"The thing that is really hard, and really amazing, is giving up on being perfect and beginning the work of becoming yourself." - Anna Quindlen, writer. What is that saying?, "To err is human...". Unique and special that is how we all are, so make the best of today - everyday!
I got a hold of Mephisto Club shortly after reading Vanish by Tess Gerritsen. Excellent, first rate and fantastic murder mysteries from government espionage exploits all the way to the history of religion and artifacts. What an outstanding series it was to read and now I am having withdrawals until she writes a new one.
So I moved along to Savannah Breeze by Mary Kay Andrews which was a silly, breezy look into Bebe's identity and money being stolen. Nothing the cops could do so Bebe, Weezie, Harry and Granddaddy go to Florida to pull a sting of their own. This was a very enjoyable book to read plus some really laugh out loud moments. But what I really want to do now is go junking, just to have fun decorating my own house and find a cool place on the beach to spend a vacation such as the Breezy Inn.
I grabbed next in the pile to read The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, a MSNBC writer. This is a true story on how Jeannette and her siblings overcame her childhood with parents who wished to be nomads. It wasn't hard to see that drinking was the downfall for the Father who also had a tough childhood. The Mother's Mom pushed her into a career as a school teacher when she clearly wanted to be an artist. So Mom liked just fluttering around as an artist and letting her children be to discover themselves on their own. Very few rules did she have for her children. For the the first few years on the West coast they didn't attend regular school but by the age of five they all could read books. Mom and Dad were smart but lacked the ambition to keep a job and maintain a normal society lifestyle. Dad always thought the government was after him or at the very least the Gestapo.
As a mother, it was unbelievable horror to read as the child was burned at the age of three while cooking her own hot dogs because Mom was too busy painting in the next room to feed her. This was the beginning of chapter two and it got worse. Many times I wondered how these kids were able to escape as I turned each page where another eye opener, shocker was waiting for me to read. As I read the book though, it was not a story where Jeannette was angry with her parents but clearly in a search to gather, understand and remember the good times that they did have as a family. A tribute to her Dad because she was his favorite child. They spent a lot of family time together during the West coast years and after moving to the East Coast, her Dad's hometown, well these were the moments where the family unit changed. Despair and hungry were the main words of everyday living, but Jeannette was the sibling in the family that kept it all going even when it looked bad. The triumphs were small but grand! A must read, for a compelling story of love and acceptance. Reality is sometimes scary and often success stories have such beginnings.
"Personality can open the doors, but only character can keep them open."-Elmer G. Leterman, Business executive. Again, I will mention we are all unique and very talented individuals so make the most of everyday! Head to the library to find a new book, read to a child or read to someone in the nursing home. The dust and cobwebs can stay one more day...really they can. "There is no mistaking a real book when one meets it. It is like falling in love."-Christopher Morley (1890-1957). Look for the coziest corner, grab a blanket, a cup of something warm to drink and a lovely book to relax the mind, because that is what I am going to do sometime today.
