Grandpa’s Binder (August 23rd)

Grandpa and Grandma “had decided it was not enough just to live their days at the Point. They would document them as well.” She and Robbie made observations every summer and Grandpa kept reports in his binder. “Record-worthy findings could be made in any season, though most frequently in the spring and early summer. Still, the binder’s sections ran all the way… to late autumn. Browsing from the front to the back cover was a favourite rainy-day activity.

“Years later, I thought of that archive when reading Thoreau’s description of his woodpile overlooking Walden Pond. He said those logs had the unusual capacity of warming him twice over. Once when he split them, then a second time as they went up in flames. My grandfather’s project was not so different. Its rewards were both proximal and long-term.”

Writing personally meaningful events into a permanent chronicle can help understand episodes that might otherwise be forgotten. And even fictional accounts like ‘Providence Point’ may have such an effect. Have you read other novels with that kind of impact? If so, by all means name one in a Comment.

(page 91)

(Illustration generated by AI)