September 29, 1017 US AND THEM

Bucket list. We all have one. Mine is SOOOO long it would be impossible to check the whole thing off--but I hit one the other night. So I'm what you would call a VERY serious PINK FLOYD fan--REALLY.  Pink Floyd and I have a special relationship. Their songs have helped me get through every race  I've run over the past 20 years.  Because the BAND is no longer together--I did the next best thing. I bit the bullet--bought 2 ridiculously expensive tickets to see Roger Waters. Sounds crazy but--I HAD NO CHOICE--times a ticking. Waters is now 73 and I was worried--bucket list and all. I've had the tickets since last December--and have been PATIENTLY waiting. So-- Flew home from work Thursday--grabbed  my 23 year old--fellow PINK FLOYD FAN SON--and sped off to TD Garden for the show. WHAT A SHOW--OOOMMMGGG. Worth every penny. It was wonderful spending time with my son--knowing he LOVES PINK FLOYD as much as I do. There were people of ALL ages--the next generation--LOVING IT TOO. IS POT LEGAL IN BOSTON?? Felt like I was back in high school the air was THAT THICK!!  Roger Waters is a wonderful performer--a voice that is still FLAWLESS--And a show THAT'S CRAZY-- a spectacle for all the senses.  His tour -- US & THEM--is so relevant too.  It's NOOOO Us and Them--IT'S ALL OF US--THE WHOLE. That's his message. GREAT SHOW--GREAT PEOPLE--GREAT COMPANY. A once in a lifetime treat. The themes in Waters music are timeless as are the issues in Edwin Abbott Abbott's satirical novella of 1884 Flatlands. 

I originally read this book several years ago for a college class and loved it. Abbott was concerned about the rigid divisions in Victorian society and criticized it in his fictional two dimensional world called Flatlands. In Flatlands, the world is occupied by geometric figures. The narrator of the story is Square who is writing this memoir for future generations as a warning to see beyond their two-dimensional existence. The society in Flatlands is a caste system based on lines. Women are at the bottom of the caste as they are only line segments. Men are polygons whose status is determined by their number of sides. As a square, the narrator is a member of the gentlemen and professionals. Square gets himself into trouble though because he is a free thinker who believes there are other dimensions that need to be explored. He is imprisoned for heresy and suppressed in order to keep the caste system healthy. IGNORANCE IS BLISS.  SOUND FAMILIAR. This is a really clever book  that is STILL relevant 140 years after it was originally published. It's a commentary on class systems--the have and have nots--and how the hierarchy perpetuates itself. Find out what happens to Square when you read this short story of only 96 pages. It's a 3 mile run that really packs a punch!

September 27, 2017 LIVIN' ON A PRAYER

Getting back to the business of living. But how?? I always find it a bit unsettling. The world keeps spinning--people are arguing, driving, texting, stopping for coffee--TIME STOPS FOR NO ONE. I want to yell--Hey don't you know that someone important just died??  Doesn't it matter?  Of course it does--BUT--the REALITY is this-- the people who saw him or talked to him on a regular basis will be affected the MOST. They are the ones who will feel it every SECOND--MINUTE--HOUR--of the day. It's a pain that never goes away--it SUBSIDES with time-- but is always there--LURKING at the surface. This is the risk we take when we love--A risk well worth taking too. Only by experiencing great love can we feel its counterpart. LOSS AND SADNESS. So the business of living??? Appreciate every day on this Earth. Be kind--forgiving- thankful for the life you've been given. Honor the ones you've lost this way as a TRIBUTE to them. Flora MacKenzie, the main character in Jenny Colgan's new book The Cafe by the Sea has to grapple with loss too after the death of her beloved mother. 
As the story unfolds, Flora has been living in London for a few years working as a paralegal. She moved to London after the death of her mother because she couldn't handle living in Mure, a tiny Scottish Village, and the responsibilities she'd inherited. She left behind her father, four brothers and their century old farm for the city.  In London, Flora believed she can reinvent herself, run from her past and bury the pain of her mother's death. After her boss Joel (whom she has a major crush on) is hired by a very wealthy investor named Colton, who just happens to own property in Mure, Flora is summoned back to her little village to help Colton win over the local community. Flora dreads the reunion she must have with her family but it's exactly what she needs. She comes to realize that she can't run from her past, her heritage or her family anymore--and just maybe life on Mure is better than she originally thought. While in Mure, Flora meets another man too--a handsome islander named Charlie. Find out if Flora stays on Mure? Find out which man she chooses and just what the cafe on the sea really is when you read this easy book of about 390 pages. It sounds like a commitment but it's really a simple read --or 4 mile run that you will really enjoy.

September 22, 2017 GONE TOO SOON

Sad week.  Lost one of my ALL TIME favorite students. Teachers always say they don't have favorites-- I generally try not to--BUT-- there was just SOMETHING about him. He was KIND --a sweet, sensitive soul with a GREAT SENSE OF HUMOR. When he laughed, his whole body joined the action. And a smile that could MELT an iceberg. Did I mention CHARM--he could cast a spell on you with a side glance quicker than a blink. Like I said--THERE WAS JUST SOMETHING SPECIAL ABOUT HIM. I was lucky enough to be his teacher three different years beginning in fifth grade. We forged a great teacher--student relationship that  I'll always cherish.  That is one of the benefits of teaching--really getting to know kids and appreciating all that they have to offer. I'm really lucky-- the bonds I've forged with many of my students last a lifetime.  Many of them feel like  part of my family--they are so dear to my heart. That's why it's so devastating to lose one. It's like losing a family member. I'm thankful though that I ran into him a couple of months ago.  It had been a few years. He still had--that ANGELIC face--irresistible SMILE--WIT and CHARM--NOT surprised.  We laughed and talked about the old days for a bit--I wished him luck at school--went about my business--thankful for the chance encounter. Life is fragile.  We have to appreciate the time we have and spend it wisely.

In his memory, I'm going to review a book about baseball--his favorite sport. The Natural by Bernard Malamud is a wonderful story about America's favorite pastime. Roy Hobbs is a nineteen year old baseball prodigy. As the story opens, Hobbs is on his way to Chicago with his manager for a try out with the Chicago Cubs. While on the train, Hobbs meets several people including a beautiful woman named Harriet Bird. After arriving in Chicago, he settles into his hotel room and gets a call from Harriet. She invites him to her room and then proceeds to shoot him in the stomach before turning the gun on herself.  After this tragic event, Hobbs disappears for fifteen years before returning to try to make a comeback. He joins the New York Knights  and uses his "Wonderbat" to try to help the Knights win the pennant.  Will he succeed and finally make a name for himself? Find out when you read this wonderful novel. This book was made into a movie several years ago starring Robert Redford. I absolutely LOVED the movie but want you to know it is very different from the book---especially the ending. So do yourself a favor-- read the book AND then enjoy this wonderful movie with a bucket of popcorn. It's only about 220 pages--a 3.5 mile run--that's as American as apple pie. I hope they have baseball in heaven. RIP.

September 19, 2017 RICH GIRL

When my daughter first told me she wanted to be a TEACHER--I urged--okay BEGGED her to reconsider. It's a jungle out there. Between new initiatives AND  never ending meetings --it's crazy. Schools are always looking for the next "BIG FIX". They are constantly changing either their reading  or  math program-- at HUGE expense to the taxpayer--leaving the old program to ROT away in some storage room. NOT KIDDING. See why I tried to talk her out of the TEACHING PROFESSION. Don't get me wrong, I love teaching, I love the kids but............. So after a long--SWEATY--day of teaching  last week something AMAZING happened. Something that reminded me of why I became a teacher in the first place. A former student stopped by to THANK ME. Isn't that wonderful? It's nice to know someone learned something of value from me and felt strongly enough about it to come and see me. It's nice to feel appreciated every once in a while. That's why I teach--it can really be a rewarding profession. It's a profession that can touch and change lives and it's probably one of the MOST IMPORTANT jobs in the world. Hats off to the next generation. Teachers aren't the only ones who teach-- parents should be the primary teachers of their children. But what happens if the lessons taught by  parents are all wrong?? This is what happens to two sons, Biff and Happy Loman, in the wonderful play Death of a Salesman. 

Every once in a while, for a change of pace, I like to read plays--especially Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winning plays. Arthur Miller wrote this masterpiece about the American dream in 1949. Willy Loman has been a salesman for over thirty years. He's at the end of a modest career, a man  who deludes himself into thinking that he is a big shot. In reality, he's  an insecure, angry dreamer who believes that money buys happiness.  That money is the key to success--and he's taught this lesson to his sons. Willy's not a success because his character and personality are flawed.  He doesn't get along well  with people and his motives are questionable. Because he is not successful, Willy tries to get Biff to make it for him. Biff, the older son, is a football star with serious potential. Biff's on the road to success until he witnesses his father in a compromising position. He then quits school  and heads west.  As the play unfolds, Willy, and his wife, Linda, are arguing about his job,  Biff's lack of ambition, and Willy's mental stability.   Find out what happens to this family who live in denial when you read this play that is considered by many to be the greatest play of the twentieth century. It's only about 140 pages--it can literally be read in one sitting! When you're done, check out the movie starring Dustin Hoffman. It's wonderful.

September 17, 2017 AFTERNOON DELIGHT

There are books--and then there are BOOKS. Some are quick and easy--great for the beach-- I read them on a regular basis. I really enjoy these books--they're fun to read and not too much of a commitment. BUT I have to confess that the books I LOVE--SAVOR--REREAD are very different. I AM A SUCKER FOR BOOKS THAT ARE WELL WRITTEN. In my world this mean anything written by Charles Dickens, W. Somerset Maugham, John Irving, Abraham Verghese, Rohinton Mistry--I'm sure I've missed a few--but you get the idea. These writers set the bar. They have me hooked on page ONE--I fall into them like an old shoe. The writing is magical. These are the writers who  have an uncanny ability to not only  observe life but capture it flawlessly IN THE WRITTEN WORD.  They're masters of descriptive writing too--creating imagery that is almost poetic. It's so beautiful that --IT DEMANDS A REREAD.  They create  characters who are  alive- authentic--old friends. I actually remember their names forever because they have touched my heart and soul. These books don't come along every day--they're far and few between.  I was fortunate enough to find  one though--just last week--WHAT A PLEASANT SURPRISE.  I have never read Amor Towles before, but after reading A Gentleman in Moscow he has proven himself worth his weight in gold.  

I literally read one page of this book and knew it was going to be -- PURE HEAVEN.  Set in Moscow, it is 1922 and  Count Alexander Rostov has just been sentenced by a Bolshevik official to house arrest for  a "Revolutionary" poem he wrote when he was a student at the university. House arrest for the Count happens to be at a famous hotel called the Metropol--right across the street from the Kremlin. The Count is stripped of most of his possessions and is reduced to living on the 6th floor in an attic room. As fate would have it, the Count's station in life becomes so reduced that he is forced to join the wait staff at the restaurant in the hotel.  The Count, however, is a man of conviction who believes "A man must master his circumstances or otherwise be mastered by them". Over the course of the next 30 years, the Count forges relationships with the staff and guests including movie stars, Russian royalty, Bolshevik revolutionaries, famous intellectuals, Americans, spies and a little girl named Nina who teaches him about life and purpose. I have to confess that I still have 100 pages to read so I'm not sure how things will turn out for the Count--but I don't want it to end so I'm trying to read it slowly. SAVOR EVERY WORD.   This fantastic novel is a bit of a commitment  but so worth it that I hesitate to call it such. It's 480 pages--a 7 mile run--THAT'S WORTH EVERY STEP!!

September 12, 2017 WALK ON BY

The monotony of every day life. It's such a rigmarole. Almost ROBOTIC at times. When my kids were little I couldn't wait for them to get older--to be able to do things on their own. Just a little independent so that  I didn't feel--SO PUT UPON. I kept telling myself -- one day I'll have ME TIME again--a little FREEDOM.  Then TA--DA--All of a sudden--THAT DAY CAME. I finally have time to myself again--BUT NOW I CAN'T REMEMBER WHAT I WANTED TO DO THAT WAS SO IMPORTANT?? Life is funny like that. The old me--B.C.--BEFORE CHILDREN--is long gone--replaced by some older, more mature version. The things I thought were important back then seem so SILLY now.  There are many things we don't understand until we've lived a little and reflect back. HOW UNFORTUNATE.  One of my favorite writers once wrote, "You live [life] forward, but understand it backward." I couldn't have said it better myself. With this in mind,  I just finished a wonderful book by Kathleen Rooney called Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk who explores this theme.

It's New Years Eve 1984 and  Lillian Boxfish, an 85 year old octogenarian, is getting ready to go to a party. An avid walker, Lillian decides to stroll to the party through her old haunts in Manhattan so that she can reminisce about the good ole days. She's had an interesting life. Over a 10 mile jaunt,  she  visits many "ghosts of the past" including the  R. H. Macy's building.  During the 30's-40's, Lillian was  the most successful AD woman in the department store. (This part is based on Margaret Fishback, a real-life ad woman and author). A feisty, sophisticated woman, Lillian was a woman who wanted more out of life. She wanted equal pay and  the same rights as men--at a time when women who got pregnant were out of a job. During her walk, the reader learns that Lillian's life didn't go quite the way she planned. As Lillian looks back over her life, she reevaluates many of her decisions. While walking, she also meets a cast a characters who either teach Lillian a lesson or visa-versa. This book is just great. I fell in love with Lillian on the first page. She is funny, passionate and flawed in many ways--a real person. The writing is also impeccable--almost poetic at times. Do yourself a favor and pick up this new release ASAP. It's about 300 pages--or a 4 mile run--that is simply unforgettable.

September 10, 2017 WRITE ON

Had the opportunity to see Louise Penny--author of my FAVORITE mystery series-- in Madison last night. Pretty exciting. What an interesting lady.  Come to find out--E. B. White's Charlotte's Web was as instrumental in her life as it was in mine! In her case,  Penny read this classic when she  was 8 years old and was so touched by it that she decided  to be a writer someday. She understood the sheer magic of the written word and wanted to help others feel the same. Her journey to become an acclaimed writer took many turns --she actually didn't finish her first novel  Still Life until she was in her forties. That's amazing. It took her quite a while to realize that she didn't have to write the perfect book-- just the book she had in her heart. She also had to learn to take that leap of faith--face that demon known as FAILURE--in order to realize her dreams.  She's learned my lessons along the way and willingly shared them with her audience. LOVED HER--wish she would have spoken longer--but I'll take it.  Also, loved finding out that the cast of characters in her books are loosely based on friends and people she has met. Writers really do write about who they know--what they know--where they've been--and what's in their hearts.

Penny's series includes 13 books of which I have read 12.  The characters are so endearing  and the town of Three Pines is so wonderful that I can't help myself. Thought I'd review book 9 How The Light Gets In--one of my favorites. In this installment, Gamache is called to Three Pines to investigate the disappearance of Myrna Landers' friend. It's the Christmas season and Myrna is really excited because an old client has decided to spend the holidays with her. After her old friend fails to appear, Myrna calls  Chief Inspector Gamache to help locate her. Gamache, whose best agents have left the homicide department--after big shake up--welcomes this distraction. Gamache is also torn in this book because he and his long time partner Beauvoir are  estranged. This is a pretty intense book with a lot going on.  Will Gamache be able to locate Myrna's friend? What is her mysterious past? Will Gamache be able to restore goodwill in the homicide department? Will he mend his relationship with his partner so that it can be a Merry Christmas?? Find out for yourself when you read this book for yourself. It's about 400 pages of intrigue--a 5 mile run--that will leave you dying to read the next book. Enjoy!

September 5, 2017 TEACHER TEACHER

Who would ever want to teach their own kids?? Sounds horrible right--TMT?? Believe it or not-- it was  one of the most rewarding experiences I've ever had--Seriously. Our kids only get to see us as parents--the cook, cleaner, tutor, chauffeur--I COULD GO ON FOR DAYS-- but I'll spare you. My kids got to see me in a completely different way--WHEN THEY SPENT-- a year in my classroom. They called me Mrs. Regan and as far as I was concerned--they were just another member of the class. REALLY. They learned that their mother was much more than a mom.  I'm a very different person at school. My teacher persona clicks on and I'm -teaching-laughing-teasing the kids.  Hoping that they enjoying spending time with me as much as I do them.  It's a two way street.  I feel very fortunate that I was also able to see my kids in a different light too. They weren't my kids at school--they were students--EAGER to learn new things.  I was also lucky enough to forge lasting relationships with their friends too.  It was a WIN--WIN for all involved.

 Randy Pausch, a university professor with pancreatic cancer, shared his thoughts on life in his wonderful book The Last Lecture.  Pausch gave his Last Lecture in 2008 when he knew his illness was terminal.  This is a wonderful book full of inspiration for many reasons.  Pausch's lecture reminds the reader to live each day with purpose--to seize the moment. He spends time discussing his childhood/life to offer words of wisdom to not only his audience but also his own children. This is not a pity party, Pausch is actually quite funny and upbeat. Pausch wants people to come away from his lecture  understanding that WE must all live life to the fullest because WE never know what's around the corner-- appreciate life and have fun. It's ultimately up to the reader find joy in everything. That's the challenge.  This little treasure actually stayed on the bestseller list for 112 weeks. It has also been translated into 48 different languages--selling over 5 million copies in the United States alone. It's only 224 pages long--a mere 3 mile jog--that will have you adjusting your attitude.

September 2, 2017 WHAT DOESN'T KILL YOU MAKES YOU STRONGER

268 miles left.  Just updated my mileage for the year and as of today I've run 732 miles. NOT TOO SHABBY. I definitely ran a lot (TOO MUCH)  this summer--June 112--July 120--August 102. I was really feeling it though--ESPECIALLY--after the Kelley Race in August. I WAS HURTING ALL OVER. I can honestly say that I haven't enjoyed A RUN since THAT race UNTIL today. It's so weird. I felt light as a feather today--AND--that's NO small feat. It really isn't much fun running when your legs feel like tree trunks and every muscle and joint aches--AND THAT'S LITERALLY HOW I WAS FEELING --EVERY time I ran-- until today. Guess that's ANOTHER good reason (besides paying my daughter's tuition) to get back to school. At least I WON'T run myself to DEATH because I don't have the time. I can get back to enjoying my runs and not worry so much about the challenge. I have four months to run 268 miles. That's a mire 67 miles a month right??

EASY compared to what I've been doing.  All this talk about challenges made me think of a great book  by one of the most hilarious writers of all time, Bill Bryson. In 1998, Bill Bryson decided he would attempt to hike the Appalachian Trail. NO SMALL FEAT. Beginning in Georgia and ending in Maine--this is a 2, 200 mile trek. His book A Walk in the Woods is the story of his journey with his high school buddy, Steve Katz. This is a serious undertaking--not sure they thought this one through--especially for men in their forties with limited hiking experience. Katz was also a recovering alcoholic who was overweight, and seriously out of shape  at the time. Sounds like a recipe for disaster right?  They learn several lessons on their journey and  meet some interesting, quirky people along the way too. Some of the situations they find themselves in are laugh out loud funny. Bryson is great because he can find humor in almost every situation. The trail is actually quite dangerous--a difficult, treacherous trek at times too with black bear, moose and serious bugs. YUK.  In addition to being an adventure story, Bryson travelogue is interesting for many reasons. It's also part history, geography and ecology lesson. Find out whether Bryson and his buddy complete their challenge when you read this book for yourself. It's about 350 pages--maybe a 5 mile run--that you will thoroughly enjoy.