Books of July

I read a lot in July.  Here's the list:
The Hellfire Club.  I read it because I like to watch The Lead with Jake Tapper.  Didn't care much for the book, which was billed as an inside look at Washington.  The main character seemed to get victimized throughout.  C+

The President is Missing.  I'm not a fan of James Patterson, but I read this book because it was recommended by our librarian.  Another inside Washington book.  It was okay.  B

The Outsiders.  I've never read this book.  I picked it because it was listed as a "favorite book" on PBS Great American Read.  I enjoyed the "outsider" gang but it wouldn't be my favorite book.  B

The Marriage Lie.  My favorite book of July.  Husband flies to Orlando to be the keynote speaker at a conference.  An hour later, wife receives a call from the airline that he died in a crash of a plane bound for Seattle.  I recommend this one.  A

Three Days Missing. By the author of The Marriage Lie.  Mom gets a call that her son is missing from an overnight campout.  But is he?  Another A

The Last Breath.  An earlier book by the same author, Kimberly Belle.  Not as good as the two listed above.  Daughter comes home to care for her father, who is dying.  He's been let out of prison, where he is serving a life sentence, so he can come home to die.  Is he innocent...or guilty?  B+

Heart of Darkness.  Another choice from the PBS list.  Ship captain is obsessed by stories of Mr. Kurtz as he sails upriver to find him.  Again, it wouldn't be my favorite.  B  (I voted for To Kill a Mockingbird)

The Other Woman.  Yes, Daniel's Silva's books about Israeli spy, assassin, art restorer are pretty much alike, but I love 'em and wait expectantly for the annual July release.  A

Wait for August.  Some really good books coming!

Major Life Transition

My freshman year in college I read an article in Seventeen Magazine that would set me on a path that I would follow until this day.  The article was about the relatively new field of speech pathology.  I thought that sounded interesting and the following year when I had to declare a major, I decided on that.  Of course, growing up in the Fifties, I didn't expect to actually have a career.  I wanted a college degree.  That was a secondary goal.  My main goal was to get married, have two children, a nice house, two cars and a dog.  Once I achieved that, I would bid speech pathology goodbye.  

But I didn't.  I worked for the Houston Independent School District for a while, then got married, had two children, etc. 
Then I got a divorce.  I returned to college, got a Master's in speech pathology and audiology and went back to work for the next fifty years.

Choosing speech pathology as a career was one of the luckiest and best choices I ever made.  I've never seen it as a "job" but as a calling.  I've been privileged to hear children's first words, hear their garbled speech become intelligible, watch them learn to read and express themselves in writing.  Along the way, I've shared families' amd children's lives and language.  It's been the perfect profession for me, but now it's time to move on, or as one of my four-year-old students said the other day, "Miss Thelma, now you'll be 'attired.'"  

This is a major turning point for me, but I know the time is right. The road ahead is a little scary but exciting.  I've loved going to work every day and I have so many memories to cherish.

So I'll end with words from "A Chorus Line:"
     "Kiss today goodbye
    And point me toward tomorrow.
    Wish me luck,
    The same to you.
    But I can't regret,
    Won't forget
    What I did for love.

    Love is never gone.
    As we travel on,
    It's love that we remember..."

Just before my husband died, he said, "You'll be all right.  You'll do something good."  I hope so.

Movie RecommendationL

Last week I saw a documentary that I highly recommend:  Three Identical Strangers.  
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to meet a carbon copy of yourself?  That's what happened to triplets separated at birth.  They met at age 19 when one enrolled at the same junior college as another and kept being called by the wrong name.  The two were written up in the newspaper and the third triplet saw the article and realized that these two young men looked exactly like him.  The three became famous and eventually opened a restaurant called Triplets in New York City.
But the story didn't end with their unexpected reunion.  Their families wondered why they were never told the children they adopted were identicals, why they were never told about the other families or why the boys were separated.  It's a dark and fascinating story.  I won't spoil the rest of the story but if you see the movie, you'll be amazed at what happened and why.