Whatever Wednesday - The Phoebe Variations by Jane Hamilton

 Browsing new fiction at my local library and this author, Jane Hamilton, jumped out.  Such a good writer. And now her new book, The  Phoebe Variations, proved up to her  standard. 

cover blurb - Seventeen year old Phoebe Hudson was never interested in her birth family. But on the cusp of her high school graduation, her adoptive mother, Greta, insists on a visit to meet her  biological parents and siblings. The encounter is a jolt, a revelation that derails Phoebe. 

Hamilton takes us on Phoebe's journey. She runs away to her  friend Patrick's home - the Asylum. She can blend in with his thirteen siblings. This adolescent rebellion soon spirals into a whirlwind of transformation and self-discovery. 

Phoebe questions everything. Is her friend Luna really looking out  for her? What of Patrick's  brothers? Musical prodigies and they are impressed with Phoebe's piano skills.  As the variations of music calm her, the variations in her life prove to be quite a path of choices. 

I really enjoyed this book. Phoebe is a strong protagonist. She is conflicted at that age and yet growing wiser by the page. The author weaves a musical theme and there are appropriate crescendos.

p. 315  phoebe reflecting back on those days: What I wanted more than anything was for a single composition of his (Bach) to exist past the end of Earth. .... Eventually note by note new creatures would begin to understand that the universal principle, the one true principle for any world, for every world, was inside the music.  

Monday Moments - Zoom zoom

Part 3 for our DFW Car and Toy Museum adventure - Porsche

Ferrari!

Super Cars

Oldies

And throw in  some fancy campers. 

Our feet were tired but our eyes were full after this fun adventure. Thanks for riding along. 
 

Finally Friday - More Rides!

Here's Ray in a very happy place - Race Car Alley of the DFW Car and Toy Museum.  Here's part 2 of our adventures in  our own backyard - i.e. thirty minute drive.  Our visited lasted over two hours and a lot of steps.  We could easily come back and no doubt catch details we missed. 

The museum  owner loves Volkswagen

He has all kinds

Here's a land/water vehicle

Gotta love some super car spiff

zoom zoom and fly away with Pegasus

Go  support local museums!
 

Whatever Wednesday - DFW Toy and Car Museum

A random February Friday, Ray and I set out on an adventure. Over in Fort Worth, TX is the DFW Car and Toy Museum.  It opened in  April 2024 and is quite the experience.  Ron  Sturgeon, a very wealthy man, decided to put his collections on display and let folks see it for free.  It's also an event/party rental place. 

At age seventeen, Ron's father died and left him and his twin brother homeless with absolutely nothing. Ron, always a go-getter, got odd jobs, owned a junk yard that he sold for a ton of money, worked on Volkswagon Beetles (he still has his original 1965 car), and slowly prospered. Today, he gives back to the community in multiple ways and is still wheelin' and dealin'. 

I liked this Rolls Royce

Everyone should have a coffin  car

 And hey - how about a vehicle that was owned by Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead

As you can tell, this was a fun place.  More  to come in the next post. 

Monday Moments - Dave Barry: Class Clown

 I always liked  reading a Dave Barry column. He was proud of being a wise ass and always had a skewed way of looking at the world. This memoir  Dave Barry: Class Clown is quite humorous as he regales us with childhood shenanigans, high school class clown, and then a journalism career in Pennsylvania, which detoured into humor via the Miami Herald. 

He's a member of a literary rock band with Stephen King, et al.   As the son of Midwesterners, he learned a most important lesson: Never take anything too seriously, especially yourself. This laughter filled book is proof that he learned that lesson well. (cover blurb)

It's hard to give an example here of his humor because it's kind of the whole flow of stories he is telling. But his last column began: There comes a time in the life of every writer when he asks himself - as Shakespeare, Tolstoy, and Hemingway all surely asked themselves - if he has any booger jokes left in  him. 

I want  to stop before I join the hordes of people who think I used to be funnier. 

This memoir, Dave at age 77, still has the laughs and self deprecation.  It's worth a look and a chuckle. 

Finally Friday - Remember Game of Thrones?

Remember the Red Wedding episode of Game of Thrones?  Here's some of the setting and costumes. 

The Arlington Museum of Art has a very large show featuring all things GOT.  Costumes, swords, film clips.  It goes deep with each family and kingdom.  If it comes to your town, I recommend visiting the exhibits. 

Not the real Iron Throne, but kinda  cool

 Brutal show, brutal world.  

It was fun to peruse the exhibits and remember.  

Whatever Wednesday - Zosia Mamet's Essays

 It's  challenging growing up in show business. Zosia Mamet's Essays - Does  This Make Me Funny? is  a mixture of  humorous memoir incidents, bittersweet memories, hilarious observations, and some very truthful slightly sad, frankly scary confessions. 

Father - David  Mamet

Mother - Lindsay Crouse

Quite a formidable background, she grew up backstage at theaters as her mother worked. Zosia calls herself a nepo baby lite. Her big break was as Shoshanna on Girls. 

Her essays vary - navigating body issues, plenty of self loathing, wasted days and nights partying in Hollywood.  She writes of her years as a young adult pining for acceptance and love, her first attempts as an actor, what it means to  be a girl in the  world, and how to define yourself amid  the bustle of show business.  (cover blurb)

Zosia is very, very funny. Her story-telling is impeccable. She writes of a world I can't comprehend, and at times it's as if she steps back and says, "now this is bonkers".  Very self deprecating and quite brave.  I knew her name, but wasn't terribly familiar with her work. I may seek it  out to watch. I think she'd be a fun person at a luncheon, and it seems as if she's  in a good  place now - married, older, more  confident, and healthier.  

Thumbs up on  a quick read. I laughed out loud at times.