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.  

1. What are you currently reading? Jane Darrowfield, Professional Busybody by Barbara Ross. This is book #1 in a new series by the author of the popular Maine Clambake Series. The library didn't have #1 in the Maine series, so I snapped this one up instead.

 

Set in Concord, MA, this book introduces us to Jane Darrowfield. She's recently retired from a corporate job with the phone company. She lives alone and has organized/reorganized her home. She traveled to Italy. She was just starting on a garden renovation when she received an intriguing phone call. The Walden Spring retirement community is having morale/social trouble, and Jane has earned a reputation in the community as a diplomat and problem solver. Maybe a staff job would be a nice new career for her. She's surprised when she's asked to move in, because maybe living at Walden Spring would help her get an inside perspective on the social cliques that seem to be at the heart of much of the trouble. She's shocked when a Walden Spring resident is found murdered on the golf course.

 

This book is a fortuitous fit for me at this time of my life. Four of my friends are now retired -- though only one did it on her own timeline and is enjoying the stereotypical golf/sun/travel life and the others have money woes. I know that I'm at my last fulltime job in my chosen profession and I wonder what the future will hold. So I'm enjoying reading about characters that feel more and more like me and my friends than some cozy mystery series.

2. What did you recently finish reading? Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho by Stephen Rebello. As I read this book -- and then rewatched the film, of course -- I realized the much of the power of the movie Psycho is the character of Norman. Yes, he's twitchy and hesitant and weird. And OK, so he commits two murders on camera and it's revealed he likely killed four more people. But he's also handsome, vulnerable and so very damaged. He's the victim of sexual child abuse in a town and at a time when these things weren't discussed at all. Even with the iconic shower scene, I can't help feeling sorry for Norman. He wasn't born bad, he was created by his mother. The real villain of Psycho was dead ten years before the movie opens: Mother is the monster.

 

I learned through this book that the movie iteration of Norman was Hitchcock's idea. The bones of plot, the basic points, were all in the novel Psycho by Robert Bloch. Even the famous shower murder. So the blueprint of how to shock us was there by the time Hitch got his hands on it. But Bloch's Norman was bulky and strong, prematurely balding, alcoholic and addicted to porn. The movie Norman's quirky fragility came from Hitchcock and Anthony Perkins, who threw himself all in. We got a villain who looks and behaves nothing like we expect a villain to look or behave. 

If you're interested in how (great) movies are made, pick up this book. It's a treasure trove.

 

3. What will read next?  Time for a biography.

Stop the steal!

When I worked on then Senator John Kerry's 2004 Presidential election campaign, I was among the volunteers who handled the money. In those long ago days, the contributions came in mostly by mail. I "second checked" the paperwork before we packed up the funds and sent them to the campaign office in Boston. Were the checks made out correctly and signed? Did the name/address on the check match the contribution form? Was the contribution form filled out completely? If something was amiss, the check was returned.

I know. I'm the one who returned the checks. It broke my heart to do because I also worked the phones, soliciting the checks. 

You can imagine how this story about the Trump campaign disgusts me. 

Read the full article here

 

Beginning last summer -- when the nation was in the midst of a pandemic and many were struggling financially -- the Trump campaign sent supporters emails with pre-checked boxes, authorizing recurring donations.

Donors were unwittingly making monthly campaign contributions, with funds automatically coming from their credit/debit card accounts.

"According to the Times, several banks and one of the nation's larger credit-card companies confirmed that, at one point late in 2020, these cases accounted for up to 3% of all fraud complaints received."

Donald Trump's campaign ripped off its own supporters, and had to be forced to refund the money.

The former President reminds me of Texas Guinan. During Prohibition, she greeted nightclub patrons with, "Hello, Suckers! Come on in and leave your wallet on the bar." They loved her audacity and kept coming back to her place to party.

The movies can't change, so I must have

I have been having my own little film festival, going through my DVR before I lose all the movies I've collected over the years. This weekend I watched Three Days of the Condor.

I used to love this movie. First when I saw it at the theater when I was still in high school, then in repeated viewings -- Blockbuster rental, cable and now, finally, DVR. I recalled it as suspenseful and fast moving, with a little romance thrown in.

This weekend, I thought superficial and not especially engaging.

How can that be? I adore circa 1970s Robert Redford! Sydney Pollack is one of my favorite directors! I always thought they did their best work together. And yet this weekend, I was all "eh."

And interestingly, Faye Dunaway -- an actress I usually dismiss as pretentious* -- struck me as warm and funny.

Go figure.

*Except as Bonnie. I loved her in Bonnie and Clyde.

Celebrate spring

 First pitch @ 1:20 PM.

Sunday Stealing

Etsy: Does the Bride Really Know the Groom? 

This is an Etsy bridal shower game.

 

1. What’s your favorite kind of cake? Chocolate (which is my answer for most sweets-related questions).

2. What’s your favorite cocktail? It changes. This past week has been unseasonably cool here in Chicagoland and I thoroughly enjoyed warming up with a mug of spiked hot chocolate. The rum gave it a nice kick. Once spring starts feeling more like spring, and vaccinations enable me to go out with friends, I predict I'll switch to Negroni.

3. If you are alone for the evening, what do you fix yourself for dinner? I'm always alone for dinner. Especially because of covid. (You can't stop taking it seriously, just because you're bored with it.) Anyway, I usually make myself a main dish of some sort of protein (last week it's been chicken) and then I mix up the sides so I don't get bored: mashed potatoes, corn, peas, salad ...

4. What make was your first car? A Chevy Impala. It was a seriously big boat of a car.

 
5. What is your height? I always say 5'2, but to be honest, I haven't been measured in decades. I think I'm lying and I'm closer to 5'.

6. What was your least favorite toy as a child? I don't recall anything specific, but I did find jigsaw puzzles to be a disappointment as a gift.

7. What’s your favorite cartoon character? Mr. Peabody (and his boy Sherman, of course).

Every dog should have a boy

 
8. What’s your dream car? One that comes with a chauffeur.

9. What’s your favorite pizza topping? Sausage.

10. What’s your favorite sports team? I love any excuse to post a photo of my all-time favorite-most Cub, Anthony Rizzo.

11. What’s your favorite TV show? This Is Us.

 
12. What is your favorite ice cream? Mint chocolate chip.

13. What is your favorite song? All My Loving by the Beatles. The sweetest, most romantic song sung by The Cute One. The guitars sound very rough and jangly on this, but I'm so impressed by their harmonies. Remember, at the height of Beatlemania, they couldn't hear one another well over the screaming girls. Nicely done, Lads, nicely done.

 
14. What’s your least favorite chore? Picking up after myself.

15. What was your first job? Babysitting

 

 

She's sad and lonely, but she doesn't have to be!

I spoke to my friend Kathy last night, and it made me sad to hear her so sad. She's 73 and has had Shot #1. She's still self-isolating until two weeks after she receives Shot #2, which will put her into May. Of course this is wise, but it's getting to her. Kathy has had cognitive issues for a while, and the pandemic is especially difficult for her peace of mind.

For example, she told me how she misses her 55-year-old daughter, who relocated to Colorado. But, she said, she's glad that her daughter got out of "MAGA Country" (Illinois) to fulfill her dream of teaching Pilates and working part-time in a health food store.

What the ever-loving fuck? Illinois is MAGA Country? With a Democratic governor and two Democratic Senators? And there are three Pilates studios right here in my neighborhood! I pointed this out to Kathy, who was dismissive. She lives in DeKalb now, a college town 65 miles outside of Chicago, and she insists it's filled with "Trumpers." She says this makes her feel lonely.

DeKalb is NOT filled with "Trumpers." Kathy's adult grandchildren are anti-vax Trumpers and this makes her sad, but they do not represent her adopted hometown. It's the home of Northern Illinois University. There's an academic community and tons of students, two groups not usually found under MAGA caps. I pointed this out to her, too. She clucked. 

She is sad and lonely and skeptical of her neighbors, but she shouldn't be! She shouldn't judge everyone in town by her adult grandchildren, though her adult grandchildren are the only ones she has consistent contact with. (Minimal physical contact, since they refuse to mask so she doesn't let them in her home. They talk on the phone regularly, though, and the kids are very good about helping her with her shopping.)

I recommended that, after she gets her second shot, she join a book or movie group through her library. Or maybe find someone to go on walks with her (she enjoys hiking around town and through the forest preserve). She doesn't want to spoil a nice sunny day listening to someone claim Trump was robbed.

Of course she doesn't. We're all tired of The Big Lie. But she likely wouldn't find a person like that! I sent her these screen grabs this morning. The first one is the final 2020 vote tally for the State of Illinois, the second for her new home.

 

 

This may sound corny, but it's Easter weekend and I especially want to be compassionate and helpful. I want to help Kathy with her feelings of isolation and "otherness." But I can't convince her that she's doing this to herself! That's she's judging a community of 45,000 by the four young people she talks to most often, her adult grandchildren.

But I can't reach her, and it makes me sad. I wish she believed in God. Maybe a nice, progressive worship community could succeed where I'm failing.

Saturday 9

Saturday 9: Here Comes Peter Cottontail (from the archives)

1) Which do you prefer: colored hard-boiled eggs, chocolate marshmallow eggs, or plastic eggs with coins inside? Colored hard-boiled eggs. It once would have been plastic eggs with coins inside, if the coins were quarters, because I need them for laundry. But as a member of the condo board, I now in charge of collecting the quarters from the washers/dryers and taking them to the bank. I'm swimming in quarters now!

2) What's your favorite color of Peeps (yellow, purple, or pink)? Yellow. Though I must admit I don't really like Peeps and haven't eaten one in ... could it be? ... a decade.

I enjoy Peep-inspired art

3) All this talk of sweets is making Sam hungry. What's for lunch? Saturday I'll be having leftover barbecue chicken. I'm going to the dentist Saturday AM and, if he can repair my tooth himself and doesn't send me to the oral surgeon, I may not be in the mood for anything more. Sunday is Easter, and Easter means ham.

4) This song was introduced by country singer Gene Autry and it's still a favorite. Please share some of the lyrics. (And you're on your own; Sam didn't include a link to the song this week.) "Here comes Peter Cottontail, hopping down the bunny trail. Hippity-hoppity Easter's on its way."

5) Gene Autry was so popular that a town in Oklahoma named itself for him. Have you ever been to Oklahoma? Nope.

6) He and his horse Champion also had a TV show. Can you name another famous horse? Velvet's beloved horse, The Pie.

7) Gene Autry also recorded "Rudolph, The Red Nosed Reindeer," and it was, of course, wildly popular, too. Who is your favorite recording artist? The Beatles. Always and forever.

8) In 1950, the year Autry recorded this song, Diner's Club issued the first credit card. Think of the last thing you purchased. Did you use cash, a credit card, a debit card, an e-wallet service (Visa Checkout, Paypal, Google Pay, Apple Pay ...) or a check? Cash.

9) Easter is recognized as the start of the spring season. What are you looking forward to this spring? The crack of the bat. Especially Anthony Rizzo's bat. He's my all-time favorite-most Cub. It looks like this could be his last season here, and I want to treasure every moment.

 

 

A beautiful sight!

Chicago Sun-Times

Yesterday, for the first time in a year, fans re-entered The Friendly Confines of Wrigley Field! As you can see from the gloved gentleman at right, it was cold on Opening Day. (It's always cold on Opening Day.) The wind chill was in the upper 20ºs.

But that really doesn't matter, because baseball is back and the Cubs are home. With the Biden Administration's welcome emphasis on masks and vaccinations, I may even be emboldened to go to a game this year. How I missed the bricks and ivy last year!

Anthony Rizzo got a double with his first at bat and brought a runner home later in the game. He also participated in a rather balletic play at first. The game didn't end as I would have wanted, but still, it was baseball! 

Cubs President Jed Hoyer told reporters that he is "very optimistic" that he and Rizz will come to terms on a contract extension. (See post below.) This is huge. I cannot accept that I just saw my all-time favorite-most Cub take the field for his last Opening Day in Cubbie blue.

Not. Happy.

All spring, Anthony Rizzo has said he was confident he and the Cubs would reach an agreement on his contract. He has always said he wants to be a Cub for life, that he wants to come back after he retires to toss out the first pitch at a next-gen World Series game, that he dreams of seeing his #44 retired and flying over Wrigley Field as a pennant. 

He cannot be traded after this June. YEA! But if the Cubs don't extend his contract, he'll be gone when the 2022 season starts. He'll negotiate with another team and play first base in another city. He'll end his career wearing a color other than Cubbie blue. 

THIS IS FUCKING UNACCEPTABLE.

 All is not lost. Rizz has said that while he is no longer involved in contract talks, he has empowered his agent to continue negotiating. He just doesn't want to be distracted by money as he enters what could be his final year as a Cub.

NO. NO. NO.

I am bereft.

 

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.  

1. What are you currently reading? Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho by Stephen Rebello. Psycho has always fascinated me. It's a beautiful film about a repulsive subject. It's made with more craft and care than any other "thriller" or "horror" film, but it doesn't back away from its subject matter: murder, incest and necrophilia. Will, the moderator of our classic movie group, always says Hitchcock's genius is infusing every day situations with danger. What's scarier than Psycho's shower scene, where we're all reminded how vulnerable we are every damn day? But I think it's more than that. Hitch is perverse, and he suavely seduces us to join him in his twisty worldview. I think Psycho is the ultimate example of this.

Rebello admires Psycho, too. This book reports how the classic was made without much editorializing. It's about how the material was turned into a movie, without re-reviewing or analyzing it. I'm so glad. I'm enjoying the journey as rather top-line newspaper reports about the Ed Gein case became Robert Bloch's novel became Hitchcock's masterpiece.

2. What did you recently finish reading? The Hating Game by Sally Thorne. Oh, this book! I liked it, but I wanted to love it. It's about Lucy and Josh, two highly effective executive assistants who are stuck sharing an office. They become competitors who can't resist pushing one another's buttons and their rivalry festers into obsession and then slowly blossoms into lust, love and genuine friendship. 

 

I've had workplace romances and appreciate how delicious and dangerous this situation can be. I liked these characters. I cared about what happened to them. And that's why I got frustrated with the book. There is so much foreplay I actually got bored. I didn't think that was possible, but after a while I no longer cared about who bit whose lip. Maybe it's because I personally prefer tongues to teeth, but It felt less like romance than a how-to manual.

But the bare bones of this story is very good -- poignant, realistic and involving. In addition to the romance, there are some nice moments between Lucy and her mentor-boss. I just wish a good editor had taken a blue pen to it.

3. What will read next?  Something frothy. I'm enjoying the Psycho book very much, but Psycho is well ... more than a little dark!

2,160

I helped set a new record yesterday! I got my first Pfizer yesterday, along with 2,159 other Cook County residents. 2,160! Woo woo! By contrast, the community college makes 540 appointments every day, so 2,160 vaccinations is quite an accomplishment.

Unfortunately, it took 3 hours.

The problem wasn't with the County or the National Guard. Troops converted an empty Kmart store into a vaccination center and then handled crowd control and registration. They did everything except put needles in arms, and they did it all with kindness and grace. 

The problem was with us. 20,000 appointments (almost 10 days worth) came available on Sunday at noon. People had to wait so long to book an appointment that they clicked "yes" to whatever time came up ... whether they could get off work or not. Then everyone showed up at lunchtime.

Uh-oh.

No one with an appointment* will be turned away. After all, the goal is to get as many shots into as many arms as possible. So I understand it. I get all of it.

I am part of history. I'm taking it all in. This is, hopefully, a once-in-a-lifetime experience and I want to learn from it.

 

*In Illinois, you must be in an approved group to get an appointment. I'm 1b -- under 65, but with an underlying condition.

Sunday Stealing

 Cooking

1.  How often do you make food and eat it? I eat every day. It's a family tradition. I come from a long line of people who regularly consume food. Anyway, I suspect the question is asking how often I prepare a meal for myself and then sit down to enjoy it. Answer: more now with the pandemic. I cook for myself most weekdays now. I have made a point of ordering out twice/week to support local businesses. (And because I'm a terrible cook.)

2.  Do you consider toasting bread, preparing instant noodles, or boiling an egg to be cooking? Why or why not? Yes. Because by doing it, I enhance the food and make it palatable.

3.  What’s your favorite dish to make? Tossing a salmon filet on my George Foreman grill and letting it cook while I decide which veggie I'm going to have. It's such an easy way to eat well.

4.  Cooking or baking: what’s more fun? What’s more difficult? I used to enjoy baking. I don't anymore. I have never liked cooking. If I could afford it, I'd eat out all the time.
 

5.  Who did most of the cooking in your house when you were growing up? My mom. The only time my dad had anything to do with what we ate was when he got the grill out of the garage, about twice every summer. As I recall, preparing the hotdogs (for us) and steaks (for him and my mom) was anticlimactic. He liked playing with the charcoal and the lighter fluid.

My dad's grill was more work than mine.

6. How have you learned the cooking skills that you have? Girl Scouts. I'm amazed by how much I remember from those long, long ago days. Also, I read the packaging. Oh! I learned how to marinate my pork chops by Googling, "How do I marinate my pork chops?"

7. Have you ever taken a cooking course? If so, what did you learn? If not, would you like to do one? What would you like to learn? I have no interest. Sorry.

8. Have you tried cooking food from another culture? What did you prepare? How was it? I feel daring when I order something new off the menu. I'm not one to try preparing foreign foods. Also, I have a very sensitive gut, so I have to be careful. Which is a long way of saying, "No, I've never tried it."

9. Is it cost-effective to do your own cooking? Can you save money by cooking? Yes.

10. Would you rather do the cooking or do the washing up afterwards? I actually enjoyed the time I spent with my Nice Grandma (dad's mom), cleaning up after a family meal. We had some nice conversations while I washed and she wiped. Now my Icky Grandma (mom's mom), she was pretty dreadful to be around all the time, including in the kitchen, so I have no such happy memories with her. At my own house, I wait until I have a sinkful of dishes and then I do them at once.
 

11.  Do you use recipes to cook? If so, where do you get the best recipes? Do you get them from friends, family, online, or from cookbooks? I do have a cookbook. I got it second hand, years ago, at the library book sale. I haven't opened it yet, though. I'm going to learn how to cook though. I am. When I was newly out on my own, I lived on spaghetti to save money. I figure when I retire, I'll have to economize again so I'll cook.
 

12.  Have you ever tried to prepare some food and just totally ruined it? What happened? I did mess up a cookie recipe -- the world's easiest cookie recipe -- because the holes I made for the preserves were too deep and they seeped through the cookie dough and scorched the bottoms. I was sad.

13. Do you prefer cooking at home or eating out at a restaurant? Why? I prefer dining in restaurants because I can change my mind about what I'll have at the last moment, it will be prepared better than I ever could, and I don't have to clean up. 

Here's a little Presidential trivia for you: JFK hated eating out, whether at a restaurant or at a friend's home. A millionaire's son, he grew up having a family chef who knew how to prepare meals that wouldn't upset his irritable bowel syndrome. When he was a Senator and then President, he felt lucky to have a wife who was known as a hostess so friends and associates thought it was great to be invited over. He used Jackie to great advantage and, except for campaign or diplomatic functions, he always ate at home. (He never cared much for presentation, though. Left to his own devices, he'd take every meal from a tray.)

14. Is cooking a social activity for you? Do you like to do it with other people, or do your prefer to do it alone? I don't like to do it at all.

15. Do you have a lot of cooking equipment? How often do you use it all? Do you have any pieces of equipment that you rarely ever use? I have a set of pots and pans and there are many I haven't ever used.

 

Saturday 9

Saturday 9: Fooled by a Feeling (1979)

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.
Chosen because next week is April Fool's Day.

1) Some believe that the practice of playing tricks on one another on April 1 dates back to the 14th century because it's mentioned in Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales. Geoffrey Chaucer is considered one of England's greatest poets. From memory, quote a bit of poetry for us. (It doesn't have to be English, or great.) Poems are made by fools like me, but only God can make a tree.

2) When Crazy Sam was a little girl, her mother would prank her on April Fool's Day by slipping a rubber worm or plastic spider in her lunch box. Did you/do you carry a lunchbox, either as a student or an adult? Not a lunch box. But I collect sturdy handled paper bags (like you get from the card shop, stationery store, gift shop, optometrist ...) to take my lunch to the office.  After a year of working from home and eating lunch at home, I've accumulated quite a collection!

3) In 1998, Burger King got into the April Fool's Day fun by promoting a special "Left Handed Whopper," supposedly perfectly designed for a leftie to hold. Describe your perfect burger. Medium well on a sesame seed bun. Cheese, ketchup and lettuce but no tomato. Pickle on the side. I also like Big Macs because of the special sauce.

4) In this week's song, Barbara Mandrell sings that she followed her heart into her lover's arms. Are you more often led by your heart or head? Heart, most definitely.

5) She knows now she was wrong for believing her man loved her. When did you recently admit you were wrong? Talking old movies with my friend Will, I maintained Ann Sheridan wasn't in The Man Who Came to Dinner. I swear I don't recall her at all. Turns out she had a very big role. Call me Wrongy McWrongerson.

She was even billed before the Man of the title

  

6) Barbara Mandrell recalls being able to read music before she could read words. Can you read sheet music? Nope.

7) Barbara had her own TV variety show in the 1980s and, in the 90s, acted on the daytime drama, Sunset Beach. The soap opera's producer, Aaron Spelling, was a huge fan of Barbara's and was thrilled to finally meet and work with her. Tell us about someone you really enjoyed working with, and why. My boss, Aaron, is great. He's more into being a leader than a supervisor. He makes me feel as though his first priority is getting me what I need to do my best.

8) In 1979, when this song was released, a top-of-the-line Sony Walkman sold for $150 (approx. $500 in today's dollars). Did you have a portable cassette player back in the day? Yes, and I listened to Barbara Mandrell sing this and "Crackers" ("You can eat crackers in my bed any time ...") through my Walkman headphones.

9) Random question: What's the first thing you thought of when you woke up this morning? "I have to pee." Inelegant, yes, but true.

 

Glory amid the gripes

I've felt tired, unsettled and "off" all week. I think a lot of it has to do with the last week's work marathon. It was hard for me to handle a complex project in a truncated timeline in the isolation of home. Oh well, I've learned a lot about myself during covid, and one thing is that I'm not the complete loner I thought I was. I need the discipline and inspiration that comes from being with others.

I also think I eat way too much sugar and don't move anywhere near enough. This is not good for me. (Duh.) Two mass shootings in two weeks didn't help. Nor did the rollbacks of voting laws. So it's unAmerican to let citizens vote but completely American to let them buy AK47s. I feel bruised by how broken "the other guy" left this country and I worry about how long it will take President Biden to bring us back together.

Anyway, by Wednesday the Project from Hell* was with the client for review. I was trying to get back to some kind of schedule/normalcy and that included eating out of my refrigerator instead of carry out. I saw that there were staples I'd run out of (yogurt, hot dog buns) and decided to stop at the store after picking up my new glasses. As I trotted through the vestibule, I noticed a lot of packages had been delivered. But since I hadn't ordered anything, I didn't pay them any mind.

Upon my return, armed with my new glasses and my hot dog buns and my Chobani, I glanced at the packages again while waiting for the elevator. I mean, there's not much else to look at while waiting for the elevator. Anyway, a long florist box was addressed to me.

ME! SOMEBODY SENT ME FLOWERS!

They were from Snarkypants. My Snarkela. She had a feeling that I needed a lift and, since Snarky is a woman who always heeds those feelings, she sent me this big, beautiful alstroemeria bouquet.  

Three of us live here, and it's a tossup as to who was most excited when the flowers first entered our home. Reynaldo thought he'd just discovered the most colorful kitty salad bar ever. Connie was enthralled by having a shallow, narrow box to call her own. And I was doing my Grateful Dead twirl dance, "Snarky sent me flowers."

Don't worry, the flowers are now safe in my den

It's her new throne, and it's wonderful

I hope I can pay Snarky's kindness forward. I want to come through for someone when they need a lift, like she did for me. It was glorious.

 

*April edition. Unfortunately, the client seems happy with my work and may be back for more next month. They are based in Houston, which has been through an awful lot lately and left many of the executives without wifi and consequently cut days out of the March/April timeline. I am hopeful that May will be better. Fingers crossed.

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.  

 

1. What are you currently reading? The Hating Game by Sally Thorne. I chose this one for its workplace setting. It appears my working-from-home days may finally be winding to an end, and I want to get my mind back into things like commuting, skyscrapers, a shared refrigerator in the coffee room and wearing something other than sweats and Crocs every day (don't judge me). 

Lucy and Joshua are two highly effective executive assistants who are stuck sharing an office. They become competitors who can't resist pushing one another's buttons and their rivalry festers into obsession. (I enjoy when Lucy changes her passwords, currently it's IHATEJOSHUA4EV@.) Of course they're going to fall in love. If that's a spoiler for you, you've never picked up a volume of chick-lit. But the fun will be seeing how author Thorne gets us there. And I am having fun so far.

2. What did you recently finish reading? The Adventures of Ellery Queen by Ellery Queen. Ellery Queen is a famous and influential character in the mystery genre. For example, Richard Levinson and William Link were acolytes who went on to create Columbo and Murder, She Wrote. That's why I've been itching to read some of these stories, and now I finally have. 

 

The fictional Ellery is the Harvard-educated son of Inspector Richard Queen, NYPD, Ellery believes that crimes can be solved using deductive reasoning, and he often puts his estimable intellect to work to help his dad catch killers. 

 

The stories are brain teasers, reminiscent of the cases that confronted Hercule Poirot and Nero Wolfe. While the pair of writers who collaborated on the Queen stories were good at crafting mysteries, I simply didn't find the writing as engaging as those other series.  

 

They simply haven't aged well. The newest stories here are from 1941, which means that the contents of this book are at least 80 years old. I don't mind that the characters didn't have TV or cell phones, or even the way Ellery practically fetishizes cigarette smoking. That kind of thing doesn't bother me. (As I say, I've read a lot of Agatha Christie and Rex Stout.) But Ellery is written as an effete snob  who looks down his nose at women -- always defined by their physical attributes -- blacks and Hispanics. Also, as an animal lover, two of the stories had plot points that made me terribly sad.

Which is all my very long winded way of saying, "OK, so I tried Ellery Queen. I won't be back."

3. What will read next?  Time for non-fiction.

That was interesting

Last week at this time, I was drowning. I had five client blog posts to write in four business days. Specific, detailed posts on a topic I know nothing about: car maintenance. 

I'm supposed to make them "friendly and conversational," yet to accommodate SEO* I have to incorporate phrases that make me sound like Borat.

I had 20 workday hours to do a task that is alotted 40 hours on our scope of business. This left me working into the wee small hours every night. I had my meals and groceries delivered,† only going outside to take out the trash. 

I woke up Monday morning freaking exhausted.

Satisfied, too, maybe even a little proud of what I'd accomplished with the resources I'd been given.

And reflective. There was a time in my career where I ate stress for breakfast. I loved being the "go-to girl." I always had capacity for more work. My friend Henry used to remind me of those long-ago days (20 years maybe?) before cell phones where he caught me checking my work voicemail from a payphone on a Key West pier on New Year's Eve day.

I'm 63 now and looking at the finish line. I admit I won't miss not being asked to do the impossible (I billed 50 hours but remember, I had 20 workday hours). But I do wonder what will give me that same feeling of satisfaction after I retire. I'm curious about my next chapter.

I only have enough saved to live six years without money coming in. Maybe seven, because I haven't included Social Security in my calculations. When covid is behind us, and I see the local economical landscape, I'll have to get a part-time job doing ... something. Will it be fulfilling? 

Oh well, gotta go. Another project on my plate and I have to get organized!

*Search Engine Optimization comes from words people like us type into Google. Using the exact phrases used in Google will make it easier for consumers to find my client's posts. Unfortunately, today most of us are searching on phones, keystroking with our thumbs, and do not use perfect grammar. Or any grammar. (Example: "Reasons windshield cracked." Go ahead. Use that exact phrase in a friendly, conversational sentence.)

†Thank goodness for the $30 Uber Eats credit I got ... somehow. And I was happy to fill my kitchen from the independent grocer on the other side of town and have them deliver. They don't have everything I like and the bill was more than 20% higher than if I'd shopped at one of the nearby chains. But here's the thing: this grocer is fighting for his life, and he's part of this community. He supports the local food pantry in a big way. I can't afford to shop there every week but I can do it every month and it makes me happy to do it.

Saturday 9

ORDINARY PEOPLE (2005)

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

1) In this song, John Legend sings that both he and his girl have "room to grow." What about you? In what areas would you like to improve? I procrastinate. For example, why am I writing this blog post now, when I have so much work to do? I have a Monday deadline, will be working all weekend, and here I am, listening to John Legend and sharing my thoughts on a completely unrelated topic. Silly, Gal. What do you bet that by Sunday night I wish I had this time back and was able to redirect it to my project?

2) He sings that when he hangs up in anger, she calls him back. Are you quicker to anger, or quicker to forgive? I do both pretty fast. But while I am quick to forgive, I seldom forget.

3) "Ordinary People" was John Legend's first big hit. He originally wrote it for The Black Eyed Peas, but -- happily for him -- recorded it himself. Have you ever purchased a gift for someone else but then decided to keep it yourself? Yes. More than once I bought earrings for my niece and then when I got them home, decided they were mine.

 

4) Ordinary People is also the title of an acclaimed novel by Judith Guest and an Oscar-winning film. Are you familiar with either the movie or the book? Familiar with them both, recommend them both, love them both. Since it's Oscar season ... there's a popular debate among movie lovers: how could the 1980 Best Picture Award have gone to Ordinary People instead of the more ambitious Raging Bull? Well, I've never been a boxer, but I was once an unhappy teenager growing up in a complicated family in a Chicago suburb, and I assure you: Ordinary People is a great film.

 

5) John is married to Chrissy Teigen, who gained fame as a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model. When is the last time you dove in? Were you in a pool, lake, river or sea? Answering this question makes me realize I never swam in 2020. I think that's the first year of my entire life I can say that! I bet even as a baby my mom held me as I splashed in the lake we always went to. ANYWAY, to answer to the question, I'm sure it was Christmastime, 2019, in a pool in Key West.

6) John unexpectedly proposed to Chrissy on vacation, but he was afraid airport security would ruin the surprise when they went through his carry on very thoroughly. He worried she would see the ring box and he'd have to drop down to one knee right there at the airport! Tell us about one of your flights: your first, your most recent or your most memorable. My first flight was ORD to FLL. I was 16. My uncle had moved to Fort Lauderdale, and invited me and my cousin (his daughter) to visit. My cousin was only 13 but had already flown often. Anyway, I remember boarding the plane slowly, hesitantly, with the handle of tennis racket in the small of my back. It was her way of saying, "Stay steady, Gal."

7) John is currently a coach on The Voice. The other coaches are Nick Jonas, Kelly Clarkson and Blake Shelton. Of those four singers, which is your favorite? Kelly! I haven't seen her daytime talk show. Does she open by singing instead of telling jokes?

The Roosevelt's rooftop is very cool

8) In 2005, when this song was popular, Johnny Carson died. After he retired from The Tonight Show in 1993, he traveled extensively and discovered he especially enjoyed photographic safaris in Africa. If time and money were no object, where would you go on vacation? I hope there's a 2022 TCM Film Festival. I'd fly to Hollywood first class, arriving several days early. I'd get in a limo and arrive at the glamorous and venerable Roosevelt and set up camp (a most luxurious camp!). I'd spend the time beforehand sightseeing and catching up with fellow movie fans I met at the 2019 Festival and have kept up with via Facebook. Then I'd love every moment of the four-day fest and stay a few days after. I'd invite my oldest friend, living in the southern California, to visit me and stay in splendor at the Roosevelt. In short, it would be 10 days of living like I want, doing what I want, without any concern for the cost.

 

9) Random question -- In your typical day, what's the longest you usually go without saying a word to another person: all day, a few hours, an hour, or five minutes? I'm pretty blabby, so under normal circumstances I'd say "an hour." But with covid and work from home, I've probably gone all day without speaking to another person. 

 

WWW.WEDNESDAY

Rita Hayworth feeling bookish

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

 

1. What are you currently reading? The Adventures of Ellery Queen by Ellery Queen. The Harvard-educated son of Inspector Richard Queen, NYPD, Ellery believes that crimes can be solved using deductive reasoning, and he often puts his estimable intellect to work to help his dad catch killers. 

Ellery Queen never really existed. He was the brainchild of a collaboration between two writers. I've always wanted to give this series a shot, and finally, here I am!

This series of short stories is from the 1941. 80 years ago! It's a product of its time, so it is not remotely PC. I admit I've winced more than once at the racial and sexual stereotypes. But since I've read most of the Rex Stout/Nero Wolfe books of the same vintage, I didn't expect to wince this often.

 

Once I get past that, though, I am enjoying the stories. I wonder if the dynamic between the rough hewn, old-school cop and his erudite son influenced TV's Frasier and his father, Martin.

2. What did you recently finish reading? The Way It Was: My Life with Frank Sinatra by Eliot Weisman and Jennifer Valoppi. If the title hadn't already been used by James Goldman, this could be called The Lion in Winter. It's about Sinatra during the last 20 years of his life as remembered by his last manager, and the executor of his will. Sinatra's decline was inexorable and sad, but he faced it with as much dignity and courage as he could muster. 

Death didn't scare Sinatra. There are stories of him flying coolly through storms and remaining calm even after an engine failed. But he did fear no longer being "Frank Sinatra," not being able to inhabit that larger-than-life persona. So the moments when he realized he was losing it are heart wrenching. But universal. Time is a tremendous equalizer, and not even The Chairman of the Board can beat it.

 

As moving as those passages were, I didn't enjoy this book. It's not a biography, it's Weisman's memoir, and I found him to be petty and vindictive. His snarky asides about Tina Sinatra and Liza Minnelli turned me off because they were more about settling scores than advancing the story. However, I did thoroughly enjoy his pages-long takedown of Donald Trump. Sinatra loathed him, and with good reason. If Trump's unscrupulous dealings with Sinatra are any indication of how he typically ran his business, it's no wonder the SDNY is scrutinizing his finances.

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

Ten Things Tuesday

 Stolen from Kwizgiver

1. A song that makes you feel cool. Good as Hell by Lizzo

2. A song that you can relate to.  In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning by Sinatra

3. The last song that was stuck in your head. Badlands by Bruce

 

4.  Your favorite song from a musical.  Get Happy by Judy

 

5. Your favorite song from the 70s. Band on the Run by Wings

 

6. Your least favorite song from a band you like.  Mr. Moonlight by The Beatles

 

7. A song you think is underrated.  Teacher, I Need You by Elton

 

8. An album you think is underrated. The Funny Lady Soundtrack (not the movie; the movie sucks)

 

9.  A song you never want to hear again. See #6. Really, I hate everything about it. Even John's organ playing.

10. A song you love but used to hate. Yes It Is by The Beatles (I now appreciate how John sings, "But it's my pride, yes it is!")