WWW.WEDNESDAY

 

 

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WWW. WEDNESDAY asks three questions to prompt you to speak bookishly.

1. What are you currently reading? The Girl He Used to Know by Tracey Garvis Greaves. Annika and Jonathan meet at chess club. Over the course of their matches, they fall in love. Her behavioral issues -- a diagnosis hasn't been shared yet, but I believe she's autistic -- complicate things. Their college romance is cut short and they lose touch. A decade later, they meet again by chance and have a second chance at love.

This is a straight-up romance. No mystery. No skullduggery. I haven't read one of these in a while. Here's hoping I enjoy it. 

I've already learned one tiny nugget: The characters go to U of I and refer to it as "Urbana" and "Urbana Champaign." Here in Chicago, we always call it "Champaign Urbana" or "Chambana." I did a little research and discovered that the locals hate that we get it wrong.

2. What did you just finish reading?  Play Dead by David Rosenfelt. Defense attorney Andy Carpenter finds himself involved in case where no one is whom they seem to be. Not even Yogi the Dog. A golden retriever who ends up surrendered to an animal shelter after a dog biting incident, it turns out -- and x-rays verify this -- Yogi is really Reggie, the dog tossed overboard and lost when his despondent owner killed his fiancee and then attempted suicide on a boat.

So if Yogi is Reggie and very much alive, what else did the authorities get wrong about that awful night on the boat? Could the man serving time for the murder/dogicide/botched suicide be innocent?

Andy Carpenter in a courtroom always entertains me, and this book is no exception. He's fast and funny, as always. I also enjoy how candid he is about his physical cowardice when the bad guys are after him. And Reggie is a compelling canine hero, as well. One of the better mysteries in the series so far.

3. What will you read next? I don't have anything selected yet.

August Happiness Challenge -- Day 16

Today's happiness -- Hi, Aaron!

Aaron was my boss in 2021. He was a breath of fresh air: creative, collaborative and supportive. Everything you want in a supervisor. Plus, I really liked him. When he left in January, it broke my heart. Because he relocated to California, I was able to meet up with him when I attended the TCM Film Festival in April, and today, I Zoomed with him.

I was very happy to hear what's going on his world. He's still with his lady, Amanda. He loves their life together but there have been some hiccoughs (her favorite uncle died, he suffered a bout with covid, his job isn't what he expected). You know, though, no adult has a completely perfect life. He's fine financially and he's happy in love, and I'm happy to hear that.

Since he's a preacher's kid, I'm comfortable talking faith with him. This occurred to me as I was telling him how my faith guided a work decision I'd made. I knew he would get it. That was lovely.

Each day in August you are to post about something that makes *you* happy. Pretty simple. And, it doesn't even have to be every day if you don't want it to be. It's a great way to remind ourselves that there are positive things going on in our lives, our communities, and the world.

SHOUT OUT TO COUNTRY DEW! I saw that you checked on me while I was MIA. That made me happy, too. Thank you.

August Happiness Challenge -- Day 15

 Today's happiness -- Fresh air

Back home after four nights of hotel living. I like hotels. People clean up after you and there are tiny shampoos and conditioners and body lotion for your pleasure. But I missed being home with my cats. And I missed breathing fresh air.

I've had the windows open and the fans going since I came in my front door. Yes, I consider Mr. Willis Carrier a true American hero for inventing the air conditioner and I'm forever grateful. But I'd had enough recycled cold air at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare. I'm happy with that whir of my old box fan.

Each day in August you are to post about something that makes *you* happy. Pretty simple. And, it doesn't even have to be every day if you don't want it to be. It's a great way to remind ourselves that there are positive things going on in our lives, our communities, and the world.

August Happiness Challenge -- Day 14

Today's happiness -- Indulging my passion for film

The highlight of my last  day of The Fest for Beatle Fans was hearing director Michael Lindsay-Hogg compare and contrast his Let It Be with Peter Jackson's Get Back.

I love the Beatles. I love the art of film. I believe they're both important. Hearing MLH talk helped illustrate the role of the editor and director for me, and the stark difference in technology between 1970 and 2021. 

I felt fortunate to hear him.

Each day in August you are to post about something that makes *you* happy. Pretty simple. And, it doesn't even have to be every day if you don't want it to be. It's a great way to remind ourselves that there are positive things going on in our lives, our communities, and the world.

August Happiness Challenge -- Day 13

 Today's happiness -- When my happies collide

Saturday was a lot of Lads at The Fest for Beatle Fans. We went to a Beatles trivia contest patterned on Jeopardy! but did not participate as contestants. We had too much fun being snarky in the stands. Then we listened to Peter Asher -- half of the British invasion duo Peter and Gordon, superstar producer of Linda Ronstandt, James Taylor and Diana Ross, and now host of a Beatles show on Sirius radio -- and were thoroughly entertained. Then we attended a very nerdy lecture on how academics are studying (and teaching) The Beatles at the university level. I enjoyed it. My oldest friend is not as geeky as I am, because she annoyed me by tap-tap-tapping away, texting on her phone, while the authors and professors spoke.

I didn't stay annoyed for long, though. First of all, she and I only had this weekend together. Secondly, it's kind of hard to be pissy when you're up to your hips in Beatles. And thirdly, look who I found on our ridiculously big hotel room TV.

Baseball and Beatles. What's not to love?

Each day in August you are to post about something that makes *you* happy. Pretty simple. And, it doesn't even have to be every day if you don't want it to be. It's a great way to remind ourselves that there are positive things going on in our lives, our communities, and the world.

 

August Happiness Challenge -- Day 12

 Today's happiness -- Adult beverages

Friday was the first day of The Fest for Beatle Fans. Attending it meant a great deal to my oldest friend. She means a great deal to me, so I made sure it happened.

We attended the opening ceremonies and then went to The Red Bar right there in the hotel for dinner and drinks. (Really, we never ventured outdoors or experienced fresh air the whole time she was in town.) 

We laughed a great deal. I had a beer and she had a margarita. Since she's diabetic and on all kinds of meds, and I have chronic gastrointestinal upset of some sort,* we limited ourselves to one round. But it was nice to be together. I haven't seen since our trip to Las Vegas in November, 2018!

Each day in August you are to post about something that makes *you* happy. Pretty simple. And, it doesn't even have to be every day if you don't want it to be. It's a great way to remind ourselves that there are positive things going on in our lives, our communities, and the world.

*I am keeping a daily diary of my unspeakable malady and will present it to my doctor next week when I see her. I don't want to be alarmist, but I know something is wrong.

August Happiness Challenge -- Day 11

Today's happiness -- Things come together nicely.

My oldest friend, who lives in Southern California, wanted to come to Chicago for The Fest for Beatle Fans. Since LAX-ORD is one of the most traveled flight plans in the country, and the Fest was held at a hotel right there at O'Hare, you'd think this would be easy to pull off. You would be wrong.

For reasons too complicated to go into, my friend ended flying Ontario to Midway, about 20 miles away from O'Hare. Instead of arriving Friday morning, as she had planned, she ended up with reservations for that would get her to Midway at about 6:00 PM on Thursday.

"So what?" I thought. Here's what: I'd forgotten our condo association meeting had been on the calendar for Thursday night @ 6:30 for weeks. I'm on the board so I couldn't get out of it. 

Because it took her an hour to retrieve her bag and travel the hour to the hotel by O'Hare, and because for once (!) my neighbors did not make the meeting go one minute longer than it needed to, my friend and I reached our hotel within 30 minutes of one another. Finally something about this excursion went according to plan.

Each day in August you are to post about something that makes *you* happy. Pretty simple. And, it doesn't even have to be every day if you don't want it to be. It's a great way to remind ourselves that there are positive things going on in our lives, our communities, and the world.