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? Resilience by Elizabeth Edwards. Best known as a political spouse (wife of former Senator/VP candidate John Edwards), Elizabeth was also an attorney, an entrepreneur, and an author. This is her

second, and last, book, written after the public learned of her husband's infidelities and the return of her cancer. 

She saw resilience in many walks of life. The daughter of a career military man, she lived in Japan in the 1950s and met survivors of Hiroshima. She was personally affected by Vietnam: her father served and she attended the funerals of her friends' fathers who were killed in the conflict. She lost her own son in a car accident and struggled to find purpose in her life. Her father suffered a debilitating stroke. She was gobsmacked by a breast cancer diagnosis. Her husband's betrayal was covered by The National Enquirer.

All of this enhanced her natural empathetic/sympathetic tendencies and left her eager to share what she learned. This is a re-read for me. I believe she still has something to teach me. 

2. What did you recently finish reading? Hounded by David Rosenfelt. Ex-convict Danny Diaz was working hard to turn his life around. That made his murder shocking and sad, especially because he left behind a son and a basset hound. 

Dog? Did someone say "dog?" If a dog needs a human, Andy Carpenter is there. He's happy to give the dog a home, less enthusiastic about the boy, but Andy is a good guy, so he comes through for both kid and canine. Andy is also a crack defense attorney, and when a suspect is arrested in the Diaz murder, Andy finds himself handling the case. This makes him more involved with the Diaz murder than he ever wanted to be.

This book is an involving legal thriller but it's also very funny. Andy is a most engaging protagonist and I love this series. But here's a big, red letter WARNING: Do not read this one out of order. Characters and circumstances are introduced that have an impact on the later books.

3. What will you read next? The Last Politician: Inside Joe Biden's White House by Franklin Foer.

 

 

 

Saturday 9

Saturday 9: Goodbye, Cruel World (1961)

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

 

1) This week's song has a circus theme. Have you ever been to a circus? If yes, did you enjoy it? Yes, when I was very little (pre-school? Kindergarten?). No, I didn't enjoy it. It was an old-school three-ring circus and it was too much for me, I didn't know what to focus on and it upset me. Also, the candy vendor only had those marshmallow peanuts. I remember thinking they were yucky. Everything was yucky. I realize the problem wasn't the circus, it was that I was too young.

They didn't taste like peanuts at all!

2) James Darren sings that he's running away to join the circus. When you were a kid, did you ever run away from home? Yes. I was a little older than I was when we went to the  circus, but not by much. I packed underpants, a jar of peanut butter and a spoon in a tote bag. I told my parents I'd taken the peanut butter and the spoon and explained my intent. They told me they understood, and that I was welcome to come back home anytime. Then my plush Lassie dog and I were off. I made it about two houses away, realized it was dark and scary, and came back. I told my parents I planned to take off again in the morning. Of course I did not. I know this story so well because my parents loved it and retold it countless times. Apparently it was hard for them not to laugh at how earnest I was that I was not stealing the peanut butter. My favorite part of the story is that, unbeknownst to me, my dad was outside in the bushes watching me, ready to stop me if I headed toward the busy street. He was not a very hands-on father, and the thought of him crouching among those pine shrubs touches me.

 

3) While he understands intellectually that this girl is no good for him, he tells us his heart is stubborn. Do you have a stubborn streak? Yes. My two biggest faults are that I am stubborn and lazy. Not an attractive combination and I'm working on it.

4) Though he had three top 20 singles, including this one, James Darren found more consistent success as an actor. Between 1959 and 1963, he played surfer Jeff Matthews, aka "Moondoggie," in three Gidget movies. Have you seen any Gidget movies? What about the TV show, starring Sally Field? Yes. Enjoyed them all in their time, though I don't watch them now.

5) "Moondoggie" got his unique nickname because he enjoyed surfing in the moonlight. Looking back on Summer 2023, did you visit the beach (by moonlight or otherwise)? Not in the summer. But in March I went to Tampa to visit my Cousin Rose. She took me to John's Pass, which is touristy but delightful (after all, I was a tourist!) and I wiggled my toes in the sand and then we took a boat ride.

 

Greetings from the Gulf of Mexico

6) While he was playing Gidget's teen dream, he was a married man. He wed Danish beauty queen Evy Norlund in 1960. They met when she came to Los Angeles to pursue a career and they were both working at Columbia Studios. More than 60 years later, they're still together. Tell us about the longest-married couple you know. I guess that would be Mindy and Alan. They were married in (I believe) 1987. I remember when they met on a blind date set up by a woman Mindy met at a photography class. They have been through a great deal together -- infertility and health problems, financial setbacks -- but they have seemed happy with each other throughout.

7) James Darren also played Officer James Corrigan on ABC's police drama, TJ Hooker. Have you ever considered a career in law enforcement? Nope. I'm too chicken.

 

8) In 1961, when this song was on the radio, matching his & hers mohair sweaters were on trend. Do you have a favorite sweater? Yes. It's very loose and long and blue. I got it from Goodwill! I went through the store after I dropped off a box of my own gently-used items. I wanted to see the prices in the store so I could accurately value my donation at tax time. Anyway, I saw it hanging on the end cap and I fell in love. I've had it so long that I've had to mend it, but I don't care. It's forever my fave.

9) Random question -- They say we're all young at heart. In what ways are you childlike? I believe I do good in the world. I know my contributions are not mighty or noteworthy (sending postcards for candidates/causes I believe in, writing Letters Against Isolation) but I believe if we all do what we can we make the world a better place. I know how corny that sounds, but I have believed it since I was a little girl and first heard, "Ask not what your country can do for you ..."

Think

The world is in crisis. Hamas attacked Israel in the most shocking, cruel way. Now Israel is retaliating and the body count is skyrocketing. The Ukrainian people continue to fight for their autonomy against a land-grabbing Russian regime. And who is far and away the front runner for the GOP nomination?

A man who said to The Proud Boys, "Stand back and stand by." Even before The Proud Boys rioted on the Capitol on January 6, they were a force at the "Unite the Right" riot in Charlottesville, where they chanted, "Jews will not replace us." 

A man who waved around a classified Pentagon document about a potential attack on Iran, just to make a point so he would get a favorable write-up in an upcoming book.

A man promises to end the Ukraine War in 24 hours. Considering his ongoing bromance with Putin, I think we can all imagine the concessions he'd insist the Ukrainians make.

Sometimes it feels like Joe Biden is the only one who can unite the US and our European allies to save the world. Often it feels like Joe Biden is the only one who can save us from Donald Trump.

I don't pretend to understand why so many of our countrymen are in Trump's thrall. I just hope the devastating, consequential times we live in will cause them to reassess and perhaps put larger interests ahead of their own.

If not? Well, to quote former Trump chief of staff, retired General John Kelly: God help us.

 

And the beat goes on

Here's the Amazon page

I admit I've had the blues all week. A lot of it is because of the ugly attack on Israel and the ensuing war. Much of it is because of The Girls, the novel by Emma Cline I recently finished. 

It's told from the perspective of a woman looking back on her teen years in the late 1960s and how she somehow, improbably and yet in a way, inevitably, ended up in a commune. Headed by a charismatic madman, a thwarted rock star, who managed to convince a band of middle-class white girls to commit one of the most infamous and bloody mass murders of a very bloody decade.

Obviously based on the Manson Family and the Sharon Tate murders, it's not really very violent. At least not in the conventional, literal sense. I found it terribly painful and exhausting emotionally because it reminded me of my own high school years. No, I was never seduced into a cult. Because we didn't have a cult nearby.

But I did feel completely lost during those years. It was Vietnam, Watergate and Patty Hearst. My parents' marriage and finances were unraveling and neither of them handled it well. The adult world seemed malignant and corrupt. My classmates were into pep clubs and making floats while everything around us was spinning down into the abyss. I felt like a fraud when I pretended to care about those things. Oh yeah, and to make matters worse, there was disco.

When I mentioned in last week's Saturday 9 that I was miserable in high school, a well-meaning but presumptuous commenter assumed I'd been bullied. That might have been simpler and easier to recover from. No, I had friends. I was not bullied. I was just deeply disillusioned, lonely and isolated.

Watching the world now, I worry about today's 16-year-old girls. As I could not fathom my church-going dad's full-throated support of Nixon, they must look at the hypocrisy of their Christian parents wearing MAGA hats and find them deplorable. How can they trust an adult world that values the rights of gun owners over their own safety, offering them nothing more than "thoughts and prayers" as comfort after school shooting after school shooting? Or mocks environmental activism and blissfully leaves the next generation with a planet in peril?

I have to stop now. Remembering the teenage me just makes me ache too much for this new generation of girls.

Thursday Thirteen #330

 
Our 13 most common surnames. I'm 65 and never married. That means I have been hearing my decidedly German surname mangled by strangers for 65 years. I no longer correct people anymore. Whatever they want to call me is fine. I admit there are times I wished I married, just to unload it ... preferably for one of these. No one mispronounces these. 

And so, without further ado, here are the 13 most common surnames in the US, according to Census Data. 

1. Smith

2. Johnson

3. Williams

4. Brown

5. Jones

6. Garcia

7. Miller

8. Davis

9. Rodriguez

10. Martinez

11. Hernandez

12. Gonzalez

13. Wilson

Please join us for THURSDAY THIRTEEN. Click here to play along, and to see other interesting compilations of 13 things.

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 can 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? Hounded by David Rosenfelt. When ex-convict Danny Diaz is murdered, Detective Pete Stanton calls on his friend, lawyer Andy Carpenter, to come get Diaz' basset hound, Sebastian. That's no surprise, since Andy has an outsized love/affinity for dogs. What is a surprise is that, holding the leash, is Diaz' son, Ricky. With his father's death, the little boy is now an orphan. Soft-hearted Det. Stanton doesn't want Ricky to get mired in the child welfare system and persuades Andy to take the boy as well as the dog. So far, it's heartwarming, right?

Things take a shocking turn when a suspect is arrested and Andy is called upon again, this time to provide a solid defense. So he's representing the the accused killer in court while the victim's son and dog are sleeping in his guest room. 

 

So far I'm loving this book because it's so very Andy Carpenter. He's quick witted, smart mouthed and refreshingly void of physical bravery. He's also funny and I enjoy learning how he preps for a big, high profile trial.

2. What did you recently finish reading? The Girls by Emma Cline. Evie Boyd is kinda invisible. She's in her 60s, childless, never married. Her "career" consists of getting by, taking care of other people's plants, pets and homes. While crashing at the summer home of an old friend, she's awakened when she hears someone opening the refrigerator. She immediately thinks the intruder is going to kill her. Instead, it turns out it's her friend's college-aged son.

 

The kid remembers Evie. He recalls his dad mentioning her notorious past. Back in 1969, she was a member of a cult. An infamous murderous cult. You know the one: a California wild man collected girls at a ranch and somehow persuaded them to kill.

 

In flashbacks, we see how 14-year-old Evie was seduced -- not by the cult leader but by "the girls." How they gave Evie something she ached for. It wasn't the drugs or the sex, it was belonging.

Why do people join cults? What made teenage girls follow Charles Manson, or makes church goers applaud every cruel, crude, illegal action of a twice-impeached, 90x indicted ex-president?

This is a serious, challenging novel.

3. What will read next? I don't know.

 

 

Saturday 9

Saturday 9: Gloria (1982)

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

 

1) In this song, Laura Branigan is advising her friend to take it a bit slower in her pursuit of a particular man. Did you more recently give or receive advice? I had a rather serious conversation with my nephew, who just turned 24, about the worst part of pet parenthood: euthanasia. My sister's family adopted their cat 17 years ago, when my nephew was just 7. That feline has been his buddy almost his entire life. The family knew Donny was fading, but my nephew wasn't sure it was time to let him go. He asked me how I arrived at the decision with my cat, Reynaldo, in 2021. I got a text from my nephew -- he only texts -- after they said goodbye to Donny and he thanked me for helping him be at peace with the decision.

 

2) Gloria seems determined to rush ahead, regardless of the consequences. Do you consider yourself a big risk taker? Not anymore. When I was younger, I was more fearless. Time has made me more conservative.

 

3) Laura herself seemed to be impulsive in love. She met a lawyer at a party in 1978 and they married months later. It worked out, though. They were married for almost 20 years, until his death. Thinking of your circle of friends, has someone more recently been married, divorced, or widowed? I'm at a time in my life when my friends' kids are getting married.

4) "Gloria" was originally recorded in 1979 by Italian singer Umberto Tozzi. His version was a Top Ten hit in Switzerland, Belgium and Germany. Have you ever visited any of those countries? I visited Switzerland and Germany back in the mid-70s during my one and only trip to Europe.

5) In 2018, decades after its initial release, this recording of "Gloria" enjoyed a surge in popularity. The St. Louis Blues used it as their victory song whenever they won a hockey game at home. What's the most recent sporting event you attended? 

I was there last month when Kris Bryant returned to Wrigley Field. It was a perfect day. 

6) After Laura Branigan died of a cerebral aneurysm at the age of 52, her high school established a scholarship in her honor. When did you most recently return to your old high school, and what was the reason? My nephew's graduation six years ago. Being back there practically gave me PTSD. My mom, who also attended that same school, used to tell high school me that "these are the best years of your life." My mother could not have been more wrong about that.

 

7) In 1982, when this song was popular, the Sears catalog sold an at-home blood pressure monitor that ran on four C-batteries and sold for $190 (that's $600 in today's dollars). Amazon's current best-selling monitor is cheaper ($40) and smaller, running on AAA batteries. Is high blood pressure a concern of yours? I'm probably more worried about it than I should be. My dad died of a stroke, brought on by high blood pressure, when he was 55. Since I favor his side of the family, I always grill the doctor after my BP is taken, and I'm always told it's fine.

 

8) Also in 1982, The Compleat Beatles, a two-hour documentary about The Fab Four was released to good reviews. Do you enjoy documentaries? If I'm in the right frame of mind.

9) Random question: Which of these chores to you enjoy the least: doing the dishes or the laundry? The dishes. Laundry is a once-a-week thing and it's the one chore I'm very good at, which makes it satisfying. It feels like I'm always at the kitchen sink, washing something. I hate it.

 

The interesection of Crazy and Craven

That's the location of MAGA World. They continue to support Donald Trump, even as he claimed:

"Migrants are poisoning the blood of our country." I know that sounds like Hitler, but no, it was Donald J. Trump. Here are his specific words: “Nobody has any idea where these people are coming from, and we know they come from prisons. We know they come from mental institutions and insane asylums. We know they’re terrorists. Nobody has ever seen anything like we’re witnessing right now. It is a very sad thing for our country. It’s poisoning the blood of our country.” Of course he doesn't back this shit up because no one demands he back it up. Instead, his followers take it to heart (assuming they have hearts; which I am doubting).

Do not try to tell me that, here in Chicagoland, we don't understand the downside of illegal immigration. Gov. Abbott of Texas has been sending busloads from his state up here. He doesn't bother to coordinate with our mayor or governor because he has nothing but contempt for us or the people he's shipping. More than 195 buses, more than 13,000 immigrants. Just plopped here. Of course it's been difficult to accommodate them. But they are human beings and we are doing our best.

But saying that people who are fleeing gangs and/or political persecution are "terrorists" from prisons, mental institutions and insane asylums is not helping. I'm going to go out on a limb and say invoking Nazi rhetoric is never a good thing. ("Poisoning the blood of our country" is awful close to the Mein Kampf reference to "the poison of foreign races.")

Is this an accident? Of course not. Are his passionately evangelical followers aware of the connection? If they were, they wouldn't be his followers. If they are, I question their Christianity.

A young clerk is fucking a married man. A woman who works for Judge Engoron was "outed" by Donald Trump as "Chuck Schumer's girlfriend." He has no proof of this. In fact, there is no known connection between this woman and Sen. Schumer. Yet Trump posted this on Truth Social, mentioned it on the courthouse steps and used it in a fundraising email.

This was so untrue, so egregious, so embarrassing to a blameless young woman that Judge Engoron issued a gag order against a former President of the United States.

Of course Donald Trump has a dirty mind. We've all read how he refers to his own daughter, Ivanka. We all heard the Access Hollywood tape.

Of course Donald Trump steamrolls over women who are in his way. We all heard what he said about election workers Shaye Moss and Ruby Freeman, all of it baseless.

I'm more appalled right now by his MAGA supporters. Aren't some of them women? Don't they have mothers and daughters? 

From The Guardian

MAGA Nation: If you don't want to be labeled "deplorable," stop acting deplorably. I close with the words of retired General John Kelly. If Trump is re-elected: "There is nothing more to be said: God help us."

Thursday Thirteen #329

Thirteen commonly prescribed meds.

"Big Pharma" is big business. Drug companies spend more than $10 billion on advertising. For context, liquor companies spend about $7 billion.

So they're hawking a lot of meds. And we're taking them. Here are the most frequently prescribed medications in the United States.

1. Lisinopril. (Zestril) For high blood pressure and heart failure.

2. Levothyroxine. (Synthroid) For hypothryroidism.

3. Atorvastatin. (Lipitor) Lowers cholesterol.

4. Metformin. (Glucophage) Controls blood sugar levels.

5. Simvastatin. (Zocor) Another cholesterol medication.

6. Omeprazole. (Zegerid) Combats acid reflux.

7. Amlodipine. (Norvasc) Treats high blood pressure and angina.

8. Metoprolol. (Lopressor) Another blood pressure med.

9. Acetaminophen plus hydrocodone. (Vicodin) Relieves pain.

10. Albuterol. (ProAir) An inhaler for respiratory conditions.

11. Gabapentin. (Neurontin) Anti-seizure.

12. Losartan. (Cozaar) For high blood pressure and diabetes.

13. Sertraline. (Zoloft) An antidepressant.

You'll find #3 and #9 in my kitchen cabinet. Do you take any of these thirteen medications?

Please join us for THURSDAY THIRTEEN. Click here to play along, and to see other interesting compilations of 13 things.

 

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 can 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? The Girls by Emma Cline. A middle-aged woman is getting by as a professional caretaker -- of other people, of other people's plants and pets and homes. Evie works hard and is very adept at blending into the woodwork. We soon find out why: she has a dark secret. As a young teen, back in 1969, she was a member of a cult. A notorious murderous cult. You know the one: a strange man collected California girls at a ranch and somehow persuaded them to kill.

This novel is a difficult, painful read. But not because of the homicidal lunacy of Charles Manson. Emma Cline has perfectly recreated how I felt during the most difficult, painful time of my life: my high school years. While reading certain passages about Evie's home life with her biological family, I actually "saw" my own dad as the father. Cline is that talented. This book has gotten that deep under my skin.  But it's heavy and consequential.

2. What did you recently finish reading? The Big Fella: Babe Ruth and the World He Created by Jane Leavy. His is still one of the most recognized faces in America. He was universally loved in his day for his outsized talent and personality. He continues to be revered today for his stats. A sabremetric analysis of his hitting and pitching places him near the top -- and that doesn't allow for the fact that he played in the Polo Grounds and that there were no rules preventing pitchers putting substances on the baseball. The Babe hit .342 in a park with ridiculous dimensions and against pitchers who threw spitballs. I am in awe.

He was also tireless in his time and attention to kids. I loved that about him! Orphanages, schools, hospitals ... when he was the most famous man in the country, he spent as much time as he could surrounded by children. Probably because he had a truly horrific childhood. He was entertaining, though not as heroic, off the field. He did indeed enjoy hotdogs, hookers and hootch. Again, his heartbreaking start to life left him with appetites impossible to satiate. 

I'm not surprised the Yankees treated him like shit at the end of his career. After everything he did for that franchise -- the money he brought to the Bronx is staggering, even by today's standards! I'm not a fan of Yankees management today and I see that ingratitude is just part of their culture. (If you're a Yankee fan and disagree, I warn you: don't get me started.) He was dead at 53 after a painful battle with cancer. He suffered so that I wanted him to die. Then I welled up when he did.

This book is hard for me to evaluate. Ms Leavy introduced me to details of The Big Fella's life, and for that I'm grateful. But the way it's organized made me crazy. Lots of flashbacks and fast forwards. For example, I didn't find out Babe and his first wife, Helen, adopted their daughter until Helen died in a fire. By then, the girl was, like, 10 years old. Huh? Adopting a child is no small detail. Distracting and frustrating!

 

3. What will read next? Hounded by David Rosenfelt. It's a puppy-centric mystery featuring my fantasy boyfriend, Andy Carpenter. I really need something light!

 

 

One comes home, one stays in

My oldest friend came home Sunday after two nights in the hospital. She was running a fever (UTI) and her blood sugar was dangerously low (hypoglycemia). She also suffers from heart disease, which complicates everything and makes it all more serious. 

Henry remains in the hospital after a grand mal seizure. The downside of this is that he's in and out of consciousness and only vaguely aware of his surroundings. The upside is that this hospital is just 3 miles away from their new home in Fort Lauderdale. No more air lifting Henry out of Key West to get him decent medical care.

I wish they were each nearer to me so I could help more. But they both chose to leave Chicagoland -- with its jobs and world-class hospitals and, of course, The Gal Herself -- to struggle emotionally, physically and financially in SoCal and Florida respectively. Why? Snow. And it gets dark so early!  It's so flat (my oldest friend). They were "done" with Chicago and wanted "something new" (Henry and Reg).

The Bible says, "bloom where you are planted." On M*A*S*H, Col. Potter said, "If you aren't where you are, you're no place." Do I ever fantasize about leaving and starting over? Sometimes. Property taxes and crime are high here and I'd be lying if I said I enjoyed either.

But my life is here. My friends are here. The Cubs are here. I am, by and large, happy here. 

Maybe that's the lesson my oldest friend and Henry are here to teach me with their example: I'm lucky I like my life.

 

Self Portrait

 

The Cubs have been eliminated from post-season play. In a way, it's a blessing. This team has been out of gas, banged up and tired, for the last week and I've felt terrible watching them lose heartbreaker after heartbreaker. This is a charismatic, entertaining roster and I've become very fond of them (as is my wont). I hope they each have fun in the sun over the winter and I'll be back here for them come April.

Still, I am melancholy. I love baseball. I will miss it. 

This does free up my time, though. I can go to the movies. My friend Elaine wants to take a road trip. Kathleen wants to go to dinner. John and Gregory want to take a day trip to visit Kathy. Now I can do all those things without being one of those obnoxious folks who is forever checking her phone to see what the score is.

Which is all well and good. But I'd rather be watching Cubs baseball.

Sunday Stealing

STOLEN FROM SWAT BOT

1. the last song you heard: "I Feel Love" by Donna Summer. I hate that song and wish I had a better answer, but it's what was playing on my shower radio while I scrubbed the tub.

2. the last food you ate: A slice of thin crust cheese pizza

3. the last drink you had: Water

4. the last line in a book/newspaper or magazine you read: "I like the movie." Richard Roeper's review of Dumb Money in the Chicago Sun Times.

5. the last movie you saw: The Trouble with Angels. I dearly love it and never tire of it.

6. the last TV show you watched: The news is on right now

7. the last news you read about your hometown. Read? As opposed to saw on the TV news? Hmmm ... I guess that would be an email about my congregation's annual fund drive which emphasized our deep ties to our community.

9. the last video you watched on YouTube A documentary about socialite Ann Woodward, aka Mrs. Bang Bang. A court ruled she accidentally shot her husband in their home. No one believed it, though. Ann is going to be front and center again this winter when her saga is featured in this season of FX's Feud.

10. the last thing you bought at the supermarket. Italian sugar cookies.

11. the last time you were on an airplane. LAX-ORD in April.

12. the last long drive in a car. I was stuck in a traffic jam and it took me more than hour to travel less than 10 miles. I didn't handle this well.

13. the last telephone conversation you had. My oldest friend (see post below).

14. the last letter you wrote. For Letters Against Isolation

15. the last concert you attended I think it was Diana Ross in Las Vegas