The World According to Bella

The Endless Ride
The good news is on day two we are only a half day from our destination. The bad news is we had to drive over 1,000 miles before we finally got rid of the snow and I DO NOT LIKE motels. Mr.C would not bring in my bed from the van and I missed having my favorite blanket. He worries about fleas. Last night I heard strange noises and got Mr. C and Mrs. S up at 2:30 to check it out.  
On day one I was rather bored with nothing to do but stare out the window for miles and miles. All I could see was snow and more snow. The rest stops were pretty good with all the new smells but we never stayed long. 
    

When I got tired of the back seat I tried hanging out near the front but 

    Mr. C got tired of me hanging on his arm while he was driving.   

On day two Mrs. S was ecstatic. After 1,000 miles she finally found a Starbucks at Rock City 

                             
and we all loved the views from Lookout Mountain that overlooked the Chattanooga River.

I just ignored the snow since I liked seeing the civil war cannons overlooking the valley. 

Mrs. S says I should tell you that I have been a really good car rider considering how much time I have had to spend being in the van. Not once did she hear me ask, are we there yet? even though I really did want to.
Love, Bella
PS. Mrs. S thought you might like this book she recently finished.  

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King Peggy chronicles the astonishing journey of an American secretary who suddenly finds herself king to a town of 7,000 souls on Ghana's central coast, half a world away. Upon arriving for her crowning ceremony in beautiful Otuam, she discovers the dire reality: there's no running water, no doctor, and no high school, and many of the village elders are stealing the town's funds. To make matters worse, her uncle (the late king) sits in a morgue awaiting a proper funeral in the royal palace, which is in ruins. The longer she waits to bury him, the more she risks incurring the wrath of her ancestors. Peggy's first two years as king of Otuam unfold in a way that is stranger than fiction. In the end, a deeply traditional African town has been uplifted by the ambitions of its headstrong, decidedly modern female king. And in changing Otuam, Peggy is herself transformed, from an ordinary secretary to the heart and hope of her community. Amazon Review

I found this an inspiring story that someone would take on such an insurmountable task and handle a full time job continents away. King Peggy was on mission to change the lives of her people and stomp out the corruption in her council of elders. Her job seems impossible since she has no experience, no funds, no infrastructure and a government plagued with corruption. Yet she is determined and keeps moving forward with her mission. I was really impressed by her courage and wisdom. I was caught up in her struggles and how angry and frustrated she was at the selfish greed of the town elders.

I did have to overlook the writing at least in the first part of the book. I did agree with one reviewer who wrote that this book is " third-person narration (Peggy said this, Peggy did that), and it takes the reader way out of the story. The dialogue is appallingly stilted at first, though it gets better towards the latter half of the book, perhaps because that's when author #2 started tagging along on King Peggy's trips to Ghana and could quote the conversations more accurately. Fixing POV and dialogue would have gone a long way towards improving the writing, but really, the writing just doesn't do justice to the story."

The story itself is fascinating. King Peggy presents as smart, no-nonsense, and subscribing to a mix of modern ways and old Ghanaian lore. She's idealistic enough to believe that she can effect change, but also realistic enough to recognise the corruption plaguing her village -- and that her elders do not necessarily want a strong king. Because she's strong, and stubborn, and determined to do right by her people, she barrels ahead anyway, applying her mix of modern and ancient to satisfy tradition but also bring the village forward.