Friday, March 21, 2014

Lesson from the Road #2, No sad books on the airplane


One of the things I love about my job is I travel to different places in our county and I get to visit with friends who have moved away from Alaska.  On my most recent trip I got to stop on my way from Logan, Utah to Provo, Utah to visit with my friend Michelle.

Michelle and I used to work together at an elementary school.  I was the principal and she was the behavior specialist.  She worked with the toughest kids in our school.  They loved her.  She had a way of holding kids accountable for their actions in a kind, loving way that helped them want to make changes in their behavior.  It was a tough, demanding job and she did it with grace, style, and love.  It was a very sad day when she left us.

I stopped for an afternoon visit and dinner with her on my way to Provo, had a wonderful visit, delicious dinner and headed back on the road.  I can't wait until next year when I get to see her again.

This trip was a lot easier than the last.  My luggage made it, I didn't have to use the extra shirt and undies I packed in my carry-on.  They are ready for next week.  I got to read, read, read.  Sitting on a plane is a little like heaven to me.  No one talks to you except to ask you what you want to eat and/or drink, and I have hours of uninterrupted reading time.  I read several books, The Alchemist (I like juvenile fiction so I can discuss books with my niece), The Museum of Extraordinary Things by Alice Hoffman (wonderful!), Lost Lake by Sarah Addison Allen (one of my favorite authors), The invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd, and The Fault of our Stars by John Greene, amazing book but "Spoiler Alert" gut-wrenchingly sad...and , um, I'm a cryer...and not quiet about it.

So there I sat in the window seat, with some poor guy to my left, I'm reading, tears dripping off my chin, I'm trying not to sob (not successfully), and this guy next to me is SO uncomfortable, he askes the stewardess if he can change seats! Awesome book, if you are home alone and can cry in peace, not so much for a sold out airplane.

So only happy books for the rest of my Spring travels.  I'm headed out again next week, I'm headed to the book store for something funny.  Any suggestions?

1 year ago:   Bistro Steak with Red Wine Sauce and the 12 year old Dentist
2 years ago:  Cherry Danish and Racing Mr. J

March 21, 2014  Daylight 12 hrs, 23 min. 37 secs.  Temp.  H 28/ L 0°F

4 comments:

  1. I loved seeing you. Looking forward to the next visit.

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  2. Have you read any of Lisa Genova's books? Left Neglected, Still Alice and Love Anthony. She's trained in neuroscience so her fictional books have a lot of science base in them and are so interesting in addition to well written. I honestly thought I'd be in tears at the end of Still Alice (early onset Alzeimers) but it wasn't like that. Left Neglected you really have to read to understand. I'd never heard of this problem the woman has after a car crash but the book is kinda funny. I haven't read Love Anthony but that's about two women and a boy with autism.

    I refused to read our book club book in January because the whole thing consisted of the dying wishes/thoughts of a dog and his owner. Why the hell do I want to read that in one of the most depressing winter months? Geez.

    And the worst episode I've had on a plane was watching The Blind Side for the first time. They should really rate those things in the book with 'number of tears out of 5' or something.

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    Replies
    1. Hey Lindsay,
      Still Alice is on my "books to read" list. I'll look for that next. And yes, books and movies should be rated on a tear scale for public consumption!

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