Book Review - Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger

 1961 Minnesota. Frank is thirteen with a tagalong younger brother, Jake. Older sister, Ariel, dates the rich kid, Karl Brandt, and she's ready to leave for Julliard. In this small town, life is good for the preacher kids until it's not. 

One death - a young boy dies on the train tracks.  2nd death - a homeless man near the river and train trestles. Frank finds him and is drawn into the  mystery. 3rd death -  strikes too close to home and affects the whole town. 

Meanwhile, Frank is dancing between being a kid and growing up. He's observing his father's calm ways. He  sees his mother's restlessness. And where does Ariel sneak off to in the middle of the night? 

William Kent Krueger's Ordinary Grace is an unforgettable novel about discovering the terrible price of wisdom and the enduring grace of God. (cover blurb)

I found this book  to be a calm folksy read with strong  characters that I cared about. 

Meanwhile,  the opposite of calm is Las Vegas.   We had a helicopter flight over  the Strip and that was a Wow. Only ten minutes, but the glow of the lights  is extraordinary.  Then  after landing, we went to  the Neon  Museum. It's the graveyard for old neon/ argon signs.   Here's an old Aladdin  Lamp. 

Walking through this outdoor museum and hearing  the  history was fascinating. Quite the works of handmade art!

Monday Moments - Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II RIP

 Strictly a post of respect

Her Majesty,  Queen Elizabeth II, passed at age 96. 

wow 

A woman who, as a girl, took a vow  to serve her  country and she kept that vow through  fifteen Prime Ministers, a multitude of US Presidents, wars, peace, a pandemic, and seventy years as queen. 

I absolutely admire, respect,  and am in awe of her life. 

Yes, she had her moments of fails - the handling of Princess Diana proved challenging. 

Nonetheless, she was human. She loved her Prince Phillip. She loved her children despite issues. 

She was a grandmother and great grandmother, loved her Corgis. 

She exuded graciousness, class, and obvious intellect and humor.. 

My father (age 91) said his late sister, my Aunt Janice, had a pen  pal from Canada back when she was  around twelve. Apparently the girl sent my aunt some souvenirs of Princess (at the time) Elizabeth. How cool is that?

All in all, I just wanted to post about her.  In her late years, she SO reminded me of my own grandmother - the white hair, sturdy shoes, and always a broach. 

Class act!  Will the world keep spinning without Queen Elizabeth II?

  I was counting on her to carry on and keep calm.  What shall we do?

Clinton Presidential Library

Back in June, I drove  from TX to PA with some pit stops along the way. The Clinton Presidential Library in Little Rock, AR proved to be an interesting afternoon. This is a very modern building with a lot of video screens and interactive material.  It's set up with The Early Years, Life in the White House, Oval Office, Cabinet Room, Campaign Trails, and more. There's also a twelve minute overview film. 

On the exterior grounds, there were a variety of globe designs

As you can see from these two postcards, it's a dramatic building and setting overlooking the Arkansas River. 

 Here's a pic I took as I walked in.  Time flies, and it's funny how much of the presidency and those years 1992 - 2000 I forgot. Good times, bad times, the ebb and flow of America. Programs that worked, those that failed, and in looking at exhibits I could reflect on where we are today. 

Staying in tune with history is important, and visiting Presidential Libraries are a way to anchor some time periods. Excellent pit stop and Little Rock, AR is a bustling  little city. 

Wacky Wednesday - The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

 Vida Winter is a famous author with a missing tale. Now at her deathbed, she chooses a young woman, Margaret Lea, to come hear her life story and perhaps fill in the missing gaps. 

cover blurb - Margaret is mesmerized by this tale of gothic strangeness, of a remote estate, feral children, a governess, a ghost, and a devastating fire. 

You will be drawn into Diane Setterfield's The Thirteenth Tale and will not sleep until the final page. 

This book keeps you guessing, makes you wonder, and in the end, deposits you breathless yet satisfied back upon the shore of your everyday world. 

Meanwhile, let's enjoy our visit to Las Vegas. The Flamingo is a classic and the old girl looked  pretty good. 

However, their check-in was an absolute cluster. It took two times in  their line for a total of 45 minutes  each to finally get in  our room. Here, Ray is NOT  happy. We did go eat,  rolling our bag behind us. 

We felt a bit "Flocked"

But our room was worth it - quite a view..... We settled in and enjoyed  our rest of Thurs/ Friday/ and  Saturday. 

Travel is a challenge these days.  Our flight was delayed a bit (one hour) due to maintenance  issue. Flight back had to wait on  flight  crew.   Big sigh. 

Happy Labor Day Monday

Labor?  What's that?   Am I obnoxious about being retired?  Heck yea!   It's nice to do what I want, when  I want, or just be lazy.  It's great to be able to travel east for a month and hang with my sister at Rehoboth Beach.

Or have lunch with friends in Redbank, NJ after visiting a cool art gallery

This meme can apply at times

Or I can take dad to a very cool car museum.  We had a good summer visit with plenty of laughs. It was nice  to not have  to worry about work or using up vacation time. 

 And there's the pickleball passion.  Fun game. I took lessons in the spring  at the local college. Now I have a whole new  batch of friends and we play up to three times a week.  Ray's brand new knee works well and he's joined the gang. We do mix up pairings, so I don't think Ray and I need counseling...yet. Actually, we play pretty well together. 

And retirement is fun - eat meals when we want, hit a spur of the moment movie, just float in the pool, and sit on the patio and read. Or kick back in a chair and nap  ( I  mean meditate)

Happy Labor Day for those still working. Thank you for your time and efforts. Save those pennies...it's worth it. 

Freaky Friday Book Review - The Candy House by Jennifer Egan

 The Candy House by Jennifer Egan is weirdly good, and yet  I don't know if I can explain it  in a review. 

Bix Bouton is  a  tech god who comes up with a deal to externalize your memories. "Own Your  Unconscious" allows you to access every memory you've ever had and to share with others. Think about the consequences of  this. It's mind boggling.  

cover blurb - The Candy House  is a  testament to the tenacity and transcendence of human longing for real connection, love, family, privacy, and  redemption.  There are  "counters" who track and exploit desires and there are "eluders", those who understand the price of taking  a bite of the Candy  House.

Jennifer Egan is certainly creative and this book challenges the reader. Far from sweet, her writing explores technology and culture. 

Meanwhile last week, Ray and I went  to Vegas. One  of our stops was  the Mob  Museum. Yes,  three floors of an old courthouse are dedicated to the Mafia.  Really interesting history and exhibits - including  a wall from the St. Valentine's  Massacre in Chicago. 

 I think John Gotti's statement applies  to our tech world that records everything these days. 

It's funny that Prohibition  kicked Mob  activity into high gear. Big business, baby!

Have a good weekend everyone

Happy Anniversary Ray

33 years ago, we said "I do" in front of a Justice of the Peace. And the next day we had a big party - margarita machine and two cakes (one chocolate groom's cake and one lemon wedding  cake)

Ray may try to hide from me once  in awhile, but he always comes back.   "No dear, you don't need to bring the dead deer with you, " I say. 

 33 years later, we are hanging out and having fun.  It's a good gig - this marriage thing.