By All Hands
Still looking for a gift for that avid reader on your list?
Here are three more suggestions; all have Cape Ann ties.
Nobel prize winner Elie Wiesel called "The Woman Who Named God: Abraham's Dilemma and the Birth of Three Faiths (Little, Brown 2009)," "insightful, enriching, and rewarding." Written by Gloucester resident Charlotte Gordon, it uses the ancient story of Abraham casting his beloved second wife and their teenage son to exile in a desert that would likely be their death to look at the beginnings of Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
Gordon describes the book as a nonfiction work, which retells the Biblical story, with her commentary and an exploration of what the story means to a modern audience.
"The Gloucester Suite and Other Poems" by Gloucester resident Eric Schoonover is for sale, $11.95, at Toad Hall in Rockport, Dogtown Books and The Bookstore, both in Gloucester, as well being a "book on demand" at the Harvard Book Store.
"Many of my poems in the book are about Gloucester," said Schoonover.
Also, Schoonover will be giving a reading of "The Gloucester Suite and Other Poems" at The Bookstore in Gloucester on Sunday, Jan. 31, at 4 p.m.
Contemporary science holds that the brain rules the body and generates all our feelings and perceptions. Michael Jawer and Dr. Marc Micozzi, a Rockport resident, disagree. They contend that it is our feelings that underlie our conscious selves and determine what we think and how we conduct our lives.
Using the latest scientific research on immunity, sensation, stress, cognition, and emotional expression, the authors demonstrate that the way we process our feelings provides a key to who is most likely to experience these phenomena and why in their book, "The Spiritual Anatomy of Emotion."
Count birds for Christmas
Not only the holiday are coming. It's almost time for the annual Cape Ann Christmas Bird Count. This year's edition will kick off Sunday, Dec. 20. This year's count will be the 80th edition and co-chairman Jim Barber has set up an information Web site, http://www.capeanncbc.com, were would-be counters may sign up.
The Cape Ann Count circle includes Gloucester, Rockport, Magnolia, and parts of Manchester, Beverly, Essex, Hamilton and Wenham.
Those with feeders can also join the count, by keeping track of the highest number of individuals of each species, seen or heard.
Honored veteran
The flag of the Veterans Center will fly this week in honor of Albert Norbet Silva Sr., a veteran of World War I and World War II.
Born May 6, 1895, he entered the U.S. Army on Oct. 4, 1917, attained the rank of sergeant, serving in M.G. Company 327 Infantry All American Division, in Saint Mihiel, Meuse-Argonne Defensive Sector, was awarded a Victory Medal with clasp, and was discharged on May 29, 1919.
During World War 11, he entered the U.S. Navy on Dec. 21, 1942, attained the rank of Water Tender First Class, serving in the Seabees Construction Battalion, 9th Specialist Battalion,in the Asiatic Pacific Campaign, in Guadalcanal, Green Island, Bougainville and New Caledonia. He was awarded a WW11 Asiatic Pacific Campaign Ribbon and a Distinguished Markmanship Ribbon.
He was discharged from the Navy on Aug. 28, 1945, and died on Dec. 22, 1961. The flag was requested to fly in his honor by his daughter, Georgia Gadbois.
