March 28, 2019 THURSDAY'S CHILD

Thursday should REALLY be the new Friday. Seriously. By Thursday--I'm exhausted and shaking my head. How the HELL am I  gonna get through Friday??? This teaching gig is definitely NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART.  It's a serious WORKOUT for the BRAIN--BLADDER--KIDNEYS-and I'm NOT getting any younger.  Every day is like a race. I get to work and the  bell rings at 7:44.  I'm in DENIAL because I can't believe I'm racing/teaching again. I move on to ACCEPTANCE--then encounter-- hurdles--hills--herds of students--EVERY 45 MINUTES. I get thirsty but don't have time to stop at the water table--FORGET the bathroom--there are only 3 MINUTES between classes--trying to PR.  Ever run a long race with someone WHO WON'T STOP TALKING??  That's me AT SCHOOL. I blabber--prattle--gibber--babble until my vocal cords ache. YUP. What's that up ahead??  A light at the end of the tunnel. I've made it to lunch and realize--the race will SOON be over. ONLY FIVE MORE MILES--I CAN DO THIS. My brains gonna explode and my bladder's gonna burst by the time I cross the finish line but that's OK--I've waited this long. I high five my buddies--And do it ALL AGAIN THE NEXT DAY. Sounds crazy don't it?? Living in the Queensland, Australia, on a cattle ranch sounds a little crazy to me but it's all the Bright brothers know in Jane Harper's new book The Lost Man. 
Nathan, Bub and Cameron Bright have lived in the remote outback their entire lives. They know the landscape and the dangers involved in living in such a formidable place. So when Cam is found dead the remaining brothers are suspicious. Odder even is that Cam is found next to the stockman's grave, a local landmark and resting place of another man who died under mysterious circumstances. Did Cam commit suicide or is foul play involved? In an area where your closest neighbors are 3 hours away, the suspects are few and they include mostly family. Nathan wrestles with these thoughts and many more as he tries to figure out what happened to Cam, the brother everyone liked. While conducting his own investigation, Nathan is forced to face his own mistakes and his family's secrets which ultimately help Nathan understand what really happened to Cam. Harper's writing is incredible. I actually felt the unrelenting sun, tasted the red  dirt in my teeth and felt parched while reading this book. This is a great mystery--I didn't figure it out until the very end. If you like a good mystery please give this book a try. It's 350 pages or a 4 mile run that I was sad to finish.