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Jun 14, 2023Liked by Mari, the Happy Wanderer

This was so much fun to read! The parallels with the Odyssey made the story all the more fun and memorable. You are a wonderful writer!

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Oh, thank you so much!

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Jun 15, 2023Liked by Mari, the Happy Wanderer

A similar story: Our daughter Miranda recently took a work trip to Panama to capture and transport poison dart frogs back to the U.S. for the biology lab she manages. When she left for Panama it still wasn't clear how she was doing to get the frogs back in to the U.S. She had been told she could take them on the plane and then she was told they had to go on a separate cargo plane and then was told they couldn't come with her at all unless they were pets! (Imagine--120 poison dart frogs as pets.) While in Panama, her boss, the P.I. for the experiment, arranged for Miranda to bring the frogs back to the U.S. as a carry-on--on a different airline than the one she had a ticket for already. Poison dart frogs are tiny and all 120 fit into a case that would fit on the plane. She carried them on, then had to walk around the bowels of Kennedy airport showing the appropriate and voluminous paperwork to various animal control officials to get them into the U.S.. The frogs all made it and got installed into their new home in the lab and she now has a great story to tell--more absurd then epic, but a good tale nonetheless. Final bit: she said TSA would not even touch the case once she told them what was in it. Hoo-boy. But the frogs are too tiny to be poisonous to humans!

Also, anyone who hates the Odyssey might try the new translation by a woman, Emily Wilson. It's so good I actually read it on vacation: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-odyssey-homer/1129773507

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Whoa! That is an amazing story! That may be the craziest thing I have ever heard of being carried onto a plane!

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Jun 14, 2023Liked by Mari, the Happy Wanderer

What Louise said!

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Sep 1, 2023·edited Sep 1, 2023Liked by Mari, the Happy Wanderer

Such a cool idea for an essay format, Mari .. Lily is very cute in her pics

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Oh thank you for the kind words and compliment for Lily! She was a failed show dog (which is how we got her) and a very fancy basset--her sire won best in breed at Westminster the year after we adopted her. So for a basset, she was a beauty!

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Jun 14, 2023Liked by Mari, the Happy Wanderer

I hope your friend never initiates their end of the bargain :D Ulysses was one of the least enjoyable reads of my entire life. I kept expecting the novel to get better, and was barely able to finish it. You may know this already, but the last 50 pages or so of the book is comprised of 8 run-on sentences. The book reads like James Joyce was drunk while he wrote it. It might be interesting to read from a scholarly perspective, but I would never recommend it for someone to read for enjoyment.

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I definitely think I got the better deal! Clarissa is long, but it has a compelling story and fascinating characters. I have never felt the urge to read Ulysses, and your comment just reinforces my resolve to avoid it!

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