Quote for the Week

Our country is not the only thing to which we owe our allegiance. It is also owed to justice and to humanity. Patriotism consists not in waving the flag, but in striving that our country shall be righteous as well as strong. ~James Bryce

Books of May and June

Reading is my favorite diversion.  With all the stress this summer, it's what I do to keep my mind occupied.  And as you'll see, I've done a lot of reading in the past two months.

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The Duchess of Palms by Nadine Eckhardt

Memoir by a woman who grew up in a small town, became part of the "in" crowd in Austin and Washington.  Her life as part of LBJ's inner circle, a hostess, entrepreneur, mover in fast company, and episodes with two relatively famous husbands.  Wow!

The Witness by Nora Robers.  I confess, she's my favorate romance author.  This book is about a teenage genuis whose life is tightly controlled by her mother.  She sneaks out to go bar hopping with a friend, witnesses a murder and goes into witness protection.  We find her years later living with her dog in a small southern town, where she meets the sheriff, who, like all Roberts' heroes, is strong but gentle, unbelievably sexy, etc.,etc.  Together they confront her past and build their future.  If you like romance, you'll find this one of Roberts' best.

The Presidents Club by Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy.  Switching genres, I found this look at how former presidents work together intriguing. Did you know that Clinton and Nixon spoke almost every day?  That Clinton became almost a part of the Bush family?  That Truman sought Hoover for some of his most ambitious projects after WWII? 

We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver.  I didn't see the movie, which I heard was excellent, but I found myself engrossed in the book as told by the mother of a boy incarcerated for a school massacre.  She wasn't sure she wanted this child, never bonded with him, and somehow knew from the beginning there was "something wrong."  The characters of the mother and father are overdrawn but the book is still great summer reading.

As Texas Goes... by Gail Collins.  As a native Texan, I should have despised this book.  Maybe it was because I needed to get my mind off my son's illness, but I thought Collins' view of my state was quite amusing. 

Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel.  The sequel to her Booker Prize winner Wolf Hall, this continues the story of Thomas Cromwell.  Here we see his role in bringing down Anne Boleyn and freeing Henry VIII to marry Jane Seymour, wife number three.  At the end, Cromwell is at the peak of his power, but that's not gonna last.  I'm looking forward to volume 3.



Calico Joe by John Grisham. I love sports books, but I prefer non-fiction. This is, of course, fiction. It's the story of a boy and his dad a major league pitcher who ends the promising career of a superstar rookie by beaning him. Not as good as some baseball books, but not bad.

The Magicians by Lev Grossman.  This book netted Grossman a cult following among sci-fi / fanatasy aficianodos.  It was a book club pick and one I could have done without.  Not because of the genre, but because it was a really boring book (with lots of grammatic errors that drove me crazy).  The characters weren't interesting, the plot lacked tension, and I kept counting the pages left till the end.

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green, a young adult recommended by my granddaughter.  If you're tired of take-offs on The Hunger Games, this is as far away as you can get.  The main characters are teenagers with cancer.  If that doesn't sound appealing, read a few pages.  These are kids, cancer or not, you'd probably like to know.

One Hundred Names for Love by Diane Ackerman.  A memoir of her husband's stroke and its aftermath, this book was recommended by a speech pathologist friend soon after my son's stroke.  When I heard it was by Diane Ackerman, I was excited to read it.  Alas, I didn't like it.  Maybe I read it too soon, but it affectedt me very much the way Joan Didion's book The Year of Magical Thinking, about her husband's death didt when I read it a few weeks after my husband died.   Ackerman keeps reminding the reader she's a poet and author by slipping into long descriptions of nature; she's constantly harping on how quirky and clever she and her husband are--they enjoy kicking Kleenex boxes down the hall at each other..  I was encouraged that her husband got better and even wrote several books after he recovered (He, too, is an author) but I think I might do better with My Stroke of Insight.

Whew, I read a lot, didn't I?  If you have opinions, about any of these books or if you have recommendations for others, please share them.

Quote for the Week

You might not expect an inspiring quote from an athlete, but this one from Maria Sharapova after she won the French Open really touched me, especially now that my son is going through the aftermath of his stroke. For those of you who don't follow tennis, Sharapova was at the top of her game when she suffered a shoulder injury, had surgery and was out for some time.  Then she began a comeback but it was a long and difficult one.  She lost her ranking, she played poorly. Everyone assumed her career was over.  Not so.   Here is what she said:

I could have said, "I don't need this.  I have money, I have fame, I have victories.  I have Grand Slams."  But when your love for something is bigger than all these things, you continue to keep getting up in the morning when it's freezing outside, when you know it can be the most difficult day, when nothing is working, when you feel like the belief sometimes isn't there from the outside world and you seem so small.  But you can achieve great things when you don't listen to all those things.

For the first time in my life, I find it too hard to write. Two weeks ago, at 6:30 a.m. I was just awakening, groggily imagining a quiet weekend with not much to do beyond interviewing a potential new handyman. The phone jangled and suddenly I was wide awake. Caller ID showed my daughter-in-law’s cell number. I knew it was bad news. Getting up at 6:00 is simply not done in that household on a summer Saturday. The news was worse than I imagined. My son had had a stroke in the middle of the night; they were at the emergency room. My daughter was on her way to pick me up.




From that moment on, I have existed in a bubble of unreality, living one moment at a time, not allowing myself to look back, afraid to look too far forward. Thinking too much is like taking a scalpel and cutting myself open.



Despite a left hemisphere stroke, his news was pretty good. Absolutely no physical involvement. When he had his PT evaluation, the therapist began by asking him to lift his leg, stand on one foot, and eventually had him running down the hall, running up and down stairs, and doing long jumps.



His language is affected. I’ve never worked with a stroke patient—I do speech therapy with little kids--but I know there’s spontaneous improvement after an insult to the brain, and I see it every day. He will be going to TIRR for therapy—same place that Gabby Giffords went after she was shot. We’re lucky to be a few minutes from one of the best rehab centers in the country.



See how nicely I’ve written that paragraph. Just information. Nothing about the emotions. Too hard to probe that wound. I’m signing off for now. If you’ve read this, keep us in your prayers.  Thanks.

Quote for the Week

“Do the things you used to talk about doing but never did. Know when to let go and when to hold on tight. Stop rushing. Don't be intimidated to say it like it is. Stop apologizing all the time. Learn to say no, so your yes has some oomph. Spend time with the friends who lift you up, and cut loose the ones who bring you down. Stop giving your power away. Be more concerned with being interested than being interesting. Be old enough to appreciate your freedom, and young enough to enjoy it. Finally know who you are. ” 
    Kristin Armstrong

The Perfect Pet Sitter by Toby and Tiki

Dear Readers,

Our mom left us to go to Hawaii for ten days.  She didn't even offer to take us along, not that we would have enjoyed the plane trip, but Hawaii has lots of birds and fish so we would have enjoyed ourselves.  Usually when she is gone, Lori, Mom's veterinarian daughter, comes by to feed us.  She's okay but being a vet, she still makes us a little queasy.  Anyway, since they were going to Hawaii together, Mom needed to find us a sitter, and she hit the jackpot.  A friend gave her the name of Cozy Critters Pet Sitters of Bellaire, and so Beth became our sitter. 

We liked her right away, and Toby, who is the friendlier cat of the two of us, immediately jumped up beside her and licked her arm.  We weren't even pretending, planning to hiss at her when our mom was out of the picture. 

She gave Mom a little brochure with tips on how to prepare for your sitter.  What a good idea.  We think all pet sitters should be that thoughtful.

She came by, gave us our food and left a little diary, telling about our visits.  She thinks we're sweet.  We think we're in love.

If you live in the Houston area, check out Beth at http://www.cozycrittersofbellaire.com/   If you don't, eat your heart out.