It Is Just Not The Same

As a child, I remember the first Christmas morning I woke up after I knew Santa Clause was a big fat lie.  It was not the same.  A few years later,  I remember the Christmas I woke up after I had snooped and found all the presents ahead of time and knew what every one was going to get.  Talk about a flat experience.  Then as the years rolled by my Christmas mornings became the year that great grandmother was not there anymore making gooey soft sweet cinnamon rolls to dive into after gifts were open,  or later my grandmother's fudge and my great aunt's nut bread were suddenly missing.   After magical years of my own children's Christmas mornings suddenly they were no longer little ones.  And the holidays since my mom died have been the worst - I learned not only that there WAS a Santa after all, but she had the nerve to go and die on me.  So as the years have rolled on I have found the best strategy for me is to grab what joy presents itself at holiday time and scale back the expectations.  That is why last weekend was so special.  My daughter came to visit me and we made memories.  We started the weekend with Friday Evening at the OUTLET MALL.  On Saturday we watched a matinee on NETFLIX  

before we had a magical meal at The Golden Lamb.   It was a magical meal.  They seated us in a window seat and we could watch the throng of people down town along with  preparations for the parade that we later watched after doing some down town shopping in the historical little Ohio town of Lebanon.  

I was sad when my daughter headed home on Sunday about noon.  But that afternoon we had some laughs as we had tickets to go see Jeff Dunham at the Nutter Center in Dayton.

Although I started my work week this past week tired,  I have to say that 2015 has so far been a holiday season to add some memories to the memory bank.  And I wish the same experience to every one else.

The Christmas Train by David Baldacci

The Christmas Train

by

David Baldacci

The audio version of The Christmas Train by David Baldacci is delightful.  It is filled with train whistles and the sound of the locomotion moving along the track.  There is Christmas music included in the performance.   The story itself is a fun one. Although some what typical of Christmas stories in some ways,  it has some surprising twists and turns in the way we all have come to expect from David Baldacci.  The book would be considered a comedy romance.  A middle aged investigative reporter is banned from flying for two years for a physical altercation with air port security.  In order to get to a vacation at Lake Tahoe for the holiday he takes a train.  He meets an assortment of interesting characters on the train,  along with a woman that is a blast from his past.  Things get dangerous as a fierce winter storm derails the train and they begin to run out of fuel, food and water.  Amidst the twists and turns of the novel Baldacci has woven the history of trains in the United States,  interesting facts about the towns and countryside the train travels through between Washington DC and LA, along with antidotes from and about Mark Twain.  I would very much recommend this book as a fun read or listen to for every one's holiday season.  Be sure to click on the author's name and book title above to follow the links to more information.  And enjoy the video that follows.

I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai

I Am Malala

by

Malala Yousafzai

The local library in my town this fall started a daytime book group.  The December selection was I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai.  It is the autobiography of the young girl that was an activist for girls education in Pakistan and, as a result of her activism,  was shot in the face by the Taliban.  It was a timely selection with the current news in the world for many reasons.  Malala explains in the book the many types of Islam.  I couldn't help but think, as I read all the different groups that make up Islam,  that in much the same way,  Christianity has many denominations of protestants and orthodox churches, as the Muslim religion has many variations in beliefs.  Although currently there may not be any denominations in Christianity that are expressing their opinions violently,  they have a violent history too.  Just ask the women of Salem Massachusetts in the 1600s, the women in the middle ages in Europe, or Joan Of Arc.  But I digress.  Malala also explains some Pakistan history in her book.  For example,  when Russia was in power in Afghanistan,  the United States provided arms to the Taliban to fight against the Russian control.  So we armed the Taliban.  The book also  describes the infection of Pakistan with the Taliban belief system.  The media was used to fill the minds of the people with the violent poison and hate.  Radio broadcasts frightened the people into following the Taliban leadership in much the same way one of our presidential candidates and some of our news reports  are spreading hate and fear in our population.  This made me, once again,  realize the importance of critical thinking skills.   People need an education that teaches them how to think critically and draw conclusions based on reason.  The last part of Malala's book covers the events following her being shot.  As an RN, I found the medical care she received a very interesting part of the book.   This book has a lot to say to a lot of people.  The young people in the USA should be required to read this book so that they can realize how precious their education is.  I highly recommend this book.  Please click on the title of the book and the author's name above to follow links to more information.  And enjoy the video that follows.