December 1, 2016 DID YOU EVER HAVE TO MAKE UP YOUR MIND

Major decisions.  Run at 5:00 p.m.-- it's pitch black--or go to the gym. Next--factor in the rain. So-- I keep waiting.......rain gets worse. Run in the dark while it's raining or go to the gym??? Of course I wait until the last minute to decide--check the weather channel--one more time-- now there's a 90% chance of rain--I give up--go to the gym. Crazy--but that's how much I hate going to the gym.  I went--and it really wasn't that bad--I guess--but running outside seems so much easier to me. The gym can be a traumatic experience for me--Not sure why--let me reflect. HHUUMM--It's really hot at the gym--almost desert-like--have to wear shorts--did I shave my legs???  Running into people--I don't care what I look like when I run outside but being in a public place is different--remember my vanity. Making conversation with the people I run into at the gym-- when I just want to get to that damn machine and get it done. When I am out for a run, I can just wave and smile and it's all good.
Staying on  the machine for 45-55 minutes--it's really hard.   When I go for a run I know my route--I can't stop and get off before it's over. Thank you for tuning in for another episode of  the trials and tribulations of running after the time change. Believe me though-- I am fully aware most people have real decisions to make in life and I feel blessed that this is currently my biggest problem.
This is not true for most people, especially, a retired major living in a small village in England in Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson. Major Ernest Pettigrew lives a simple life in Edgecombe St. Mary. He is a man who values what any proper Englishman should--honor, duty, decorum, and a good cup of tea. After his brother suddenly dies, Pettigrew inherits a family heirloom--that everyone else wants. He also forms a friendship with the shopkeeper in town named Mrs. Jasmine Ali. They have both lost their spouses and enjoy getting together to share a nicely brewed cup of tea and discuss literature. Simple enough or so it would seem. Their friendship starts to blossom into something more which is unacceptable to English society and culture because she is from Pakistan--a foreigner. While this romance is budding, the story also revolves around Pettigrew's son Roger and his American girlfriend as they arrive on the scene eager to stop the shinanigans AND get a hold of the family heirloom because he needs the money.  Will Major Pettigrew overlook Mrs. Ali's heritage? Will he ignore social norms and  upset the whole village? Will his son abscond with the heirloom? Read this great debut novel that is quirky, funny but in many ways a reflection of our society even today, to find out more.  It's about 350 pages or a 5 mile run--that is beautifully written and hard to put down. Enjoy.