Book Review-“When David Died” by John Locke

The author says this story is a REAL true crime . If so goodness it's x-rated , transgender, death by erotic noose and with a hidden truth that will drop the reader with the shock.

"I Am Malala" by Malala Yousafzai-a look into governance in the wilds of the world

"The Martian" by Eric Weir....He was abandoned on Mars. This is his story of survival.

Oh my goodness I don't think I've ever read a more intriguing book that, in many cases, I did not understand.

To be sure I fully comprehended the tale behind the kilograms and meters. Astronaut Mark Watney was left behind due to a Martian dust storm that forced his fellow astronauts to take off, leaving Warney, who they thought was dead, behind.

Watney did not die and the story begins with Watney's efforts to survive, to communicate his dilemma to any living being, to somehow get food on a planet with nothing but red dust.

All of the components were left behind by the astronaut team, including three extra spacesuits, plenty of oxygen tanks and other froufrou that NASA designed.

Watney knew he would need additional food beyond the MRI's that were left behind. I did not know it takes a spaceship a year and a half to reach Mars. Watney knew that even if he was able to communicate to earth he would need more food.

How he solved this problem is one of the happier parts of this story.

The biggest problem I had with this book was my total lack of full understanding of the metric system, centigrade temperatures, miles that are kilometers. It was okay though. Most times such detailed knowledge was not needed. Still I wish I had a better grasp of such things to enhance my reading experience.

Weir uses his Watney character very well. The story flips from Watney's daily notes to the third person narrative of all that's going on back on earth and in the spaceship heading home, the one that had abandoned Watney.

Watney wrote terrific, funny and acerbic entries to his daily journal, bless author Weir for such writing talent. I think the switch between the narrative of Watney and the third person narrative to be intriguing, if sometimes a little confusing.

Please, everyone, read this book! It's just the right length, it's a great story, it's written well.

"Evil Beside Her" by Kathryn Casey…..Get past the boring beginning and it's a fascinating look at a rapist in action.

"Evil Beside Her" by Kathryn Casey…..Get past the boring beginning and it's a fascinating look at a rapist in action.

I began reading this book with little interest. Which may, or may not, explain my lackluster interest for almost a third of the book.

I am a true crime aficionado and most true crime books that intrigue me involve murders. My lukewarm interest wasn't helped by the fact that the beginning of the book was….well lukewarm.

Linda Bergstrom married James C. Bergstrom and it wasn't the most functional marriage in the world. The guy did like to tie up his wife and gag her during sex and I dunno, that's a bit strange. Maybe one time or something but this guy insisted on it.

And his wife agreed! Sure she hated it but right then and there my eyes begin to glaze. Who stays with such a weird guy? He was also obsessive, the wife says she was "forced" to sit by his husband's side and watch hours of war movies while not moving until he permits.

Well now this goes a bit beyond the gagging and tying. What woman does that? Linda Bergstrom did have a mother willing to let her come home but she needed to stay married to get the navy to move her then she needed to stay married for the money then she eventually got pregnant and stayed married for the child.

Amazon link

Along about the middle of the book things get interesting for that fine specimen of manhood began sneaking out and night and raping women in whatever surround he chose.

Now this reads like a true crime book. Linda desperately tries to get her husband picked up as a rapist. She tracks his movements and compares them to rapes in the area. She finds hand-made ski masks and cord in the trunk of the car, she begs the detectives to please arrest the man.

There's a certain common sense here in that the best result for Linda Bergstrom was for her husband to get caught and convicted as the rapist he was. What I found hard to wrap my head around was all she went through to make it happen.

I'm not sure she's a human to admire is what I'm saying here and she had a daughter who she feared would be the subject of her husband's abuse. It boggles my mind.

Whatever the case, this is an interesting read, quite a story.

It's a study in the minds of rapists and you know what? In the end they need to be put away, that's all.-

Ending With a Smile

"Rediscover Catholicism" by Matthew Kelly-Free Book Changes My Life Forever. Guest Writer Michelle Defines Love.

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Yes I came by this book for free, given to me and all parishioners by my own Catholic church, St. Jude the Apostle, for those who care. As I am to understand it, this book is being distributed free to every registered Catholic on the planet.

If true, then rightfully so.

Ok, first….the elephant in the room. Obviously this is a book that is directed to those of the Catholic faith. I'd argue, weakly perhaps, that Kelly's words apply almost as much to Christians as Catholics but there are cavests.

That heading of this post is not an exaggeration. I've read many books in my life and few have changed my life though many have affected it in many ways. Some books of my reading have changed my life, not always for the better.

THIS book was directed at me, I know it, and I don't even know Matthew Kelly so how did he know me so well with his words?

Kelly takes religious observation to a new level, applying a common sense logic to the things we do in prayer to the things we do in our ordinary lives. THAT'S the genius of Kelly's writing.

Confession, for example, yes a Catholic sacrament ridiculed by other religions from time to time, becomes very logical to those who think it strange.

Why bother, so might be the question, saying those things we do wrong to a stranger?

Amazon link

It cleanses our soul and we leave confession with our spirit renewed. Much like our cars after they are washed and buffed to shine, we tend to try to keep it in a pristine condition as long as we can. For a full week after my bi-weekly vacuuming I will pick up all bits of stuff that might land on the carpet that the clean plush feel of a vacuumed carpet remain with me as long as possible. Then I must vacuum again.

Kelly offers this kind of every day truth and applies it to confession and boom, Catholics who don't go to confession, indeed those who only go once a year per the minimum, are given a common sense impetus to "vacuum their souls" more often.

His definitions of current lives is, sadly true. We live either in hedonism, minimalism and individualism. In all cases, too many of us have forgotten our spiritual side, our souls that need understanding and happiness. Human beings were created in God's image. Dogs don't have souls, much as I love them. Humans need more than mere physical survival in order to be happy with the best version of themselves.

Becoming the best version of ourselves is what it is all about and Kelly gives many examples of why following the teachings of Jesus Christ will bring us the happiness we so desire in this confusing world.

Discipline, holy lives, the saints…..all things discussed in the book and made pristinely clear to this Catholic reader.

And more saints are out here in the cruel world, saints that have a mission from God, saints who need guidance and direction and who will in turn guide, direct and inspire others around them.

This is an upbeat book, the sort of read that brings smiles and understanding with each chapter.

If you're Catholic, get it. If you're Christian, get it.

You will thank me.



 

Drivel: What Is Love?

We were on the road that morning at 5am. The day was pretty well planned out and we didn't want to be late for anything! Harry said we could stop for breakfast around 7am . . . there is a hole-in-the-wall restaurant next to the place where he buys motorcycle stuff. "Will the motorcycle place be open?" I asked him.

"No." Too early on a Saturday morning, apparently.

"Okay, then, we can go there." Harry rolled his eyes at me and I laughed. Like Costco, he can't get out of that motorcycle place for less than several hundred dollars.

So we went to his hole-in-the-wall. A tired-looking waitress told us to sit anywhere, so I chose the corner seat at the counter. "Oh, could you move?" she asked me. I grumbled about it but started to get up. Why tell us to sit anywhere and then ask us to move? "Oh, that's okay. I'll work around it; I just use this corner as my 'office.'" And she gathered up some stuff from the corner that hadn't been in my way at all. Luckily, she was pleasant enough after that and didn't hold a grudge about me sitting in her 'office.'

We arrived in Monterey early. It's about a three-hour drive from where we started but you never know, and for our day in the Monterey Bay Aquarium, I wanted a lot of time. We had a 1:00pm special event tour, and I wanted to actually *see* the aquarium first, including as many of the "shows" as possible. Since we were early we went to the hotel first.

It was, of course, too early to check in, but we were staying at the Clement, the hotel right next to the Aquarium. This was our 30th anniversary celebration and I wanted it to be grand! The Clement valets the cars, so we didn't have to pay for parking somewhere else. We did the pre-check in thing and had them valet the car and store our luggage for later.

Then we walked up Cannery Row. Most things were still closed but we could smell the sea on the brisk salt breeze and feel the freedom of having all day to do what we wanted to do. Seagulls called to each other, but cell phones were *off* and no interruptions allowed, unless we initiated them.

We stopped at Johnny Rockets for coffee and hot chocolate, just relaxing. In a bit, we sauntered back down to the Aquarium for its opening at 9:30am.

We went in the Member's Entrance, as I got a membership card with my tour package. You get a break if you're a member and if I happen to go back within the year, entrance is free. Harry had a regular ticket but they let him come in the Member Entrance with me.

Inside, the Monterey Bay Aquarium is a treasure trove. Especially early, when the crowds are light, every space has something to see or do. (See for yourself: ) I dragged Harry all over, checking out the various exhibits, touching sea stars and kelp in the touching pools, interacting with the innovative "see what happens" areas. My favorite was the exhibit with a motorized camera - you control up and down and can spin the thing to focus on whatever you want. The picture above the exhibit shows you what the camera sees. Very entertaining.

I think Harry was just along for the ride. He likes this stuff, yeah, but doesn't exuberate over it like I do. We saw a lot of stuff before the 10:30 penguin feeding.

We got there a bit early and found a place to stand where the view was good. Then, just before start, the feeding announcer (I'm sure they have a different job title) had everyone step back and sit down. On the hard floor.

My old body doesn't do well on hard floors and I was quickly very uncomfortable. We only watched a small part of the feeding before we got up and left. (We weren't alone, either; some other folks did the same.)

They have a Web cam in there. If you simply must see the penguins be fed, check this out around 10:30am PST: . (If it's after hours, you'll see a pre-recorded penguin flick.)

From there we wandered over to the Open Sea exhibit, which was due for feeding at 11:00. The place was already very full; we went up to the upper viewing area and stood behind the benches. Even though it was about fifteen minutes to feeding time, all seats were occupied. Busy!

The Open Sea exhibit is very impressive. It's a huge tank (a million gallons?) with a 90-foot viewing window. No kelp forest, no rocky edges. This is meant to show what the open ocean looks like. The water is dim, so you don't always know what's swimming toward you until it's close, which is how I think the ocean would be.

To me, the school of tuna were the stars, but the sardines were pretty darn amazing, too. This one also has a Web cam:
.
(Again, if after hours, you get to see a pre-recorded cam tape.)

After the Open Sea was fed, we visited the in-Aquarium cafe and had lunch. Then, more exhibits. Seahorses and jellyfish abound, some of them extraordinarily beautiful or intriguing. Both are hard to keep in home aquaria, but the Aquarium is successfully raising both, in many species.

At 1:00 we presented ourselves at the Tour desk for our Romance Tour. A guide would show us around the Aquarium, even going behind-the-scenes to see things most of the public doesn't get to view. "Susan" introduced herself and offered to put my purse and our coats where they'd be safe while we walked the Aquarium. She asked if we had anything particular we wanted to see, but since we didn't she took us on what she called a highlights tour.

The Aquarium has a *lot* of volunteers, over a thousand. About 400 people are paid staff, and the rest do it for the love of conservation, education, and the ocean. Susan began as a volunteer but has joined the paid staff and still loves it. You can tell by her passion behind everything she showed us. We stood with her by the Open Sea, and then went behind-the-scenes, just the three of us. We saw baby jellyfish in big circular tanks; where food for all the denizens is prepared, and what the diets consist of; the resident albatross who gave Harry the once-over with one sparkling black eye; we met a volunteer diver; we stood atop one exhibit with sharks where we could see to the bottom and a short hop would have put us in there with them. And through it all, Susan's commentary reflected her excitement and love of her job, her surroundings, and the ocean's life.

When our tour ended, she took us to the Tower Room, where "Jorge" stood guard. Our stuff was there, and also a beautiful bouquet of flowers. A plate with dainties and two forks awaited us, along with a bottle of champagne. A keepsake Aquarium map with "Hakala 30th Anniversary" printed on it lay on the small table. Jorge opened the champagne for us and then left us to our Monterey Bay view.

The day was cloudy so gray predominated, but the view from that room atop the Aquarium is still pretty spectacular. Close in below us we could see the kelp beds, where people in kayaks sat.

Yes, sat. We puzzled over that for a bit. People - about five in three kayaks during our time watching - would paddle out to the kelp and just . . . sit. Then, behind one of them, we saw what they were waiting for. Sea otters! Living, swimming, playing, in the Monterey Bay kelp beds. The woman with her back to them couldn't see the seven otters who cavorted not far away. We wanted to shout down to her, make
her turn around. Eventually, she gave up and paddled back to shore, never seeing the otters playing.

We enjoyed the view, our champagne, fresh strawberries and chocolate candies up in the Tower Room for about an hour. After that, we got our hands stamped in case we wanted to come back, and walked over to the hotel.

Our room was ready and we had some time before the next event, a Twilight Couples massage at 6:30 at the hotel spa. In the meantime we checked into our room (our luggage was brought up for us) and relaxed. The room had a partial Bay view, but I found the downward view more interesting. There was a patio-type area attached to the hotel, with a big fire pit.

In our room a fireplace graced one wall. Gas logs flared up on command, a glass front kept curious fingers out of the fire, and the warmth could be felt if you stood in front. The fire went out on its own after about 20 minutes.

The room was spacious and comfortable, and the bathroom had both a shower and a tub.

We went over to the spa for our massages and promptly got lost. While the spa door (across the Row from the hotel) is clearly marked, finding the spa reception desk is not easy. We did find it, though, and enjoyed some hot tea and warmed lavender neck pillows before our massage.

The Twilight Couples massage is an interesting experience. We shared the room but had our own massage therapists. The pace of the massages differed a bit, but the style was the same. The 50 minute massage was a good choice, but I prefer the person I go to here in town.

After massage we went looking for dinner. A recommendation by a spa employee sent us to The Sardine Factory. Not an elegant name, but the restaurant is pretty cool. A long set of steps surrounded by beautiful foliage lead you to the front door. Once in, music from a piano sways you to your seat. The food is a bit fancier than I like but it was good and there was enough of it.

The best part, though, was the piano. A real man played it! Harry put a twenty in the tip jar and requested about six songs over the course of dinner. It was a bit like a negotiation most of the time, though. Harry would ask for "Stranger In My House" and the piano man would counter with "Lost in the Fifties Tonight." Harry wanted "Maggie Mae" and got some other Rod Stewart song I didn't know. When we asked for "Blue Velvet," though, we got it, and it was like hitting the jackpot. The singer did a good job with all the songs he did and the music and interaction complemented the meal perfectly.

Afterward, back to the hotel in a short walk down the Row, nightlife happening in every shop and the area lit up like a festival. Music and laughter rolled down the Row with us.

Back in the room, I lit the fireplace to see the glow shimmering in our room. If you want to know what went on after the lights were out, tough. Not going there. :-)

The next morning we were up and out fairly early (though not at 2:00am like we were for the Disneyland trip). After we got home, we split up. I went to pick up the dog from my mom's house and Harry took his motorcycle out on a two-day ride. (After a necessary rearrangement ofvehicles.)

So . . . What Is Love?
* A husband who books a bunch of days off in July, one of his busiest months.
* A romantic getaway, just the two of us.
* A wife who says "go ride!" when there's time off left over.
* Knowing that, together or apart, we are one.

Priceless.

Michelle
The Desk Drawer writer's exercise
list



Ending With a Smile

"Practice to Deceive" BY Ann Rule-Murder and Crazy as Only Rule Can Write

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Ann Rule hits another home run with this book about the murder of Russel Douglas, father of two children, murdered suddenly and for no apparent reason.

It's a crime worthy of Rule with multiple characters, twists, turns, suspense and culprit descriptions that hit the bullseye.

Peggy Sue Stackhouse, boy what a nut case this woman is. Men adored her. Men married her, men shared their wealth with her, men murdered for her.

The reason for Douglas' death is so superficial, so totally unnecessary, as to flabberghast.

Peggy Stackhouse was a friend of Brenna Douglas, wife of Russel. Brenna was renting a house from Stackhouse. Brenna wanted to buy the house; Peggy Stackhouse wanted to sell it. But Brenna would need some money to make the sale. Russel Douglas had a big life insurance policy to guarantee his life.

So Peggy, with a little help from her boyfriend-du-jour, Jim Huden, ambushed Russel Stackhouse by leading him to an isolated locale and murdering the man in cold blood.

It's the sort of True Crime story that intrigues.

It's the sort of True Crime story that should only be written by the mistress of the genre-Ann Rule.

Get this book and settle down for a good early winter read.

Ending With a Smile

"Dare I Call It Murder?"-A Not So Well-Written Tale of Family Murder and the Aftermath

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A Not So Well-Written Tale of Family Murder and the Aftermath
================================

I'd seen this story on a Dateline episode recently and I was intrigued.

As I recalled, before I began reading the book, the Dateline story told the tale of Gary Edwards and just the quick description perked my True-Crime loving ears.

The Edwards family had embarked upon a trip around the world on a boat built by Loren Edwards, father of the author, Larry Edwards, and his brother, Gary. Loren, a somewhat skilled boatsman, was allegedly smacked unconscious and eventually to death by a sailboat boom. His wife, Joanne Edwards, was so despondent that she allegedly took the boat's gun and shot herself in the head. She did not survive.

Right there I was stopped cold and this was just the Dateline story. The wife was so despondent that her husband lay dead due to a runaway sail boom and in her despair she shoots herself out on the high seas?

Also on this boat trip were a family friend and Kerry Edwards, daughter of Loren and Joanne Edwards. Joanne Edwards was stepmother to Gary and Larry. Also on board was Joanne's daughter by her first marriage, Bobbie.

Man, I thought MY family was dysfunctional. At least no one ever murdered anybody so ruthlessly. While Gary told the tale of the runaway sail boom and the dead mother, sister Kerry suffered a massive concussion but did survive.

http://www.amazon.com/Dare-Call-Murder-Violent-ebook/dp/B00DT5HGO6/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1382302999&sr=1-1&keywords=dare+to+call+it+murder
Gary, it would seem, murdered his father and his stepmother and somehow cold-cocked his half sister to the point of a concussion.

What a great guy.

Plenty of law authorities questioned Gary Edwards and rightfully so. His story is full of holes.

Stepsister Bobbie did not see a thing and half-sister Kerry had that concussion. Brother Larry, the author, bugged out of the trip at the last minute.

Gary and Larry might be brothers, but they don't get along very well it would seem.

The book is a story written by Larry, supposedly a writer but I thought his writing was...well not so much.

Of course the guy is writing a story about his family. He had a couple of major points as focus to his story and in order to get the book big enough to be called an actual book, he stretched out a few storylines to the point of exasperation.

One was the "secret" kept by half-sister Kerry of the major concussion. In an honored writerly attempt to keep the reader in suspense, Edwards carried over the notion of Kerry's secret, hinting that it will be eventually revealed.

Well it was odd as all get out. If Gary Edwards wanted to kill his entire family, why would he just give his half-sister a concussion when he'd already killed his father with some kind of fake boom and shot his stepmother in the head.

One would guess the motive to be inheritance of the Edwards family estate. So why would he leave his half-sister alive as she was already injured. Gary steered the boat to safety, supposedly, and struggled to keep his half-sister alive with the struggle.

It was a strange story on Dateline. The Dateline ending asserted that Gary Edwards removed himself from inheriting any of his father's money. This was supposed to take suspicion off of him, so was the logic. I remember scratching my head during the Dateline show and wondering, goodness, he only removed himself from the family finance pool to get the pressure off of him.

Gary Edwards explores this story in more detail but he never much delivers the goods. Kerry wouldn't reveal a supposed secret she knew about that trip and by the end of this book she revealed nothing.

It's kind of a fake tease for an author to promise something he doesn't deliver.

It is an intriguing True Crime. I don't believe for a second Gary Edwards' story of what happened on that boat. I might believe a swinging sail boom could mortally injure a man but the notion that his despondent wife would shoot herself in the head out on the ocean just doesn't ring true.

No one else believes Larry Edwards though he has yet to have been brought to trial.

I'm not convinced that Larry Edwards did this story much justice.

Stick to watching it on Dateline.

Book-"True Hollywood Noir-Filmland Mysteries and Murders" by Dina Di Mambro

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"Filmland Mysteries and Murders" by Dina Di Mambro

The back cover of this book informs us:

Dina Di Mambro is a film historian and entertainment writer. Worked for A&E Biography and has interview many luminaries including Shirley MacLaine and Glenn Ford.

My goodness this author certainly knows her stuff. For Di Mambro has documented the inside details on famous Hollywood murders that I didn't even know were murders.

Take George Reeves, the original Superman. I remember him only vaguely but remember him I do, that handsome superhero who would boom, just fly right in through a living room window!

I didn't even know that Reeves died by a gunshot to the head. Suicide is the official verdict but the author, like she does so well, offers alternatives to suicide which are hard to deny.

Actually the author did this trick quite often. She took what had been perceived as a natural death and offered other theories to these deaths. The story of Hogan's Heroes Bob Crane was more about a scandal than a murder but Crane did die a violent death.

It was the story behind Natalie Wood that most informed me, indeed made me seek the book. That story is one of the most intriguing in the book.

Natalie might not have been murdered but manslaughter might be a charge.

True Crime readers should get this book. From first page to last it's riveting.

http://www.amazon.com/True-Hollywood-Noir-Filmland-Mysteries/dp/0615572693


Ending With a Smile

"Tim Gunn's Fashion Bible"- A Coffee Table Book for Fashionistas

 

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Let us begin by discussing the co-author of this book, someone named Ada Calhoun. I only mention this name because I suspect that this is the person who really wrote this book.

The book jacket tells us Ms. Calhoun collaborated with Mr. Gunn on other books and was a noted journalist in the fashion field.

She, with the help of Tim Gunn, compiled, designed and published a great coffee table book.

First, about Tim Gunn.

This book spends quite a bit of word power praising Mr. Gunn for his many successes and prowess in the fashion field.

And, indeed, I know Gunn from many years as a mentor on Project Runway on the Lifetime channel.

I also know Gunn, ahem, from his very failed stint on some awful afternoon show called "Revolution". Revolution was a show about women who make over their lives, mostly by losing massive amounts of weight meant to impress us all to hell into doing the same.

Funny how that debacle was never mentioned in this book.

The problem with this show-"Revolution"- is that it was a show full of itself, boring to the max as it lectured women across the fruited plains on what to eat, what to wear, how to walk, how to talk.

It was just such an excruciating show to watch that I was fascinated that anyone would think an afternoon show filled with finger-pointing and boring lectures would succeed.

I will never forget, one day, Tim's declaration that he hadn't had sex in some 20 years or another ridiculous number.

The audience went "boo hoo" but I sat out in TV land and first, this was a bit too much information and second, why so long? And third, I must throw it out there, was it with a male or a female?

Still and so, Gunn is very knowledgeable on all things fashion and this book was a darn good browse.

The books goes through the history of fashion, with intriguing pictures and with very good narrative . Tim inserts his own fashion advice as concerns skit lengths and wearing bow ties and these tidbits are worth the read.

This book is a coffee table book however, at least for the vast majority of folks like me with only a passing interest in fashion.

Wanna be fashion designers will love it. Note to all future Project Runway contestants, READ THIS BOOK!

There will be a quiz on it later.

TO ORDER Gunn's Book




 


Drivel: Measurements

Work has begun on our garage remodel. Well, actually I guess it began a few weeks ago when our two old icky garage doors (two single doors on a double-car garage) got replaced by one, state-of-the-art, oddly brown, with sunburst pattern windows, rollup garage door.

That opens and closes on command.

I - can you believe it? - actually had my car IN THE GARAGE for the first time in twenty years.

Briefly.

After the doors got replaced, the window in the side wall was replaced and we have ordered vertical blinds for it. Now the rest of the work is happening, and will likely take several weeks or more. Today's work is ripping out the old cabinets and plywood, in preparation for insulating, adding electrical, changing some fixtures, and painting it white. After that, we're hoping to get the floor done (as well as fix the exterior concrete) and after *that* new cabinetry goes in.

All of this requires measurements. Measure the old garage doors. Measure the old window. Measure the entire garage for cabinetry. Even the exterior concrete got measured.

In the spirit of it all, I find that I, too, need to be aware of measurements. My doctor says I need to measure my blood sugar levels, twice a day. Since about a month ago I have been considered diabetic, a casualty in the American lifestyle war.

I wasn't shocked. My mom is diabetic, and if you remember my eyesight tanked. I had intensely blurred vision which is a common symptom of high blood sugar levels. For several weeks I was having trouble focusing on my computer screen or anything I was writing by hand. For awhile, I took my eye doctor's suggestion and wore a pair of reader glasses over my regular ones so I could function at work. My new glasses arrived and I found I cannot see clearly through them for distance. Apparently eyesight can change - a lot - when you're diabetic, especially at first when you're still learning to regulate those measurements. Which I am. No insulin shots, luckily; just pills, and my levels are responding quite well to them.

I am thinking of seeing an endocrinologist to better understand what my options are and how best to handle this new development. I would like to control it through diet, exercise, and pills as well as I can.

The hardest thing for me so far has been the requirement to eat all three meals every day. I had been controlling the measurement of my weight (down a little over 30 pounds since the beginning of 2011) by having a light snack in place of either breakfast or lunch, but now I have to eat them both.

I must admit, though, that I took great pleasure in telling someone at work that I had to miss their lunchtime meeting because I'm under doctor's orders not to miss lunch.

Michelle
The Desk Drawer writer's exercise list

Ending With a Smile

"My Beating Heart" -The Life of Lacey Lynn. Next Delaware Governor Bursts Onto the Scene With Happening Children's Book.

Lacey Lynn Lafferty is a precious little girl who reminds me very much of my granddaughter.

Here's a link to my interview of children's author, Lacey,next Governor of Delaware.

Below a link to an interview on WMDT for the book, and here, a link to the Cape Gazette article on this book.

The writing for this book is a bit confusing although the vocabulary is very appropriate for young minds from age 6 to perhaps age 9, as I figure.

At times the prose is a bit poetic, as with:

"I did not know what was about to happen, as I lay there
thinking, I began blinking."

Which is nice but other prose is a straight narrative. I found it a bit disconcerting, the switch from poetry to prose and back but it was all very good reading. The story of young Lacey is told very well from the time when young Lacey could run and skip as well as other children to the time when it was required to fix her tiring heart.

The story continues on, always with those wonderful illustrations, to the operation and the recovering young Lacey on to a normal busy and active childhood, free from heart problems.

One thing about this book bothered me. In one part of the book young Lacey is shown enjoying a McDonald's happy meal with great joy.

Man that's about as politically incorrect as they come. Although had my granddaughter undergone any sort of serious surgery like young Lacey she'd for sure celebrate by consuming a happy meal, I understand this.

I certainly had no problem with the story of young Lacey and her celebratory happy meal. But you can believe some uptight liberal will sniff that such things should not be encouraged in children. I wonder if author Lacey should have been a bit more generic about young Lacey's after-surgery happy meal.

This book is well-illustrated with a most wonderful story. I am no expert on children's books but this is a book I can see my granddaughter pulling off the library shelf based on the title and gorgeous illustrations.

And a book children are eager to read will always be a good thing.

Congratulations both young Lacey and to Delaware's next Governor. This book is a great read with a terrific story.

For more information or to purchase this book.

"The Want Ad Killer" by Ann Rule-The Perspective of This Book Is the Killer's. It Ain't Pretty. .Guest Michelle Tells of New Cars and Painful Wrists.

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Harvey Carignan was not a nice man.

 

Ann Rule is a wonderful true crime writer.

 

This was not a true crime book on a normal par with Ann Rule.

  

I love Ann Rule, let me state this right now, right up front, with truth and honesty.

I didn't much like this book.

No wait!  I DID like this book, I liked it about as much as I like most any other well-written true crime book.  I was disappointed in that it was written by the Queen of True Crime and I didn't love it.

I am currently reading a book by Ann Rule and I love it.  So she hasn't lost her touch.  It's more how she wrote this book that made it go a tad flat for me.

Rule evidently had a lot of access to this murdering nut job who murdered four women, if not more.

 

We learn about Carignan's pathetic life, his alleged childhood abuse and, let's kick the elephant in the room, the fact that Carignan is a very stupid man.

 

It happens.

 

He's dumber than an entire box of rocks and yet several women who were way smarter acted without caution.  Meeting someone for a job interview, interviewer will drive? 

 

Not to blame the victims, of course, but a stupid man with primitive violent impulses preys on such women.

 

I did read the entire book so it was interesting and readable. 

 

The story of the vulnerable women was the most interesting part of the book.

  

 

Drivel: Fingers, Wheels and Groceries

A lot has been happening here and I wasn't able to update you because I was restricted from computer time by my Worker's Comp doctor. But I guess I should start at the beginning, eh?

On the 15th of March (has it really been that long ago?) I awoke in the morning with the ring and pinkie fingers of my right hand totally numb and dead to me. That alone isn't so strange; once in a great while I sleep with one of my arms under me and that's how my hands feel when I do - no sensation and they seem to be about four times their regular size - like your jaw after a dental visit. Within a fewminutes, circulation resumes and the affected body part starts to tingle and give the impression of being swarmed by ants. Then it all fades into a memory. This time, though, the numby-tingly phase didn't go away.

After half an hour, I panicked. Like a surgeon, my fingers are my livelihood and without them, I'm pretty useless. They weren't getting better and I didn't know what might be wrong. I remembered something about the heart - which hand would that be? - and images of nerve damage flew through my head (there are definite disadvantages to being a writer).

Still, I had obligations and my doctor doesn't open until 9am. I wasn't in pain and I could bend the fingers, so I went to work.

I did my necessary morning tasks (made a lot of typos!), then notified my team that I was visiting my doctor and hoped to be back soon. I was at my doctor's office when he opened. Filling out the forms was interesting. Waiting to be seen was agonizing. Visiting with my doctor was shocking.

"Worker's comp," he said, and called for a nurse to come give me more forms. I started to cry. Odd, isn't it? Thinking it might be my heart, I was dry-eyed. Being worried because it wasn't going away, I was dry-eyed. But mention WC and I became a basket-case.

It isn't that I'm indispensable at work. (If you can't be replaced, you can't be promoted.) But . . . one of our team had walked off the job within the week and a second had given notice. My backup had been pulled to cover the loss and train with the one leaving, so my area had no one else to run it. Add in that a major replacement project is underway, and the thought of being pulled off work by a Worker's Comp doctor terrified me more than whatever was wrong with my fingers.

I guess I have an inflated sense of duty. Good thing I never went into the military.

To skip all the icky details, my doctor sent me to the Worker's Comp doctor and that one poked, prodded, and recommended Ibuprofen. He couldn't pinpoint my issue but thought it was either a nerve issue in my right wrist or the tendon there was inflamed, making the nerve
*think* it had an issue. He hoped it would go away and asked me if it interfered with my job. His expression said I could be off work if I wanted to.

But I didn't. I said no, I just made a lot of typos, and he released me to work but I needed to return in a week. Put heat on it, he said, and stay off the computer as much as possible. He also suggested an ergonomic evaluation at work.

The numbness faded daily and the tingle finally went away on Sunday, March 18. Three days of that feeling has made me really appreciate my hands. Monday I went back to the WC doctor, who again poked, prodded, and said come back in a week. Useless guy, if you ask me.

I had my ergo eval last Monday and will need to change my desk setup. I'm waiting for the equipment to show up - keyboard tray and trackball - before I rearrange anything, and then I will try to match the setup at home. Until then, I'm staying off the computer more and sometimes
wearing a wrist brace in bed to keep my right arm from being pinned under me at night. (So now you know why this reads like a Reader's Digest version; I'm trying not to type so much!)

During all this, Honda sent us another "we want to buy your used car!" letter. Since the 2010 Civic Hybrid has always had the battery issue that plagued the 2007 the final year we had it, I made an appointment to go see what the new ones were like.

"You know," said Harry, "Toyota is right next door. Maybe we should go there first."

Why not? We're actually Toyota people. If you remember, we ended up with a Hybrid Honda because the Prius is just so ugly to me. Now, lots
of models come in Hybrid versions.

We ran the Toyota salesman through the wringer, but really I wasn't asking for much. Why is it those people never listen?

My list was short:
* Pay off the Honda
* Keep my payments the same
* Hybrid model
* GPS (map/location guidance)
* XM radio

The car he let us drive had those, plus:
* Mag wheels
* Leather seats
* Backup camera
* Sun roof
* Power seats
* Keyless lock/unlock/driving system

Nice car. I'm sure it had stuff I've forgotten or didn't know about. We gathered in the inner sanctum to review paperwork and they came up with the first offer:
* Miss payoff of Honda by $1500
* Payments of more than double what I was paying for the Honda

I almost laughed at him. When he went away and came back, the result wasn't much better. I think he tried three or four times and finally I told him I needed my papers back so we could go next door to Honda. Obviously Toyota couldn't meet what I needed.

Once he saw I was serious about leaving, he changed tactics. The manager came out with a better deal on the car, but still couldn't bring those payments down to what I had for the Honda. Best case was still more than $100 more per month.

Then we told them we didn't really *want* all those bells and whistles- we don't like leather seats and we don't care about mag wheels and I never use a sunroof anyway. So then we got to look at the Toyota color book, choose a color and list what we really wanted. To the above "first" list, we added the backup camera and power seats, two things near and dear to Harry.

They found us a car in the Bay Area that matched our needs, and the price was lower than the souped up demo model, which also already had 3,000 miles on it. After fiddling with the numbers again, we got what we wanted. The Honda has been paid off (I hope) and my payments went up about $7 per month, but I'm now driving a new Toyota Camry Hybrid. (It took them two days to bring it over from the Bay Area.)

I'm a Camry fan from way back and I *love* this car. I think I'll get better mileage in it than I did with the Honda, since my driving is mostly in the city.

The color is Cypress Pearl and it's not quite grey and not quite green. I finally have a car where I could rob a bank and the witnesses would say "It was grey." "It was green." "It was grey." "It was
*definitely* green!" I've wanted something like that ever since I saw a BMW that was a grey-blue.

In any pictures it always looks grey.

I was able to show off the car to a few people at work last week. "Man," said my co-worker, who had seen the recent Drivels about a new motorcycle and a new big rig, "I wish I could buy a new car like I buy groceries."

Well, actually, I get my groceries delivered.

Michelle
The Desk Drawer writer's exercise
list


Ending With a Smile

 



 

Book Review-"A Rose For Her Grave" by Ann Rule. He Had Rotten Luck, Having Lost Two Wives In Bizarre Accidents.

PIC OF DAY

"A Rose For Her Grave" by Ann Rule. He Had Rotten Luck, Having Lost Two Wives In Bizarre Accidents.
==========================================

My goodness but Randy Roth was quite the charmer.

He'd managed to convince two single mothers that he was their savior. Cynthis Loucks and Janis Miranda believed him and they married their hero.

Both were dead within a year of their marriage to Randy Roth, both in bizarre accidents.

Cynthia Roth drowned in a lake while surrounded by hundreds of beach frolickers.

Janis Roth climbed a rock with well-defined and used pathways yet managed to fall off the top of it to her brutal death.

Not only did Randy Roth have bad luck with wives, his home had been broken into twice, both times he lost many thousands of dollars from the thievery.

He said he was a Vietnam Vet. He said he was a Karate black belt. He was a charming and calculating killer.

"When Ben would start to worry about it," Marta says, "I'd look at him and say, 'Honey, Randy is part of our family, and he knows that brittany is underage. He knows that's illegal. There's no way that Randy would do anything against the law.' I ACTUALLY said that."

Above is how he fooled even those closest to him.

Randy Roth said a lot of things that weren't true.

Randy Roth and his son.
 

But you can only kill so many wives before the law people get suspicious.

So Ann Rule details the story of Randy Roth, the prosecution, the victims, the innocents left behind, motherless and heart-broken.

This book had five bonus stories besides the Randy Roth account of murder and trial.

These additional stories are short, to-the-point and intriguing, a pleasant cache of true crime short stories, just the ticket to catch a read over the lunch break.

Rule is, as always, excellent in her betrayal of all the parties to her true crime story. Her narrative is conversational but with technical and legal issues dealt with.

It is, in short and as always, a very good read.

Ending With a Smile

Joan Rivers All Over the Place, Including the Gutter, in Her Book "I Hate Everyone...Starting With Me "

Pic of Day
      

 

I picked up this book under my favorite section of the library, specifically, "new books". I kinda sorta like Joan Rivers though she can grate at times.

Still, she has a certain snark that appeals to me, not that I am proud of that.

And, indeed, I found this book quite enjoyable, the sort of thing one can watch while "The Chew" plays in the background. It's not a deep book, it's not even all that funny unless one is as snarky at I can be at times.

When I first started reading the book I was happy. We live in a society where we've all been politically corrected to damn death and here I was reading seriously politically incorrect stuff.

After a while I began to feel as if Ms. Rivers really stretched it. She stretched it to the point where it was almost uncomfortable.

A few of the snarkier chapter titles include "famous celebrity deaths" and "signs that your family hates you cause you're old".

Rivers reached a pinnacle when, in one chapter, she really over-stretched the bounds. Although I hasten to add, the "humor", though hidden deep, wasn't lost on me.

It was a chapter on Ann Frank and come on, she was a young, beautiful precious child who was forced to live in an attic, for no reason that makes any sense. It is believed that the beautiful Ann Frank perished in a concentration camp. She was a heroine of my young adolescent self and I got a bit uncomfortable with the following words:

"She only wrote the one book and didn't finish it. What kind of a work ethic is that? She has nothing to do all day long, yet, when it comes to completing the one task at hand, she can't be bothered. I mean c'mon, maybe this is why Peter Van Daan wasn't all that interested in hooking up. No one likes lazy."

The sarcasm isn't lost on me and for sure I'd never deny Rivers the right to pen her thoughts. Indeed, I still recommend this book to anyone who needs a break from the political correctness that now plagues us to silence.

Just be warned that, at times, you just might become uncomfortable.

Skip those parts of the book.

This book can be found here.

"The Emperor of Ocean Park" by Stephen L. Carter'-Being a Conservative Black Man in America

Pic of Day
     

 



The online resume of Stephen L. Carter has an interesting tidbit.

"His latest book: "The Violence of Peace: America's Wars in the Age of Obama (2011)"

I find this interesting because the idealology of Stephen L. Carter is a bit confusing, at least by the content and tone of this book of his being reviewed: "The Emperor of Ocean Park:.


Stephen Carter is a black man, a Yale law professor according to his resume, and I will add, quite the writer.

Which does not translate into Carter being a good author as opposed to writer, I hasten to add.

Let me explain. This book is about 1/3 too long. The characters are many, confusing and follow no logical order in the plot. The plot is okay, a plot that was put together by a Yale law professor and it shows.

Not that there's any notable methodology to fiction books written by Yale law professors but there IS a methodology by authors who want to beguile and entertain the reader with the quirks and turns of the action.

This book was one chosen by my book club and all of the members agreed that this book was one of the best sleep aids they've ever had and somehow I'm not sure that's a compliment.

So now I must jump in and proclaim that, well I did use the book to gain sleep from time to time, but this was a very compelling book on several levels; levels that kept me intrigued and involved.

This is a book of fiction, a mystery if one were to categorize it. Judge Oliver Garland had been nominated for a supreme court judgeship but was blind-sided by a former law clerk with assertions of corruption and fixing cases.

The book's narrator, Talcott Garland is a law professor at an upscale New England school disguised under different name but we're talking Yale here.

The book begins with the Judge's death and via the literary method of flashbacks and chapter ending teases, Talcott tells the story of his life with Dad the Judge, introduces us to his siblings, tells us about the death of his sister at a very young age, and sidelines a bit with the ongoing tale of a horrible marriage with the mother of his son, Bentley.

At the funeral of Judge Harland Talcott gets his first "clue" from his dead father, said clue coming from a known gangster with whom his father was alleged to have colluded with to fix cases.

Thus the story of Talcott Harland's race to discover his dead father's "arrangements" while being followed by all manner of folks to include wive's lovers, CIA agents, the gangster mentioned above, and various co-workers for various reasons.

Sub-stories include the sad marriage of Talcott with a cheating wife, his relationship with his only loving sibling, his dealings with co-workers and Deans all the while chasing his father's clues to whatever happened to his "arrangements".

In the book, as well as in real life, Talcott/Carter is a black man. Inculcated in the story is life as a wealthy light-skinned black and being the son of the almost unheard of Conservative district judge.

On liberals and conservatives, Carter shines. For the reader has no sense of the author's idealogy. The author handily summons the quirks of liberalism and the drawbacks of conservatism.

Let me be honest here. I read this book because it was assigned reading by my book club. While I might have pulled and read this book beyond the book club I doubt I would have finished it.

It was when  the author launched into a two-paragraph description of a tea towel that I lost it.

Did Stephen Carter have an editor anywhere in his surround when he wrote this book? I've dealt with editors (don't like 'em, consider them writers who can't write) and they'd be redlining every other paragraph had I submitted all that un-needed verbiage.

Sure readers like to, eh, READ a book, and a pretty writer might be able to slide a few extra words than normally allowed for the story. I'd certainly call Stephen Carter a capable writer, better than average maybe.

But he's hardly any genius with the word and he really needs to work on his story-telling skills. Just sitting down and incorporating many characters into every aspect of the mystery is not enough. Story telling requires an outline, a logical sequence of events that does not suspend the reader's disbelief.

A reader should not have to keep track of the characters by tracking them in a notebook is what I'm saying here.

Stephen Carter gets a C in story-telling, a B+ in writing skills and an A- for great political insight.