Running of the bulls not for Norma
This week I was interested in reading about the running of the bulls in Spain. Don't you wonder why healthy young men take on such a hazardous sport? I was surprised to hear Larry Hatteberg, anchorman on Channel 10 say he always wanted to do that. Then I heard Regis Philbin, TV star say he would applaud the bulls.
I experienced something like that when I was a young child walking to my country school. Sometimes I had to cut through a pen full of ferocious-looking steers. Most of them just stood there and looked at me but some of them moved about and I fully expected them to attack me any minute. I still can't believe my parents would expose me to such a dangerous situation. For years afterward I dreamed of going through that feed lot, scared beyond reason.
I went to a bull fight in Mexico and couldn't stand to watch it. I liked the colors, the music, and the lively crowd, but not the fight.
Alexander McCall Smith was born in Zimbabwe, Africa. He has written several books placed in that country. I just read a couple of them, "The Kalahari Typing School for Men," and "The Full Cupboard of Life." They are both about some African village people and their problems. They were published in 2003 and 2004 so are new. Two women, the stars of the book, run a "No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency." They are amusing and "folksy," gentle but interesting and challenging. I enjoyed them and will check the library to see if they have any more of Smith's books.
— NORMA HANNAFORD
