October 30, 2024 ALL SHOOK UP

When I was a kid--we only got TWO CHANNELS on the TV. Channel 3 and Channel 56. I know that sounds crazy BUT IT'S TRUE. We literally had antennas--we called them rabbit ears--to help tune the television. Every Saturday afternoon--I watched The Creature Double Feature--BUT more importantly--I watched ELVIS MOVIES AT 4:00. I was probably about 10 years old and IN LOVE WITH ELVIS. I vividly remember the day he died. It was the summer after 6th grade. I was babysitting April Martin on Main Street in Baltic. August 16, 1977. I was heartbroken. It's funny how some things stick with you. THAT WAS 47 YEARS AGO. Yikes. The reason my mind traveled back to 1977 is because I just finished From Here To The Great Unknown by Lisa Marie Presley and her daughter, Riley Keough. Presley worked on her memoir on and off for many years, taping her life story, and in 2022 she asked her daughter Riley to help her finish it. Unfortunately, Presley died a month later and Riley ultimately finished the memoir earlier this year. The book is written as almost a conversation. Lisa Marie telling her story--living in Graceland, LA and beyond. Her absolute love for her father, difficult relationship with her mother and death of her son, Ben.  Riley's thoughts and story are interspersed of her childhood and memories of Lisa Marie and brother, Ben. This is an easy, simple read that packs a punch. Although the family certainly have had their share of grief and tragedy, the story is still hopeful as Riley and her daughter, Tupelo, navigate their own future. 

October 14, 2024 GOING TO THE CHAPEL

 

There's nothing better than a surprise----especially a SURPRISE engagement.  Last weekend was perfect. My daughter's boyfriend called early in the week to let us know he was going to propose BUT IT WAS A SECRET. After some shrewd planning and many LIES--we got Ali home and by Saturday night they were engaged and we were celebrating this wonderful event  at a party with her future inlaws. She was completely SHOCKED. She KNEW they were going to get engaged at some point BUT.........She's a lucky girl. Again--It was perfect and we are completely over the moon for them and can't wait to start planning. Life is good. Another great surprise was how much I really enjoyed The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon. This historical fiction is based on the diary entries of Martha Ballard, a midwife and healer from Maine who posted thousands of entries over many decades about colonial women's lives. Martha, the narrator of this novel set in 1789 in Maine, is called to inspect  the body of a man pulled from the frozen Kennebec River. After examining the body, Martha declares that he has been murdered and he just happens to be one of two highly respected men in town recently accused of the rape of Rebecca Foster. This is crime in a small town where women have few rights and money and power rule. As Rebecca and Martha seek justice in a man's world, the townspeople try to solve the murder of one of their own. The realities of life for women at this time period are real and WOMEN TODAY SHOULD BEWARE. Anyway, this well-written book, filled with many interesting characters, is many things--a family drama, thriller, and mystery set around actual events and that's what makes it so incredible. It's also a National Bestseller and and NPR Book of the Year. Give it a try and let me know what you think.