December 31, 2017 SOME KIND OF WONDERFUL

THE NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION. It's that time of year again. If I make a resolution--it has to be DOABLE. No sense in making hollow promises right? I don't take these things lightly and have only made a handful of resolutions over the years. Just finished the 1000 mile challenge and although I might run 1000 miles next year--it's time to think of something else. A few years back I made a resolution to say HELLO to EVERYONE I  saw while out running. That was interesting--some people thought I was NUTS--just trying to spread a little kindness in the world though. After thinking long and hard I've decided on a resolution for 2018. Don't laugh--but I'm going to try to be kinder to my family.  It's funny how we take our family for granted sometimes. We tend take it out on them when we're feeling stressed or annoyed by life--right?? Admit it! This year I'm going to do my best to take a deep breath first--REPEAT MY NEW MANTRA--BE KINDER--and say the right thing. I know I can do better IN THIS DEPARTMENT and being mindful IS THE FIRST STEP. Happy New Year to all. Have a healthy 2018 and BE GOOD TO YOUR FAMILY.

If the residents of Beartown had adopted my resolution, things might have turned out differently. Beartown written by Fredrik Backman is the story of a town riddled with unemployment whose residents live and breathe hockey. It's their religion. The hockey club has been rebuilding for 10 years and it's finally their chance to draw National attention--funding--new talent. All they have to do is win the Amateur Championship. And they've got the talent to do it, with Kevin who's already being scouted by the NHL, Benji, Amat, Bobo and a host of other players. They are on their way to victory until a scandal threatens to rip the town apart. Accusations fly, and loyalties are tested. In a town where hockey is life-betrayal will change the residents of Beartown forever. Find out more when you read this great book by the author of A Man Called Ove and my favorite My Grandmother Asked Me To Tell You She's Sorry. It's an easy read of about 400 pages--or a 4 mile run--about living with the choices we make.

December 28, 2017 A-N-T-I-C-I-P-A-T-I-O-N

Anticipation. It's one of the things I love most about  Christmas. After decorating the house from top to bottom and making loads of Christmas cookies--WE WAIT. NO instant gratification. Kids ACTUALLY have to--WAIT--WONDER--WORRY--if they've been naughty or nice. And they DON'T find out UNTIL THE BIG DAY.  What fun. The next thing I love about the holidays is spending time with family and friends. In this  hustle & bustle world-- sometimes we lose touch--so it's a great opportunity to  catch up while making merry. For many of us THOUGH this MAKING MERRY lasts several days--SIX for my family. SO--the FINAL thing I love about Christmas--WHEN IT'S OVER. Boy am I exhausted--late nights--too many DESSERTS--too much making MERRY-- ALL GOOD THINGS MUST COME TO AN END. Now that I've shared my favorite things about Christmas--I'd like to share some of my FAVORITE BOOKS OF 2017--IN ORDER. So without further adieu (drum roll please):

1) A GENTLEMAN IN MOSCOW by Amor Towles--reviewed 9/17 blog title--Afternoon Delight
2)  LILLIAN BOXFISH TAKES A WALK by Kathleen Rooney--reviewed 9/2 blog title--Walk On By 
3) ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE by Elizabeth Strout--reviewed 10/2 blog title--Shake Your Booty
4) LINCOLN IN THE BARDO by George Saunders--reviewed 8/23 blog title--Freebird
5) MY GRANDMOTHER ASKED ME TO TELL YOU SHE'S SORRY by Fredrik Backman--reviewed 8/31 blog title--Shake Your Groove Thing
PLEASE--do yourself a favor and check these books out for yourself. They are all WELL worth the time and effort. I DON'T JOKE ABOUT BOOKS! CAN'T WAIT TO SEE WHAT'S IN STORE IN 2018.

December 23, 2017 FINISH WHAT YA STARTED

YIPPIE. Finally completed the 1000 CHALLENGE. It was touch and go for a while with the injury and all. Not sure I'll do it again next year but it was a good resolution and DEFINITELY held me more accountable. I always seem to rise to a challenge AND it was good to have a long term goal. Even though I'm on the mend, I'm only at 70%. I'm feeling SO out of shape too. I was running 25-30 miles a week and now I can BARELY run 15-- I'M HURTING--AND SOOOO SLOW. Been trying not too run too much though--trying to mix it up with the gym.  Hoping that this is just a passing phase. Hoping too that with the New Year I'll start feeling EVEN better and REALLY enjoy my runs again. That's really ALL I want for Christmas--wish I had remembered to send Santa a letter with my list!! Pretty sure the residents of Salem, Massachusetts, didn't write letters to Santa in the seventeenth century because they were too busy writing a list of the suspected witches in Arthur Miller's play The Crucible. 

Miller wrote this play in 1953 in the wake of the McCarthy hearings. Miller, himself, was a suspected communist who went in front of the Committee for Un-American Activities. He later spent time in jail for contempt because he refused to name names. He was one of several celebrities ostracized for his communist activities. Interestingly enough, after accusing over 200 people of communist activities--McCarthy fell out of favor and was actually censured by Congress in 1954.  He died of alcoholism in 1957. In this allegory of McCarthyism, Miller takes us back to Salem, Massachusetts, to the witch trials. Miller spent time in Salem researching the events, residents and history of the trials so his play is factually based and includes the actual people involved.  After young Elizabeth Proctor is accused of witchery, she confesses and the town falls into mass hysteria as Elizabeth starts accusing her neighbors of witchcraft.  Neighbors are pitted against each other in this rigid Puritanical society where religion is the law. In the end, 200 people were accused of witchery--and 20 were actually put to death by hanging or torture in the name of God. This is a story of paranoia, adultery, and so much more. The play itself is only about 140 pages--a 3 mile run--that will have you reevaluating history and the mob mentality. 

December 21, 2017 BLUE CHRISTMAS

SADNESS. It has a funny way of creeping up on you--ESPECIALLY--this time of year. The holidays are a tough time for many people. They tend to be reminders of the past--Sometimes of things we'd rather forget. They also remind us of loss. Many people struggle to get through the holidays because they have lost those MOST DEAR to their hearts. They are the unsung HEROES-- The Survivors. TALK ABOUT STRUGGLES.  Getting up each day and going about life when their hearts are broken. BLESS YOU. I wish I could make it all better--BUT I can't. NO ONE CAN. That's the SAD reality. I feel your pain and want you all to know that I'm thinking of you.  Try to remember the good times and know they are watching over you. I hope you find comfort and gain a sense of peace with family and friends this holiday season. That's my wish for you.

If you're looking for an escape--at least for a little while--from the holidays-- I have just the book for you. I just finished reading the psychological thriller In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware.  The main character is a young writer living in London named Leonora. She's kind of a recluse with a past she'd rather forget. One day she gets an email inviting her to a hen weekend (bachelorette weekend)  for an old friend Clare. She is reluctant to go as she hasn't heard from Clare in 10 years but is persuaded by another old friend named Nina. The two take the train into the English countryside and then drive deep into the woods to a glass cabin for the party. Strange place--no cell phone service and secluded. HMMM. What should be a fun weekend turns tragic as Leonora wakes up in the hospital with limited memory of what happened and someone else is dead. Find out what happened to Leonora, Nina, Clare and the other party attendees when you read this exciting page turner yourself. It's about 350 pages--a 3.5 run that will have you rethinking spending the weekend with your friends.

December 15, 2017 BABY IT'S COLD OUT THERE

Winter running. Although it can be a challenge--I love it--MOST OF THE TIME. You just have to DRESS for the weather and force yourself to get out there--IT'S REALLY NOT SO BAD--HONESTLY. Yes--it's REALLY COLD --but the crisp air is REALLY  refreshing. It was a balmy 25 this morning with a west wind of 8. Thankfully the SUN was ablaze --SO it was great--except for the BLACK ICE. That's the scary thing. One minute--all is well--and the next--you're on your butt--wondering if anything is broken. HA! Seriously--just take it slow--keep your eyes on the road and you'll be FINE. What better way to see the winter wonderland this morning. It snowed last night--and with all the houses decorated for Christmas--It's LOVELY--and really gets you in the spirit of things. I really love the holiday season--the whole SHEBANG--and the SNOW is the icing on the cake. Too bad it hardly ever snows in Shanghai or perhaps the main character of When We Were Orphans may have had better memories of his childhood.

 In this novel of 2000, Nobel Prize winner Ishiguro explores the idea of memory--how much of our present is determined by our past--or the way we remember the past. Christopher Banks, the narrator of the story, is an English boy who spends the first 9 years of his life living in Shanghai with his parents. After his parents disappear under suspicious circumstances, he is sent to live with an aunt in England. Twenty years later, Christopher becomes a famous detective and decides to return to Shanghai, during the Sino-Japanese war, in order to solve the mystery of his parents disappearance. Christopher must sift through his memories of the past--good--bad--real-- invented--to put all the pieces of the puzzle together to find out what really happened to his parents. Find out for yourself when you read this thought provoking book.  It's about 310 pages or a 4.5 mile run that will have you rethinking your own past.

December 11, 2017 LYING EYES

Euphemisms. They make everything sound so much better--ESPECIALLY IN POLITICS.  Take the simple word LIE. It's only a 3 letter word right?? Back in the day when someone lied we all yelled--LIAR LIAR PANTS ON FIRE--and that was the end of it. Today,  in this world of Political Correctness--we can NO LONGER USE OUR OLD CHANT. So, If you're thinking of confronting a liar--I urge you to read this list and employ one of these phrases--Alternative Facts--Misspoke--Economical with the Truth--Factual Shortcuts--Factually Shaky--Twist the Truth--False Claims--Stretched Some Truths--Outright Distortion--Falsehoods--Misstatement--Telling Untruths--Misrepresentation--Fact Checkers--Malarkey--Balderdash--Undocumented Facts--Inconsistencies and Contradictions--Equivocating with the Truth--Straining Plausibility--Trifling with the Facts. Okay-- this is just a partial list but it's enough to get you started. CRAZY how ONE TINY word has evolved into such Jargon. That's probably why Trump still has supporters--THEY DON'T KNOW WHAT THE HELL HE'S TALKING ABOUT!!

Since Christmas is right around the corner, I thought I'd review an interesting book I read a few years ago because I just realized it's been made into a movie and is playing in theaters right now.
Les Standiford wrote The Man Who Invented Christmas back in 2008.  It's partly a biography of Charles Dickens, focusing on  the events surrounding the publication of A Christmas Carol in 1843. It's also about the history of Christmas, how traditions have evolved and changed into the Christmas we all know today. In 1843, Dickens was in debt and needed to keep his family and creditors afloat. So, he wrote this slender novel to make a quick buck. After his publishers refused to publish it, Dickens published it himself. It caused quite a sensation reviving Dickens' career as well as the Christmas spirit in the wake of the Industrial Revolution. A Christmas Carol has been around for a 174 years and is still being published today. WOW. I'm a huge Dickens' fan and you will be one too if you pick up a copy of this book yourself and find out how Dickens saved Christmas. It's only about 200 pages or a 3 mile run that will get you into the holiday spirit.

December 9, 2017 LET IT SNOW

SNOW. As soon as METEOROLOGISTS SAY "THE WORD"--people go CRAZY.  It's like Pavlov's dog. The grocery store becomes a WAR ZONE--and ALL COMMON SENSE--goes out the window. BETTER STOCK UP ON--CANNED GOODS--WATER--BATTERIES--BREAD--MILK--BEER --like we live in TIMBUKTU.  HELLO--we live 5 MINUTES from AT LEAST ONE MAJOR GROCERY STORE. There's also a  convenience store AND PACKAGE STORE on EVERY CORNER. Back in the day we walked 10 miles through--SNOW--WIND--ICE to get to school didn't we??? AND DID YOU SEE THE CANCELLATIONS--Every activity in Connecticut was NIXXED  due to the IMPENDING SNOW STORM. Why is everyone SO AFRAID of a LITTLE SNOW THESE DAYS??   WE LIVE IN NEW ENGLAND--IT'S SUPPOSED TO SNOW--ISN'T IT??  The main character of Cynthia Swanson's debut novel The Bookseller is definitely used to the snow as she's spent her life in Denver--where it really snows!

Set in 1962, Kitty Miller leads an unorthodox life. She's a thirty-eight year old unmarried woman who owns a bookstore with her best friend Frieda. She's had her chances with men,  but they just didn't work out. She's accepted her fate and enjoys her carefree life.  Until the dreams start. In her dream world, Kitty is married to her soulmate, Lars. They live in a beautiful home with their triplets. In this world, Kitty has given up the bookstore to be a wife and mother. At first Kitty enjoys these dreams, but as time goes on she realizes that her dreams start to feel  more real than her actual life. Lines become blurred and Kitty is eventually unable to tell what is real and what is imagined. Does Kitty really own a bookstore with Frieda? Why isn't Frieda a part of Kitty's dream world? Is she really married to Lars or is he dead? And why hasn't Kitty heard from her parents at all? These questions and many more will become clear when you read this psychological thriller. I really enjoyed this book and couldn't put it down. It's about 350 pages or a 3.5 mile run that will leave you saying WOW!

December 5, 2017 THE WAITING

SO THRILLED. My butt is finally feeling better--NOT COMPLETELY HEALED--but I was able to run over the weekend. AAHHH. It was wonderful. Sometimes you don't miss or appreciate something til it's gone. I really had to work hard--exercising and strengthening--to get better. I'm NOT flexible EITHER so I've been working on turning my body into a pretzel too.  Another thing that helped was switching from heat to Ice--and USING A FOAM ROLLER. Did I mention I also had to TAKE A LITTLE TIME OFF--which nearly drove me MAD. I've never been one for patience and waiting but that's exactly what I needed to do. Running is such an outlet for me. It keeps my anxiety in check and helps me stayed balanced--so the past month has been difficult. It was not until I really COMMITTED though--to the WHOLE REGIMEN--that I started feeling better. Still not 100%--taking it easy--running SLOWLY--and NOT AS OFTEN--but at least I'm out there. YIPPEE. Had a little extra time last week so I  thought I'd give Dennis Lehane's new novel Since We Fell a whirl.

Every so often I enjoy a good psychological thriller and Lehane is a master. He's written 14 novels including two that have been made into movies--Mystic River and Shutter Island. In Since We Fell, Rachel Childs is a television journalist who loses her confidence and job after having a panic attack on National television. She's a thirty-something recluse living in Boston who barely lives her apartment unless she is with her husband Brian. Because Brian travels for business, Rachel is occasionally forced to venture the streets of Boston. One day on the way to the store, Rachel stumbles upon a scene that shatters everything she believes and her carefully structured world falls apart. Find out what Rachel sees on the street that day that turns her world upside down when you read this suspense filled book yourself. It's filled with twists and turns and is almost impossible to put it down. The only thing that bothered me was that the book almost felt  like a movie ---and upon checking I found out that it is being adapted into a movie. Nevertheless, the book was fun to read and the movie will probably be great too. If you get a chance--check out this 400 pager--or 4 mile run--it's a real page turner. Guaranteed.

December 2, 2017 LIFE AIN'T FAIR

I'm troubled. LIFE IS  JUST SO UNFAIR.  So much of who we are and where we end up is determined BEFORE we are even born. It's the LUCK of the draw. If you're UNLUCKY enough to be born into poverty, to a drug addicted mother or just a mother who doesn't give a damn--OH WELL--Them's the breaks. It's crazy.  Imagine  growing up in a world WHERE YOU CAN'T EVEN trust your mother to have your back--and your BIGGEST worry is when you will eat again. This is  the reality that  thousands of children face everyday.  I wish I had a magic wand. I'd wave my wand over the world and EVERY child would feel safe, secure and loved. Children would never be hungry and their biggest worry would be reciting their multiplication facts. BACK TO REALITY--As a society, we need to recognize that if we don't find a way to mend the family unit, all is lost. Education is important but without the support, guidance and love of family-- the cycle generally continues--unless you are  Patricia Williams.

I just finished reading her autobiography entitled Rabbit, where amazingly enough, she beat the odds after surviving in a world most of us could never imagine. I picked this book up at the library last week on a whim. The name of the book intrigued me and I loved the picture of Ms. Pat on the cover. I had NO idea who Ms. Pat was but have come to learn that she is actually a famous stand-up comedian, actress and writer who grew up in the "hood" in Atlanta, Georgia,  during the crack epidemic. Rabbit is a brutally honest account of her life.  She grew up in filth, surrounded by alcoholics and drug addicts. Ms. Pat's mother was an alcoholic who often beat her and her four siblings. Ms. Pat couldn't trust her mother at all as she often involved her kids in money making schemes and criminal activity to support her habits.  Pat and her siblings never knew where their next meal was coming from or where they would sleep each night. Ms. Pat was pregnant at thirteen and had two children by the time she was fifteen years old. She even became a crack dealer in order  to pay her rent and  keep her children fed and clothed. She seemed destined to repeat the cycle.  Her story is remarkable because she got out--changed her life and even went on to raise her sister's four children because she was a crack addict. Find out how Ms. Pat changed her life when you read this tragic, often funny story yourself. It's only about 240 pages or a 3 mile unforgettable run that everyone should read.