December 27, 2018 HOUSE PARTY

Exhausted. 3 parties in 4 days--TOO MUCH FOR ME. I don't think I go to 3 parties ALL YEAR. Feel like I'm walking around in a daze. It's funny--when I was in my twenties-- I could party every night and feel good as new the next morning. These days--it's more like a two day recovery between parties--so that means I need  SIX DAYS to recover from the holidays.  Don't get me wrong--I'd do it ALL again in a minute. Great fun with friends and family--playing games-- reminiscing--sipping  holiday drinks. Party #1 used to be a cookie party when my daughter was young. She'd invite friends over and we'd spend hours making cookies. Fast forward 10 years. We still make cookies BUT her friends NOW come over--with their significant other. We still snack--play games but NOW we drink a little JINGLE JANGLE JUICE too.  GREAT FUN. So proud of them. This is followed by the  Christmas Eve & Christmas parties that keep me up WAY TOO LATE.  It's a whirlwind and my heads still spinning BUT--wouldn't change a thing!! Hope to feel like my old self  in time for New Years Eve............... 

Twelve characters, each representing  the urban Native American experience, are on their way to a party too--the Big Oakland Powwow in Tommy Orange's debut novel There There. In order to answer the question--what does it mean to be a Native American today--Orange introduces the reader to a new character in each chapter of the novel.  We learn their history, story and motivation for attending the powwow. Some are looking to reconnect with family, others are searching for their "Indian identity" while others are just trying to understand their place in society. They range from teenagers to the elderly; they come from fractured families, violence, drug and alcohol addiction. This book essentially tells the story of the indigenous community in Oakland, California, and their painful history and detachment from tradition after being forced to live on reservations.  This powerful story is a must read. It is equally funny, disturbing and heartbreaking. The characters come alive because the prose is so deliberate, real, raw, honest. This must read is on the 10 best books of the year list and won The Center for First Novel Prize. It's about 290 pages or a 4 mile run that you will never forget.