An Unexpected Answer To An Earlier Question -- August 18, 2024

Locator: 48456INV.

Less than three hours ago I posted a fairly long note on personal investing. Then less than thirty minutes ago, I had a sidebar e-mail discussion with a reader regarding the same subject, personal investing.

Now, out of nowhere, to my yahoo e-mail address I get this:

I am not kidding.

Either absolutely coincidental or someone's tracking me a whole lot better / more than I can even imagine. 

LOL. 

By the way, Michael Fitzsimmons is, perhaps, my favorite SeekingAlpha contributor. 

I know what I'm doing Monday. LOL. 

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Disclaimer Briefly 

Reminder

• I am inappropriately exuberant about the US economy and the US market, 
• I am also inappropriately exuberant about all things Apple. 
• See disclaimer. This is not an investment site. 
• Disclaimer: this is not an investment site. Do not make any investment, financial, job, career, travel, or relationship decisions based on what you read here or think you may have read here. All my posts are done quickly: there will be content and typographical errors. If anything on any of my posts is important to you, go to the source. If/when I find typographical / content errors, I will correct them.
• Reminder: I am inappropriately exuberant about the US economy and the US market, 
• I am also inappropriately exuberant about all things Apple.  
  

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The Book Page
Jane Eyre

A note to one of our daughters:

Hi, Laura,

You mentioned reading my literature blog and mentioned you might read Emma. I can't recall reading Emma. My hunch is Jane Eyre would be the better of the two. 

You may want to read the wiki entries of both books before deciding. 

I have dozens of journals -- literally dozens of journals -- all handwritten -- and I'm gradually typing them all out and posting them on the web. Not public yet. However, here is a snippet of how I got started reading and it has a section on Jane Eyre. 

Here's the snippet: 

I had been sent to northern England by the Air Force for indeterminate length of time – it turned out to be three months – my duty days were short, and being the asocial creature I was, I spent my free hours, starting at 4:00 p.m. in my room with nothing to do but read. British television, except for minor exceptions, is lousy – when it’s good, it’s very good, but when it’s bad, it’s very, very bad – and it seemed bad 90 percent of the time. 

But if the Brits can’t do TV right, their writing is outstanding. 

Passing through British airports in London and British bookstores in the local area I picked up books and began reading as I’ve never read before. When the occasional visitor stopped by, it was with great pride to show him a stack of eleven books which I had completed, and a stack of three or our new books, not yet opened. There would be two or three opened books on the bed. 

I was back and forth to this northern England base for the next eighteen months, accumulating perhaps as many as nine months there. Once I started reading there, I have not quit. So much of my reading leads me to explanations of things not understood before I can really appreciate why philologists enjoy their vocation. 

Wow – where do I begin? 

Because of my romantic ties to Yorkshire and having visited Haworth, Emily Brontë’s home, I began there. I got through my Brontë phase by reading Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre, and two biographies of Emily and the Brontës – one by the close friend of Emily – Elizabeth Gaskell. From there, based on a recommendation of a woman “colleague” still at Menwith Hill Station, England, I read Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Another awesome book. From there, I don’t remember exactly why, I then chose to read something from George Eliot. I seldom saw Middlemarch recommended, but when I saw a copy at Borders, it immediately appealed to me. Through this reading, there were references in introductions or prefaces or internet searches to Sir Walter Scott, so I finally broke down, and decided I wanted to read something of his. He never interested me until now. Again, not often recommended, I read Rob Roy and find it so exciting, interesting, a real joy to read. To better understand the times I read The History of the Scotch-Irish (Ulstermen) at the same time. I couldn’t believe how well Rob Roy dovetailed with what I was reading in the history of the Scotch-Irish. It was almost as if historians have often relied on novelists, poets, authors for additional insight. 

My reading became so voracious – it became insatiable. It became an addiction, a craving. Two nights ago (5 July 2005) despite several books yet to read at home, I suddenly felt the need for another Sir Walter Scott book and even another Jane Austen book. I thought after reading Rob Roy and Middlemarch I was past my Brontë-Austen-Scott phase. Apparently not. My craving was so bad, despite the lateness of the hour (10:05 p.m.), the heat, the high price of gas, the wear and tear on the car, I drove to the nearest Half-Price Bookstore. I hate to pay full –price and only at these 2nd hand bookstores can I find some of these books. But Half-Price Bookstore was closed – I had to feed my addiction. I went to Barnes and Noble nearby but couldn’t find the book I was looking for. The next day/night, I went to Borders and bought Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey and a Bob Dylan musical DVD – more on that later. I have read a bit of Northanger Abbey and can’t wait to get into it deeply. More on that later. Anyway, some interesting tidbits. 

Where did Middlemarch come from? The word/name Middlemarch. Serendipitously I have found the answer. 

Reading an abbreviated history of England I came across the phrase “Marcher Lords.” Marcher – March – hmmm…is there a connection? You bet there is. In early England—12th century, let’s say, the boundaries between Scotland and England and between Wales and England were called Marches. The boundary was the march – from the same derivative of the word mark – markers that denote a geographical boundary. Te king came up with a new title to give a man who receives land along these boundaries from the king: marquis!! French word? Remember – Wm the Conqueror spoke French, as did several kings that followed. So, I now understand the derivation of Middlemarch can move on. I never gave much thought to Jane Eyre – where did that name come from? Again, I never gave it much thought. Eyre is said to be a common English name (when I read Boswell’s journal of his trip to the Western Isles (Hebrides) there was an individual whose first name was Eyre – therefore, I wonder if it is more correct to say Eyre is a common “Scottish name – not “English”). So I left it at that until, again, serendipitously, reading that same abbreviated history of England, I came across an innovation of Henry II: “Justices in Eyre.” 

Due to inadequate legal infrastructure in rural England, Henry II instituted circuit judges – and called them Justices in Eyre, from a French wood “errer,” to journey. 

Wow! Eyre – to journey – which is essentially what the autobiographic Jane Eyre is all about. After making that connection, I found someone on the net who had made the same connection. But – no mentioned was made of the alliteration – Jane Eyre – Justices in Eyre. Wow! It all makes sense.

 (Transcribing February16, 2008: I wonder if Jane Austen looked at “justice” being meted out by herself, or Jane Eyre, when writing this novel? I would have to go back and read the novel.)