March 12, 2017 TAXI

Decisions. I usually have a hard time making them--but thanks to the-- BONE-CHILLING-COLD--it was a NO BRAINER  to go to the gym this morning. I would have been completely out of my mind to run outside. But seriously, those are the only decisions I'm capable of making at this point in my life. Maybe it's due to the fact that I've had to make decisions for so long that my head is spinning--ROUND AND ROUND AND ROUND AND ROUND--all the time. I can't take it anymore--my brain CANNOT process another thing.  Don't think I make decisions about important things either--just the simple things:  What's for dinner? How come we're having that again?? What movie do you want to watch tonight?   I DON'T KNOW--is usually the standard answer because I JUST CAN'T WRAP MY HEAD AROUND IT ANYMORE. I know it's really frustrating to be  around someone so WISHY WASHY and CONFUSED  all the time but I just can't help it. My brain has finally turned to MUSH--from  years of use and abuse. For some strange reason, the main character from W. Somerset Maugham's wonderful classic The Razor's Edge reminds me of me as he is confused and feels lost after his experience in the war.
First of all, Maugham is up there on my list of favorite writers. His writing is impeccable and his understanding of the human condition-- second to none. I have read several of his books and LOVE them all.  Anyways, The Razor's Edge is set in the aftermath of World War I mostly between Chicago, Paris and London. It's the story of five friends who meet intermittently before and after the war who are shaped by their experience or lack of experience in WWI. Larry Darrell, the main character, is an American pilot wounded and traumatized by the war. After the war, he returns home to Chicago where his fiancee, Isabel, eagerly waits for him. The problem is that Larry has changed. He delays his marriage-- rejects his fiancee and materialistic friends--and moves to Paris to live off of his inheritance.  Isabel  eventually visits him and he asks her to stay and live the bohemian life. Even though she loves Larry, she refuses because money and social standing are more important.  She goes back to Chicago and  marries Larry's friend--a millionaire stockbroker named Gray. Elliot Templeton, Isabel's uncle,  is another interesting character in the story--kind, rich and only interested in his place in Parisian  society. After the stock market crash, Guy loses all his money and they are forced to move to Paris to live with Uncle Elliot. In Paris, Guy and Isabel  meet up with Larry again. They also meet up with Sophie, a friend from Chicago, now living in Europe. Sophie, once happily married, is addicted to drugs after the accidental death of her husband and child. Find out what happens to this odd assortment of friends when you read this wonderful novel. I'll give you a hint--they all get what that originally wanted --good and bad--in the end.  This book is about 300 pages or a 5 mile run that will not only entertain you--you might even learn some lessons about life that you will never forget.