I am doing my column just every other month now, and even then it seems like it comes around too often. There are two reasons for cutting back, I seem to be tired a lot of the time and sometimes I just don’t have a whole lot to say. I know there are many columnists who write every day, but I just can’t think of enough to say. It’s not as if I’m writing a political column and keeping up with current issues. I do read the newspaper and Newsweek avidly and have opinions about a lot of issues and people, but I don’t feel I have the background to comment on most issues.

I do know of some people who write columns and give their opinion which is okay if you sign the column, but some of those people are so biased and write junk. I have stopped reading many of those in the newspaper, both theJournal Star and the Community Word because I don’t like their tone plus the fact that they never seem to be objective about anything or anyone. It is still essential to be civil and courteous.  You can recognize that they have opinions that only they think valid even though they remind me of that jerk on Celebrity Apprentice who is so critical and caustic toward everyone. As I’ve said before, I don’t see why those in the public eye have to be so asinine.

My life continues to be rather uneventful. Because of the heat I haven’t done a whole lot in my yard. I got plants at a Plant Exchange last week at my church, but haven’t got them in the ground yet. I hope Memorial Day is cooler and bearable so I can go out to get the plants in. I need to redo some of my yard because some plants are very invasive, and I have to get them under control. I’ll get it done eventually. I’d like to switch many flower beds in my yard around, but it does take more energy than I have right now. Maybe I’ll never have enough energy, because I do notice that I have less as I get older and am very willing to just let some concerns go. I have often said that my lesson in this life is “Learning to Let Go.”

Another concern this last two months has been my son, Jason. He had some serious health issues and was in and out of the hospital again. I spent a lot of time going up to see him and worrying about him. What I found out is that it takes as much energy to worry as it does to physically work at anything. My reaction was also to hide in a book for periods of time because it was easier than dealing with my worry. I am definitely a read-aholic or a book-aholic. I love to get involved in a story about someone else and remove myself from my own situation.

He is doing much better, although he is back at work and just cut his finger on his hedge trimmers which was a new trauma for a couple hours. He had to have stitches, but is doing well. It was much easier to deal with rather than having him in the hospital. Thank Goodness that is over. I also continued to work which took my mind off my own problems. It is so good to be involved with other lives, because it does help to think of others and their problems rather than your own.

I’ve also done a lot of reading. Some of that happened while I was waiting in an emergency room for him to be admitted. I also found it helped to read sometimes just to get my mind off of him and his problems. I am so lucky that he is doing better and I am so thankful.

I read a different David Balducci that I had read before; it was entitled Sixth Man and was his usual combination of suspense, espionage and romance. He is a good story teller, and I enjoy him. It certainly holds my attention which is one of my criteria for reading. I read two Fern Michaels books which I usually don’t read, but Desperate Measures and Sins of Omission were both good for holding my attention. Someone asked me recently who my favorite author was, and I honestly couldn’t answer. I have so many favorites that I couldn’t answer. I like Anne Rivers Siddons and read her Nora, Nora. I also read Pete Hamil’s Snow in August and Vinegar Hill by A. Mansay Annette. Both are excellent authors and Hamil was a familiar name to me because he was someone Jack thought highly of. He is a journalist, wrote text books and worked on New York newspapers. He is an excellent writer and does a great job of telling the story from the prospective of a child. The other one I wanted to mention was Roger Ebert’s Life Itself, which is a biography and enjoyable. But I did get a little tired of his name dropping. I think he knew everyone during his lifetime, both famous and infamous. I also enjoyed it because he attended the University of Illinois, knew Peoria and Chicago, and wrote about many, many familiar people and places. The last one I’ll mention was Judith Guest’s Second Heaven which was an attention holding story.

I think I’m going home today and turn on the air conditioner which I haven’t done yet. Stay cool and read a book for escape in the hot weather!