February 9, 2017 HAZY SHADE OF WINTER

SNOW DAY. It's one of the best things about being a teacher--every so often we get an extra day off. IT'S A TRUE GIFT at a time of year when everyone is sick or has been sick and needs a break.  It's really coming down out there too.  Between the wind and the snow, I can barely see my back yard. Thankfully, I squeezed in a run yesterday so I can just relax and enjoy the day. The weather has truly gone mad though. Yesterday, I ran in capris and a short sleeve shirt--it was at least 55 degrees and today we are in the midst of a blizzard complete with growls of  thunder and 25 mph winds??  It's bizarre, but I'll take it. As much as I appreciate the beauty of newly fallen snow, I am really not a huge fan of snow. It really is only pretty for a short time. Between the plows and human traffic, it turns into a sloppy mess that can be treacherous for the runner who prefers to run outside. That's where YAKTRAX come in though--no we are NOT super heroes we wear YAKTRAX.  They really give the added traction necessary to run during those difficult times. So, if you don't have a pair and you really want to run or walk outside--GET SOME. Lev Beniov and Kolya the main characters of David Benioff's great novel City of Thieves would have really benefitted from a pair as the trekked through the besieged city of Leningrad during World War II searching for a dozen eggs. Before I go any further, let me tell you a little about Benioff.

 He is a novelist, screenwriter, director and co-creator of the ever popular HBO series Game of Thrones. He has also written screenplays for several well-known movies  and I would not be surprised to see this book on the big screen too. Anyways, seventeen year old Lev Beniov is the narrator of this unforgettable story. Lev has been arrested and thrown in jail for pilfering the corpse of a German paratrooper--the punishment is execution. His cell mate is Kolya, a handsome, Russian deserter--the punishment for his crime is also execution. They have one alternative--A powerful soviet colonel has agreed to spare them if they can find a dozen eggs for his daughter's wedding cake. The two embark on a journey behind enemy lines to the Russian countryside--a lawless place suffering from deprivation, death and starvation--to secure a dozen eggs and their lives.  This is a story about courage and friendship during a harrowing time in history. Will the twosome find twelve eggs for the colonel, or meet death who lurks in every shadow another way?  Read this terrifying, yet darkly humorous coming of age story to find out what ultimately happens to this unlikely pair.  I really loved this book and you will too.  It's about 250 pages or  a 5 mile run that you will never forget and find impossible to put down.