BOOKS & STUFF

As kids, we used to ice skate as soon as the ice formed on the Little Wolf River. After the recent warm spell and rain, we probably could skate in the ditches, farm fields and too many driveways. Ours is a mess! Looks like we’ll be doing “the penguin walk” until spring. Guess I’ll stay inside and read whenever I get a chance.
This week, I came across “First Phone Call From Heaven” by Mitch Albom, and I knew I had to read it. Ever since I read “Tuesdays With Morrie,” I have thoroughly enjoyed his writing style, emotional insights and way of combining what we know with what we can only believe.
The story is set in the small town of Clearwater in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. One Friday afternoon, several Clearwater residents receive phone calls from callers claiming to be dead relatives. Tess receives a call from her mother, Ruth. Kathleen hears from her sister, Diane. Police Chief Jack is called by his son, Rob, and Elias hears from a man named Nick. No one believed they’d been called from heaven, but the details revealed in following calls convince them otherwise.
After her sister told Kathleen to share the good news about heaven, she speaks out during church, and suddenly the whole town is buzzing. At first, believers are overjoyed to know that the dead can communicate and constantly ask Kathleen to take messages to their loved ones. But soon, they get angry as they wonder why they haven’t received calls. When the others share their calls, the town begins to fill with believers and protesters causing all kinds of unforeseen problems.
Action 9 News sends aspiring young reporter Amy to Clearwater, and she’s soon unhappily immersed in the controversial calls. Some of the clergy are happy because their churches are full at every service, but only Pastor Warren seems to see the division the “miracles” are causing.
While believers pray and protesters chant, the mayor and a small committee are busy trying to cash in on all the notoriety. They don’t care about the truth. All they want is a piece of profit to be made.
One of the doubters is Sully Harding. About a year before, an air-traffic controller gave him permission to land an Air Force jet, causing him to clip a small passenger plane and crash the jet. Sully’s wife, Giselle, and son, Jules, lived nearby, so she arranged to meet him at the airport. Sadly, Giselle and the fleeing controller collided head on, leaving him dead and Giselle in a coma.
Sully spent 10 months in prison for the incident and now is too bitter and angry to move forward and raise his son. The only job he can get is selling advertising for the local newspaper.
Feeling that claiming the dead could call from heaven might harm Jules, Sully begins to dig into the calls, hoping to uncover the truth. He gets to know a few key individuals who might know what the deceased might say and forms a theory. With the help of a library aide, Sully firms up his suspicions.
Elias comes to him and explains that he gets anger coming from a man he fired long ago. Both believe this is nothing but a cruel hoax, so the two men set up a sting operation, hoping to find the perpetrator. What they uncover will devastate some and vindicate others, but the bottom line is what Sully learns from the ordeal.
We can learn something every day. All we have to do is be open to what’s out there. Boost your understanding of people and places today and throughout history by using your public library. It’s all there waiting for you to check it out.