Unbroken

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I have never been a huge fan of war stories. To me it always seems a large collection of dates and events that are un-relatable to anything that I have experienced. Probably the same reason I don’t read a lot of science fiction or fantasy novels. Unbroken is different. A few months ago a local builder mentioned in his office that he had picked it up and was fanatical about the book. He couldn’t put the book down. He said that it was so good that he was losing sleep trying to finish it each night. So I picked it up and figured I would give it a try. Likewise, I felt the story of Louis Zamperini to be a non-stop rollercoaster of emotions.
As an Olympic runner Zamperini learned never to quit and he took this mantra to its extremes in his journey in the South Pacific. Zamperini and Phillips survive over 47 days at sea after their plane crash with no food, water, or shelter. To me the best part of the book was their experiences at sea. Hillenbrand managed to describe all these boring days at sea with pristine accuracy and a hunger for what comes next. I had a strong sense of being on the raft with them in the middle of the ocean. Just a year ago on a sailing journey to Bermuda I was left without wind for about 30 hours straight and had to bob up and down in the middle of the ocean. It is scary and would make anyone sick and stir crazy. On a 40 foot boat I felt that I could barely handle the anxiety that we might be stuck out there. My circumstances are not very relatable but Hillenbrand makes you feel like you are part of the story. I took a bite of an apple while reading one morning and the apple tasted different, better. I absolutely loved when Zamperini began to describe his mother’s cooking to Phillips and they could taste the food and it satisfied their hunger. I was amazed that their number one tool for survival was optimism. This gives me a whole new perspective on our daily walks in life. It has been mentioned before that stress and depression will kill you and Zamperini is proof that hope and optimism will keep you alive. Zamperini has out lived all his family members following this advice.
The courage that the POW’s displayed once captured was unbelievable. How any of the prisoners survived the brutal beatings, torture and dehumanization is beyond me. Hillenbrand does not hold anything back when describing the horrible conditions that the POWs had to live in while in the prison camps. I could picture these men racing across the camp with rice in their pants risking their lives to survive. The guards would beat them until they bled and work them until they could no longer stand up.
When Louis finally returns to California he is delusional and slips into an alcoholic haze. After marrying and having his first child Louis remains unchanged haunted by his experiences in POW camp. It takes an act of GOD to interfere and bring him back to reality. Louis is given another chance accepting Christ and forgiving all those that were haunting his dreams.
Zamperini is now 95 years old and has given me a whole new perspective on a true American hero. We typically look at celebrities as our modern day heroes. Alex Rodriguez who is worthy of a $275millon baseball contract or Tiger Woods who earns nearly $90millon a year for playing golf and endorsing products. These celebrities represent modern day America as selfish and greedy. Zamperini’s story deserves the same notoriety and Hillenbrand does her best to describe the courageous celebrity without the selfishness and greed.


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"The Perfect Retreat"

Stone used to create "The Perfect Retreat"            The Mann residence at Briars Creek was recentely featured in the Winter edition of Charleston Style and Design magazine.  The stone work selected by architect Marc Camens and builder Steve Koenig was picked for his adirondak rustic feeling. Take a look at the article The Perfect Retreat by Wendy Swat Snyder         The stone was installed by Sam Puffer of Samrea Masonry.  He was able to blend mutiple stones together to create the look the homeowners desired.  “What I try to bring together with my skill set,” says Camens, who had also lived in Pennsylvania at one time, “is an understanding of the clients’ unique situation-what their dream is, their aesthetic, how they live, and how that works with the site. Something always comes up that triggers how the plan is going to evolve, and helps direct what the home ultimately looks like.”  The stone was also used on a large fireplace in the vaulted ceiling living room.

 

 

Belgard’s New Television Commercial

Behold the Power of the Paver: Behind the scenes                       I wanted to take you behind the scenes of the new commercial.  The shoot location was at a residence near our office in Atlanta, Ga. The homeowners were incredibly gracious in opening their home to Belgard. Chosen because of the pool deck and patio, it featured Belgard Cambridge pavers, one of our best sellers. Take a look at the behind the scenes interview with Chip Wade. The shoot took one full day plus an advance walk-through to plan accordingly, but it did come with a few challenges. What you won’t see (or hear) in the finished spot: the barking dog next door, thanks to carefully timed shoots and helpful neighbors; and the dormant, yellow Zoysia winter grass, thanks to grass paint that give the grass its lush summer look in the midst of winter. Chip Wade’s professional experience was invaluable on-set. He made what could have been a long, tired day smooth and with few retakes. Chip was definitely on his A-game! One of the most amazing parts of the shoot was seeing the reveal in-person of all of the garden art across the backyard.

Don't Stop the Carnival

Don't Stop the Carnival by Herman Wouk


Have you ever sat at your desk wondering if you owned the place how great life would be? Or have you ever gone on vacation and wondered what it would be to pick up from a 9 to 5 routine and move to the islands. Norman Paperman takes you on both these adventures at the same time. Don’t stop the carnival is a great island read. The characters in the book are memorable and very relatable. I have read many books about Caribbean island living and this is one of my favorites. It is one of those novels where you take away what you put in it. Norman is going through his version of a midlife crisis and he is bringing us along for the ride. There are no in your face moral take-aways in the end of this book, but we do see a world where the fun never stops. This novel shows the world from several different perspectives. What Norman wants in the beginning and what he decides he wants in the end are two very different things. I love how realistic some of the mishaps that Paperman goes through on Amerigo. My only disappointment was not being able to witness Normans’ final transformation first hand. In play form I believe shock would be enough but I still wanted to know what he was thinking and why he had changed his mind. If you see island travel in your near to distant future take this book with you and you can appreciate it when the power goes out for several hours right in the middle of your dinner.

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