What’s a movie or book that inspired you to travel?
I remember reading The Lacuna (copyright 2009) by Barbara Kingsolver and deciding I really needed to visit Mexico. I was in my mid-forties and I’d never been.
I don’t remember much about the book, but I know that at least part of it was set in Mexico and that Kingsolver is an incredible writer. So we went! I brought the whole family. Even though my son got a stomach bug, my kids still remember it as one of our best vacations.
Which outdated technology do you miss the most, and why?
I’ve been enjoying reading a good old analog book by the pool this week. The book I’m reading is Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid.
It reminds me of summers of yore, when that’s what we did—we laid around and read books.
Our phones did not distract us from our books, because our phones were home in the kitchen—attached to the wall.
My pool is in a condo community for older people, so there are always several other people sitting around reading real books. When I walk around the pool, I check out the titles of other people’s books. Sometimes people stop and ask each other about the book they’re reading. (This doesn’t happen when everyone is reading on their phone or Kindle.)
So yeah, hardcover and paperback books. They’re not actually gone, but I’ve missed them.
Are you a lifelong learner?
Yes, but I “study” what I want. I got my BA in History and never went back for a graduate degree because they all sounded so boring and cost too much money. MBA? (snooze fest) Law School? (are you joking?) A Master’s in History? (not interested)
And when I was working, I was never big on “professional development.” I only took the required stuff on topics like cybersecurity. All those LinkedIn courses and certifications on business-y topics were available to me, but I hardly ever opted in. I felt like the best way to get better at my job was to do it, and since I was a fundraiser, the proof was in the pudding. I raised millions of dollars for my employers and clients. Nobody cared that I didn’t have an MBA.
Courses I took outside of work included Italian, photography and music (singing lessons). Now that I’m retired, it’s been studio art classes that interest me most, particularly watercolors.
In fact, just yesterday I participated in a 2.5 hour class called “Yoga, Meditation and Abstract Art.” It was my first time using acrylic paint in decades. My abstract piece really wanted to become some sailboats on a green sea, so that’s what happened.
What’s one habit that has improved your life the most?
I’m 61. Been married 33 years. I’m retired, after a 30+ year career in fundraising. I’m a mom and a grandma. Both of my parents are still alive and functioning.
The one habit I’ve noticed that improves quality of life for most people is …
I’m literally drawing a blank.
I’d say “walking outside,” but I’m currently dealing with heel pain and haven’t been walking much. (And neither of my parents ever go for a walk outside.)
OK, here’s one small thing: floss your teeth. That’s something I didn’t do through my twenties, until a mean dentist had a talk with me. He basically shamed me into flossing. Now I floss all the damn time.
There are all kinds of health and financial benefits to having healthy teeth and gums. I’m not going to go into them, but you can google it.
I’d say tone down all that teeth whitening and stock up on good old dental floss.
What’s a chapter of your life you’d title “The Hard Years” — and what got you through it?
Not to bring up politics AGAIN, but I think the period from Hillary Clinton losing the presidential election (despite winning the popular vote by 2.8M), through Trump’s total mishandling of the COVID pandemic (and the subsequent cancellation of my son’s senior spring of high school), to today’s completely surreal dismantling of the post-WW2 order and the subversion of everything I believed my country stood for, under a wildly corrupt wannabe dictator and sexual predator, has been fucking hard.
Hard to watch
Hard to believe
Hard to afford
And it ain’t over yet…
I’m definitely angrier, sadder, and a bit meaner than I was in 2016.
What’s a book you think deserves a sequel?
We read The Mighty Red (c. 2024) by Louise Erdrich for my book group this month. It was my first time reading her. I liked the book and can certainly understand why she’s such an esteemed author.
The Mighty Red is really a portrait of a community along the Red River in North Dakota, where sugar beet farming and processing is the major industry. There are at least 15 different characters, from the local teenagers to the town priest. A tragedy has occurred, but you don’t find out exactly what happened until late in the book.
The last chapter jumps forward ten or so years, so you get a brief look at how things “turned out” for the major characters. But I think it would be interesting to visit this community in thirty years—when the teenagers are approaching 50. Did they stay? Did they go? Did they ever process their grief from the tragedy? Which couples stayed together and which didn’t? Did the farmers embrace a less devastating crop?
The challenge for Erdrich would be imaging a future that doesn’t exist yet. She’d have to create the world they live in without knowing it.
OK, on second thought, she should wait 15 years before writing the sequel. She’s 72 now. She can make it to 87. If it takes her three years to research and write the book, this could be her 90th birthday present to readers.
Louise, take note!
What villain actually had a good point?
I’m definitely going to lose some followers with this answer, but I think Americans are a bit too obsessed with their dogs. I’m not saying that Dalmatian puppies should be skinned and made into nice, soft fur coats like Cruella wanted, but…a coat like that would be real cute. You must admit!
I feel positively villainous in dog-obsessed America, when I think these thoughts:
I don’t want your small, unleashed dog jumping on me and getting muddy paw prints on my white pants while you yell “Cupcake, stop.”
I don’t want your large, leashed dog—that you can just barely control—to cross the street to say “hello” to me because “Bodie loves people.” I’m good!
And I certainly don’t want your enormous Great Dane anywhere near me while I’m eating an ice cream cone!
If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?
Honestly, I just want to live in a world where Donald J. Trump no longer exists (and never did). In the meantime, Massachusetts is as close as you’re gonna get to that ideal in the United States.
Did you know that the Orange Cretin never won a single Massachusetts congressional district over the Democratic nominee in 2016, 2020, or 2024? That’s right, not one district ever fell for his bullshit.
And, finally, some exciting news…
My heart’s in Massachusetts.
❤️
Is a little chaos actually good for us?
I’m not sure chaos is good for us but it is unavoidable. Everyone, no matter how privileged, will experience some chaos.
My grandmother, who came from a very poor immigrant family and lost her husband suddenly in her late thirties with four children to feed, used to say “be grateful for boring days.”
Who is your favorite blogger to follow?
One thing I really like about following a variety of blogs is the geographic diversity. I obviously like all the writers behind the blogs I follow—and actually consider many of them online friends—but beyond that, it’s so cool to get updates from all over the English-speaking world.
For example, I’ve loved seeing the Seattle area (a place I’ve never been) through recent transplant Stephanie’s eyes. And CJ lives so far north in Canada it makes my city (Boston) seem positively tropical.
The one native English-speaker who uses the most different English than me is my friend May in Brisbane.
Brizzy Mays Books and Bruschetta
“Australian” English is wild and sometimes I have absolutely no idea what she’s talking about. They’ve got animals, plants and birds down there that I’ve never heard of. Plus, the slang is so…colorful. Sometimes I put her words into Google. “What does an Australian mean when they say…” or sometimes I just ask her to explain.
Plus, the seasons are opposite down there. (I guess I knew that before, but when she’s sweltering at the beach and planning a cool “Christmas salad,” I actually get it.)
She’s a huge reader of authors from her own country and she loves visiting quirky little Australian towns. She loves her country’s history and culture—especially Errol Flynn and the unsung women heroes of WW2. She goes to lots of live theatre and tackles lots of interesting projects like turning her father’s diary of the war into a book. Plus, she’s a retired grandma like me—a “retirement mentor” if you will.
I honestly know more about Australia (they call it “Oz” you know!) from May than from any other source.
Cheers to all of our blogs making the world seem a little closer.
🍻
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