Month: March 2019

How to Build a better Mousetrap: Recollections and Reflections of a Family Caregiver

My Other Links

My Ideal Partner: How I Met, Married, and Cared for the Man I Loved Despite Debilitating Odds

Thursday Book Feature: The Cold Dish

The Cold Dish: A Walt Longmire Novel

By Craig Johnson

In Absaroka County, Wyoming, four teen-aged boys gang-rape a Cheyenne girl who is developmentally disabled as a result of fetal alcohol syndrome. They are convicted but only given suspended prison sentences. Two years later, one of the boys is found dead, and Sheriff Walter Longmire must investigate. As developments arise, and a second of the four boys is found murdered, Walt wonders if he should suspect his friend Henry Standing Bear, who is related to the rape victim. The murderer turns out to be a most unlikely suspect.

I normally don’t read this type of book, but Craig Johnson was a surprise guest at a recent writing group meeting. He lives in Ucross, about twenty miles east of Sheridan, Wyoming, where I live. Absaroka County is actually Johnson County, about 30 miles south of here. Intrigued by his discussion of the setting and characters, I decided to try The Cold Dish.

This book is not your run-of-the-mill mystery. It offers humorous glimpses of small-town life, friendship, and Native American history and folklore. Walt Longmire and Henry Standing Bear, working together, reminded me, somewhat, of The Lone Ranger and Tanto, whose adventures I enjoyed following on the radio as a teen-ager.

I found the setting a bit disorienting. In the book, the Cheyenne reservation is in Absaroka County. In reality, the nearest Indian reservation is about thirty miles in the opposite direction from Sheridan. This probably wouldn’t bother anyone not living in the area, but I think it might have made more sense to set the story in Montana near Crow Agency or perhaps at the other end of Wyoming, close to the Wind River Reservation.

Also, I found the end shocking and depressing. I don’t know what I expected but it wasn’t that. What’s so upsetting is the stark reality of sexual predators getting off scot free, especially if they’re white and their victims are not. On the other hand, the book offers an underlying message. Revenge is a dish best served cold but better never served at all.

My Books

How to Build a better Mousetrap: Recollections and Reflections of a Family Caregiver

My Other Links

My Ideal Partner: How I Met, Married, and Cared for the Man I Loved Despite Debilitating Odds

A Tanka About Reading and Stress

The following is in response to Colleen Chesebro’s weekly poetry challenge. This week’s words are ‘Hobby” and “play.” The trick here is to write a syllabic poem using only the synonyms of these words. Note that I use “pleasurable pastime” and “have fun” as synonyms. you can click the Play button below the poem to hear me recite it.

Reading a good book,
a pleasurable pastime,
I have fun with words,
words that take me far away
from the stresses of the day.

My Books

How to Build a better Mousetrap: Recollections and Reflections of a Family Caregiver

My Other Links

My Ideal Partner: How I Met, Married, and Cared for the Man I Loved Despite Debilitating Odds

Song Lyric Sunday: I’ll Be Loving You Always

This week’s theme, according to newepicauthor, is “minutes/hours/days/months.” The song I’m featuring was a favorite at the nursing home where I worked as a registered music therapist for fifteen years before becoming a full-time author. At the end of the song, it goes, “not for just an hour, not for just a day, not for just a year, but always.” That’s how long I loved my late husband before he passed. Enjoy!

Always

I’ll be loving you always
With a love that’s true always.
When the things you’ve planned
Need a helping hand,
I will understand always.
Always.
Days may not be fair always,
That’s when I’ll be there always.
Not for just an hour,
Not for just a day,
Not for just a year,
But always.
I’ll be loving you, oh always
With a love that’s true always.
When the things you’ve planned
Need a helping hand,
I will understand always.
Always.
Days may not be fair always,
That’s when I’ll be there always.
Not for just an hour,
Not for just a day,
Not for just a year,
But always.
Not for just an hour,
Not for just a day,
Not for just a year,
But always.
Songwriters: IRVING BERLIN
Always lyrics © Berlin Irving Music Corp., Irving Berlin Music Company, BERLIN IRVING MUSIC CORP, IRVING BERLIN MUSIC CORP, UNIVERSAL MUSIC MGB SONGS OBO DOUBLE EXPOSURE MUSIC, MAURICE WILLIAMS MUSIC PUBLISHING, INC.

My Books

How to Build a better Mousetrap: Recollections and Reflections of a Family Caregiver

My Other Links

My Ideal Partner: How I Met, Married, and Cared for the Man I Loved Despite Debilitating Odds

Thursday Book Feature: Words of Life

Words of Life: Essays and Poems

By Ann Chiappetta

From the author of Upwelling and Follow Your Dog comes a short collection of poetry and prose on family vacations, vision loss, animals, and other topics. It also includes a work of flash fiction. An introduction by the author explains what inspired this compilation.

I met Ann Chiappetta through Behind Our Eyes, an organization of writers with disabilities. I like how she writes about the lighter and darker sides of life. My favorite piece is one in which she describes how she rescued two baby sparrows, only one of whom survived, and the hard lesson her eight-year-old son learned from this experience. I recommend this book, which not only provides insight on vision loss but on other negative and positive aspects of life.

My Books

How to Build a better Mousetrap: Recollections and Reflections of a Family Caregiver

My Other Links