March 21, 2018 FIVE MORE MINUTES

Today's my grandmother's birthday. Can't believe she's been dead for fifteen years. It's also--STRANGELY ENOUGH--the day my grandfather died--20 years ago. They were two of the most important people in my life at one time. My constants in an otherwise chaotic life.  Just before my  grandmother died she said, "I don't know how I'm going to live without you Marsha Parsh?" and I tearfully responded, "Live without me, how am I supposed to live without you? That's the funny thing about life though. WE DO. I think of them often and even have vivid dreams where we're all back on the farm. They seem so real-- They're alive again for a little while. Then I wake up and I'm back to reality. If I had one more day with them--I know EXACTLY what we'd do.  First, I'd  spend the whole morning baking cookies with Gran and then I'd spend the afternoon shlepping around the flea markets with Ump buying junk. Yup--it's the simple things I miss most.

If you love books as much as I do--you will love the little gem I just read Dear Fahrenheit 451 Love and Heartbreak in the Stacks. This clever little book (I'm kicking myself in the ASS as I write this for not thinking of writing this myself) is written by a librarian named Annie Spence. It's written  as a series of letters to some of the books she's either read or encountered in her life. I know this sounds odd--but it's not--IF YOU REALLY LOVE BOOKS. Some of my favorite letters include her break up note to The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein, her Dear John letter to Nicholas Sparks, her love letter to The Time Traveler's Wife and her thank you letter to Ray Bradbury. Some of the letters are laugh-out-loud funny--while others are more heartfelt. I also love her list of books that she will never break up with--which includes some of my favorite books-- Dandelion Wine, Charlotte's Web and Wuthering Heights to name a few.  I absolutely loved the sections-- I'd Rather be Reading-- which is a list of excuses to tell your friends so you can stay home with your books. I'm going to be using those excuses next time someone asks me out!  He's Just Not That Into Literary--a guide to getting your guy read--is Classic too. I can't say enough about how much I enjoyed this book. It's about 240 pages or a 3 mile run--that will remind you of the books you love and why you love to read. Enjoy.