Ask DJ Lyons Book Review: The Keeper of the Bees by Gene Stratton Porter

Imagine if you were a World War I veteran. You had sustained a shrapnel wound in your chest that refused to heal. You were sent to a veteran's hospital in California to try to get better; however, soaking in the sulphur hot water springs only seemed to make you worse.

Then one day, you overheard the doctors and other officials discussing your case. You heard them say that since one year of treatment did not heal you, you were relatively a hopeless case. Therefore, they intended to free up your bed by sending you to a tuberculosis camp even though you did not have tuberculosis.

What would you do? Would you remain or would you make your escape?

James Lewis Macfarlane, Jamie for short, decided to run away. Of course, he was not capable of running. He could only place one foot in front of another in front of another in his attempt to get as far away from this hospital as he could before they dragged him back.

Thanks to some generous drivers, he managed to get far, far away before they discovered he was gone.

He eventually ended up near the house of the Bee Master. This fine gentleman was near death's door with heart issues. He had staggered out to his fence to see if there was anyone who could help him.

Jamie had been staggering toward this house in his own attempt to get help for himself as he was close to death himself. He had no food, no water, no money, and no family.

He managed to summon some inner resources to help the Bee Master inside. He got him the help he needed. Jamie was then asked to remain in this house, take care of the bees and house, until the Bee Master came home from the hospital someday.

That is how this book begin.

As you read, you will meet up with Margaret Cameron, the next door neighbor, who had been cooking meals for the Bee Master. She will continue doing the same for Jamie.

You will meet up with Little Scout, a delightful individual who was the Bee Master's litlte partner. This child, age 10, would teach Jamie how to care for the bees.

You will also meet up with the Storm Woman and a few other individuals.

This is a book I have read multiple times in the last forty years. I will continue to re-read it now and again as the years go on. I greatly enjoy most of the books written by Gene Stratton Porter. This one is one of my favorites.

Gene Stratton Porter wrote this book in 1925. She was the one who introduced me to the whole idea of food combining.

Jamie decided that in order to live beyond 6 months, he was going to have to change his diet and a few other factors.

Magaret Cameron, who was cooking most of his meals, told Jamie about a diet used by her niece, Molly. This is how she describes it:

"I asked Molly something about it and she tells me that she broke down a little with her school work last year and she took a trip to Denver. There she heard about a doctor who cures everything that ails you with what you eat. The idea seems to be that there are certain food combinations that you can't safely mix. The point Molly brought out was that the great American breakfast, eggs and toast and bacon and coffee, is about a deadly combination. Molly said that doctor proved that the yeast of bread and the albumen of eggs and the fat of bacon and what caffeine you get in coffee would kill a guinea pig in short order. It seems that you may eat all the eggs you want cooked any conceivable way, but you must not take them in combination with the yeast of bread and the acids of meat. You may eat all the starch you please at one meal; but you must not take it in combination with the acids of meat or albumen. You must keep the bread and potatoes and starchy things confined to one meal. Then for dinner you may have any kind of meat you want; but you must not take it with vegetables that are starchy. You must cut off the bread, beans, potatoes, any starch. You must confine the desserts to fruits and jellos and leave out the pastry. It is simple; it is easy. Merely a slightly different arrangement in combinations of the same things you have been eating all your life. But Molly says it makes all the difference in the world. She's been trying it for a year and she says her flesh is so hard and her muscles work so fine, and her brain functions better and she doesn't know she has a stomach. She thinks it's wonderful. ..."

I had read this passage in this book for many years and always found myself a bit curious to learn more about food combining. Finally, in January of 2011, I turned to Google to look it up. That is where I first discovered the "Fit for Life" books written by Harvey and Marilyn Diamond. I have been using some of their principles since January 22, 2011. I am already seeing good results.

So a fiction book has led me to a principle of health that might help me lose the weight I wish to lose and to never again face cancer. That is definitely my kind of book!

I have been a great fan of the writings of Gene Stratton Porter ever since I was a teenager. I have collected most of her work.

My personal favorites, other than "Keeper of the Bees" are Freckles, Girl of the Limberlost, Michael O'Halloran, Magic Garden, and Her Father's Daughter. I also enjoyed Laddie and The Harvester. My least favorite was A Daughter of the Land. I have never read the biography of the author. Perhaps I will some day.