Category: All (-ish)

40 Presidents Facts and Fun

In elementary school, I purchased 40 Presidents Facts and Fun at a book fair. It was one of those books that had an outsized effect on me.

First of all, I can tell you immediately that Ronald Regan was the 40th president, because that’s where the book ends. Also, it shored up my interest in olden days stuff. And for some reason, the title has always delighted me. Most of the time when someone is referring to a president by number, I will think, “Forty Presidents Facts and Fun!” and feel a squee of glee.

In lieu of reading while I am awake in the middle of the night, I’ve taken to memorizing the presidents in order. And that got me to thinking about 40 Presidents Facts and Fun.

I had given my copy away, but it was time to welcome it back into the fold. I found a copy on Thriftbooks, and paid about five dollars more for it now than I did back at the Scholastic book fair.

My copy has arrived, and I have started reading. Verdict? This was not a book that prioritized good prose for young people. The sentences are short and choppy, and the profiles vary depending on the length of the presidency (which makes sense; there’s not much to say about William Henry Harrison’s short time in office) and how popular the president in question was when the book was written. The Andrew Jackson bio was quite lengthy in a way I don’t think it would be today.

It’s also bizarre what the text focuses on. I know, for instance, that John Adams was very fat, and that John Quincy Adams, was nearly as fat as his father. Not something that adds a lot of knowledge about the president.

When I finish reading, I’m looking forward to finding the modern equivalent of 40 Presidents Facts and Fun and seeing what the similarities and differences are.

Postcard from Elks Lodge, Tacoma

Laurie reports that she and Burt spent a nice night in the Gloria Ellexson room, which had a balcony. She wondered if that had been our room when we last stayed there, the time that just happened to coincide with our wedding.

It was not, but I did remember our room. Laurie said that she and Burt had so many fond memories of the wedding.

Layout SNAFU, and Good Film Reveal score

Since transitioning to a digital-only subscription to the Oregonian in the twenty-teens, I have been reading the newspaper through their app, which gives you the newspaper’s normal print layout. I greatly appreciate this feature, as it allows me to continue to take in the news as I have my entire life. Digital sites have me reading forever, but the printed newspaper ends.

In all those years, I haven’t seen such an egregious error as this right-hand column, where someone forgot to fill the placeholder with a story.

I also got a great score in the Film Reveal game! Top 5% of players.

Alas, we cannot see which actor/category was such a winning combo for me, because I neglected to take a picture.

Columbia Gorge Model Railroad December Show

I’ve passed the Columbia Gorge Model Railroad club’s building many times. Every December they have a show, and every December I make a mental note to go to the show. And then I don’t. Last December, I made a task in my calendar for November to buy tickets, and voila! I am now attending the show.

The ticket taker encouraged me to do the scavenger hunt, and I’m glad she did. It was fun to find so many little details.

Here we have Union Station and a few other Portland buildings. The lights changed so the sun went down fairly regularly; here is an evening shot.

I loved that this drive-in was showing a movie.

It was also fun to watch the people operate the trains.

In this cute streetscape, a Santa rode a bicycle around the building on a loop. It’s not only the trains that move!

This coal car filler was malfunctioning, so some assist was given.

This was a fun visit, and I’m glad I finally bought the ticket.

Books Read in November 2025

*Book group selection | bolded means favorite

Picture Books

*Popo the Xolo by Paloma Angelina Lopez, Carlos E. Calvo, and Abraham Matias
*Dream for the Land by Laekan Zea Kemp and Leo Espinosa
*This Moment Is Special: A Día de Muertos Story by John Parra
*Tíos and Primos by Jacqueline Alcántara
*Where the Deer Slip Through by Katey Howes and Beth Krommes
*City Summer, Country Summer by Kiese Laymon and Alexis Franklin
*Precious by Carlos Aponte
*Aggie and the Ghost by Matthew Forsythe

Chapter Books

*Lost Evangeline by Kate DiCamillo and Sophie Blackall

Middle Grade

*The Experiment by Rebecca Stead
*How to Say Goodbye in Cuban by Daniel Miyares

Young Adult

*On the Wings of la Noche by Vanessa L. Torres
*The Story of My Anger by Jasminne Mendez
*The Poetry of Car Mechanics by Heidi E.Y. Stemple
*I Wish I Didn’t Have to Tell You This: A Graphic Memoir by Eugene Yelchin
*If Looks Could Kill by Julie Berry

Grownup Fiction

The Love Season by Elin Hilderbrand
The Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies by Alison Goodman
Cherry Baby by Rainbow Rowell

Little Women at the Armory

After singing at the tree lighting, I went home, changed, and headed back to the Pearl for Portland Center Stage’s production of Little Women. The story begins at Christmas, so why not have this be an early winter production?

It was an interesting framing with Beasley playing the role of both Louisa May Alcott and Jo. Louisa would show up now and again to transition us between scenes and periods.

I don’t really like the Little Women story, but enough people do that it has been drilled into me. This production incorporated a lot of shrieking and yelling in the first part. This worked conceptually (the March girls would not be children that were counseled to be seen and not heard), but was a lot, sonically.

Things quieted down after the intermission, and I grimly awaited Jo’s capitulation to Friedrich, played by Kieran Cronin, who also played John, Mr. Laurence, and Mr. March.

Overall, a good, if loud, night at the theater.