Zeitoun ~ David Eggers - September Book Club Online

[Ella Gibbons]

The Book Club Online is  the oldest  book club on the Internet, begun in 1996, open to everyone.  We offer cordial discussions of one book a month,  24/7 and  enjoy the company of readers from all over the world.  everyone is welcome to join in.

 

SEPTEMBER Book Club Online

Zeitoun ~  by David Eggers

 
 

" In Zeitoun, Dave Eggers expertly captures the Zeitoun family’s story of perseverance through forces of nature and man. This book is a testament to the city of New Orleans and the survivors of Hurricane Katrina who carry on and strive to rebuild. Zeitoun is narrative nonfiction at its storytelling best and Eggers valiantly provides writing worthy of the source material."   Mike Sullivan  About.com Book review "It’s the stuff of great narrative nonfiction"  Timothy Egan ~ New York Times Book Review

SCHEDULE FOR DISCUSSION:

Sept l -8               Pages 1-81
Sept. 9 - 16          Pages 85 - 170
Sept. 17- 23         Pages173 - 224
Sept. 24 - 30        Pages 225-325

Related links::
   Photographs - America's Greatest Heartbreak;
  About David Eggers; the town of Arwad;

FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION

1. In this first week, we go from August 26, 2005 to August 30th. Four days. What did you learn about Kathy and Zeitoun, their family values, their marriage in these first chapter?

2. What did the community think of Zeitoun’s family? His business; his practice of hiring men from everywhere? What is Zeitoun attempting to do by hiring immigrants?

3. What do we learn about Zeitoun before he came to America?

4. What is your reaction to the following statements:

     a.“Americans fall short of their best selves.” pp. 36-7

     b.In America “there is a sense that everything could be replaced and on a whim.” (pg. 48)

     c.“The doubt sewn into the faith (Islam) gave her (Kathy) room to think, to question.” (p 67)

     d.“Previous experiments using the stadium had failed” (P. 55)

5.What would you have done if you lived in New Orleans and heard the reports of the hurricane coming?

6. What do you remember most about the hurricane?


 

Discussion Leaders:   Ella & JoanK

Well, darn, I missed the interview also.  There are pictures of Zeitoun in my paperback book in various parts of the world taken in his "roaming years" and some others

We start the book Wednesday; what fun.  We'll put a few questions for your consideration - something to get our discussion going - tomorrow.

[JoanK]

Zeitoun's English is not too good -- he was struggling to explain how he had rescued people. So Tavis Smiley concentrated on Cathy, explaining how she felt, and what she did. It was a little frustrating.

I can't wait for Wednesday!

[pedln]

I just picked up my book from the library today.  It's skinny enough and lightweight enough, I'll keep it and not get a Kindle copy. 

[JoanK]

Great!

I'm thinking of getting a kindle. They seem to have two: one wi-fi only, the other I guess independent. How do I know which one I need?

[salan]

Me too, Joan K.  Will someone please explain the difference to me.  What is WiFi (I know I just showed my ignorance).  I am trying to become a little more technology informed.
Sally

[pedln]

All of the Kindles up to know have worked with cell phone towers.  So you could "buy" a book anytime you were in an area the had cell phone connections.  (YOU did not have to use a cell phone)  The Kindle did it all.  The technology is called G-something.

With the new Kindle -- the Kindle3, or Latest Generation, you can have G-Something plus WiFi, or for a slightly lesser price, you can get one that uses on WiFi.  The only time you need to use either of these technologies is when you download reading material.  You can turn it off for just reading.

WiFi -- Wireless FI? -- it's what in place whenever you see a coffeeshop or someplace that says "free internet."  Most libraries now have WiFi, hospitals, schools,homes.  My kids have Wifi, I have wifi -- which means I can use my laptop in any room of the house without being plugged in anywhere.

I don't know enough about Kindles to know the advantages of the two different technologies. If you spent your life on the beach on climbing mountains you'd probably want the G-something variety.

[Ella Gibbons]

IT'S SEPTEMBER 1ST AND TIME TO START OUR BOOK DISCUSSION!

IT'S ALSO A HOLIDAY WEEKEND SO PERHAPS SOME OF YOU HAVE BIG PLANS?

If you are home, do gather around the computer and let's talk a bit.  We have put a few questions in the heading for you to think about as you read the book.

What did you think about the organization, by dates, of the book?  And the way that Dave Eggers skipped around in these chapters?  

Have you read any of Eggers' books?  His WHAT IS WHAT book was a finalist for the 2006 National Book Critics Circle Award and is about a survivor of a civil war.  

This is Eggers type of story and I think he does it well, do you?

Let's hear your thoughts today!

[pedln]

Oh boy, Ella, I'm not that far into the first section to comment on the arrangement.  But I'm thoroughly enjoying these first pages, meeting the Zeitoun family and learning a little bit of their background.  This is my first Eggers book.  I love the beginning pages -- so real, so typical of an average American family -- Mom hoping for just a bit more sleep and the kids reliving their DVD.  (That reminded me of riding with a friend whose  3-yr-old granddaughter was babbling in the back seat about Mr. Darcy and that silly mother.  She and her mama had been watching P &P too.)  The juggling that continually has to be done in any family.

In just a few pages we've learned that Kathy and Zeitoun, after a rocky start, are well-thought of in their community.  They've worked hard and it's paid off.

[Ella Gibbons]

Hi, PEDLIN!  Perhaps my mind is not as well organized as it should be.  I found this first part confusing, I was forever looking at those dates, going back to each chapter heading, to see how/when the flood occurred.  We all know that there was just flooding at first, and then the levees broke and it was hellish.  I'm not even sure, without leafing through the book, what day the levees broke.

This was my first Eggers book also and I thought it was well written, although poorly organized.  The first two pages describe Zeitoun's youth in Syria, which sounds carefree and wonderful; however this sentence tells the real story behind his youth I believe:

"Their father had passed away the year before and their mother was of fragile health and mind, so all funds they earned fishing went toward the welfare of the house they shared with ten siblings."

[Aberlaine]

I always get confused when a story jumps back and forth in time, but I'm managing to hold onto the story line this time because it's so well written.  I finished Part 1 last week and am rereading it now.

I'm proud of Zeitoun hiring men from other countries.  It gave them a chance to get settled in the community.  It's too bad that the community didn't regard this as positive.  Especially the woman who objected to "swarthy" men working on her home.  I guess we're all taught to distrust anyone who doesn't look like us.  So very sad.

Nancy

[JoanP]

Good morning!
I finished Part One and am loving the book.  Isn't it eerie that we are reading the book at the same time the storm is approaching  New Orleans?  I think Eggers captures the unfolding drama just right.  And have you noticed Hurricane Earl bearing down on the East Coast right now?

  I feel I understand Zeitoun - are we ever going to spell his first name right?  Abdulrahman...is that right? Let's refer to him as Zeitoun, as Eggers does.   He's a hard worker and a fair employer, which is why the business prospers.

I'm still not understanding Kathy and her motivation for converting to Islam and her insistence on wearing the hijab...especially when there were incidents when she wore it in public.  I DO understand her wanting to heed the hurricane warnings and get out of New Orleans though.  

They do make a good team though - most of her work for the business seems to be talking to customers on the phone in her Southern drawl.  I was really surprised to see so many immigrant workers in New Orleans before the flood, Nancy.  Bruce pointed out that as a port town, this is always the case.  It will be interesting to learn whether they still come into New Orleans to work today.  Also, if Zeitoun is back reconstructing the damaged homes...

This is fascinating - and those are great questions you've put before us!

[JoanK]

JoanP "I think Eggers captures the unfolding drama just right". I agree! I think he just captures the uncertainty that NOers must have felt in those days: running their regular lives, then thinking "What should we do?" "I'm scared!" "No, I'm being silly" etc. I found myself yelling "Run, run for your lives".

Of course if they had, we wouldn't be reading about them.

[JoanK]

Ok, time to sit down and discuss, eating our snacks. JoanK, please bring the coffee with chickory and beignets.

But at the start, we learn about Zeitoun's past in Syria. So I asked my friend, an American wonan married to a Syrian: "if we were in Syria, sitting around discussing this book, what would we be eating and drinking?"

She said chai and sweets, followed by fruit. The fruit follows the sweets because it satisfies the thirsty feeling that sweets leave.

The first sweet she mentioned was baklava. I thought baklava was Greek, but it seems there is a special kind, made in Syria, called Aleppo Baklave, made from a kind of pistachios grown in the Syrian town of Aleppo.

I brought plenty:

http://snapshots.travelvice.com/view/syria/aleppo/DSCN5311.JPG.html

[salan]

I remember watching the disaster on tv.  I felt so helpless and shocked that our government could not rescue these people sooner.  It made me wonder what would happen to us in a country-wide catastrophy.  I felt much less safe.

I remember being impatient with those who stayed to "weather" the storm, in spite of all warnings.  Their actions caused others to be put in harm's way.  Later on it was brought home to me that many of those that stayed had no way to leave and no money to go anywhere else.  The accommodations at the superdome were horrendous.  Yet, where else could the huge masses of people have gone??

We housed 5 evacuees (family members), so we stayed glued to the t.v.  Their experiences on the road were something else..  It took them 3 times as long to get here and going to the bathroom along the way was a problem--bumper-to-bumper traffic, hours between places with bathrooms and 2 small children, etc. 

Sally

[Ella Gibbons]

ME, TOO, NANCY!   It seems it's the modern way to write a good story, jumping around in time!   And I agree with you about Zeitoun hiring immigrants, but I'm somewhat surprised, however.  Someone said that in the interview on TV he couldn't speak very well and I am sure the immigrants he hired couldn't speak English very well either.  And, yet, he had a thriving business.  

Port cities, JOANP, yes, Zeitoun might not have had full-time work so he could be assured of having workers when he needed them; one reason he hired immigrants.  New Orleans has always been known (perhaps around the world?) as being a multi-cultural city and this might be the reason Zeitoun entered the country here.  One wonders how that works?  Where does he get a visa?  Become a citizen?  Anyone know?

JOANK, the baklava!  Yes, I would have thought  they were Greek also and they are so good, warm, yes!  You have a friend married to a Syrian?  He speaks Arabic right?   Such ancient lands, such troubled lands.  Here is the Wikipedia site for Syria:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syria

There is also a site in the heading of Arwad, Zeitoun's beloved island off the coast of Syria.  Beautiful place!

SALLY, you live where?  You housed evacuees!  Tell us the story!   Yes, the poor people, those who had no means to leave the city, those that we saw huddled in the Superdome were pitiful!

[pedln]

I was really surprised to see so many immigrant workers in New Orleans before the flood, Nancy.  Bruce pointed out that as a port town, this is always the case.

Even back in the 1800's, JoanP,  immigrants came through New Orleans and up the Mississippi to settle in places like Wisconsin and Missouri.  That really surprised me when I heard it.

[kidsal]

Question 4b.  Everything can be replaced?  Many things are now designed to be replaced rather than repaired.  Remember when I could change the tubes in my TV!  Now I don't know where/how I would get it repaired -- just buy a new one. 

4a:  I don't believe some people realize they do discrimate.  Have a friend (85 years old) who told me she hired a black man to take care of her lawn.  She exclaimed that he "was clean."  Also tried to tell me that if you were only 1% black you were black (old southern law for marriage rights?)  Then she told me she was not a raciest.  I now live in Wyoming -- where does this come from?

[PatH]

"Why, sometimes, did Americans fall short of their best selves?"

This question tells us something about Zeitoun.  He's a surprising person, and one thing about him--he looks for and sees the good in people.  He doesn't just dismiss the bigots, instead he is disappointed in them for not living up to what he knows they could be.

[Ella Gibbons]

SO TRUE KIDSAL.  If you were young in the 30's and 40's, as I was, you remember how everyone around you used up everything and saved everything.  String, rubber bands, paper bags, and I don't remember garbage pickup.  Did we have it or did we bury it?  We had a garden out back so I imagine we buried the waste or put it on a compost heap.   We (I) have lived to see America waste everything! Zeitoun says:

"there are times when waste got to him.  The disposability of just about everything." pg.48

We often see TV pictures of third world countries where folks live in utter poverty with nothing.  I am ashamed of our waste but don't know how it can stopped.

[Ella Gibbons]

Are the Muslims the new African-Americans?  It seems so when you read this from Zeitoun:

"Since the attacks in New York...., every time a crime was committed by a Muslim, that person's faith was mentioned, regardless of its relevance.............When a crime is committed by a black man, it's mentioned in the first breath."

The new minority and the media is going to expound and expand it. There is an article just about every day in my paper about Muslims in America, the mosque near Ground Zero, for and against.

Let's discuss it a bit.  Does it bother you to have mosques in America?  One near Ground Zero?

[JoanP]

kidsal, I don't even know how to work my new TV - three different remote controls - over 1500 channels, so many of them pay to view...some channels hi-def....
I still save - my kids laugh at me.  Every door knob has rubber bands.  They tell me I can buy a whole bag of them for $1.00

The irony here is that Zeitoun believes in repairing, not replacing.  How many of the homes in the 9th Ward could have been repaired?  I haven't read any further than PART I - don't know what happened to Zeitoun - and his company after the storm.  Construction became a big business - and with his character he would be great working with the thousands of volunteers who still come in today to help with the rebuilding.

 There's an article in this morning's Washington Post on a recent report that shows the recession and tougher border enforcement have led to a sharp decline in the number of immigrants entering the US illegally in the past five years.  This made me wonder about  Zeitoun's practice of hiring immigrants.  Perhaps he  hired immigrants because they were willing to work.  I don't think he was averse to hiring "natives"  when they came to him looking for work - do you?  As long as they showed up and worked hard, he gave them work. I'm wondering how many of the men who worked for him were legal...do we know that? I can see Zeitoun hiring people who were willing to work without checking their papers...

PatH, I think that that statement tells a lot about Zeitoun too - Already he is showing rare qualities - pure, selfless, non-judgmental qualities that heros are made of...

Ella, we were posting together - I'll have to think some more about  your Muslim question.  I'm confused about the building a mosque (is it a mosque?)  near Ground Zero - it iseems grossly insensitive, it is asking for trouble and negative attention for as long as such a building would stand.  Yet, this is America...
I wonder what Zeitoun's views are on this?

[Ella Gibbons]

JOANP, I don't think Zeitoun is a hero.  He is an ordinary man doing ordinary things in extraordinary circumstances.  I think most business men would think and do as he did, but because he was a Muslim and could not speak good English he was a marked man (more of this as we get into the book).

That article about immigrants was in my newspaper also,  It's good in many ways (particularly AZ) but it would be bad for Zeitoun.   Hiring immigrants might get him in trouble, I would think,  with many government agencies, however.  The IRS, Soc. Security, the state of Louisiana, workmen's compensation.  How did he handle payroll with workers who:

"were transient, intending only to spend a few months in the country before returning to their families

[Ella Gibbons]

I'm still here, JOANP.  From what I read in this book, Zeitoun would say that Muslims have a right to build their mosque there.  I'm undecided as are most Americans and as long as this is in the news it is going to build on animosity toward the Islam religion.  

[JoanK]

GRR. Just hit the wrong button, and lost a long post. Here goes again:

I'm a depression baby, as are many of us. We never threw away anything. Now I'm almost as bad as everyone else. 

A lot of things are made to be thrown away. Small appliances used to last for decades, now they break down in a year or two and "can't be repaired". Clothes are meant to be thrown away after they go out of fashion (i.e. next year). Bottles used to be heavy glass and recyclable: now the planet is drowning in throw-away drink bottles. Even with recycling, we are drowning in trash.

[JoanK]

Katrina is everywhere! There's a program on tthe "Discovery Channel" called Dirty Jobs. Yesterday, they (re-)broadcast an episode where the host helped a team that was going into houses, a year after Katrina, and gutting them, so the house could be salvaged and rebuilt. You can't imagine what this house looked like. It was so horrible, I couldn't watch the whole thing!

[Mippy]

One of the questions above is about what to do when a hurricane is coming.
Well, today, here we are on Cape Cod, the sun is bright, and a hurricane is coming, probably.   The forecasts are never certain.   There's not much to do in preparation.

We are staying put, based on prior experience.   But this neighborhood is nothing like New Orleans.  I think we would have left, if possible, if we'd been in New Orleans.
                            
When I read about Zeitoun's  successful business, I immediately wished we had someone
like him around.   Imagine, someone who would put up plywood over windows if needed.
There's no one here to do that on a moments notice.   But neither we nor our neighbors
are doing that, as we not directly on the water.   Nor are we below sea level.  

As expected, reading on the Kindle has not worked out well for a reading group, as it's
too difficult to find anything on pages read before.   And,of course, I was not well organized and I didn't make notes as I read, but just let the story carry me along.

[Aberlaine]

Ella, I think the Muslim Cultural Center should be built on the land in question.  We have something in this country called "religious freedom".  This center is not on ground zero and it is not a mosque.  It's a community center.  You know, where kids can come and play safely.

I'm ashamed of this country for being so very bigoted.  All immigrants are looked on suspiciously by us "original" Americans.  Germans, Irish, Jews, blacks, Hispanics, now muslims.  They are a peace-loving people.  Their religion is very much like ours.  They worship the same God.  They didn't fly planes into the Twin Towers.  Fanatics did. This talk makes me physically ill.  I'll be going now.

Nancy (a Jew)

[JoanK]

No, no, don't go.  We agree with you about bigotry and intolerance.

JoanK, Jewish by marriage, with Jewish children, bringing Syrian baklava to the discussion.

[PatH]

Of course there's a right to build the cultural center on any ground that's zoned for it.  Is it a good idea to build it two blocks from Ground Zero?  It could be a very good idea if it leads to better understanding of what Islam is really about.  But it's risky too, since someone could take some unfortunate action against it.

[JoanP]

I agree, Ella - I think that Zeitoun would say build it - no, wait, I think he'd volunteer to help build it!    I tried to find out more about the proposed building in NYC...and find that as Nancy says, it is not really a mosque - but rather a 13 story building that includes many facilities, prayer rooms included.  Perhaps that is the point of controversy?  People might understand it to be a place of worship?   I read that a recent poll shows 68 per cent of Amercans feel it should be located elsewhere.  There is actually a  mosque two blocks from this proposed site and there doesn't seem to be any reaction to that.

 As PatH points out, this proposed Cultural Center  is located not right at Ground Zero, but rather two blocks from it.  Here's some irony - the proposed  Center is called "the Cordoba  Initiative and the original name "Cordoba House" was meant to invoke 8th–11th century Córdoba, Spain, which they called a model of peaceful coexistence between Muslims, Christians, and Jews..."

Mippy, Earl seems to be losing steam - here's hoping you, and everyone else in the Northeast gets away with not much damage.  It really is amzing to be reading this book, this part of the book - the eve of a hurricane, at the same time Earl is threatening.  

I keep wondering whether Zeitoun was part of the rebuillding in New Orleans after Katrina...but am forcing myself from going ahead.  I love the way Eggers is building the drama.  JoanK, I just can't imagine what it is like for  volunteers to go into the destroyed homes.  They'd all have to be demolished from the ground up, don't you think ?

[Ella Gibbons]

Good morning all and Hurricane Earl is now a Category 2 storm and I am glad for MIPPY and others that live near or the coast.  So far no damage.

AND I THINK WE ARE A LITTLE CROSS-SECTION OF AMERICA, don't you, and the majority of us believe the center (thank you, NANCY AND JOANP) should be built.  The state zoning board, whatever they call it, has agreed and all the hub-bub about it will die down - HOPEFULLY - when it is built.  As mentioned there is a mosque nearby; actually I think I heard there are 100 mosques in NYC or was it the state?

Cordoba, Spain!  Here is a site, beautiful city, lovely climate -     http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C%C3%B3rdoba,_Spain

[Ella Gibbons]

But America still has a racist problem, even though we elected an African-American president, I think, and that is difficult and then on top of that, the couple in our book, Zeitoun and Kathy, are Muslims.  How difficult it must be to see a TIME magazine cover that says IS AMERICA ISLAMOPHOBIC?

What is your opinion.  ARE WE?

Strange that America would be intolerant of religion; however, when we look back on our history there have been other times and we have, as a nation, conquered our distrust and fears.  There were Catholics, Mormons, Quakers, Jews, as NANCY posted.
I must confess that Kathy's insistence on wearing the hijab confuses me.  Even in her mother's house!  

Here is a good article on the subject:

http://www.islamfortoday.com/hijabcanada4.htm

Is this so very different than the Catholic nun who used to wear the complete black robe, even hiding her hair.  Of course, they don't anymore, but they did when I was a child.

YOUR COMMENTS?

[pedln]

That's an interesting article, Ella, and even more surprising that the teenagers wore the hijab by choice, and felt comfortable with it.  And in the book, Kathy jokingly told a friend how it covered up her extra pounds.

I think it's sad that the building of the Muslim Cultural Center in New York has become such a national issue.  It's a New York city issue and shouldn't have anything to do with the rest of us.  It wasn't until some non-New Yorkers (unnamed) picked up on it for political reasons (long before the President made his remarks) that it became an issue.  Then of course the media got way overinvolved. 

And now the whole realm of Islam/Muslim has become a political issue, repeatedly being fed by polls, speeches, etc.

I'm glad to know that others still keep rubber bands on door knobs.   

[Ella Gibbons]

Rubber bands on doorknobs!!  NO, NO, NO.  My daughter does that all the time and it irritates me!  She, too, is very conscious of her budget, which is a good thing.

Yes, PEDLIN, the media blows/talks everything out of proportion and it is with us day and night, pounding us with their bluster!  I don't watch TV much, just a little news at night and a good movie if there is one.

THE MEDIA WAY OVERINVOLVED! - Pedlin

[JoanK]

ELLA: that was a very good article. It changed the way I think about Muslim dress.

[JoanP]

Pedln, I noticed Kathy's comment that she liked the hijab because it covered up her extra pounds, but I don't think that was the reason she wore it when she went home to spend time with her family, her sisters.  I got the feeling that she was feeling somewhat defensive about her decision to convert.  This was her way of showing her family that she was serious and demanded respect.  
It took courage to wear it in public in New Orleans in the years following 9/11.  
I don't think I'd say we live in a racist country - but I think  the country became Islamophobic immediately after 9/11.  Once we found who was responsible for  the attacks we came to realize that it was the fanatic al-Qaida who was responsible, attitudes changed - though the fear of al-Qaida persists.

Kathy's Southern drawl was good for doing business over the phone.  Perhaps their business would not have been as successful as it was without her accent setting up schedules.  Bruce and I spent some time in the Garden District where Zeitoun and Co. did a a lot of work - a really fantastic historic district...we walked by Anne Rice's house several times.  Her house didn't stand out in the neighborhood - all the houses in this neighborhood - so you get an idea of the kind of houses Zeitoun worked on -

Anne Rice's house in the Garden District - click to see

I don't think Zeitoun had trouble getting business because of his crew of immigrants - the quality spoke for itself.  Did you notice that Kathy was driving an "Odyssey" van - top of the line.  They were doing great before the storm hit.

[Ella Gibbons]

Oh, that's beautiful, JOANP!!  I'd love to see the inside of that house, wouldn't you?  And the tree?  What kind of tree is  that?   I've never read any of her books have you?  Here's the Wikipedia site for her:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Rice

Did you wonder as you read these pages (PART I) why Eggers wove into the book all those accounts of Zeitoun's boyood, his family, his brother - the champion swimmer and the family's close bond with each other?

Does all of this tell us something of Zeitoun's character, his ethics, his behavior?

[Ella Gibbons]

MIPPY, it takes me awhile, I'm slow, mentally slow,  but I just realized that I have the paperback of the book, ZEITOUN, and here I am putting in page numbers and they don't correspond to the hardcover book at all.  And, of course, they don't help KINDLE USERS at all!  Do I need help???

Somehow, we can conquer these problems; I know (but you can't fire me, I'm a volunteer!)  Hahaa

Does it help by dividing the book into chapters for our discussion?

[Mippy]

Ella ~ Thanks for seeing my note that the Kindle readers cannot use page numbers, so that Chapter numbers would indeed help.

All's fine here on Cape Cod, as the tropical storm stayed off shore and only dropped a lot of rain.  Some streets are slightly flooded, and very few people even had power outages.
When I woke up at 5 a.m. I could hardly believe the clock was still running, as even a car hitting a tree somewhere in the town usually causes a short power failure.               
We are all very lucky indeed!

[Aberlaine]

Ella, thank you so much for that enlightening link to women wearing hijabs.  I found it similar to meeting someone online.  I met my second husband online and we purposely didn't exchange pictures for two months.  Because of that, we found that our personalities meshed perfectly.

I think the stories of Zeitoun's childhood does show us a bit about why he came to be the way he was.  After the levies broke, he and others rescued people stranded in their homes, fed abandoned dogs, etc.  He didn't flee the city as his wife wanted him to.  He is a very ethical, caring individual - and there aren't many of his kind around these days.

Why?  Because our younger generations were given everything they wanted without even asking.  They developed an attitude of entitlement.  With that kind of attitude, you only think of yourself, not the welfare of others.

Nancy