope. “The bad news is . . there are hundred of millions of people who have no hope and therefore no chance of making it into the middle class. They have no hope for two reasons:  Either they are too sick, or their local governments are too broken for them to believe they have a pathway forward.” (p. 376)

Finally, I just finished reading Tracy Kidder’s inspiring Mountains Beyond Mountains that tells the story of Paul Farmer and how he has single-handedly made a huge difference for many third world people too sick to have hope. It occurred to me that although their health was certainly the greatest cure, having hope restored is close behind.

I am a constant worrier. When Matt was having lots of difficulties in high school, his counselor cautioned me not to “catastrophize” every little event. I was (and am) capable of envisioning the worst possible outcomes for every incident. I learned to work hard not to allow myself these negative thoughts. But throughout it all, I never lost hope that things could get better. If I try to personalize a loss of hope, I cannot. It’s hard not to come to the conclusion that the functioning governments of the world are not putting their resources where they can truly make a difference. Paul Farmer’s efforts have been fruitful; the war in Iraq has certainly not instilled hope in the Iraqis. Where is the money better spent?

I belong to a great book group – four couples. Some of us have been together in this group since 1990. Occasionally we take a field trip. Our biggest one was to Buffalo after reading Lauren Belfer’s City of Light, a historical mystery set at the turn of the century and dealing with the harnessing of Niagara Falls to produce hydroelectricity. We took a tour of some of the architectural delights of Buffalo mentioned in the book, had a hard hat tour of the Niagara Power Plant, and checked into the Ransom House for an elegant dinner and night at the inn. This week we joined Jim and Suzanne at Esperanza Mansion for a wonderful lunch overlooking Keuka Lake and then retired to the cottage they had rented for their vacation for our book discussion of The World is Flat. It’s hard to imagine having a more thoughtful, creative, and entertaining group of people with whom to share your love of books. Lucky us.

When asked by her boyfriend what was weird about me (following some comment of hers), Sarah launched into an explanation of what she clearly considers to be my organizational disease–the need to constantly reorder and reorganize my stuff and my house. I have to admit there’s truth to the accusation. I LOVE to organize and I am always looking for better ways to do it. I own more than one book outlining organizational principals, and have found some of them to be quite inspiring. The big event in my organizational life was discovering The Container Store. The first time I saw one I had flown to Atlanta so was severely limited in my ability to acquire new organizational tools. The next trip I spent my allotted budget on Sarah (who didn’t mind being organized by her mother at all!) Finally last summer I was able to leave the store with multiple shopping bags of my own, and I am hooked. Their stuff is the best, and I had a great time there again this summer. Sarah found this postcard in a shop in Little Five Points while we were there and it is me.

Then I saw this sign in The Container Store and knew I needed a picture of it.

Julie Morgenstern says in her book Organizing from the Inside Out, that if you are well-organized you can put everything away in 15 minutes or less. I make a horrendous mess while I’m scrapbooking, and I can clean it all up in less than 15! Nevertheless, I’ll still be looking for more good ideas.

Finished my tag for Donna Downey’s blog book and got it in the mail. This is the first time I’ve ever participated in anything like this. It’s fascinating how starting a blog has expanded my interests and contacts. I found this quote in Simple Scrapbooks that really resonated with me.
                    The act of writing is an act of optimism. You would not take the trouble
                    to do it if you felt it didn’t matter.  Edward Albee

Part 2 of vacation was spent in Beaufort, NC. One Saturday morning we decided we’d like to spend some time at the ocean and opened up the map, thinking we’d find a place on the Outer Banks. When we couldn’t find anything that looked appealing, we looked south and read about Beaufort which sounded charming, and we were able to book four nights at the Delamar Inn. Good choice all around.

The Delamar Inn is lovely and our hosts, Mary and F.J. had lots of good recommendations for restaurants and how to spend our time. Monday we took a ferry from Cedar Point to Ocracoke Island, and then another ferry to Hatteras and drove up to Duck, NC. We’ve discovered we’ve been spoiled by our years on Kiawah Island and nothing else seems to match up. It was an enjoyable day, but cured any desire to spend a vacation there. We would, however, go back to Beaufort. We enjoyed the town and shops, the fine dining, the harbor, and the nearby golf and beach. We didn’t make time to take the ferry taxi out to the shelling islands from Beaufort and we’d definitely go back to Fort Macon’s beach and the Bogue Point Country Club.

I must admit I find it a bit strange to be sitting in a little coffee house in Beaufort, NC, primarily so I can upload the blog entries I’ve written earlier on this trip. I’ve always been a little resentful of Tracy’s computer accompanying us on trips. In April I took mine to Kiawah so I could upload digital photographs, and now this. So although the coffee is good and strong, the real reason for being here is a chance to use the free wireless. Guess I’m hooked.

We left Rochester on Saturday afternoon and arrived in Atlanta around 1:00 on Sunday, just in time for me to hit Archiver’s for the Make and Take weekend specials. Covered a cute tin box that we filled with tags, and a card that holds several notes tied with a ribbon. As always the shopping there was a lot of fun. They have so many scrapbook products I never  see at home. Their current ad says “Indulge yourself,” and I did. We met Adam for dinner at Macaroni Grill at the Mall of Georgia and a nice long visit.

Shopping was the main event the next day as well. Tracy had a golf analysis at the PGA Superstore and bought new clubs. I checked off my list at The Container Store and found another scrapbook store in Alpharetta while Tracy was having his golf swing analyzed. Later in the week, we hit Ikea, REI, the shops at The Perimeter Mall, and I spent some time in the gift shops in Decatur. Good thing I curbed my spending earlier this summer.

Sarah returned from The Ghost Ranch on Monday night, and we met up with her  and Adam on Tuesday morning. She had a great trip, but was glad to reconnect with Adam after a two month separation. It’s so nice to see your kids happy, and she and Adam certainly have a good time together. She leaves for Scotland for 10 days on Sunday; the last trip of her FTE project. I don’t think it will be easy to leave Adam again so soon.

Ate at lots of new restaurants in Decatur and Atlanta; too many great meals. The highlight was a dinner at Canoe. The most disconcerting meal turned out to be lunch at Panera’s  while Tracy was golfing with a college friend in Jasper. (See previous posts.)

The last evening we went to the laser show at Stone Mountain. Both Sarah and I had expected some history as part of the show, but it was just songs and cartoon laser images flashed on the side of the mountain. It certainly was a disappointment although there were a few nice fireworks interspersed in the show.

Evidently Sarah and Adam saw the sign as we ate lunch on the patio at Panera’s in Decatur. I never saw the sign, and somehow missed their conversation so I was shocked to see this scene when we went to retrieve Adam’s car in the CVS parking lot! To have the boot removed required a $75 cash payment. The guy kindly directs you to an ATM several shops up the street. We learned a lesson:  read the signs on the doors of the restaurant BEFORE you enter!

I read about Canoe in The Insider’s Guide to Atlanta so I was expecting a nice restaurant with good food. I was not prepared for one of the most beautiful settings I’ve been to as well as fabulously good food. We arrived at dusk, and it had been raining and drizzling for a while. Sarah opted to eat on the covered porch which was a great choice. It overlooks the Chattahoochee River and beautifully landscaped gardens and paths along the river. Fog hung over the river giving the whole place an eerie, romantic feel. “J”, our gracious and jovial waiter, gave Sarah a lesson in wine tasting, and great recommendations for both entrees and dessert. The presentation of the food was as lovely as the setting. Very romantic place; worthy of a return trip.