I recently finished Gore Vidal's last memoir, Point to Point Navigation (2006 Vintage International). It was a disappointing read, written by someone who at the end of his life was bitter about nearly everything. Although in fact a very thin book, it took me weeks to complete. My own deliberate stubbornness in having to finish something that … Continue reading Quaint Partisan Hindsight: Surviving the Election Season
Month: February 2016
Playing Catch Up
Recently a former co-worker and I were discussing our respective retirement incomes. She ended one of her emails to me quoting the old adage about money not buying happiness. And she's right, it certainly cannot. But her mentioning this familiar phrase did get me to think about how the choices we make in search of happiness … Continue reading Playing Catch Up
Naked and Exposed
It was more or less like those dreams that we all occasionally get from time to time. I felt vulnerable and foolish. If the eyes of others weren't permanently fixated on my pitiful self in morbid fascination, then they must have been savvy enough to look away quickly as I glanced around the room at them in silent horror. … Continue reading Naked and Exposed
Powdering My Nose
A former co-worker and I were regular afternoon coffee companions back during my working years (Hi, H). At roughly the same time each day, one of us would launch an informal summons via the office chat application to query if it was convenient to make our daily trek to Starbucks. Invariably, though, my friend would always need just a little … Continue reading Powdering My Nose
GratiTuesday: Public Libraries
Janis writes a wonderful ode to the public library on her equally wonderful “Retirementally Challenged” blog. I couldn’t say it any better, though since I have made myself the Milton Berle of blog post intellectual property theft, I probably will hijack this at some future point too. Well done, Janis!
I spent a lot of time in my neighborhood library as I was growing up. I remember going with my mother at least once a week to check out books; usually borrowing two or three at a time. When I got older, I’d meet my friends there and we’d often do our homework sitting at the wooden desks they had scattered around. It was always kind of a magical place: not only did they have what seemed to be a never-ending supply of FREE books, but the building felt safe and familiar and the librarians were always a helpful source of information.
For some reason, I stopped going to public libraries in my young adulthood. I never stopped reading, but my books mostly came from bookstores, yard sales, or were passed on to me by friends. Later, of course, I also started purchasing books from online sources.
After my husband…
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