In which Tim might reveal some SPOILERS

If you are currently reading "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" or intend to read it in the near future, and wish to avoid possible spoilers. Please read no further.

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What a book. I finished reading it 27 hours after the release. I am tired, but there was so much heart stopping adrenaline packed into those pages that I think I need to type for a few minutes before I can calm down enough to sleep. The book was action packed, and alternated radically between terror and humor, despair and joy. Over all, I do not think that Ms. Rowling could have ended the story in a better way. All of the loose ends were tied up, and all the major characters were in top form to bid the reader farewell.

I was intrigued (maybe because it's three in the morning...) by what I perceived to be elements of the gospel present in the way things were ultimately resolved. In the end, an innocent victim sacrificed himself for the good of those he loved. He had no hope of glory or reward aside from the knowledge that the people he cared most about might be safe. And that selflessness broke death's grip, causing things to work backwards. It's a lot like Aslan in "The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe". Obviously it is not a perfect allegory in that Harry was far from a completely innocent and blameless victim. Still, there is a lot to be learned from this story about love, sacrifice, and temptation.

I mentioned earlier how good it was that so many characters were given time to bid the reader farewell. I think I need to correct myself. The great thing about stories like this is that it wasn't really a farewell. I can open these pages any time I like to spend some time with Harry, Ron and Hermione. It's the same magic that allows me to time after time travel with Sam and Frodo, sail with Caspian, or explore the Himalayas with Ash and Juli. The great stories never end, they just go back on the shelf for a while. Props to Rowling for winning an honored spot on that shelf.

regarding the New York Times being a spoil sport

So the NYT somehow got their hands on a copy of the new Potter book two days before the rest of us are allowed to see it, and for some strange reason they published a review. I will not include the link because I don't want to lead anyone into temptation. I have not read it, nor do I intend to. My sister and I both wrote angry letters. They are copied below.

(From Me)
I was extremely disappointed to learn of the review of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" published by the New York Times using an illegitimately acquired copy of the book. I have been a loyal reader of the Times for my entire adult life and have never been so apalled by an effort to get a story first. Millions of fans across the world have been waiting for many years to read this book. Some younger fans have been waiting over half their lives to see how Harry's story ends. I am befuddled as to why the Times is above waiting in line with everyone else to purchase a copy at the designated release time, and I am utterly mystified as to why they would publish a review that they know for a fact would go unread by the vast majority of people with any interest in the series. Over all this move was poorly thought out, badly timed, and inconsiderate of Ms. Rowling, Scholastic Publishing, and the vast community of Harry Potter fans. I believe that the Times owes an immediate apology to all of these parties.

Sincerely,

Timothy S. Brown
Madison, WI


(From Katrina)
To Whom it May Concern:

I heard the most absurd and far fetched bit of news today. Can you imagine what it might have been? Today I heard that the New York Times posted an early review and spoilers of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

I hope you are ashamed of yourselves. I hope that you feel ashamed deep down to the very bottom of your heart, and I hope it burns all the way through to the core of you.

I've been a New York Times subscription holder - I haven't missed a Sunday Times in a long, long time. I've put up with the criticism of my Republican friends, and you have been my first source for news of any kind.

That you would even CONSIDER posting spoilers, let alone actually doing it? I can't even believe it. My respect for you has been almost obliterated. You probably think that is ridiculous, and you probably think that is silly. I'm actually almost positive that you will think that is silly - how could you not, you apparently have no sense of respect, goodness or decency. You have shown that you do not take children seriously - and I feel bad for yours, if you happen to be a parent. You do not take humanity seriously. You probably don't take much seriously.

My biggest problem? We live in a pretty messed up world. You, of all people, should know this. You are faced with it every day. Something comes along that brightens it up a bit for a huge part of the population - child and adult - and you proceed to attempt to smother it out.

Good thing for us, with all the sadistic intentions that must have gone into the printing of that review, you have not succeeded. You stooped low enough to the level of attention seeking idiots on the internet, and you will no doubt, in many of our minds, go down in history in the same vein as them - spineless, gutless, cowards who don't deserve the time of day.

You are foolish. You have erased one more source with a voice that I thought I could trust. I'm sorry for you, I'm sorry that someone ruined your childhood to such a degree that you would feel the need to bring the rest of us down with you.

I feel sorry for you. I feel sorry for the lack of goodness and decency that remains in this world, and I'm sorry that you have to be the one to manifest it. I would have liked to keep reading your newspaper, and I would have liked to go on respecting you. I don't think I can, now, though.

Thank you for your time.

Katrina

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Just a day and a half!!

in which Tim laments the bureaucracy

The Peace Corps is full of stupid bureaucrats who seem to lack the imagination to answer questions comprehensibly. When this email dialog finishes, I will post it for your enjoyment.

Also, they are requiring that I shed my wisdom teeth. What fun!

in which Tim reports on his travels

Not the most interesting of travels (yet), but still exciting. I am presently sitting in a friends living room in Lansing after just having finished standing up for my friend Matt's wedding in Flint. Tomorrow I depart by car for DC to spend a few days as a tourist, and after that will return home by train. It's something of a whirl wind journey across America, and I am thoroughly enjoying it.

The wedding was fantastic. I have found that weddings can often be little more than ordeals that involve a lot of waiting around, making awkward conversation with people you don't know, and having to smile for pictures you will never see, all while wearing very uncomfortable clothes. This wedding included no shortage of waiting around, picture taking, or uncomfortable clothes (I am not sure that the tux I wore will be usable anymore after all the sweat I poured into it...), but it was all made bearable and even pleasurable by the warmth of the families and the presence of some of my best friends.

Now I should sleep. I am going to my old church tomorrow morning, which I am looking forward to. My web access will be sporadic over the next several days, so if you need to speak with me, hit up the cellephone. Peace out, and congratulations Matt and Libby. I anticipate that my friendship with you in your married life will be even more joyful than it was before (if that is possible).