Thankfully, Chip Hauss kept inviting me to help present the case for the reality high school teachers face trying to teach political science and the value and limitations of internet technology in doing so. The meeting was in Washington, D.C. over the Labor Day weekend.
Nancy and David came along, mostly as civic education for David, although the malarial weather might have convinced him to avoid future contact with the nation's capital.
Chip and Gretchen offered wonderful accommodations not far from a Virginia Metro station that made the trip simpler and much more personal than would have been possible otherwise.
All this is a lead in to mentioning the lunch we had with Bird Loomis in DC at the Old Ebbit Grill. And that is the intro to a reminder that Bird had recommended the mystery/adventure novels of James Lee Burke in these pages long ago.
And that explains why I bought Cadillac Jukebox when I needed a book for the plane ride home. (Have I dropped enough names yet?)
I'd never read a Burke novel before and knew his reputation only from Bird's recommendation. The books were easy to find since a new one had just been published. I couldn't remember which ones Bird had recommended, so I reached for the shelf at B. Dalton and grabbed.
James Lee Burke has a way with descriptions that reminds me of Stephen Greenleaf's rich word pictures. The selection of adjectives and phrases is wonderful and evocative. It's almost enough to recommend this book alone.
The setting is southern Louisiana, and the way Burke describes it, it was almost attractive to me. I guess the memories of three of Washington, D.C.'s hottest, most humid days were too fresh in my mind to make those lovely-sounding swamps inviting.
Another comparison to Greenleaf came to mind as I read Cadillac Jukebox. One of the last Greenleaf books I read had too much foreboding for my taste. I found it difficult to get beyond the first half of the book. This book of Burke's kept surprising me with its evil and danger. I liked these surprises better.
However, the plot seemed more contrived and formulaic than Greenleaf's stories. Maybe I took away some misperceptions by first reading this book of Burke's. I'll find out. It was a great airplane book. I will read another. Anyone else want to weigh in on this?
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