WWW.WEDNESDAY

 

WWW. WEDNESDAY asks three questions to prompt you to speak bookishly. To participate, and to see how other book lovers responded, click here. 

PS I no longer participate in WWW.WEDNESDAY via that link because her blog won't accept Blogger comments. I mention this only to save you the frustration I experienced trying to link up.

1. What are you currently reading? Bad Influence by Alison Gaylin. Ms. Gaylin is the third author to take on Sunny Randall. Robert B. Parker created her back in 1999 at the request of his friend, actress Helen Hunt. Hunt was really hot back in the 90s, with an Emmy for Mad About You and an Oscar for As Good As It Gets. Her career stalled and poor Sunny never made it to the screen. But the books have survived, the series continuing even after Parker's death.

 

First Mike Lupica took over, and I like how he honored Parker's tone, setting and characters. With Bad Influence, Sunny finally has a woman author tell her story, and I'm eager to see how it goes.

 
2. What did you recently finish reading?  Grudge Match by Mike Lupica. This is the book I wanted 12 Months to Live to be! Sunny Randall is just as endearing as Jane Smith. They speak the same way  -- both explain their actions by saying, "A girl's gotta do ..." and they both love their dogs, who are threatened in the same way. This makes sense because both books were written by Mike Lupica. However with Grudge Match, I didn't have suspend disbelief in ridiculous courtroom scenes, or shake my head at how many coincidences there are in life. I suspect that's because James Patterson wasn't involved with Grudge Match. Anyway, I enjoyed it and think that wherever Sunny's creator, Robert B. Parker, is, he enjoyed it, too.

3. What will you read next? Kingmaker by Sonia Purnell.

This is why I bought a Nerf football

This originally appeared on the Anthony Rizzo Family Foundation Facebook page:

 

Sometimes, the greatest stress in childhood cancer is not the cancer itself. You see, beyond the heart-breaking reality of diagnosis and treatment, there are still many demands in the daily life of the rest of the family.

 

Imagine, if you would, for just a moment, that you’re a parent or caregiver in this kind of scenario. You are working hard to meet all of the family needs: you’re in the hospital and talking with the doctors. But you’re also making sure siblings have meals, clean clothes, and get their homework done. Perhaps you’re even working through the medical bills, the mortgage payment and the myriad other things that might keep you up at night.

 

But then you realize that it’s almost the holiday season and you’re out of everything: energy, time, and money. You're out of all of the things that a parent or caregiver needs to make the holidays different from all of the rest of the year. And oh, do your children need something to be different this year of all years! Your family (and you) need a deep breath of hope in the midst of chaos. But you have nothing left to give. 

 

Can you imagine it? I’m sure you can.

 

You see, this is a part of my story. I am a mom of four children, one of whom has had two different cancers and dozens of complications over a span of many years. And Chase, my fighter boy, had just made it through treatment for his second cancer, was struggling with troubling side effects, and was facing a scan that showed there was still cancer in his body when we turned the corner into the 2021 holiday season. We were still quarantined, completely overwhelmed, and with nothing left to give when we found out that our family was going to be given a holiday season by the Anthony Rizzo Family Foundation. I remember that I started to cry. 

 

On the wall of Chase’s oncology clinic is a quote of Anthony’s. In huge, block letters, it reads: “Stay Strong. Dream Big.” But sometimes, as a parent, I struggle to stay strong and need somebody else to dream for me because I’m just trying to hold everything together. This is where the Anthony Rizzo Family Foundation meets me as a mom and hundreds of others like me too: not only do they encourage us to keep dreaming, but they help fulfill those dreams when we grow too weary to do so for ourselves. 

 

Walking through cancer and all its complications with Chase left our family surrounded by impossible things, but the Foundation did what my husband and I could not find a way to do - they spoke possibility and promise into our family that holiday season. Not only did they take the financial burden of purchasing gifts off our shoulders, but they also wrapped and delivered the gifts to us, so we didn’t have to go out into stores (with an immunosuppressed child in the house) and then find the time to wrap and prepare everything ourselves. 

 

When you donate to the Rizzo Grant-A-Wish-Spectacular, you’re giving a sick child the gift of a wonderful holiday with extra special presents, but you’re also affirming to siblings that they’re seen and remembered (as they get to open their own gifts alongside their warrior brother or sister), and you’re holding up weary parents who could not have put the holiday together themselves. 

 

I could absolutely tell you that the look on Chase’s face when he opened his new video game console that 2021 holiday was the best thing I had seen all year. (It was) But it’s so much more than that moment. Because when you donate to the Rizzo Grant-A-Wish Spectacular, you’re finding a unique and precious way to let a family know they don’t fight alone… and dear friends, that is priceless.

 

HELP US BRING THE HOLIDAY SPIRIT TO MORE FAMILIES LIKE CHASE'S THIS HOLIDAY SEASON:

https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/6UZN8JJFGYLW...

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Gal's note: I know that this holiday season, everyone has plenty of options for giving. It just meant a great deal to me to learn that the Nerf football I bought for the toy drive not only will help make the cancer patient's holiday a little brighter, it will bring relief to his or her parents. I never thought of it that way before I read this. So I hope that wherever you donate this season, it brings you the heart happiness my Nerf football brought me. 

This is Chase. Read more about him here.

PS Dear Baseball Gods, you bastards! All Rizz wanted was a second World Series ring and you just couldn't let him have it, could you? I'll let you know if this ever stops hurting. Just so fucking unfair!

November Challenge -- Day 12

Find the challenge here

November Challenge: Five men whom you find attractive

I hate lists like this because I will invariably leave someone off and hurt that hot man's feelings. But seriously, folks ...

I have had this conversation with both my oldest friend and my late friend John. Unlike me, they both found themselves attracted to much younger men. I watch as much or more sports than they do but it's very seldom that a young-un hits me that way. Right now, the only one who inspires that old familiar thrum is Giancarlo Stanton of the Yankees. He's 35, which is old for a ballplayer but way, way too young for me to include on this list. However, in the spirit of full disclosure, and because I want to beautify the blogosphere, here he is.

Now, onto the real list.

Josh Duhamel may not be the greatest actor, but his smile makes me smile.

               Former Cubs manager Joe Maddon is a free thinker and always his own man. Love him.

BROOOOOOOOCE!

Sir Paul

 

I've been bingeing on Moonlighting and realize anew that David Addison is my dream man.

 

Leaf photo by Andreas Rasmussen on Unsplash.