Reading Recollections: Three Act Tragedy

While adding a reading list for 2016, it occurred to me that I cannot continually add lists in the sidebar. So I decided to go through my list of books from 2011, and share a few recollections about those reading experiences. Then, I'll have to edit the list, or move it elsewhere on the blog.

Before we made our first visit to England that year, my wife and I spent a week on the Hawaiian Island of Maui. The first few days proved idyllic. The biggest highlight, by far, was our whale watching trip. We cruised along on a large ferry, and found ourselves constantly surrounded by whales. If they swam a little farther away from us, at least our ride was more comfortable than that enjoyed by those aboard the little powerboats, that zoomed up far closer to our aquatic neighbors.

One night, we awoke to blaring sirens. When we turned on the television, we realized that a tsunami warning was in progress. We stayed awake for most of the rest of the night, and watched ongoing news reports about the terrible devastation occurring in Japan. As our hotel lay along the beach, we debated getting in our rental car and moving to higher ground. Finally, to take our minds off our anxiety, we turned off the TV and read. 

One of those novels I remember reading that week was Three Act Tragedy. Hercule Poirot attends a party at a house along the coast of Cornwall. Drinks are passed around, and one of those who take a glass dies. Yet no poison is found, and if the drink was poisoned, how could the murderer insure that his intended victim took the correct glass from the waiter's tray? What I remember most is that Hercule Poirot, for the most part, remains a spectral, remote figure during the novel. Instead of investigating directly, the task is left to his friend Charles Cartwright, and an attractive young girl nicknamed Egg.

Ironically, that week we visited a cowboy town in the mountains. At a farmer's market, we found a yellow fruit the seller called Egg Fruit. 

The interior was dense, and this, in addition to the taste, reminded me of cheesecake. I've been back to Hawaii several times since then, and each time I've searched through the farmers markets. I have yet to find another egg fruit available for purchase. 

Oh well, there are always papayas.

Yum...papayas!
EXTERMINATE PAPAYAS!!!

Tsunamis may be regular events in Hawaii, but that doesn't mean they don't cause difficulties for everyone. Even though powerful waves did not hit Maui's shores, all the events we had booked for the rest of the week were canceled. Most were never rescheduled. We tried to go snorkeling during our remaining time there, but couldn't, as the currents around the islands were disrupted, more violent, and unpredictable. On our last day there, we broke down and purchased a second whale watching trip. But the whales, perhaps spooked by the displacement of the ocean currents, eluded us.

We never really recovered from the loss of that night's sleep. This left us in a dulled, drugged state for the remainder of the week. But if we found the remainder of our vacation rather disappointing, at least no one we knew died. This could not be said of the people of Japan, who experienced the brunt of the tsunami. Our disappointments cannot be compared to the terrible devastation visited upon that island nation. Theirs was truly a tragedy, and of far more than three acts.

Dragon Dave