Can't sleep again, naturally

Here it is 1 a.m. and I can't get to sleep.

No surprise there, huh? I'm watching reruns of "Hawaii 5-0." Love those old police shows. It helps me relax. Plus, it has plenty of pretty scenery, Hawaiian locales, Jack Lord's immovable hair, and native girls.

I would like to visit our 50th state. Five-0 and Thomas Magnum helped fan the fire. As it is, I travel through television, a James Michener book, native fiction somebody recommended.

Enjoyed the afternoon. The sun came out and it was quite nice. Took in a UT baseball game, kept score, talked to folks around me. Our national game always soothes my soul. Works better than any mood stabilizer.

Now it's freezing cold, raining. Forecast calls for snow. Go figure. It's East Tennessee.

Guess that's another reason I'm watching 5-0. Makes me think warm thoughts.

A birthday I missed

I missed a birthday yesterday. It is one I should mention, too, because I've spent some time with this man's work.

James Michener was born on Feb. 3, 1907. He wasn't Dickens.

But he could tell quite a story.

A former colleague once said that "reading Michener is like climbing Everest." His 1,000-page novels can be intimidating. And difficult.

I have tried to read "Centennial," his epic story about the settling of a fictional Colorado town, at least twice. The first time, I became lost in the early passages about the formation of the rocks and the trek of a beaver. The second time, I made it to the saga of Our People. Then I became distracted.

So I gave up and watched the peerless NBC miniseries from 1978-79. It made such an impact that I wanted to move to Colorado. I bought it on DVD for myself last Christmas.

Since I'm not feeling well, and tend not to stir during the colder months, I may try to tackle it again in the coming weeks.

At Thanksgiving dinner, my friend Mike Finn recommended Michener's "The Drifters," a meandering tale about a group of free spirits. It was quite good and may be Michener's most accessible novel. If you have ever been a hippie, or if you've ever loved a hippie, or if the cultural upheaval of the Vietnam War era affected your life, you might enjoy that story. My guess is the Kent State shootings were much on the author's mind.

I also have "Hawaii" and "Alaska" and "Tales of the South Pacific" and "The World is My Home" sitting on my shelf. I will get to them one day.

I have this crazy theory that you read a particular book at the appropriate moment in your life; it speaks to you when you need it. That may sound crazy. I don't know.

Michener died in 1997.

There is no comment here, no grand point, no lesson to learn. No, it is simply a tip of the cap to an author I like, to a man with whom I would have enjoyed drinking a beer.

How to see the world when you're flat broke

A librarian once told me that finishing a James Michener novel is a little like ascending Everest. Once completed, the journey feels like quite an accomplishment.

I've yet to do it. The closest I came was either "Centennial" (which I still hope to finish, preferably while vacationing somewhere in the Rocky Mountain State), or "Tales of the South Pacific," his first book.

The problem isn't so much his writing (it's good) and certainly isn't his subjects (which can range from the settling of the west to the exploration of space). It tends to be his story construction (in his epics, Michener begins with the formations of the rocks and slowly works his way up to his human characters), or the sheer volume of his words ("Centennial" would remind you of the Manhattan phone directory).

But my friend Mike Finn recommended over Thanksgiving a Michener novel I'd managed to miss called "The Drifters." So I thought I'd try again. Highlighting a group of young people who find their way to the same sliver of land in Spain during the winter of 1969, it appealed to my wanderlust, to my continued fascination with the Vietnam War era, to my never ending desire to make it through one of Michener's books.

So I became lost in this rather engaging tale while the weather outside alternated between rain, sleet, wind and a most curious winter thunderstorm. Time will tell, but I might just make it through this tale.

I once read Michener's memoir, "The World is My Home," full of envy at the depth of his travels. His first book became the basis for a little musical called "South Pacific." Maybe you've heard of it.

My own travels have mainly been relegated to the contiguous 48, but tonight in my easy chair, I followed along with the long-haired college dropout from California and the pretty woman from Scandinavia as they made their way to Torremolinos.

Not a bad deal, really. I got to learn a little about two fascinating people, take a trek from California to Spain via Boston, spend the winter in a little Norwegian village and land in this Spanish paradise -- never once without leaving the living room.

It ain't perfect, I know. But, I'll take what I can get, especially on a cold and rainy November night when you're flat broke and have a headache.