A braggadocios hodgepodge and some trivia

 

See that big smile? That belongs to the Player of the Year for the Paschal High School varsity golf team—and Jacob’s only a sophomore. We are all so proud of him! The bad part is Jordan didn’t tell me about this for two days—this morning I finally asked. Turns out she texted the whole rest of the family but forgot to come tell me. I’m sure Jacob wonders why I haven’t congratulated him.

And while I’m bragging, here’s Miss Skinny Sophie—finally over her bout with bronchitis, she got an overdue haircut, and if she didn’t lose the ten pounds I wanted, she looks at least five pounds thinner.

My computer kicks up pictures from the past each morning, and yesterday it was this one. Ten years ago, at a signing for my second published mystery, No Neighborhood for Old Women. (Maybe you know the much better-known title I riffed on!) The signing was at the Old Neighborhood Grill. Jordan was a master at arranging those signings every time a new mystery came out—three a couple of years. Peter, who then owned the Grill, advised the best time was when he opened in the morning and again when folks began to arrive for supper. We drew good-sized crowds, sold a respectable number of books, and had a whale of a good time. Folks could buy whatever they wanted to eat and drink, and many stayed to share a meal. Those days are gone --signings seem a little archaic now, Peter no longer owns the Grill, and public appearances are hard for me. Sigh. Nostalgia.

Want to help fight the narrow-minded banning of books? Skylark Bookshop in Columbia, Mo., has launched a Challenged/Banned Books subscription service that will send paperback copies of banned and challenged books to readers each month. Per the Columbia Tribune, the bookstore is offering six- and 12-month subscriptions, with six-month subscriptions costing $150 and 12-month subscriptions going for $275. The price includes tax, shipping and packaging, and Skylark Bookshop will donate 10% of all proceeds from these subscriptions to EyeSeeMe, a Black-owned bookstore in St. Louis, Mo., that provides free banned books to students and families.

The subscription service will kick off with Maia Kobabe's memoir, Gender Queer.

Every telemarketer in the country seems to have my number on his or her list—and they all call between two and four in the afternoon, the time when I try to get a nap. So tired of being jolted out of a good dream by my phone. I am of the generation though that remembers the TV program, “The Millionaire,” and I am always hopeful a phone call is good news. I guess he generally appeared in person, didn’t he?

It's a busy time of year for travel consultants and title company execs, as well as high school students. Upshot is that I’m eating what we call “dinner on my own” a lot of nights. Not always bad. Last night I had a loin lamb chop, English peas, and a potato. Tonight Jean is coming, and I may make succotash (who remembers that?) to serve on polenta, if the groceries get here in time. If not, it’s scrambled eggs with smoked salmon, tomatoes, and green onions. Spring is a good time of the year to cook—all those fresh vegetables. I’m sad, however, that I’ll get no more corn on the cob. My dentist has convinced me my front teeth are in danger of splitting—another wonderful benefit of aging!

Happy Friday, friends.