December 27, 2024. MARRY YOU

Weddings. Back in the day they were pretty standard.  People had a rehearsal dinner followed by a  wedding/reception the next day. THEN IT WAS OVER.  Remember tossing the bouquet to an eligible female?  OR the groom stripping the garter off  the bride's leg and tossing it to an eligible man? What about  money dances? Well I do and those were GOOD TIMES.  I asked my daughter if she had ever heard of these things and she looked at me like I was crazy.  Pretty much have had to learn a whole new vocabulary for today's weddings.  Did you know that 90% of couples today have a "First Look." They actually get together right before the wedding to see each other and take photos. What happened to seeing the bride AT THE ALTER?? I'M NOT A FAN BUT......And nowadays they have "Welcome Parties"  after rehearsal dinner and  "After Parties"  after the wedding AND Brunch the next day.  I'm NOT making any of this up. It's a marathon of events. Won't be quitting my job for at least another year AND at this point I might have to get a part to job for this craziness. Good thing we only have ONE princess in our family.  Back to the books. Recently finished the sequel to Peter Heller's The River called The Guide. First off, It's not necessary to read The River in order to appreciate The Guide. Jack, the main character, appears in both novels. In the sequel, Jack is grappling with the death of his best friend and decides to take a job as a guide at a private fishing lodge in Colorado. Kingfisher Lodge is a flyfishing mecca and safe space for wealthy, famous people as Jack quickly realizes his charge is a famous singer and accomplished flyfisherman named Alison. Early on, Jack discovers things aren't what them seem at the lodge as he finds several hidden cameras, gates locked from the outside and even a property owner next door who has hired gunmen to keep people off his property. Guests also start to disappear and a strange virus forces a lock down at the lodge. The fishing lodge apparently is more than just for fishing and it's up to Jack to find out what's really happening before someone gets killed. Heller is a great writer who incorporates lovely descriptive writing about the wilderness and flyfishing into this Wilderness Thriller. I enjoy all of Heller's books and this one does not disappoint. It's a quick read with interesting characters. Hopefully there will be another installment of the series as I enjoy reading about Jack and the wilderness.