I love it when something pops up when I'm looking for something else! That's what happened with Crossing the Line: a Fearless Team of Brothers and the Sport That Changed Their Lives Forever, by Kareem Rosser. The game is polo, played in inner city Philadelphia (from a place known as "The Bottom"), the idea of a white woman who believed that horses were a way to keep kids engaged and off the streets. She was right, at least some times. She started the Work to Ride Program (still exists today). All kids were welcome, but you had to stay in school and do chores to earn the right to ride. For the author's family (written when he was just twenty-seven!) it was both ... older siblings started in the program but drifted off to earn money selling drugs, ending up in jail and so on, but for Kareem, it was just what he needed. This is a powerful read, much tragedy and death, given the location, but also hope and pride. And consider, too, these are Black youth playing a rich man's game. The teams they played were from elite schools, with parents who also played the sport, had access to expensive ponies and facilities (the Work to Ride team often practiced in a cow pasture). At one point he evaluates what makes his team weak and strong (pgs 236 - 240). I reread these pages three times, it's an amazing bit of writing, and thinking. What a find!

Many of you probably saw this coming, I'm sure! Peter Taylor also wrote/compiled Weird War Two: Intriguing Items and Surprising Stuff from the Second World War. Winston Churchill may be responsible for the 'onesie'! He designed an all-in-one siren suit that could be put on quickly in an air raid. There were several versions including denim and velvet. Citizens were encouraged to grow their own veggies so no space went unused ... check out the garden planted in the dry moat of the tower of London! Gas masks game in a variety of styles. There was a flying jeep (it was not successful). Love the posters and warnings and so on for keeping mum, tell no one anything!! Again, a most interesting read.

Reading Hermit With Dog