Grateful that I can

My Christmas shopping is done, and in this post I'm focusing on gifts for people I don't even know.

Harriet. She's 9 years old and either lives in, or attends daycare at, the local children's home. The kids there share their Christmas wishes, which are printed on ornaments hung on the tree at our neighborhood Whole Foods. I chose to deliver on Harriet's wish because while other little girls longed for Barbie, she asked for STEM. Now I was a Barbie girl and would never throw shade, but I admire Harriet for marching to her own drummer. So I got her this rock kit and a $10 Target gift card (because it was noted she also needs a new sweater).

Anthony Rizzo Family Foundation. I read the story of a mom with a couple kids, one of whom was battling cancer. She explained that with between jobs and medical appointments, she and her husband were just spread too thin to provide a Merry Christmas for her family, and she was very grateful when my favorite ballplayer and his charity team stepped in and took over. Already wrapped gifts showed up for both her sick child and his sibling. Another parent reported that, even though they didn't have time to decorate their home, the Rizzo foundation contracted a local hardware store and outdoor lights were purchased and hung, enabling Santa to find their house on Christmas Eve. So when I saw their toy drive and this Nerf football was listed, it seemed quite literally like the least I could do to help. I am grateful that my favorite ballplayer has opened my eyes to the fact that when a child is battling cancer, his brothers and sisters are effected, too. If you're looking for a charity to support, you could do far worse than this one. 

Toys for Tots. Have you noticed that for the last few years, this venerable organization has been asking for books as well? I think that's awesome, and so I dropped a pair of books into the collection box at my local Walgreen's. (This is the only one I remember; the other one had stickers in the back.)

JFK said "God's work must be our own." That seems especially important this time of year. Giving is the best way to honor the spirit of the season, and I'm grateful I can do it.

That's my girl

I love how elegantly, yet unambiguously, JBKO let her guests know that they were both welcome in her home and expected to leave at 8:00 PM. Unless you were one of the lucky few invited in her distinctive hand to stay for supper.

This is likely from the early 1980s. How I would have loved to have celebrated Christmas at 1040! If meeting my idol left me tongue-tied, I'm sure I'd have someone fascinating to talk to. At that point, Jackie was working at Doubleday and enjoyed surrounding herself with authors. She shared her Fifth Avenue apartment with Maurice Tempelsman. In those days, his philanthropic interests were far-reaching, touching upon everything from AIDS research to oceanography. Just imagine the guest list!

I'd leave at 8:00. I couldn't bear it if at supper I dribbled some of Marta's famous raspberry sauce down my expensive new blouse. (And I would, you know.)

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? Wreck the Halls by Tessa Bailey. A lightweight Christmas romance that appeals to the Beatles fangirl in me. It's about a superstar band, Steel Birds, who broke up suddenly and bitterly and left their legion of fans confused and heartbroken. The duo's music is embraced by each subsequent generation and the Steel Birds legend continues to grow. The members -- Trina and Octavia -- steadfastly refuse to perform together, or even speak to one another, ever again.

Thirty years after the band's break-up, a producer tries to reunite Steel Birds at Rockefeller Center on Christmas Eve. Why does she think she will succeed where everyone else has failed? She has enlisted Trina's now 30-year old daughter, Melody, and Octavia's son, Beat, also 30, to try to persuade their famous mothers and to livestream the kids' efforts as a reality show. Of course Melody and Beat are going to have a Christmas romance.

Julian and Sean Lennon. Heather, Mary, Stella, James and Beatrice McCartney. Dhani Harrison. Zak, Jason and Lee Starkey. Yes, I can name the Beatles' progeny without looking it up. Julian and Heather never hooked up, but if they had, the Beatles fanverse would have gone mad.

 
2. What did you recently finish reading? Christmas Presents by Lisa Unger. A very good thriller. Taut and scary. Unger uses the small-town Christmas setting to reinforce that evil can exist anywhere.

When Maddie was still in high school, she endured an attack that left her a scar on her cheek and a deeper one on her soul. After a high-profile trial, which rocked her little hometown, the perpetrator was sentenced and Maddie tried to get on her with her life. She runs an independent bookstore and takes care of her dad, who recently suffered a stroke. She is doing the best she can, but her recovery is fragile.

And it's threatened when a famous podcaster enters her shop. He believes the similar unsolved crimes against other young girls in the area means her attacker didn't act alone, or perhaps there's a copycat out there, so he's reopening the case. 

Every few pages I said to myself, "He did it ... no, he did it! ... no, he did it ..." I wasn't always wrong. One of my guesses did turn out to be correct. But that's only because I suspected just about every male in the book.

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

 

A break from all the ho-ho-ho

Winter hasn't even really kicked in yet and I'm looking forward to spring! Got my hotel room -- I'm staying at the Loews, which is rather high end but right there at the center of everything, so I'll feel safe even after the midnight screenings -- and now I have my pass. 

After the first of year I'll start looking at airfare. Right now ORD-LAX is $561 roundtrip. Frankly that's more than I want to spend. I'm about 6,500 miles short of flying free (darn!). I hate having to fret about the cost of things, but I'm an old lady on a fixed income and that's my new reality. In years gone by, I took at least two vacations a year -- Key West and then some other getaway -- but this will be my only trip in 2025.* 

Facebook is abuzz with my fellow old movie fanatics. We're excited about the films we'll see, and about seeing one another again. 

Baseball and TCMFF! April will deliver two of my favorite things.

*If I do Grand Rapids again next year, I think I'd prefer Amtrak, which would be cheaper than flying.