Memories, Musings, and Mischief – Jo Ann M. Cross

©2015  48HrBooks (www.48HrBooks.com)

When one is well into his fifties, it is often difficult to remember those long past days spent day-dreaming on the third row of Mrs. Cross’ Trigonometry and Analytical Geometry (Trig’n’Analyt) class—yes when he should be listening and learning all about tangents, sines, and cosines. The same must be true for Mrs. Cross when she retires. Who would ever expect the purveyor of all knowledge mathematical would be a great story-teller, too? But here you have it. Jo Ann Cross has penned in her retirement the book that all retirees plan to write. Her subject matter? Not math, but her stories—the stories she heard from parents and grandparents as she grew up in a rural east Texas community, the stories about her own experience, stories that span the funny to the tragic. And she does so quite successfully, too.

In an attempt to preserve some of the stories of her ancestry that have been passed down orally from generation to generation, and to offer a glimpse of community life from east Texas for a larger audience, Cross has developed what she calls “short stories” but is mostly a collection of memoir-type essays that bring all aspects of life into crisp focus.

The author’s talent is evident in superb moments of personification. Many of the stories hinging on her own experience rely heavily on her dry, but ever present sense of humor. The one story that deals with math and her father’s ability to teach the difficult concepts so that the smallest child can understand brought me back to that third row seat in Mrs. Cross’ Trig’n’Analyt class. I recall plainly the day when I kept asking “why” and “how” and Mrs. Cross smiled at the whole class and said, “Don’t try to understand it, just know that it works, and do it.” That advice saved my bacon in the only upper level math I would ever take.

Included in the smiles and jests are a couple of very touching stories. Of particular interest are “Pa-Pa’s Funeral” which deals more with race relations in early 20^th century east Texas than the funeral itself, and “Samuel and Sarah” chronicling the author’s ancestral move from the deep South to deep east Texas in the mid-19^th century. The latter of these two stories bearing a heavy L’Amour-esque flavor in relating the history of the move.

This little collection will have appeal to a variety of audiences—friends and family of the author will certainly enjoy the book, Mrs. Cross’ former colleagues and students (yes, I am one) will find the peek into the real-ness of Jo Ann Cross very fun and refreshing, readers who like the historical and the hysterical will both be extremely entertained, and like me, people with roots in places like Brinker, Texas (mine would be Cason) will be transported to those thrilling days of yesteryear to relive their own amusing moments. Thanks for the trip down several memories’ lanes Mrs. Cross. And thanks also for being real during all those years you took your place at the front of a Mesquite High School classroom.

Well-written and entertaining, Jo Ann Cross’ “Collection of Short Stories” deserves every bit of the five reading glasses that this reviewer awards it.

—Benjamin Potter April 17, 2015

An Unlikely Story – Bob R. Agee

© 2014 Create Space Publishing (internet)

I first made the acquaintance of Dr. Bob R. Agee when he and I both transferred into Oklahoma Baptist University. I was returning from a year at Howard Payne to complete my undergraduate degree in Religious Studies. He had just been called as president of the university moving from a position at Union. I liked him immediately. He was enthusiastic, affable, and both academically and spiritually sound. He did not know me from the man in the moon, but he treated me (as he did all of the students) with the utmost of dignity and respect.

A couple of years later, when I graduated, I still expected that he didn’t know more than that I was one of the crowd graduating with a baccalaureate degree. He surprised me, deepening my respect for this leader. As he shook my hand and handed me my diploma he did not say, “Congratulations, Mr. Potter” or even “Benjamin.” Nor did he jump to everyone’s favorite diminutive “Ben”; but he said, “Congratulations, Benjie!” Wow, he knew me—even though we’d only spoken or nodded in passing during those years at the school. What I really liked (and still do) about Dr. Agee was his simple statement through actions that “you are somebody important”, and it was his habit of making that message known to all of his students.

And his recently published memoirs offer an understanding of why he is that man, and why he served as an excellent pastor, then educator, then administrator. An Unlikely Story opens the window on Agee’s life to the point of writing and (as good memoirs should) really gives the reader a taste of what made the man that became the author. Through the pages, one can see how the humble beginnings as a sharecropper’s son shaped and molded a man who knew the advantage of hard work and had the grace to accept an opportune challenge.

Those who have had the acquaintance of Agee over the years will enjoy reading about his rise through academia, his relational style that started with family and spread to church and college and community. I know that I found it a real blessing to get to know better this man who has held my respect over the decades. Especially inspiring are the pages in which he tells of his on-again, off-again battle with hairy cell leukemia, which attacked early and has re-visited in some of the later years.

Particularly interesting to me was his reflection on “Reflections” (see page 124) quoting a couple of elderly friends who were facing the declining years with gusto. It put me in mind of a dear friend who continued to play piano for her church well into her 90s (even until only about a year before her passing). This retired school teacher told me on more than one occasion that following a bout with heart trouble, “I decided that I’m gonna die living.” I think that this attitude sums up the goal of Dr. Agee, and I say keep on fighting.

I recommend this book for anyone who likes to be inspired by inspiring life stories, but especially for former church members of Dr. Agee’s congregations from his early adulthood, and also for members of Union University and Oklahoma Baptist University families. His memories will bring to mind your own memories. This is a quick and enjoyable read at only about 150 pages. It flies by. Order a copy to day with my five reading glass endorsement.

—Benjamin Potter, August 22, 2014

North of Hope – Shannon Huffman Polson

© 2013 Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids

First, my excuses – I’m late (about three months late) in posting this review. Excuse 1, life got busy as I was trying to finish reading and reviewing this book. Excuse 2, the book was really hard to read and I was finding other more favorable reading material. Excuse 3, I just got lazy.

That said, I will probably fall out of favor with the provider of these review copies for being so lax in my timing. Now, on to my thoughts:

The author is writing in response to the tragic loss of her father and step-mother. The book, because of this purports to be a book that will be cathartic to those who have lost loved ones. It reads very much like the journal that was used as the springboard, and then it jumps back and forth between the present, the past, and the accident that caused the writing in the first place.

I, for one, was not touched by the story line. It became tedious to sit through. I have no doubt that there was a good amount of cleansing, refreshing, and permission to move on for the author and her brother who took the journey with her. I struggled to see where reading of the journey of another so intimately would be of help to the reader.

I suggest that the audience for this book will be more limited than the publishers expected. If one would like to read on how to deal with grief, there are hundreds of other titles which would be more helpful. (1 out of 5 reading glasses)

—Benjamin Potter, August 6, 2013

 

[This book was provided to the reviewer by the publisher for the purposes of this review. The opinions are my own. I have not been otherwise compensated for this review.]