Tim, Joe and Edgar

Tim

Here he is, the wunderkind hurler for the SF Giants. He looks like a 15-year old girl and, in fact, got wolf whistles in Phillie! This boy obviously loves to play baseball! I am using him to represent the whole team, now getting ready for game 4 tonight in Arlington, TX. Not such a good performance last night. They'll do better today, we can only hope. It's been 56 years since the Giants won a World Series. Egad! Eisenhower was president!

Joe

After lobbying for more than 10 years, we finally have a Trader Joe's in town. It opened on Friday to much fanfare, including a march-through by the Big U's marching band, a ceremonial lei-cutting, and lots of goodies for grazing shoppers. The place was absolutely packed all day long. I can now get my favorite nibbles without having to drive 20 miles one way! The process of getting this store was not easy. Initially the City Council gave permission to build on a site but ignored the fact that there was already a business there that had no intention of moving. The second site suggested was not acceptable to TJ's. It was all put on hold for a couple of years. Rumors flew. They're coming! They're not coming. But eventually, it all worked out and we now join the ranks of towns worth moving to because we have a Trader Joe's! All of this just goes to show how exciting life is in small town America.

Edgar

I have just finished reading this book and was sorry it was over. An exquisitely crafted and beautifully written novel. I was a bit daunted by its size at first but was hooked immediately and loved every single one of its 500 pages. I have a confession to make, however. It took me awhile to "get it." Miss Parker, my high school English teacher, would not be pleased at how long it took me to make the Hamlet connection. The author gives all the clues necessary; the mother's name is Trudy, the uncle's name is Claude, the dead father appears to the son as a ghost. How much more do you need him to tell you? And Ophelia? Well, she's a dog, it's true, adoring and faithful and not the least bit nutty. As one might suspect, it doesn't end well. It ends the way it has to.

Next on the night stand: The Help. It was the topic of several conversations at the Santa Fe reunion. Highly recommended.