Book Review – These Tangled Vines

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I finished my June book early and started on my book for July (even though we will be traveling). I finished this novel fairly quickly as well. It’s a pretty easy read, and the author keeps your interest as you seek to know more. We were still on Lake Livingston, staying in our Airstream, when I read this book. Lake living sure is relaxing! It’s like a perpetual vacation.

These Tangled Vines, by Julianne Maclean, starts with what we would all love to hear – you just inherited some property in Italy! At least, I would! I’ve never been to Italy but if someone wanted to give me a vineyard, I don’t think I would turn it down.

But I’m getting ahead of myself.

The book is set in Tuscany and primarily follows three women: Fiona, Lillian, and Sloane. There are spoilers in this review, so if you plan to read the book, SCROLL past the sections with “Spoilers.” 😂😂

The setting was beautiful, as the author described it. I’ve seen pictures of Italy and I would love to go there one day. It seems like such a serene, calm, and peaceful environment. The food would be a bonus! The author did a good job of including enough descriptions to make me wish I was there.

Fiona Bell is a young woman in her 30s (young to me, anyway). Her perspective is the only one shared in first person, and she is a likable character. She is single with some relationship issues. Fiona was 18 when her mother died, and on her deathbed her mother revealed to Fiona that her father—who she has known these past 18 years as her father—is not her biological father. (What?? Can you imagine hearing that from your mother on her deathbed?)

Her biological father (Anton) owns a vineyard in Italy, but her mother makes her promise to keep this news a secret from her father, because it would devastate him. The father who raised her has been in a wheelchair her whole life due to a horrible accident in Italy. He had only bad memories of their trip. The dutiful daughter kept her promise for all these years. She didn’t want to hurt her father.

Fiona receives a phone call from a lawyer in Italy, who tells her that her biological father had passed away. He urges her to be there for the reading of the will as she is named as one of the heirs. She was too late to attend the funeral, but if she hurried she could make it in time for the reading of the will. After much contemplation, she lied to her father and his caregiver, got on the next flight to Italy, and began to face her past. Her mother’s past. Her father’s past. It was quite a tangled story, hence the title.

Fiona had always believed Anton to be a man who took advantage of her mother, a womanizer, or some other connotation of negative relationship, so she never sought to know him or attempt to have a relationship with him. She also didn’t want to hurt her disabled father by engaging in an attempt to know him. Little did she know she would be walking into a hornet’s nest with Anton’s two older children—who only just learned that they had a half-sibling—with all the implications of her “stealing” their inheritance as an illegitimate child, manipulations by her mother, and other serious accusations regarding her character and her intentions.

The second woman followed in the book is Lillian, Fiona’s mother. She and her husband went to Tuscany for a season, while her husband was writing his first novel. She took a job at a vineyard in Tuscany, and the reader is aware that this is the same vineyard which is owned by Fiona’s biological father Anton. The author jumps back and forth in history to share details of the relationship Lillian had with Anton. It was clearly an affair, which both of them seemed to genuinely try not to engage in. He was the perfect gentleman.

Anton’s wife was living in LA with their two children and had recently filed for divorce. They rarely saw each other in spite of his constant begging for her to bring the children. Lillian’s husband was off in Paris writing his novel and was not staying connected to her because, “It’s long distance.” Throughout their marriage, she had put all of her attention onto her husband and his writing career, yet he did not support her desires or needs. One can see how easy it was for her to fall into the arms of another man, regardless of looks or status. She offers some business advice to Anton on marketing the Americans; he is very supportive and complimentary of her ideas and there is a chemistry between them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~NO SPOILERS HERE~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Aside, that’s how affairs usually get started. Another reminder to support and compliment your spouse. If you don’t, someone else probably is! Give him or her the love they need.

In all my years of being a marriage therapist, I don’t recall anyone who had an affair tell me they did it “on purpose.” (If they did, I would consider an even bigger issue than this.) Their typical response, “it just happened.” It started with a conversation, complimentary and support of ideas, a hand on the back, a lengthier conversation, brooding over the individual, and so on. It happened because they didn’t guard their heart. Their spouse didn’t guard their spouse’s heart either, and their spouse was not fulfilling a deep need in their life. I’m not excusing affairs, so please don’t email me and blast me about this. I am not in favor of affairs. And I am not in favor of divorce for the majority of marriages. God hates divorce. However, I do understand how affairs can happen when someone is living in an emotional desert. Perhaps because of my profession I am a bit more understanding of Lillian and her dilemma.

Anyway, back to the story. Fiona learns through her research and conversations with various staffers that Lillian and Anton’s relationship went beyond a one-night stand or sexual offense. Anton did not take advantage of Lillian as she had previously thought. Their relationship grew over time, and they were very much in love. Lillian had not heard from her husband in weeks. She finally made plans to leave her husband and stay with Anton. But suddenly, her husband returns, was involved in an accident, and became a quadriplegic. I won’t tell you the details of the incident, so as not to spoil the entire story, but it is a juicy part of the story. After the accident, Lillian comes to her senses, says good-bye to Anton, goes back to America with her husband. She spends the rest of her life taking care of his needs. Recompense, perhaps?

The third woman is Sloane, Fiona’s half-sister. Fiona also has a half-brother, Conner. Neither of them stayed in touch with their father after the divorce, and they were both fairly spoiled and entitled individuals. I felt like Conner’s character was a bit one-dimensional as he remained the same throughout the book. Some people are not willing to forgive. Conner and Sloane (and their mother) never knew about Fiona until she arrived for the reading of the will, so they were justifiably angry. They believed she was there to manipulate and take over, and they thought she was there just for the money. She never came to Italy, after all. While Conner remains angry and maintains the bitterness toward Fiona and Lillian, Sloane begins to see the truth about her father, the vineyard at Tuscany, and the situation between Anton and Lillian for what it was. She also has a revelation about herself, her children, and her family. I liked seeing her transformation, which again reminds us that anyone can change, and anyone can forgive.

Even Fiona. After Fiona learns she has inherited the vineyard (yes, the whole kit and caboodle), she resolves the issues she had with her mother and learned to love her father (Anton). She then goes back home to deal with her stepdad. For her entire life, she had taken up the baton that her mother passed on to her. Just as her mother had given up on her own desires in life, Fiona sacrificed her life to care for her dad. He obviously needs care, but he has also used his disability (and other means prior to the accident) to prevent the women in his life from advancing their own selves. He was afraid of “losing” them, so he held them tight. So tight that Fiona was feeling smothered. She was bitter at him for losing an opportunity to connect to her biological father and wasn’t sure she could ever forgive him.

I felt like the book wrapped up everything pretty well, but the resolution between Fiona and her dad seemed a bit abrupt. Within one chapter she went from “I’m so mad at you” to “Okay, I forgive you.” It felt a bit quick after all the chapters that preceded that moment in time, like the author was tired of writing by that point.

Other than that—dealing with her stepdad issue—I really liked the book. I liked the way it ended, and I liked the overall messages one can draw from it. Lillian’s affair could have been avoided, and this is something all couples should consider, but she would never go back and change it as she has a daughter she loves. While she could have justified leaving her husband, she made the choice of commitment to her wedding vows. It’s way too easy for couples to give it up when things get tough, so I appreciated her decision no matter how difficult.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~YOU HAVE REACHED THE NO SPOILERS ZONE~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lessons for couples? Love your spouse. Love is an action word, so show them love in the things you do, say, and time you spend together. Hold your spouse tight but don’t squeeze the breath out of them. Encourage one another to have independence and reach their individual goals, all the while balancing it out focusing on the relationship. Most importantly (not necessarily in the book), developing a relationship with God as a couple will draw the couple closer to each other, and increase their love for each other.

I’m so glad I have a husband who has stuck with me through thick and thin. I’ve heard firsthand stories of men leaving their wives when they are diagnosed with breast cancer. But Tim has been with me, caring for me, and picking up the slack when I have been unable to follow through. He’s a champion!

We haven’t had our book club meeting yet. I would love to be there for the discussion, but I won’t be able to attend this one because we will be traveling. If I remember, I will edit this to include my book club’s review. I would rate it 8.5.

À la prochaine à bientot! Until next time…

June 18, 2024July 10, 2024

Je Suis Fatigué, Estoy Cansada (I am tired)

I know. I should be tired, right? We sold our house, moved all of our stuff into a storage unit, moved ourselves into our Roam Home, and now we are traveling all over the country pulling said Roam Home.

Whew! Who wouldn’t be tired?

But this kind of tired, apparently, goes beyond the normal temporary moving type of tired. I was tired before we started this whole move and Full-time Airstreaming process. It’s been ongoing since the beginning of this cancer journey. Wiped-out. Exhausted. Fatigued.

I’m the type of person who typically overlooks what my body is saying. I think of others, tasks to be completed, and ignore what my body is saying. I have to ponder really hard about what my body is feeling. Throughout the journey, I have pushed myself to keep going, and I could put being tired out of my head long enough to do what I need to do. So I could function at work, at home, on the road, and continue living each day effectively and enjoyably.

As it turns out, fatigue is an actual diagnosis for about 65% (or more) of cancer patients. It’s not just your every day, run-of-the-mill, normal tiredness. It’s fall asleep at the drop of the hat kind of tired. Narcolepsy kind of tired. Reading a book, my head starts nodding. Driving down the road, I’m drooling. (When Tim is driving, that is 😂.) Practicing my foreign languages, I have to put down the phone and just go to sleep. My body aches. It tells me to sleep. If I don’t listen, my body does it for me.

I’m not complaining, mind you. If I need a nap, I just take one. This is part of the reason I retired early (e.g. went on disability) in 2020. I didn’t need the extra stressors, and I needed the ability to rest when my body says to. My full-time job is fighting cancer, so everything else is just doing what I want.

I finally decided to talk to my doctor. He sent me for a fatigue consult.

The first time he sent me was in 2019, a few months after I had Gamma Knife radiation treatment to the brain, if you recall my history. It made sense that I was fatigued at the time, as radiation can affect your whole body. I had to go downtown for that consult (ugh). But, I was still working full-time as a university professor, and fatigue/focus was a real problem. So I complied.

The doctor I saw at the time prescribed Ritalin, and it helped a lot. I had read where Ritalin is used a lot with cancer patients for fatigue. It’s not just for kids with AD/HD. It worked! I had the energy I needed, without going over the top. I was sleeping better, and I could do my job without falling asleep during the day. I could focus. It was very helpful, and I was glad I went.

When it came time to get the prescription refilled, I didn’t go back downtown. Some time had passed and I convinced myself I was doing okay. By the time my medication ran out we were living in Vero Beach Florida (Tim was doing a temporary interim assignment there). Besides, I was going to stop working soon, so I thought that would help and I might not need the medicine.

I retired in January 2020. Then COVID hit.

Fast forward to June, 2024. I’ve been noticing the fatigue again. Not just since the move, but for the past year or more. Tim notices it more than me. He looks over at me during a movie and my eyes are closed. He sees me walking slower. He observes my focus waning. I talk to my oncologist about it, and he sends me for another fatigue consult.

I’m so glad I did it. This oncologist and her mentor specialize in fatigue treatment for cancer patients. They are the only two around who do this specialty. They have done a lot of research in this area, and recognize how challenging fatigue can be for patients. She explained some things about cancer and fatigue that made a lot of sense. For example, she said that when we have a sinus infection we go on an antibiotic for a few days. We may have some side effects, but they are relatively minor. They pass quickly. An infection is like being on the far left side of the spectrum. Cancer is on the far right. They give us more than a simple antibiotic. They hit us with very heavy drugs to attack a very bad disease. Side effects are exponentially greater. Fatigue is one of them. It’s an actual diagnosis, and when there is a diagnosis they provide treatment.

She is also willing to work with me on the refills. I can meet with her via Zoom for many of the follow-ups (as long as I’m in Texas). Pre-COVID, doctors were unwilling to do this. They had to see you in person. If anything good came from it, we can be thankful for the pandemic changing this mindset.

Some things I can do on my own to help with fatigue include exercise and diet, but she can also prescribe medication to help with the fatigue. Since the Ritalin helped me before, she decided to use it again. She gave me enough to take morning and noon daily if I need it, but I mainly take one in the morning and I’m good to go. Rarely, I will also take one at noon to give me some energy for the afternoon. And, of course, we are exercising.

I was very grateful. I can tell such a difference when I take it. I’m more focused, I have energy, and I don’t find myself looking at the inside of my eyelids nearly as often. Even though I’m not working full-time, having a fatigue specialist sure does make living retirement life a bit easier.

I do still take some naps, but it’s usually when I’ve had an extremely busy day. And I use my essential oils (En-R-Gee in particular) when I need an extra boost.

So now, je ne suis plus fatigué. (I am no longer tired.) It’s a great feeling, and I am very grateful to God for providing me with the best doctors in the world.

À la prochaine…hasta la próxima vez…until next time!

May 8, 2024June 21, 2024

Book Review – The Last Restaurant in Paris

Our book for May was The Last Restaurant in Paris, by Lily Graham. Apparently I didn’t take a picture of this book, which is unusual for me 🥴, but you can click on the link above if you want to see the cover. I was intrigued because it was set in Paris, and I have been learning French on Duolingo for about four years now. It was set during the time of the occupation by Germany, in a little town where a woman owned a restaurant.

I was unable to make it to the meeting as we were in Bandera Texas in our Airstream at the time. I did take a picture of that. Several in fact. 😂😂

Here are my thoughts about the book, which I emailed to the group.

I finished the book, and I really enjoyed the read. Admittedly, I had difficulty getting into it at the very beginning, and when I read later that the author changed the order so she started with Gilbert instead of Sabine I wondered if I would have liked it better had she stuck with her original plan. But once I got into it I had a hard time putting the book down.

I kept hoping Marianne had somehow escaped, and was not executed. However, after reading the why behind the murders it made sense that she turned herself in. She likely felt like she deserved to die after what happened to Henri. I felt her pain when she was not able to vindicate herself by telling Otto Bush why she was killing him, but that also made sense. Again, after reading the author’s notes it made sense due to the way every day people in her shoes dealt with their actions. She was not trained to kill.

I agree with Pat that the third part seemed like a repeat of part one, although it was from a different perspective. I still felt like there was a lot of repeat, but more was revealed in the third part and there was an understanding that was missing when Gilbert was sharing his story.

I enjoyed reading part 2 the most. I appreciated the story of Elodie and Jacques. Again, there was a lot of sadness in the development of her character, but it set the stage for her purpose behind the murders. It was not a surprise to me that she was a spy. I thought it was odd that no one else in the book thought that, as they all thought she was crazy or something. I wanted to yell at them and say, “There could be another reason!” She was doing this not only to vindicate her husband but also to save her country. Another reminder to be slow to question someone’s actions, as they may have a lot more going on behind the scenes than we give them credit for.

There was a question about this in the notes – would you be willing/able to sacrifice something personal for the sake of the greater good? I honestly don’t know how to answer that. Until I am faced with that decision it would be hard to say yes, but I imagine when one is in that position it gives them pause. I would have difficulty killing anyone, so I’m not sure I could carry out that kind of mission. I would also have difficulty sacrificing someone I love. I don’t think I could do that.

It was a little dark due to the war setting and complicated protagonist, but a great story and well written. I rate it a 9.

The group talked about it in my absence, and here was their summary.

Seven us gathered this afternoon to discuss The Last Restaurant in Paris by Lily Graham. All of us enjoyed the book and thought it was well written. Of course it is a heartbreaking story and Sabine and Gilbert investigating the past and finding the truth kept us hooked by the book. We thought the ending tied everything up neatly in “a little bow”. As you can read below, Cindy and Pat that there was a lot of repeating of part one but several of us liked this and getting a different perspective we felt important to the novel. We admired how Elodie/Marianne survived such tragedy, her mother dying in front of her; her terrible father and stepmother; her miscarriages; her Jaques getting killed by Otto Busch and then patiently getting her revenge but at the sacrifice of poor Gilbert’s brother, Henri. We all loved her grandmother and the sister at the abbey. Sabine and Gilbert finally getting the truth and realizing that, of course, Marianne is not a murderer or traitor as the townspeople accused her of. In our discussion, we realized that this novel is based on true events and there really was a Otto Busch, who was a naval officer.

We rated the book an 8.6.

March 14, 2024

Echo, Chemo, and Docto…rs

Quick medical update on this week’s events.

I had my annual echocardiogram yesterday and saw my cardiologist. Everything looks good. Even my cholesterol is in the normal range. It’s a beautiful thing! She said I should exercise “150 minutes per week.” That could be 3 days for 50 minutes, or 5 days for 30 minutes, etc. We walk, but it could be a bit brisker for me and we probably need to be more consistent.

I wish I could say I was laying there taking a nap, but it’s impossible to sleep when the tech is jamming the wand into your ribs to get pictures of your heart. 🙄🥴😂 Fortunately I am only required to have this test annually now, and they no longer do contrast. So no pokes for blood, and a shorter time in the scan.

Today I gave blood for the second time in two days, then saw my medical oncologist. Tim went with me to that one “for quality control.” Dr. K. laughed and asked whose quality is he controlling, mine or his 😂😂🤪🤪. The doctor referred to me as “people like you” as we talked, meaning I’m off the charts in terms of lifespan with metastatic breast cancer. They don’t really know whether they are over-treating, and no one will ever do a study to determine that. As long as I am tolerating it, we are good to keep going. After this many years of treatment, he said it is easy for one to become complacent. He is always guarding against complacency, and I appreciate that.

Every time there is any little something that comes up, he sends me to see another specialist, just to be sure. First, the brain lesions are likely just increases in hot spots due to the radiated areas, but the specialists will determine that in April after my follow-up MRI. Second, I’ve had a little lung issue with spots showing up from time to time (coming and going), an ongoing cough, occasional shortness of breath and fatigue. My cardiologist said it doesn’t sound heart related. So, Dr. K. is sending me to a pulmonary specialist. No emergency. No rush. Just making sure he is covering all his bases. Third, I have had some headaches with an increase in double vision (not likely related to the brain spots). So, he wants me to see an opthalmologist. Not a bad idea; I was already considering it.

While I don’t look forward to adding more specialist visits to my list of providers, that’s what I love about my oncologist. He never assumes everything is just fine unless the specialists tell him so. He listens, and responds accordingly. It’s better to go see a specialist and discover nothing is wrong than to not go and allow it to escalate.

At this writing I’m getting my treatment (Herceptin and Perjeta), which I do every three weeks. That’s the last of my medical appointments for this week, and then we can play.

I’m wearing my Airstream shirt because we are hitching up the trailer right after this and leaving for a Bluebonnet Rally in Brenham. They got me in early today and I have a very efficient nurse, so that’s a double blessing! Looking forward to seeing some beautiful bluebonnets!

“Lord, You restored me to health and let me live.”

^{Isaiah 38:16b}

À la prochaine…hasta la próxima vez…until next time!

February 23, 2024February 26, 2024

The Cure is Worse Than The Disease

Have you ever heard the expression, “The cure is worse than the disease”? This statement applies to our recent Airstream experience.

If you follow us on Facebook you will undoubtedly recall, last summer on our way to Oklahoma City, a rogue spaghetti jar and some of his hooligan tin-can friends decided to escape the confines of their luxurious pantry and dance about on our pristine white Airstream floors. Their party was so raucous that spaghetti sauce found its way into some of the most obscure parts of our trailer. Needless to say, the owners of said partiers were in shock, and ultimately deeply depressed. The brand new Globetrotter had been defiled. This is a poetic way to say that our Airstream suffered some serious consequences from that mishap.

After two dealer recommendations and five home remedies, the mess only seemed to get marginally better. Was this an insurance claim? Was this a warranty item since the pantry lock had failed to do its job properly? Was it the result of owner stupidity? A few days later and after some serious conversations with the warranty people at the Mothership, it was determined this was indeed a warranty item — a $15,000 warranty item. There was a sigh of relief that this problem could be solved and return our Airstream to her previous glory.

Fast forward a few months. We found ourselves at Foley RV Center and Airstream of Mississippi to get the repair. (Originally we were going to travel to Jackson Center, Ohio for the repairs, but Foley has been highly recommended and since they are closer to home we could drop it off and avoid paying for hotels until the repairs were done). Mind you, this repair is not as simple as it might sound. The warranty work required that anything touching the floor, or connected to anything that touched the floor, had to be removed from the Airstream, and reassembled after the floor was replaced. That meant removing all of our personal stuff from the rig. We decided to use this opportunity to do some reorganizing and cleaning when we got it back from warranty work.

After removing everything, the last things to come up were the rugs. We reexamined the floor. To our astonishment, the stains had largely and substantially disappeared! On the drive from Conroe to Gulfport, we came to the conclusion that the cure (tearing everything apart and reassembling it) might be worse than the disease (some residual, very light staining). We spoke to John, the service manager, and while he would have loved to receive the $15,000 revenue from warranty work, he also felt that leaving it as is was likely the more prudent course. Decision made.

You have to look really closely to see the spaghetti sauce stains. It should look even better after we clean it a few more times.

We are returning home as we write this blog from Gulfport, on TX SH-12. It’s a beautiful, sunny, 71 degree Friday morning, a perfect day to clean the rig and put everything back where it belongs. All the additional warranty items have been repaired, and Roam Home seems to be feeling pretty good. Surgery was avoided and she will just have to live the rest of her life with only a small scar as a reminder of a piece of her journey.

Isn’t this much like us? We begin life with hopes and beliefs that our journey will be blemish-free. Then real life happens. We too find ourselves with the residue of regrets and bad choices, bumps and bruises, with scars along our path. But once we meet the Divine Service Advisor, we learn that we can be whole again even if not perfect (until we meet Him in eternity). The damages that we once had so much sorrow over become tutors to a better future.

(Thanks to Tim for helping me write this blog on our journey home from Mississippi. He has also started learning Spanish with me using Duolingo, so we are honoring our language studies at the end of each blog.)

À la prochaine…hasta la próxima vez…until next time!

Foley RV Center and Airstream of Mississippi (above). View from our hotel window (left).

January 15, 2024January 30, 2024

Wheel! Of! Fortune!

If you’ve been following my journey, you will recall when I was first diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer we didn’t know how long I would have to live. We were told anything from nine months to a year, maybe a year and a half. Here I am more than seven years later. My body is stable, and I’m still going strong. Praise the Lord for His boundless mercies, protection and healing! ❤️❤️

When I started feeling better (and it became evident the doctors were wrong on their predictions), we made a commitment to live life to the fullest. You never know how long you’re going to have on La Terre (Earth), no matter what your circumstances, so why wait until retirement to enjoy the one life we have? You will read a lot of stories about our travels, books I’ve read, ministry, and fun times we have experienced because of this decision.

In addition to motorcycling, Airstreaming, driving the Mini Cooper, and playing with the grandchildren, we also watch a lot of television. We watch movies, but our go to in the evening — we like to eat dinner while watching Wheel of Fortune. We even tape all the episodes so we can go back and watch them when we are away. I’m pretty good at the puzzles. Some of my friends have been on the show (jealous!) and I would like to do that one day.

In the hallway of Studio 11, waiting to watch the taping of WOF.

Well, for Christmas, my hilarious husband gave me a very thoughtful and unique gift of attending a taping in Culver City, California. The show itself is free; you just have to sign up! Tim used points for the flight, so we just had to pay for the hotel and our food while we are there. He decided to give me a first class experience all the way, so we flew first class on points and stayed in the SLS Hotel in Beverly Hills, a Luxury Hotel in the Marriott collection. We had the same server each morning. She was terrific! We gave her a five-star review, and she should get a bonus. We hope so as she was so good.

Breakfast was included and boy was it delicious! Decadent. i wanted to take that little iron teapot home.

We didn’t rent a car at the airport because it cost $70 per night to park it at the hotel. We took Uber or walked everywhere we wanted to go. We did make one exception and rented a car one day to go do some site seeing, and to retrieve my purse 🤦‍♀️😔🙄🥴. (I left it on the plane, and fortunately a United employee found it. They had it ready for me to pick up the next day! PTL!).

Ironically, I didn’t even realize I had left it until we got all the way to the hotel and I was getting out of the Uber. “Where’s my purse?” That’s when I realized I must have left it in the plane. On my seat. We were in a hurry to get off the plane. I laid it down to put my book away, and left it there. It’s a horrible feeling when you lose your purse. On the side of caution I immediately cancelled my debit cards and put a hold on my credit cards, but I never really felt like I was in jeopardy. I believed I would get it back, and I did.

Historic Santa Monica Pier. Yummy freshly made churros!

After driving to the airport to get my purse, we took the rest of that day and drove around the area in our rental. We went to the Historic Santa Monica Pier, drove up to Griffith Observatory (didn’t park as it was too crowded), saw the famous Hollywood sign, took a ride to Airstream of Los Angeles, parked in a $3 mall garage (bought something so we could get our ticket validated and save $12), walked the Hollywood Walk of Fame (looking for Pat and Vanna), walked to the Beverly Hills sign via Rodeo Drive, had dinner at a nice restaurant in the Golden Triangle, and then walked back to our hotel. That paragraph alone could take up a whole blog! Or two.

We didn’t see Airstream on the Walk of Fame, but Wally Byam needs a star! ⭐️ 🌟 🤩

On to the Wheel!

We discovered too late before we left home that we were supposed to call and confirm our spot 5-7 days in advance. 🤦‍♀️ Originally we were supposed to be there for the taping on Thursday, Jan. 11th, but since we called too late to confirm, the guy transferred us to Friday Jan. 12. So it ended up being the last thing we did on this trip.

The taping is for Sweetheart’s week, so maybe that was providential ❤️❤️. The three shows we saw will be aired on Feb. 12, 13, and 14. We were sitting right in the middle of the crowd, if you look closely at the pan from the back at the very beginning of each show (if they do it). 😜 😉

We were in the studio audience, but my dream is to be on stage as a contestant someday. I told Tim we are getting good practice, as we now know how the stage looks, where the used letter board is, what they do with the contestants between tapings, and what happens when there is a glitch.

We weren’t allowed to take pictures inside the studio, but we got some outside and in the hall during our bathroom break. We also took a few pictures of the other studios, which have names of the movies that were filmed inside there. I’ve included some scenes from our trip in this blog. What a GREAT experience. I recommend doing this if you have a favorite show.

We should have posed like Pat and Vanna (missed opportunity) 🙄🥴😂

I must admit, recovering from the glitch during the taping was pretty cool to watch, and perhaps my favorite moment. They had listed the wrong final tally for one of the couples during the third taping (to be aired on Valentine’s Day). Pat noticed the error as soon as he said it, then said, “let’s just stop so we can get this right.” He wasn’t upset. He just asked them politely.

He waited a couple of minutes, talked to the couple, then walked off the stage while the staff cued up the tape that had been rolling. All the couples stood there waiting. When they were ready for him, he went back on stage, stood between the couple exactly how they were standing before, he was cued and they started the tape rolling. Pat seemlessly started talking when the tape got to the point immediately prior to where they had messed up the first time. I doubt anyone will even notice it, and I was super impressed with how they did that. I guess that’s why they pay him the big bucks! Fun to witness the other side of Sony Pictures!

So memorable, and that was the culmination of our experience in Beverly Hills.

I won’t give away the puzzles (I probably can’t remember them all anyway 😂😂), but I will say it was fun to watch two out of three couples who went to the bonus round actually win the bonus round. That’s all I’ll say about that.

À la prochaine…hasta la próxima vez…until next time!

January 10, 2024June 20, 2024

Book Review – The Midnight Library

I just realized I never posted this book review, so I’ll back-date it. Tim and I were on our way to watch the Wheel of Fortune taping, so I was unable to make it to the book club meeting in January. There should be a post about that bucket list item somewhere in my blog list 🤩.

This picture was taken on chemo day. I often take books to read and an engaging discussion with my nurse ensues. Often they write down the titles, or give me suggestions from their book clubs.

We read The Midnight Library by Matt Haig, an intriguing book about the concept of “parallel universes.” I recall a Seinfeld episode about this concept! The book explores many of the potential branches in the life of Nora. She is transported into that life, to live as though she had made a different decision. It provides great insight into how one’s life of regrets, decisions, and relationships, may not have turned out any better than the actual life he or she has lived.

I sent my review via the following email, as we flew out the day of the meeting.

“We are standing in line waiting for our plane to board. I hope y’all are having a good meeting! I wish I could be there for this discussion. I’m curious what others think.
I still have 50 pages left, and I’ll probably finish it on the plane [I did]. Nora just entered her “perfect life” with Ash and daughter Molly. It is a rather captivating book, so it wasn’t for lack of desire; I’ve just been busy this month.
Interesting concept of parallel universes. Certainly makes you think about those Deja vu moments in life. Also made me think about some past regrets. Choices I might have liked to change, but after seeing Nora’s life experiences with overcoming those regrets and the ensuing consequences, it makes me glad to have this life and just live with my choices. Her alternate lives did have some valuable lessons. Maybe we can learn from that as well. I’d rather remember a life that isn’t perfect than to have no memory of it at all.
Lastly, I loved the Thoreau references. Makes me want to read some more of his work.
Anyway, just a few thoughts before I get on the plane. I would rate it an 8.0.

I did finish the book, and I liked the way it ended.

Here’s what the group said.

Good Afternoon Ladies!!!! Eight of us gathered to discuss The Midnight Library by Matt Haig. Our discussion varied immensely about “regrets” and different outcomes that your life can take or could have taken. Some of us had a hard time getting into the book with the countdown of Nora’s death in the first nine chapters. But once Nora goes to her different realities or “lives” the book gets very interesting. We described the book as self discovery and discussed the good and bad of her different realities. Each of us thought about how important it is to live and let go. We loved the reality of her with a family but Nora realized that she didn’t earn that life and decided she wanted to live and earn her own life.
We rated the book an 8.3.

I’d love to hear your thoughts about a parallel universe, or if you have read this books what are your thoughts? Please comment below. It will prompt you to input your email address, but I promise I will never sell it. This is just to ensure you are a real person and not a robot.

À la prochaine…hasta la próxima vez…until next time!

December 30, 2023January 5, 2024

Book Review – The Walk Series

A couple of months ago I posted about The Walk, a novel I read for my book club by Richard Paul Evans. Tim and I read the book together on a trip pulling the Airstream. I would read and he would drive. Fortunately I don’t get car sick when reading.

After losing his wife, home, cars, and business, the protagonist (Alan) was planning to walk from Seattle Washington to Key West Florida, because it was the farthest he could walk on the map, and it was better than killing himself. He only made it as far as Spokane in the first book, so we decided to purchase the rest of the series and see what his journey was like on the rest of the walk. (We knew he would make it to Key West; we just didn’t know the story along the way.)

I’ve already posted a review of book one in the series, so this review is more focused on the remaining four books and the overall series. Each book could almost be read as a standalone as he does recap in each book (if you don’t mind ending on a cliffhanger). However, one cannot fully appreciate the entire series without reading them all.

We finished the series on a few other trips in the car, truck, and lying in bed when we didn’t feel like watching television. It was a good thing to do together, as we could read aloud and walk the journey as a couple, groan at the less than realistic parts, drool over Alan’s brand new camping gear, commiserate when he made stupid choices, reminisce about the places he described where we had already been, and contemplate visiting some of the places he mentioned in the book where we have never been. It’s a great way to pass the time, while spending quality time together.

There are some spoilers here, so if you plan to read the books, don’t read any further 🤪🥴. I thought I’d give you a quick review in case you were wondering how the series ends. Some critiques will be shared as well as things we really liked.

The author’s writing style is easy to read. Chapters are short and manageable. He does a good job of painting a picture of the activity in the book, sometimes in painful detail, but it helps you to “see” what Alan is experiencing in the moment. Also, he has many, many interesting lines that make you stop and reflect. I also liked that he drew a map at the beginning of each book, to show the reader his route and point out interesting places along the way.

The last book was another easy read on our quick trip to Florida between Christmas and New Years to see our friends. We finished the series together on the road and we met our goal of completing the series before the year ended. The stories found throughout the series were heartwarming, while not always realistic. For example, a young mom named Analise with two children invited him (a stranger) to come over for dinner, intimating that her husband would be joining them shortly. When it later became evident that she didn’t have a husband, we felt it was much too bold for her to have done that, for her own safety as well as the safety of her children. Either she was very naïve, desperate, or they are much more trusting of strangers in the small rural town he was walking through.

Overall it was an entertaining series with cliffhangers at the end of each book, nudging us to keep reading. However, we felt it could have all been put into one long novel, or two at most, with fewer lengthy monologues and details about which road he took and what kind of mundane food he ate. (We tired of reading about Cliff bars and Pop-Tarts.)

Unrealistically, there were way too many stories that had a religious twist, when in the real world not everyone you meet is into God or part of some freaky cult group. The retired pastor and his wife who bought the bed and breakfast where he had previously stayed seemed like an odd choice of characters. I truly wish people were more open about their faith as they are in the books, but it seemed forced throughout the series. Also, several references seemed anachronistic for a man in his 30s. A reference to Zsa Zsa Gabor changing husbands 🙄? We understood because of our age, but young adults might wonder who in the world Alan is talking about. Ms. Gabor died a year after his last book was published at the age of 99.

Some stories were very strange, like the cult leader in book four who preyed on his hunger, swayed him to come to the compound to eat, and locked him in the building from which he had to escape. They believed aliens were our god and all the cult members followed one leader. Alan tried saving a woman who was being “punished” by the cult by helping her escape, but she went back to the cult in the middle of the night. He regretted leaving her side, as he thought she truly wanted out. That whole story seemed to come out of left-field, and we wondered if the author was just looking for a filler to entertain. I suppose one could find a hidden message, e.g. the wiles of Satan and how he tempts us when we are weak, but the whole thing was very bizarre. Alan was looking over his shoulder for a while after that encounter, and we had a bad feeling as well.

I read the author’s background and he comes from the LDS (Mormon) tradition, so we wondered if he was sending some type of message about the church at times. Perhaps he was subtly warning people not to get involved with a group that has been labeled as a cult by mainstream Christianity. Nowhere could we find whether he is still active in the LDS church, but we know it is a hard one to leave. He does live in Utah with his family, so he is likely still a member. The religious theme of the series seemed closer to a dismissal of religions, and Alan himself didn’t seem to have a strong religious belief. Yet religion and talk about God was found throughout the series. It seemed out of character, while tugging at the main character. It was difficult to get a sense of who the character Alan really is as it pertains to his own personal faith.

There were a lot more stories than actual walking throughout the series, which made the journey interesting and provided lots of fodder. But there was also enough walk (3,000+ miles) to enjoy the scenery. Alan was met with people and circumstances delaying his walk several times; for example, being mugged, recovering from serious injuries, having a brain tumor (benign), surgery, more recovery, and caring for his dying father. Alan’s walk was delayed by almost 200 pages at the start of book four while staying in Pasadena with his father; however, the lessons he learned while caring for his dad are noteworthy. He grew to appreciate his father more than ever before. He never knew the sacrifices his father had made on his behalf. His dad had written a family history, which gave Alan insight into his grandparents, parents, and his own life growing up as a child. It made me want to write such a history for my own children.

One long part of his journey confronted Alan’s need to extend grace and forgiveness to other individuals. There are some great quotes in the third book which primarily deals with this concept. For example, “we chain ourselves to what we do not forgive.”

Alan’s business partner had stolen his company, which lead him down one path of bitterness. The Holocaust survivor Leszek, who found him passed out on the side of the road, was instrumental in helping him see the value of forgiveness. Alan wrote, “Leszek has taken me into his home to care for me. Would I have done the same for him? I’m ashamed to answer.” We thought it a bit unrealistic that he would run into a Polish, Jewish man in South Dakota, but we tended to overlook these kinds of conflicting details and just read the message. After that encounter (and a lot of introspection) Alan penned Leszek’s words, “It is not the ability to walk that pleases God, it is the desire to walk. The desire to do the right thing. The truest measure of a man is seen in the actions that follow.”

Also, McKale’s mother Pamela searched and found Alan. She showed up in book three. He dismissed her, but she followed (stalked) him for a lengthy part of his journey. Early in the series we learned that McKale and Alan were childhood friends and sweethearts. She was the girl next door — literally. Her mother had left her with an abusive father when she was young, and Alan never understood why. He held a disdain for her mother that is evident in the following book quote: “There are people such as Benedict Arnold or Adolf Hitler, whose names become synonymous with evil and more adjective than proper noun. For me, ‘Pamela’ is such a name.”

Pamela could not keep up with him. She didn’t have a backpack or proper footwear, was not drinking water or eating, but she was persistent in finding ways to locate him on his journey. Multiple times she had a driver drop her off on the road beside Alan. He kept walking. She became quite ill from trying, and finally passed out on the street where Alan had a decision to make: Go back and help her, or keep on going. Fortunately for her he did the right thing, the most unselfish thing to date. There was an interesting plot twist when he finally decided to hear what she wanted to say. And yes, he did choose to forgive her. He wrote, “To forgive is to unlock the cage of another’s folly to set ourselves free.”

“As we walk our individual life journeys, we pick up resentments and hurts, which attach themselves to our souls like burrs clinging to a hiker’s socks. These stowaways may seem insignificant at first, but, over time, if we do not occasionally stop and shake them free, the accumulation becomes a burden to our souls.”
Book 3, Chapter 9

Alan had a few potential love interests along the way, none of them sexual, which was a bit unrealistic in our view (the closest he came to having sex was with a young single mom Analise who shared his bed and invited him to make love to her, but he rejected her offer because he couldn’t imagine giving himself in that way to anyone but his wife McKale). While he remained pure in his commitment to his deceased wife, he shared hotel rooms, homes, beds, and even his tent and sleeping bag with various women. Perhaps the author’s attempt to keep it PG played into this decision. As a Christian I appreciated the purity, but it seemed unrealistic for a man in his 30s.

“People aren’t wired to be alone. Even in the stressful population of prison, solitary confinement is still considered a cruel punishment. “
Book 2, Chapter 13

Alan finally started moving past McKale’s death as he discovered the second love of his life. Until the very end, the reader was left wondering who it would be? The young mom, or the other two more prominent characters Nicole or Falene? It wasn’t Analise. She was only present in the one story, never to show up again.

One possible love option was Nicole. He knew her as “Angel” at first. He fixed her flat tire on the highway, and then she nursed him back to health after his mugging in Spokane. They lived together for several months while he was recovering (in another purely platonic relationship). Interestingly, while he was recovering at her place in the first half of book 2, he says, “My father came. No matter what he said, his search for me spoke louder.” She helped him deal with his feelings toward his father, and he helped her get through her depression by watching her bucket list of movies together and sharing life together. There was a lot of healing that took place physically, emotionally, and relationally, one of life’s many lessons.

In English we have one word for love. I wish we had different words like we see in other languages, as it would make our communication about this emotion much clearer. Alan was very grateful for Nicole’s compassion. He loved her, and her love for him grew stronger each day. But he loved her more like a sister. When they eventually kissed in the final book, after she had pursued him the entire series, she realized at that moment she wasn’t in love with him but loved him in the same way he loved her. She loved him like a brother. Alan and Nicole remained good friends throughout the series, and they stay connected. Admittedly, the love triangle was resolved a little less messy than I’ve read in other novels. (She ended up with the doctor who was treating his father.)

So that leaves Falene. She was introduced in the first book. She was his assistant at the advertising agency which he owned. When he lost his business and took off walking, she was the only one who stood by his side. She helped him by organizing his stuff, helping him fund his walk through the sale of his things. It took him five books and a trip across the country to realize she was the one for him. He wanted to reach out to her but she had moved to New York and changed her contact details so he could not find her. He hired a private investigator and found her phone number, but he didn’t call her right away. He finally called her after his father died. He asked her to come to the funeral where she told him she was engaged to be married.

From the time she met him she was in love, but he was married to McKale so she had never pursued it. Even after McKale died, she didn’t think she was good enough for him, even though she was a beautiful model. She had several abusive ex-boyfriends, and believed she would always be the “girl behind the bleachers,” never good enough for someone as kind and loving as Alan. She agreed to help him on his walk so she could stay connected. Eventually she broke off her engagement because she had always been in love with Alan.

Alan and Falene finally got together when he was sitting on the sandy beach at Key West and he heard her voice come up behind him. I wasn’t surprised for her to be there honestly, but my reaction caught me off guard. There was a continual question of “will she/won’t she” so it could have possibly gone either way. I admit I was a bit teary when they finally got together 🥲🥲. I thought she would be the one, because he alluded to this in the beginning of the series when he said he never thought he would be married to a model, but the journey to get there was heartwarming.

At the end of his journey, Alan took an inventory of all the people who had helped him on the walk and influenced his life in some fashion. He was grateful for everyone he met, and each circumstance, even the challenging ones. Also, Alan helped several people along the way, like Kailamai, the Samoan runaway teenager who was just about to be raped by a gang (again, a bit unrealistic, but not entirely implausible). He pulled out his gun gifted to him by his dad after the mugging, and saved her life. The two of them walked together for several days, weeks even. He connected her to Nicole, who had by now inherited an apartment complex and a house. Nicole became a mentor to the young girl who became a successful student in college.

He wrote about Kailamai in book 2. “It’s difficult to believe that someone with so many trials could harbor such hope, as there are those with so much advantage who harbor such hopelessness.” She embodies a teen one would like to help. She loved stupid dad jokes, had a positive attitude, and her character made me laugh as I’m also a bit weird.

Kailamai comes back in the end and meets Alan in Key West with Nicole. The two of them were there to welcome when he finished his walk. In the restaurant they read a sign that made me laugh, and then go hmmmmm, “I dream of a day when a chicken can cross the road without having its motives questioned.” So many people questioned Alan’s motives. How often do we question another’s journey in life, and the choices they make? Take a step, and don’t worry about what others think. It’s your walk!

One thing I liked about the series was the spirit of adventure, and reading about different parts of the country where we have personally been. The author got most of it right, as he did take a road trip with his daughter to research the road his character Alan would travel. A few times my husband and I looked at each other and said, “nah…there’s no way he did that in one day.” Some of the stories were adapted from the author’s interviews with a holocaust survivor, hitchhiker, and others who he met on that road trip, which did make it feel more authentic at times.

I was also inspired by the analogy to our own “walk.” Everyone travels a journey in life. Everyone. Everything and everyone we encounter shape who we are. The good, the bad, the pretty, the ugly. Even the health scares. I know I am a better person because of the ladies in my book club as well as others I have met along the way.

Sorry this is so long, but it is a five book series, so you can cut me some slack 😂🤣😂. I hope you enjoyed reading my review of The Walk series. Let me know what you think in the comments below! We would probably rate the series about an 8.

À la prochaine…hasta la próxima vez…until next time!

November 28, 2023February 18, 2024

New Scan Results

Today is chemo day, so I’ll take a few minutes to write an update. Tomorrow we are leaving for Natchitoches Louisiana for an Airstream Rally at the Christmas Festival of Lights.

I’m on an annual schedule for echocardiograms, mammograms, and MRIs of the brain (is that all??🫤🤔. Every three months — or sometimes a little longer — I also get the following scans. CT of the chest, abdomen and pelvis, and whole body bone scan. It takes about a half day, as they access my port, inject me with the nuclear medicine and then I have to wait two hours for the bone scan (which takes 30 minutes by itself). While I’m waiting for nukes to penetrate my body, I drink the contrast and get the CT scan over with. After it’s all done, they de-access my port. I usually need a nap after all that. 🥱🥱😴

I had my usual scans on November 22, 2023. It took a little while to get the results due to Thanksgiving. Added to that my annual mammogram (left side only). Nothing to worry about, but here are the brief impressions.

CT: “There are new indeterminate less than 5 mm pulmonary nodules. This this can be evaluated with follow-up imaging. There are stable bone metastasis.”

I have several spots in my bones that show up in the scans. Most likely it is degenerative. I do have back pain, but doesn’t everybody at my age??

Bone Scan: “1. Probably stable multifocal bone metastases. 2. Slightly more prominent activity in the lower thoracic spine is favored to be degenerative rather than metastatic, recommend close attention on follow-up studies.”

Mammogram: “There is no mammographic evidence of malignancy. Follow-up mammogram in 1 year is recommended.”

I have a cold, and coughing up phlegm. I believe those are the “nodules” on my lungs. I guess we’ll see in a few months when we do the update, but I bet they will be gone by then.

All in all, still stable! Thanks again for all your prayers.

À la prochaine…hasta la próxima vez…until next time!

November 17, 2023

Book Review – The Secret History

We ordered all these books while we were on the road in October. I was so happy when they arrived at the KOA safe and sound! The top four are the rest of The Walk series, in sequential order. The bottom one, The Secret History, is for our December book club meeting. I wanted to get an early start, as it is a doozy. I finished the book a few days after our November meeting!

The Secret History by Donna Tartt is an intriguing murder mystery novel. I was captivated after reading the prologue, which tells you that someone nicknamed Bunny will be murdered, and Richard (the character telling the story in first person point of view) was at least partly responsible for his death. Wikipedia calls this an “inverted detective story” also known as a “howcatchem.”

It’s not very often I start a book and have trouble putting it down, but this one was just such a book. Psychologically thrilling and intriguing as well. I was thankful the book is a work of fiction, but the story did seem plausible.

I started reading it in October, as I had finished our November club book quickly, and went on to read this heftier novel. It has over 550 pages, and small print at that. I finished it about a week ago, just after our November meeting.

I think this book could be made into a movie, although there are a few scenes I wish the author would have deleted. Those scenes did show you how depraved this group could be. The plot was quite involved.

Also, there is a lot of alcohol and drug use in this book. It is a college scene, after all, but are all college students that bad? I went to a small Christian liberal arts college for my undergraduate degree, so was probably a bit more sheltered. The worse thing I remember happening was the panty raid when all my underwear went missing. They were found, á mon grand et total embarras (to my complete and utter embarrassment), strung up in a public place. I’m pretty sure I know who did that. 😂😂

I thought the setting as well as the plot of this book were both very interesting. The plot had several twists and turns. You don’t even experience Bunny’s death until half-way through, as the entire book to that point is building the characters and providing a foundation for how this could possibly happen. At one point you could nearly be convinced that he has to die! From there you see how his death affects the other players, as they are waiting to see how the police and FBI are going to handle the case.

I thought I had it all figured out, but then the book deviated and meandered around corners I didn’t know existed. A flurry of emotions kept popping up, but mostly frustration at the stupidity (yes, stupid geniuses), and all the poor choices made throughout the book. I just wanted to slap some of the characters. Come on, don’t do THAT! Maybe it is a product of their age, but they had no foresight into possible consequences for their actions until much later. Nearly all of the characters go through a mental health crisis in the second half of the book, as they one by one begin to experience the repercussions of their actions. There’s a lot to be said about thinking ahead.

The main characters are six college students at an elite liberal arts college called Hampden, located in Vermont (I fact-checked to see if it really exists. While Hampden College is fictitious, Tartt attended Bennington College between 1982-1986, and patterned her book after this school). The six students are all part of a very small, prestigious clique of what I would consider genius level intelligent students of the classics, who are also learning to speak in multiple languages including ancient Greek. They have one professor. I looked up The Secret History on Wikipedia, which you could do if you don’t mind spoilers. Apparently this book, published in 1992, helped popularize “the growth of the dark academia literary sub-genre.” (I learned a new thing today.)

Several times I was forced to pull out my dictionary to check definitions, as well as my translator to look up the Greek, Latin, and French which the students used to communicate between themselves in public settings. I think it helps that the author actually attended a similar school, and probably had some training in the classics. Since I didn’t, I wouldn’t really know if the things they described could be for real, but it could be. I had to skim over some of the philosophical discussions, as it got pretty deep and a bit over my head. Their professor is a bit far-fetched. Who gets an entire building endowed to them, so they can teach just five students? Yeah, right.

I had to learn the characters, which were so many it confused me at first. To help with this, I made associations. Basically, I assigned famous people to each of the main characters based on the author’s descriptions, and how I viewed them.

A young Johnny Depp was who I pictured as Henry, if you imagine him to be a few inches taller wearing an expensive English suit, round glasses, and sporting a mysterious façade. Henry seemed capable of talking anyone into anything. He was rich and used his money as a means of manipulation and control. He started to remind me of a cult leader by the end of the book. I think Johnny Depp could really bring this character to life.

Gru from the Despicable Me animated series immediately came to mind for Francis, but since he doesn’t have any hair and is a cartoon character after all, I looked online for red-headed actors. When I saw this picture of Benedict Cumberbatch my mind said, “yes, that’s it!” He’s a natural ginger, believe it or not.

Christina Ricca sans her gothic persona fits nicely for Camilla, who is a twin to Charles; they are two of the six. Charles reminds me of Rami Malek (below) who incidentally studied Greek, and is an identical twin himself. This is something else I just learned! He would need to lighten his hair to a dark blonde, but I could see these two as a pair of twins in the story.

Rami Malek | American actor | Britannica

I think Bunny could be played by Owen Wilson, as he is a bit more comical. Owen would make a good Bunny, as he is the jokester in the group, and he knows how to make people laugh. I see that with Owen. Bunny can get serious when he needs to, though, and eventually his discontent with the rest of the clique is what leads to his demise.

Emma Chambers (left) or perhaps moreso Heather Matarazzo (Lilly in the Princess Diaries below) is who I pictured for Judy Poovey, the somewhat absent-minded neighbor who doesn’t enter the picture until a few (long) chapters in.

Heather Matarazzo as Lily Moscovitz in Princess Diaries | Matarazzo ...

Richard was telling the story, and I imagine he would look like Eddie Redmayne since he grew up wearing freckles, with intentionally messy hair. He was not rich, so anything fancy came from years of hard work and savings. I found this picture of Redmayne on the left, which reminds me of Richard in the beginning of the story, while the one below would come later as he seems a bit disturbed by something he has just done.

Lastly, we can’t forget one of the premier characters, the one who started the school of Classics, and has a substantial influence over his very select group of students, Julian. Donald Sutherland is who I picture when I think of Julian. He is an extremely intelligent faculty, knowing several languages and works of philosophy as well as other classic literature. He can be endearing toward his students, while at the same time aloof and uninvolved. One might think he instigated the murder of Bunny, or at least encouraged the activities that lead to his death. But he doesn’t take accountability and removes himself from any connection. He is an interesting character, of which I could never fully resolve.

Okay, I’m showing my age. Most of these would not likely pass as a 20-something aged college student, so we’d have to get some much younger actors to play their roles. But it helped this old bird keep them straight! Anyway, you get the idea. If you’ve read the book, who would you cast as these characters?

I won’t tell you how Bunny died, or whodunnit or how they did it, or why, (although you will learn in the brief Prologue that Richard was an accessory and Henry was the instigator. You’ll also know how he died), but I will say if there is one moral to the story, it could be summed up in the following.

Bad Company Corrupts Good Character.
1 Corinthians 15:33

That’s all I have to say about that.

À la prochaine…hasta la próxima vez…until next time!