Politicians, books and a lot of corn

Linda Koehler here, your non-political analyst with a few naive observations.

First of all, can I just ask one question? I know everyone says it is my American duty to vote. But what do I do when I don't want either Barack Obama or Mitt Romney for President?

Really? With over 314 million people in America, these are our best choices we have to run our country?

Here's another observation. I don't think there should be "parties." Well, yes, we should have parties (birthday, anniversary, graduation ...) I'm saying there shouldn't be a Republican or Democrat party. Do away with the party system. And don't give me the argument that there needs to be platforms ... issues that a party stands for. The issues that any politician should stand for are those that best serve the people that they represent without any hidden agenda that will benefit one specific group more than any other. You don't need to be a Republican, a Democrat or a Clown to do that. Someone who is intelligent with good morals, ethics, a conscience would work for me.

I also think anyone who wants to be a representative, senator, governor or president, should serve only two terms and not get a life-long pension thereafter for serving. I bet that would weed out a lot of chaff.

After the recent televised Republican and Democratic conventions, we've learned one thing about each candidate ... their wives think they're the best thing since sliced bread. Too bad men, women and children can't live on bread alone.

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Enough about politics.

How was your Labor Day weekend?

I tried to labor as little as possible.

I spent some quality time in the pool on Saturday, enjoyed a great family picnic on Sunday and on Monday, I labored a little in the morning but finished a really good book in the afternoon. It was a perfect rainy day for it. Actually I finished two really good books this weekend.

The first was "I've Got Your Number" by Sophie Kinsella. It was light-hearted and a fun read. The main characters are Poppy Wyatt and texting. Yes, texting. I personally do not text so I'm surprised I liked it as much as I did. And yes, I am a dinosaur. But I thoroughly enjoyed this screwball novel about how Poppy's texting saves a company and helps her find true love in the most hilarious of ways.

The second good book was totally different. "The Snow Child" by Eowyn Ivey had me guessing back and forth whether or not Faina was real or a figment of an older couple's imagination, as they struggle through their first years in the Alaskan wilderness in the early 1900s. Mabel and Jack had longed for a family but after losing their one and only baby at birth, they try to bury their pain of loss in building a new life in Alaska, far from their eastern home and families. One night, they playfully built a snowman in a first snowfall and end up creating a snow child out of all their longings for a child of their own. Jack even carved delicate features of a little girl in the snow child. Mabel added a pair of red mittens and a scarf. The next morning the snow child was gone, but they begin seeing a young girl around their farm wearing the red mittens and scarf who remains very elusive until they finally earn her trust. The story unfolds over a period of about six years and leaves you still wondering if Faina really is a snow child. It is a beautifully written story by a first-time author and I highly recommend it.

What good books have you read lately?

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Snow children or Children of the Corn ... real or fictional?

Diane and George were on their way home from our Sunday family picnic when their vehicle was besieged by cobs of corn from a cornfield.

"You know how your mind always tries to rationalize things first? I thought there was a little tornado that had been in the field and tossed the cobs at us. But then I realized there was no wind," says Diane.

They stopped the car and both got out. (Which I told her was a pretty stupid thing to do.) They yelled at whoever threw the corn that they were being stupid and could cause an accident in which someone could get hurt or even worse, killed. Then George yelled he was calling the State Police.

Imagine their surprise, but even more so, the little corn culprits, when just less than a quarter of a mile away, they saw a State Police car. Now that was fast! They stopped and told the trooper about the incident. He had stopped a car with a man who had a very high alcohol content level and was waiting for back up, which arrived as they were talking.

The misguided Children of the Corn were not caught, but I hope they had a good enough scare that they stay out of the cornfields. Maybe they should watch Harrison Smith's scary thriller, "The Fields." That would keep them out.

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Speaking of corn, I'm going to say something really corny ... God bless America. It's still the best thing since sliced bread.