E Books

I have a personal story about Nishiyama, although I didn't study with him myself, but someone I know did. Nishiyama was in Los Angelos for some time back in the 60's and he was conducting a training session. One of the students, a guy by the name of Ray Dalke, who later led the U.C. Riverside Shotokan club to the national championship title, was in the class. I met Dalke when I was a doctoral student at UCR back in the early 80's, but I actually heard this from one of his students. Ray had never been very loose in the legs, especially the groin stretch, where you sit on the ground in a quasi-lotus position and bounce your knees up and down and try to get them all the way to the ground.

Anyway, Nishiyama came around to Dalke, and noticed his problem. He says to Dalke, "You want to have loose lap?" (Sometimes Nishiyama's English was a bit rough, but the meaning came through loud and clear). Dalke says, "yes, Master, I do." Nishiyama says again, "Are you sure you want to have loose lap?" Dalke says, "Yes, yes, Master, I want it more than anything!" At that moment Nishiyama jumps up into the air and comes down with both feet planted squarely on Dalke's knees, driving them all the way to the floor.

Well, he said Dalke's scream of agony could be heard for two city blocks. They had to get an ambulance and take Dalke away. But he survived and was back later after he healed with the "loosest lap" you've ever seen. I hope Ray doesn't mind my telling his story. Like I said, I met Ray in about 1980 when he was the faculty karate instructor at UC Riverside and he was really a pretty cool guy, as well as an excellent instructor. He loved the Shotokan katas and I recall having an enjoyable discussion with him about some of the more advanced forms.

Anyway, Nishiyama is one of the greats of the Shotokan style and this book is still one of the finest books on the subject. I will say one more thing about Nishiyama, which is that he has the most vicious-looking front kick I've ever seen. I've tried to emulate his style on this one but he's basically got the patent on it.

Apart from Lee, the book focuses extensively on the lives of the daughters. Each daughter is portrayed as a complete person, and their individuality is celebrated. One can learn quite a bit about Mary Lee the mother, too, and even the grandparents who were so deeply loved by the girls. The sons are not ignored, either.

There is an overcast of sadness about the story, at least I felt a little sad, because they did have a difficult life. It's true that the Lee family was prominent in society and certainly they can be seen as privileged, but these privileges carry their own burden.

I highly recommend The Lee Girls to all those who want to escape to the past for awhile and enter into the Lee household.

1. Think of your blood flow moving away from the area of the surgery. I did this and I had very little blood loss.
2. When you have discomfort (pain) make your mind think of good experiences. This worked great for me. I thought of my wife and kids.
3. When you wake up from surgery start thinking of you favorite foods. This will get your intestine's working faster. I dreamed about cheesecake! It sure helped.

I would recommend anyone going through surgery to listen to Dr. Neimark tape.

Stella Pope Duarte's bio says she is a university instructor and a high school counselor. I'll bet she took a lot of writing and/or literature classes during her school years, because her debut novel is nothing short of a miracle, considering how publishers continue to release poorly constructed, poorly edited books.

From the first sentence -- "The passion vine bloomed until late November the year Jesse died."

-- until the last paragraph --

". . . No one knows if a spirit can balance on the point of a pin, or send light beams when we least expect. I looked down at the Wall. Light shone from it like a laser beam reaching us flying overhead. It's OK that I knew my brother wasn't coming home. I was supposed to. It got me to write this book, to tell his story to the world."

-- Ms. Duarte's elegant, mystical prose casts a spell on her reader.

Duarte weaves the story of a Chicano family torn asunder by the death of its beloved son/brother/cousin Jesse Ramirez during the Viet Name War in 1968.

Before he boarded the plane, Jesse promised his mother that she would hear his voice again. When she finally hears his voice one night, some thirty years after his death, she cannot rest until she visits the Viet Nam Memorial Wall to touch his name.

Jesse's family has not fared well since his death. One of his sisters, Teresa, is in the middle of a difficult divorce. Another sister can't find Mr. Right, although not from lack of effort. His brother is an ex-con trying to connect with his estranged son. His buddies who returned from the war have had their share of struggles, too.

Riding herd on this rag-tag group is Jesse's mother, Alicia Rodriguez. She alone has not lost faith and despite her fragile health and lack of money, she is determined to make the long trek to Washington to see the Wall.

I look forward to many, many more books from Stella Pope Durate. She's got all the skills necessary to teach us about quality writing and to entertain us for years to come.

Enjoy.

The debut novel by Stella Pope Duarte, LET THEIR SPIRITS DANCE revolves around a Hispanic family's trip from their Arizona home to the Vietnam Wall, in a journey where they question themselves, their beliefs, and remember the family member they lost to the Vietnam War.

School teacher Teresa Ramirez has held on to the knowledge, all these 30 years, that her brother Jesse knew he was not going to return from the Vietnam War. On his departure at the airport, he whispers to her that he will not be back, and to take care of their mother. This memory haunts her when they get word six months later of his death while trying to help out a fellow soldier who was shot down. Thirty years later, when Teresa's mother Alicia informs everyone she has heard Jesse call to her, Teresa is more than just upset, and wonders if her mother is hallucinating or if her mother truly has these powers where she can hear from the dead.

Then, in a surprising turn of events, they are informed that because of an error made by the government all those years ago, Alicia has $90,000 coming to her because of Jesse's death. This seals the deal - Alicia informs the family they are going to DC to touch Jesse's' name on the wall. It doesn't matter that Teresa is being sued by her husband's girlfriend for assault, or that Teresa is waiting to hear about her soon-to-be divorce from Ray. Alicia says it will all take care of itself, and that they are all to go on this journey together. Alicia's health is in jeopardy, but she is determined to do this, as the last thing she may do on this earth.

Duarte tells the story with flashbacks, the point of view coming mostly from Teresa, as she remembers her childhood with Jesse and her other siblings Priscilla and Paul, happy moments as well as sad moments that continue to bother her into the present. She remembers her father, who was unfaithful to her mother Alicia, a man that Teresa had no respect for. She also remembers the stories she heard from an old Aztec medicine man, Don Florencio, who talked about the ancient Aztecs, their heritage, about dead spirits and other things that Teresa wants to believe are true.

While the first half of the book is filled with mostly flashbacks and helps set up the story, the second half details the journey that the Ramirez family and friends take, as they drive in a caravan of vehicles to their destination in Washington. They become the favorite of the media, thanks to the help of nephew Michael and his computer, even garnering the attention of President Clinton. Relationships are mended and created as the trip ensues, while more and more people join the caravan, and when they finally reach their final destination, it is a moment of sadness and remembrance as they embrace those that have left them.

This reviewer enjoyed LET THEIR SPIRITS DANCE. The story of the Vietnam War and how it affected one family, as well as one group of people, the Hispanics, was eye opening. The ending was expected, yet it also was climatic in that one had waited so long for this journey to end. It was not truly a happy ending, but what made it happy was their realization that our loved ones are never really far from us, only separated by death. Teresa's story involved one's questioning of faith and religious beliefs, and reconciling one's past with the present. Her problems are resolved in a manner that surprised this reviewer, but it was a wonderful ending to her story as well as Alicia's journey in search of her son. Some readers may find the politics in this book to be opposite of what they feel, as Duarte does not hold back on her views of the war, told through the eyes of the characters in this story. Other than that, four stars for LET THEIR SPIRIT DANCE.