Meeting Writer, Christopher Rice

Who would ever think that a book-signing could be a highlight of the summer season!?! In my case, so far, it has been. On Friday August 20th it was my good fortune to get to Provincetown, MA for Christopher Rice’s signing of his latest book The Moonlit Earth.

It proved to be a unique experience, an honor even. To meet such an intelligent, kind, friendly and engaging person as Christopher was wonderful. I was about the 7th one in line when the author arrived 10 minutes early just before 6:00 PM. He was dressed casually for summer vacation but did he ever look good – what a handsome man!

When he began to sign his book, it was clear that he was more than willing to pose for photos and to converse with his readers. I recently read Light Before Day, loved it, and was anxious to get his latest out since April. It was a pleasure to meet Christopher and to tell him how much I like his writing style and his character development. In addition I was able to compliment his mother, Anne Rice, and her courage in recently taking leave of Christianity. He told me that soon he and his mother would have a joint interview to discuss this intense and controversial matter. I will definitely look forward to it.

So often when you make plans to meet someone you admire ( I have been to many of my favorite authors book signings) the result is less that satisfactory. On this occasion Christopher Rice surpassed any expectation I might have had. Thank you, Christopher, for being you and for sharing some meaningful moments with your readers.

~~~Thank you to the gentleman who was in line behind me and graciously agreed to take the photo of Christopher and me.

Stevie in the Studio

My favorite singer, Stevie Nicks, has been in the studio since February with Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics. She is doing a few concerts this month and I can't wait to see her in Atlantic City on August 27th. Needless to say I am anxiously awaiting the release of Stevie's first new album in 10 years.

Back Again and Better Than Ever

Yesterday I had a most pleasant surprise. After I finished my volunteer tutoring in Roslindale I decided to drive to Norwood and to see when my car would need its first service. The onboard computer is telling me another 4000 miles for my first oil change. But since my xDrive 328i was one year old on June 1st I wanted to check.

So, I spoke to my salesperson, David, who is now in the finance department. I asked him to recommend a service consultant. I knew that Kim, so kind and so efficient, had left the job a year ago. At the time it felt like losing friend. I'm sure anyone who has experienced any stress related to car maintenance can identify.

Well, was I ever thrilled when David said those magic words, "Kim's back!" She had taken a few months off to spend more time with family. Talk about a dream come true or the answer to a prayer!

It may sound and seem silly but the confidence I have in Kim and the way she does her job by going that extra mile ie well founded. Just today she made it possible for my car to have that first service, including oil change, replacing windshield wiper blades, checking car pressure, getting an inspection sticker etc. The BMW $0 new car maintenance for four years is a priceless relief.

When the Ordinary Is Special

How you ask! Well it began with getting a good night’s sleep last night – so not the usual occurrence. I am in Reston, VA spending time with my dear cousin. It is our annual get together built around the Red Sox playing the Orioles at Camden Yard. The coming weekend is sure to be fun. So, anyhow this morning I was relaxing as I read the Times, did the puzzle (well part of it), sipped some delicious coffee and watched some morning TV. The View would have Whoopi coming out at 11:00 AM in a green Celtics jersey all set to root for Boston against Los Angeles tonight! What a lovely surprise!

At around noon I headed for the pool on the top floor. It was a perfect time to read my almost finished book The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest. Later when I went for a swim it was refreshing and there was the added bonus of two friends who were both entertaining and educational. Both women were of Afghan descent but much Americanized. One has a mother who works at the Pentagon. Both of them could get six figure jobs working for the US government as interpreters but are unwilling to subject themselves to the danger of returning to their native land. To make the conversation even more interesting the life guard was from Russia and spoke about how controlling her boy friend back home is with his 20 calls a day. We all advised her to run the other way and one of the other girls offered to set her up with one of her cousins – too funny!

After returning to the apartment I got myself ready for a walk to Plaza America only about 20 minutes away. I meandered around Whole Foods and then had a soup/tuna roll lunch. By the time I headed home it was raining, not a downpour but enough to get pretty wet. Back home I came to find out that the Sox were edged by the A’s 9-8. What was that about ‘run prevention and very little offense in 2010!?!

Time to catch up with my favorite TV series, Nurse Jackie. You see I don’t have Showtime and must depend on visits to family to get caught up on season two using On Demand. Cousin Curl is putting in twelve hour days unfortunately but she’ll be home for the opening game of the NBA Finals Boston Celtics vs Los Angeles Lakers. A Celtics victory would be the highlight of a near perfect day.

After Almost ¼ of the 2010 Boston Red Sox Season

Well it’s not as though I know anything more or less about the Olde Town Team than I did in Spring Training. The word was out and was shouted loud and often that this edition of the Boston Red Sox would focus on ‘run prevention’ with great pitching and outstanding defense. Just ask Theo Epstein who got the word out early. To this end the front office signed the best free agent pitcher available, Los Angeles Angel John Lackey as well as gold-glovers Mke Cameron and Adrian Beltre.

So, with the signing of Lackey there emerged what many thought was the best starting pitching in all of baseball, Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, John Lackey, Clay Bucholtz and Tim Wakefield with the rehabbing Daisuke Matsuzaka waiting in the wings. Lackey was numero uno starter for the Angels and as a result the Sox were said to have three #1 starters, Beckett, Lester, Lackey – an embarrassment of riches. But something happened as the first 38 games of the MLB season unfolded.

Josh Beckett after a very good opening day win against the New York Yankees was uncharacteristically wild in his next starts with a 7:00+ ERA and posted no further victories. Jon Lester got off to his usual slow start but has improved and is now 3-2with a respectable 3:91 ERA and 54 K’s. John Lackey got off to a fast start but was shaky in his last outing as he comes in at 4-2 with a 4:86 ERA. He has walked more batters than usual. Clay Bucholtz remains a conundrum – dominating one time, knocked around the next. Presently he is 4-3 with an ERA of 3:46 but with 22 walks and only 28 strike outs. Innings eater knuckleballer, Tim Wakefield, off to a poor start with an 0-2 record and an ERA of 5:63 was relegated to the bullpen when Dice-K was ready to start for the big club. After three starts Matsuzaka is 2-1 with a decidedly not pretty 6:35 ERA.

The bullpen thought to be a major strength of this club has been erratic and undependable. The closer, Jonathan Papelbon, has not blown a save but is only 1-2 with an ERA of 1:47 after 16 IP. Daniel Bard has been up and down. Hideki Okajima was given a week off when he experienced a slow start and some health issues. Manny Delcarmen may be coming around but Ramon Ramirez has not done well and newcomer, Scott Schoeneweiss is a bit of a disaster. So, you see that the pitching is a ‘work in progress.


Now to the vaunted defense – gold-glovers Dustin Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis have been steady on the right side of the infield. The Sox signed Adrian Beltre and Marco Scutero in the off season. Scutero had some early trouble going to his left and Beltre has been anything but the gold-glover the Red sox thought they were getting. He has 7 errors and often looks uninterested. It’s alarming how he fails to cut off balls headed for shortstop. As for the outfield, Mike Cameron has been injured and out of the line-up for over a month. When he was in there he wasn’t getting good reads on balls hit toward him in centerfield at Fenway. Jacoby Ellsbury was playing in his sixth game when a collision with Beltre resulted in four fractured ribs. Cameron is rehabbing with AAA starts and Ellsbury had his first rehab start today in Pawtucket. J.D. Drew has been his usual dependable self in right field.


So there you have it between the lack of quality starts, and the lack of a dependable bullpen the Red Sox sport a mediocre record of 19 wins and 19 losses. As of May 3rd their fielding percentage was the second worst in the American League although it has been better in recent days. The feeling of confusion about what we can expect, injuries aside, from this team may be answered shortly as they face a tough schedule of games with the Yankees, Twins, Phillies and Rays in the next ten days. Personally I’m finding it hard to accept that the 2010 Boston Red Sox may be no better than a .500 team. Time will tell…

Raspberries To:

Underwire bras which set off airport security requiring a full body search to indeed verify that one is not wearing a weapon of mass destruction~

Fridays when the Bruins, Celtics and Red Sox all lose~

Photo discs made on a Mac which can't be played on a PC~

Mean people~

People who don't listen~

MLB pitchers unraveling~

NBA teams not playing defense~

Those who neglect to show appreciation - even with a simple thank you~

Hall of Fame football players accused of rape. Does the name Lawrence Taylor, former New York Giant, ring a bell?

The Vatican which is in the process of too little too late with regard to 'predatory priests' - can this old boys club ever come into the 21st century with regard to equal treatment of women?

Hilarious