Early every morning, as I join the line of cars commuting over the Grade, I call my early-riser friends. And in the afternoon as I make my way back north, I call my sisters or bug my mom at work. These phone calls are the only way I get uninterrupted time to chat; uninterrupted time to catch up. These are the calls that keep me connected. These are the calls that have not been happening. And you can all blame John.
He recently loaned me For All the Tea in China on CD. I'm hooked.
I've been listening to it every moment I'm in my car. It's addicting, fascinating, intriguing. This non-fiction book follows Robert Fortune as he treks through 19th century China, on a mission of corporate espionage that would change the tides of the global economy.
It's about tea.
As I listen to Sarah Rose read her book, even her sometimes grating voice can't dispel the sense of adventure and excitement. I can't help but picture Robert Fortune, a tall, rugged Scotsman in deep disguise as a Mandarin, traipse across the verdant hills and ragged mountains of China's tea districts. His mission is simple: Collect (steal) tea seedlings and seeds and transport them to India where plantations await. Success means British control over one of their largest imports, untold wealth for the East India Trade Company and the elimination of a 300-year-old trading ring. Capture would mean almost certain imprisonment or death.
It's Indiana Jones...with a trowel instead of a whip. I can't help but wonder, why isn't this story a movie? Starring...Gerard Butler as Fortune. There are pirates, daring feats, untrustworthy guides, incompetent peers, a strong wife, a country on the edge of revolution and riches to be found.
I'm halfway through and cannot wait to finish.
Which means my phone calls will have to wait.
2 comments:
just read the post to John... he's enjoying his tea, now that he knows somewhat of the story of his "new" favorite afternoon beverage... he was telling me all about how to & how much tea to pack in the tea bags you gave him... BTW, where did you get the "bags"???
I think I got them from Amazon, but they have similar bags at Koffee Klatch (sp) in SLO. They come in a box of 100 and you can either get the pot size or the cup size.
I really need to start bringing the cup size to work so I can enjoy my loose leaf tea. :D
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