October 27, 2016 BRIDGE OVER TROUBLED WATERS

Finally ordered my new $120 dollar running sneakers! Yippie! Got home from work today and they were waiting by the door.  That is always a great thrill to me--comparable to-- I guess getting a new pair of boots for others. Unfortunately though, the weather's NOT cooperating so I won't be running today--it's snowing, sleeting, raining--one of those days I really loathe. I'm sure it will only get worse as fall turns into winter as it gets even more difficult to fit in running around not only my schedule but also Mother Nature. I hope she is kind this winter or I will have to start dragging myself to the gym, Yikes! Anyways, all this talk about water--snow, sleet, rain--reminds me of a great book I read last year by Wally Lamb called We are Water.

For the record, I am a huge fan of Norwich resident Wally Lamb. I have gone to one of his book readings, seen him twice at the movie premiere of his book Wishin and a Hopin, and read all of his books. I am seriously a huge NERD.  He does have a new book coming out in November, but I hear it's coming out as an app first, so I will have wait for the book version. I don't seem to be of the kindle world. Anyways,  We are Water is a wonderful story set in Three Rivers, Connecticut--basically--the Norwich area. Lamb blends fact and fiction in this story as the 1963 flood and death of several people is true, however,  Annie Oh and the family portrayed in this story is fiction. Annie Oh is a  woman in her 50's, mother of three children and divorced from her husband several years. She is an artist who falls in love with another woman. Their plan to wed meets mixed reaction and opens scars that go back 45 years--as some wounds never completely heal.  Annie is a hard character to empathize with until we learn about the trauma that shaped her life-- I guess that is true of most people. Anyways, this story is told in different perspectives which only makes it more interesting as far as I'm concerned.  Lamb is a wonderful writer whose specialty is character development-- AND I am a sucker for a writer who creates characters that come alive.  That's why I enjoy his books so much. It is a bit of a commitment--about 550 pages or an 8 mile run--but well worth the trek. Enjoy!