October 4, 2016 OBSCURED BY CLOUDS

The weather has been a bit ominous over the past week--I keep looking up at the sky as I run  thinking,  Hey, what happened to the sun?? It only sneaks out every once in awhile playing peek-a-boo so I don't forget what it looks like--that makes me sad because I LOVE THE SUN.  I also NEED the sun and REALLY miss the warm and peaceful feeling it brings when it comes out. I'm pretty sure that I have a touch of SAD--Seasonal Affective Disorder and it only gets worse with the time change and onset of winter.  The clouds that seem to be lingering lately--THICK as pea soup--really fluffy I guess, but not like a cotton ball--are kind of a downer. They're dense-- a black and white palette-- that makes everything else appear dull and lifeless. YUK--Sun, dear sun, where art thou these days?? Please come back SOON. Anyways, weather is a strange thing,  especially important to you if you are a pilot I would think. I wonder how much the sun and clouds/precipitation affected Charles Lindbergh on some of his flights back in the 1920's? I read a great book last year The Aviator's Wife by Melanie Benjamin and learned all about Lindbergh and his much more interesting wife Anne Morrow Lindbergh. 

Told from the point of view of Anne, this is a wonderful piece of historical fiction. The story begins when Anne, an ambassador's daughter, is introduced to the National hero, Charles Lindbergh. She thinks nothing of the meeting believing he will be attracted to her beautiful sister--think again. They have a brief courtship and Anne finds herself married to the camera shy Lindbergh. Benjamin then chronicles their life together-- the kidnapping and murder of their first born, the birth of their six other children, Lindbergh's fascination with Hitler while living abroad and eventual return to America where he is accused of being a traitor.  More important though, this is  the story of Anne Morrow Lindbergh--living under the shadow of a hero--who ruled the roost--and her struggle to find her own voice and become her own person. Anne does eventually find herself as a writer of several beautiful books including my favorite Gifts from the Sea. This is an excellent, well-written slice of history of about 450 pages--about a 6 mile run--and well worth the effort.  Most  events in history are much more fascinating than fiction and this is definitely one of those times!