First Mark Texiera. Then Michael Phelps. What do they have in common you might ask? They worked their whole lives toward a goal of greatness. They reached the pinnacle of their careers. They’re in their thirties. And now it’s over. Five Gold Gloves. A gazillion gold medals. And now a figurative gold watch.
NOTHING’S PERFECT
I’m not into perfect. I kind of like imperfections. Quirks. Anomalies. They’re what make people, places and things interesting. Perfect, by definition, means no flaws. That’s good for diamonds and concrete floors and steel structures, but even the most universally admired paintings have an errant brushstroke here and there.
TO SELFIE OR NOT TO SELFIE
That is the question. Selfies. Those pictures we take of ourselves with our smartphones doing just about everything. And I mean everything. They’re those pictures we share with the world in the belief that the world is actually interested in seeing us posing in front of a mirror, eating, drinking, cheering at a game, dancing at a party, laughing, crying, working out, lying down, all dolled up, buck naked.
OMG ETC
OMG! When did life get so abbreviated? Nothing is spelled out anymore. Instead of “gee that’s funny” it’s LOL. Or LMAO. Instead of a reasonable explanation as to why a friend is planning to go cliff diving, the response is YOLO. ORLY? Even serious diseases have been encoded. Ads for pharmaceuticals assume we know what those initials stand for. COPD. IBS. RA. Hopefully I don’t have whatever condition they’re talking about, because if I do IDK what to ask for!
TV OR NOT TV. THAT IS THE QUESTION.
I love TV! That may be a surprise coming from an author. Isn’t TV supposed to be the anti-book? The reason people don’t read anymore? The source of circulation drops in newspapers? The death of magazines? Isn’t TV luring our minds away from more intellectual pursuits? Isn’t it the electronic Circe singularly responsible for the dumbing down of America?
I DON’T MUCH LOVE LUNCH
Lunch doesn’t do much for me. As a girlfriend gathering, lunch is fun. As a foodie experience, not so much. Take salads. I am not opposed to greens. I love spinach and arugula.Organic, of course. Ditto for grape tomatoes, mushrooms and cucumbers. To be honest, right now kale is a like not a love. But I’m working on it.
BOOK CLUBS ARE THE BEST!
Obviously, I love books so it probably comes as no surprise that I love book clubs. What could be better than spending an afternoon or an evening sharing opinions about a book with a group of smart, intellectually curious women? I love hearing how different people interpret the same compilation of pages, especially when everyone likes the book. It fascinates me every time to see how a single story can have so many takes. Which characters are likable. Which are not and why not. Which storylines resonate. Which ones fall flat. Whether or not someone was engaged, inspired, revolted, moved.
Why the ruckus about the caucus?
I will admit I don’t know much about “caucusing”. Considering all the wall to wall news coverage about the first electoral test of 2016, and all the hand wringing about turnout and percentages and ground games, I decided to find out why all the ruckus. So, last night, wine glass in hand, I actually watched the coverage of the Iowa caucus. All of it! At first, it looked kind of odd. No voting booths. Paper ballots. No secrets. People milling about in gymnasiums forming clusters that seemed to ebb and flow. It was basically a bunch of neighbors talking about the future of their country. They were passionate enough to come out on a night with a blizzard in the forecast to speak their minds, listen to others do the same and then vote. It was awesome! And really, really impressive.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
2015 is coming to an end and I’m glad because frankly I’ve had enough
of partisan politics
of gun violence
of celebrity selfies
of celebrities demanding privacy and then posting selfies
of malicious gossip in the press
of malicious gossip among friends
GIVING THANKS FOR THANKSGIVING
I love Thanksgiving! I have a Thanksgiving box with a collection of turkeys, pumpkin candles, turkey candles, pilgrim candles, dried corn, gourds, nuts that my mother sprayed gold to scatter about. Every year I put a runner down the center of my table and create my version of a cornucopia. Flowers. Candles. Lady apples. All my little turkeys and pumpkins and other T Day symbols. It’s gorgeous – if I do say so myself.