Report from the Island....Jamaica!

[Leslie]

My son is in college and for the month of January, he is in Jamaica for a month-long course in Transcultural Nursing.

I bought him a Kindle back in June (used) and he used it a bit, but didn't get quite as addicted as the rest of us. However, for his course, he downloaded about 120 articles to his Kindle, rather than printing them all out and lugging a ream or two of paper.

Before he left, I transferred a bunch of books to his Kindle (he is on my account). Free books and things I purchased that I thought he might enjoy. He kept telling me not to bother, he wouldn't have time to read...then today, on Facebook, I get this message:

So sorry for the lack of messages, but mom you are to blame for it. Every free second i've had when i'm not doing nursing stuff, swimming in the ocean, or eating i've been reading on my kindle. I finished Demon in the freezer on Monday night, and have since started the Whiskey Rebels, which i am quickly speeding through.

He also read Free Range Chickens which he thought was hysterical.

Not sure what the Demon in the freezer is though...

Anyway, once again we learn that mom knows best. 

L

[Kathy]

What a wonderful story. It is so nice when your children appreciate you.

[chynared21]

LOL...you transferred/downloaded books and you have no idea where the Demon in the Freezer came from? Sounds like a wicked title...hehe.

[ScrappingForever]

Ha! Love it! Mom really does know best, doesn't she. When will they learn?!?

[jmeaders]

I just checked out Whiskey Rebels on Amazon and it looked interesting so I thought I'd queue up a free sample.  Surprise, surprise as the purchase price was $0.00.  So I bought it and now the whole thing will be waiting for my Kindle.  If it would only just get here. 

[Geemont]

On December 9, 1979, smallpox, the most deadly human virus, ceased to exist in nature. After eradication, it was confined to freezers located in just two places on earth: the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta and the Maximum Containment Laboratory in Siberia. But these final samples were not destroyed at that time, and now secret stockpiles of smallpox surely exist. For example, since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, and the subsequent end of its biological weapons program, a sizeable amount of the former Soviet Union's smallpox stockpile remains unaccounted for, leading to fears that the virus has fallen into the hands of nations or terrorist groups willing to use it as a weapon. Scarier yet, some may even be trying to develop a strain that is resistant to vaccines. This disturbing reality is the focus of this fascinating, terrifying, and important book.

A longtime contributor to The New Yorker and author of the bestseller The Hot Zone, Preston is a skillful journalist whose work flows like a science fiction thriller. Based on extensive interviews with smallpox experts, health workers, and members of the U.S. intelligence community, The Demon in the Freezer details the history and behavior of the virus and how it was eventually isolated and eradicated by the heroic individuals of the World Health Organization. Preston also explains why a battle still rages between those who want to destroy all known stocks of the virus and those who want to keep some samples alive until a cure is found. This is a bitterly contentious point between scientists. Some worry that further testing will trigger a biological arms race, while others argue that more research is necessary since there are currently too few available doses of the vaccine to deal with a major outbreak. The anthrax scare of October, 2001, which Preston also writes about in this book, has served to reinforce the present dangers of biological warfare.

[Leslie]

Thank you for that, Geemont. I have no clue how he got it on his Kindle....maybe it was a course requirement for his course? I would like to read it, however.

L

[kim]

Wow Leslie!  You have raised a very special young man there.  It's not often that kids will give their parents credit for anything 

[Gables Girl]

Yay Mom!  Sometimes you win one.....

[MineKinder]

Anyway, once again we learn that mom knows best.   

-->>Yeah that<<--

[Vegas_Asian]

My son is in college and for the month of January, he is in Jamaica for a month-long course in Transcultural Nursing.

Transcultural Nursing. Sounds difficult and a nice thing to do and learn. Fun story. Too bad he couldn't bring home some warm weather

[sebat]

Thank you for that, Geemont. I have no clue how he got it on his Kindle....maybe it was a course requirement for his course? I would like to read it, however.

L

Sounds like he's having a good time.

Have you checked your account maybe he one clicked before he left the airport.

[Vampyre]

Anyway, once again we learn that mom knows best.   

-->>Yeah that<<--

But but the show was called Father Knows Best

[Linda Cannon-Mott]

Sounds like he is having a great time Leslie. Glad he is enjoying his Kindle!

[Anju No. 469]

YEA for Leslie aka Super Mom 

[Wannabe]

Whenever I see my kids reading or when they mention going to the bookstore, I say to myself, " I've created a reader. My job is done."

[sharyn]

Jamaica is one of my favorite places in the entire world.  We go every March for 7-14 days for my husband's birthday...been going for 20 years now.  Ack!  Twenty-ONE this year!

So my Kindle will be heading off to Jamaica in just six weeks or so...March 5th.  And it'll be my first trip to Jamaica that I haven't had a whole suitcase full of books with me!  (Which will be bad for the locals because I always left the ones I'd read behind...)

Sharyn

[BrassMan]

Mmmm...great thread. Our daughter #1 was born on Barbados, but we've only been back once since then. Lovely place. That's partly why I set several scenes of Distant Cousin in Barbados and Grenada. I'll bet your son is getting a new perspective on nursing!

///////Al 

[theresa57]

Barbados,mmmmm! I had to get out of a wam bed and come to work in 20 degree weather this morning! brrrrrrr
I REALLY feel bad for those of you who are in places with subzero temps!

[LDB]

Our daughters were readers, especially the older one. I suspect she was close to a teenager before she could find her way home from the city. As soon as her seatbelt was buckled her nose was in a book and sometimes the car would be turned off and our doors would be open to get out and we'd have to holler to her "Hey, are you coming in?" for her to even notice. I suspect that has at least something to do with her getting her degree in 3 years. Not to be shown up, the younger one got her degree in 3 years also. Both majored in communication disorders and speech pathology so it wasn't a 3 yr cakewalk through basic and advanced basket weaving. They both still like to read although "real life" doesn't afford them as much reading time as they had as kids when they could read several books per week. Once in a while they do mimic the old show though and father does know best.

[Luvmy4brats]

Yeah! Once again, mom was right!

[BrassMan]

That's terrific, about your avid readers, and while it's stretching this thread a little I'm going to risk a comment because that's so important to me (and to readers and Kindle readers and the country, for heaven's sake). Our daughters (two) learned to read in English and Spanish, starting at age two. THey loved it; it was fun; and they never looked back. Reading ability (and writing ability, which I think is related) got them where they are today (professors of foreign languages). Anyone who makes it to Distant Cousin: Reincarnation (the third volume) will see that in practice...and also mathematics. It's a great topic, and maybe deserves a new thread.

Another thread idea: are the children of Kindle readers enthusiastic readers? Do Kindle readers read to their small children?

Back to the Jamaican/Caribbean thread: the daughter who was born on Barbados (I was in the Navy at the time) grew up bilingual in English and Spanish, learned French in college, and Haitian Kreol in graduate school. Her specialty is Caribbean literature and culture. I wonder why.

[kim]

But but the show was called Father Knows Best

Vampy, you sweet innocent little thing.  You men always believe whatever we want you to believe.  No, we aren't manipulative, we are just kind to your egos.

[LSbookend]

Mother knows best!

[Vampyre]

I guess this helps explains my 52 years of being a single man.   

Vampy, you sweet innocent little thing.  You men always believe whatever we want you to believe.  No, we aren't manipulative, we are just kind to your egos.