A third time the attempt was made, but this time, following the advice, Hal broke out the runners which had been frozen to the snow. The overloaded and unwieldy sled forged ahead, Buck and his mates struggling frantically under the rain of blows. A hundred yards ahead the path turned and sloped steeply into the main street. It would have […]
My dream house would have floor-to-ceiling bookshelves in every room. In reality, I have only enough space for a few small bookshelves, so now and then I need to clear out some space. The other day I walked over to my neighborhood Little Free Library to donate a stack of paperbacks and browse the offerings. Even though I normally avoid […]
“Stick to it,” said Peter; “everything has an end, and you get to it if you only keep on” — E. Nesbit in The Railway Children (1906)
It may sound odd, but as I stood on the passenger deck of the ferry Eureka, docked near Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco, I kept thinking about Jack London. What came specifically to mind was the first part of the novel The Sea Wolf (1904), where the narrator vividly describes being aboard the ferry Martinez, which collides with another ship […]
She waited for some time without hearing anything more: at last came a rumbling of little cartwheels, and the sound of a good many voices all talking together: she made out the words: `Where’s the other ladder?–Why, I hadn’t to bring but one; Bill’s got the other–Bill! fetch it here, lad!–Here, put ’em up at this corner–No, tie ’em together […]