"Outside a dog a book is man's best friend, inside a dog it is too dark to read!" -Groucho Marx========="The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid." -Jane Austen========="I don’t believe in the kind of magic in my books. But I do believe something very magical can happen when you read a good book."-JK Rowling========"I spend a lot of time reading." -Bill Gates=========“Ahhh. Bed, book, kitten, sandwich. All one needed in life, really.” -Jacqueline Kelly=========

Sunday, November 1, 2015

Sunday Salon, Nov. 1


Weather: It rained REALLY hard here yesterday. We had a few small ponds develop in the backyard. Today it looks overcast, more rain is predicted.

Sad week: This past week two of my colleagues died. For those of us on staff at my school it was like receiving a one-two punch. We were all staggering around trying to stay upright. Really sad circumstances, too.
  • Sheri was 53 and died from breast cancer last Sunday. She had been battling the disease for two years and seemed really healthy until the last few months. She died at home surrounded by family. Her service was yesterday at a funeral home in Bremerton, where she grew up. When the bagpipes played Amazing Grace, I just lost it and my tears flowed as heavily as the rain that was coming down in torrents. She was retired from the Air Force and her second career was as an English teacher at my school. Last year she moved to the district office to work as a Tech Specialist. She was much loved by staff and students.
  • Rebecca was in her late 50s and died of lung cancer on Wednesday. She went into the hospital a few days before she died because she was having difficulty breathing. It was then that the lung cancer was detected and they found a tumor which was squeezing into her throat. Her sudden death caught us all off guard. Rebecca was a paraprofessional in the Special Education department and had worked in our building since it opened. She loved her students which really says something since many times her students aren't very lovable. Sadly Rebecca had spent years taking care of her husband who was in poor health yet she preceded him in death.
Love up on your friends and family while you can: a line from the Maya Angelou poem, "When Great Trees Fall", keeps coming to mind and reminds me to make those calls and take those walks...
Our memory, suddenly sharpened,
examines,
gnaws on kind words
unsaid,
promised walks
never taken...

Football: in the good news department, my high school's football team won their game on Friday night and beat the cross district rivals to have an undefeated season. They now go into the playoffs at the state level.  Go Eagles!

Halloween candy...we handed out candy to about 150 trick-or-treaters last night. That's a lot of candy!

A Wonderful list: 50 of the most beautiful sentences ever written. Take the time to savor them. (Open them in a new browser.)

Happily listening to a bark muffled by a giraffe stuffed toy...Muffy is doing great and she is so happy and frisky these days.  It is as if we have our dog back!

Books read this week:
  • Hired Girl by Laura Amy Schlitz---set in 1911, the story of a young girl who is a servant in a wealthy Jewish household. I liked it but it was so long (read "too long.")
  • Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo---A National Book Award winner about life in a slum in Mumbai. Very depressing, yet revealing.
Currently reading:
  • I Crawled Through It by A.S.King---it is written in a surrealistic style. Not sure I have ever encountered something like this before. Weird.
  • The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness---Carly describes it as realism with a touch of paranormalism (I don't think that is a word.)
  • Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War by Steve Sheinkin---I'm back to reading (actually, listening to) this book after a month hiatus.
Narrows Bridge/Gallopin' Gertie---yesterday my friend Sharon and I drove over the Narrows Bridge across the Puget Sound en route to Bremerton for the funeral. Signs were flashing, warning us of severe side winds. We still drove across and were fine.  When I got home I learned that this week is the 75th anniversary of when The Narrow Bridge turned into Gallopin' Gertie.


11 comments:

  1. Oh my... such a difficult week for you. I am so sorry! They were taken from this world much too soon, and I know they will both be greatly missed.

    Thank you for the link to the 50 most beautiful sentences. I plan to save for later and re-read often.

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  2. You had an awful week. I'm so sorry to hear about the loss of your colleagues.

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  3. Likewise, I'm sorry to hear about the loss of your coworkers. But congratulations to your school's football team on its win and continuing into the playoffs. Hope this week will be a better one for you.

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  4. Such a very sad week--it always brings my own mortality (and that of my loved ones) into sharper focus. I loved those sentences; they read like quotes. You may be seeing some of them on Facebook. :)

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    1. I loved the 50 sentences, too. If I could only hold them in my memory! Ha!

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  5. A lovely and thoughtful post. So sorry for the losses, how tragic. Hoping for sunshine and happier days this week.

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  6. Oh, Anne, I am so very sorry about your colleagues. I just lost a friend to lung cancer recently, and it hit me hard, too. She was just 49 and mother to 3 sons, the same ages as my sons (which is how we got to know each other). Just stunning when it is someone so young and vibrant - she was a lot of fun and could always make me laugh!

    150 trick-or-treaters?? Wow! We got a total of about 10 - that's counting every single kid, only about 4 groups. We only had to get up from our movie a few times.

    I've heard about the new AS King book - I still haven't read one of hers, but I want to! And I didn't realize Patrick Ness had a new book out - we all loved the Chaos Walking trilogy.

    Enjoy your books this week...and I'm sorry again about your co-workers.

    Sue

    Book By Book

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    1. We always have lots of trick-or-treaters because our neighborhood has sidewalks and street light. People actual drive their children to our block. Sigh.

      I am so sorry about your friend. Lung cancer is such an awful disease.

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  7. My thoughts and prayers have been with GK all week. So sad.

    Take care, Kristin

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    1. Kristin, Thanks. It was a rough week. Rebecca's service will be this Sunday at GK. It will be good to have closure.

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  8. I'm also sorry for the loss of do many colleges and friends. I read Behind the Beautiful Forevers on our way to India last December. It put a face on all the people I saw on the streets. It is still with me.

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