Sometimes, you read a book and something “clicks.”  You’re caught up in the story and somehow you identify with the hero (or heroine).    Probably not for everyone, but I “devoured” this book in a matter of hours.   I don’t “save” many books after reading, but this one is a “keeper” for me…

Smithson Ide’s life so far has led him nowhere. He’s forty-three years old, weighs too much, and keeps himself numb with food and alcohol. His only emotional ties are to his parents and to the memory of his older sister, Bethany, who has been missing for twenty years. Then his parents die in a car crash and he learns of Bethany’s death in L.A. County. Suddenly there isn’t enough alcohol in the world to keep Smithy from his feelings.

Drunk and bereft, he takes his old Raleigh bicycle and starts cycling. Once he starts, he finds he can’t stop and then he’s riding across America to recover his sister. Along the way he meets all sorts of people who help or hinder him. He hears the confession of a priest; he rescues a boy from a snow storm; he has a gun pointed in his face; he’s hit by a truck and helps a man dying of AIDS.

Smithy’s ride is an extraordinary quest, to rediscover the past and memories of Bethany, but it’s also his journey back to life and love.

“Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it. The river was cut by the world’s great flood and runs over rocks from the basement of time. On some of the rocks are timeless raindrops. Under the rocks are the words, and some of the words are theirs.  I am haunted by the waters.”

It’s been “wicked hot” here in Southern New Mexico these past few days.  Not only have I stayed inside because the heat was unbearable, the allergens in the air have made me miserable.  (However, I “think” I’ve found a cure switching to Zyrtec from Claritin – it does make me a little drowsy though…)

After a long litany with my RV engine, it finally seems to be repaired and I’ve done a “major” cleaning of my little townhome.

My “finds” at thrift stores have been marvelous lately.  I found three DVD’s in perfect condition:  “A River Runs Through It,” The Wedding Date,” and “Walk the Line.”  However, I’ve been most taken with “A River Runs Through It,” as it tells the tale of growing up and relating to the “trials and tribulations” of family.  It congers up lost feelings…

On a different note, I scored two more Riedel crystal wineglasses for $2.00/each (stickers intact), and some interesting books.  I rarely go “searching” for particular books, relying upon the “karma” of thrift stores to fuel my library.  I did go searching (and was rewarded) when I visited the COAS bookstore and turned several books for store credit and was delighted to find copies of “A River Runs Through It,” and “Travels With Charlie.”

Did I mention I love summer?

As a child, I remember being in school at the end of May.  Everyone was giddy with the advent of summer rapidly approaching, but we always remembered the fallen soldiers on Memorial Day.

At Lillian M. Reiffel P.S. #31 in Indianapolis, Indiana, students would always bring flowers (which were kept in the galvanized board washing buckets kept in the basement) to decorate the graves of soldiers.  Each time I see a peony (with ants crawling around), I’m transported back to being a third grader in Mrs. Phillip’s classroom gazing upon the dozens of buckets of flowers (mostly peonies) in the school basement.

I’m thankful for the soldiers who have fought (and continue) to make our country free…

The “clock” also starts ticking for the springboard of summer.  Bring out the flip-flops, shorts, and everything else that summer stands for – crammed into one fleeting season that we use to mark our lives.  Lately, I’ve been considering the “summers of my life” and how quickly they seem to fly by.

So, my wish to you is to enjoy this summer of 2010 – and each other…