Slow Reading by Bonnie Le Hamilton

 

First, I would like to apologize for not posting last week. Konnie wasn’t feeling well, but she didn’t inform me until Wednesday morning, and I had trouble sleeping the night before. I mean, she told me she was sick; I finally fell asleep. Enough said.

This week is my turn, and I haven’t been feeling well, but I am awake and thankfully, able to think.

And what is on my mind is the fact that I am a slow reader. I have always been, and I think I’ve mentioned this before, because my slow reading speed caused me some issues in college. Well, it isn’t all that fun in everyday life either.

Growing up, I learned the real names of TV actors generally when our big sister grew tired of me calling them by their characters’ names and informed me of their actual names.

The credits on TV shows usually run so fast, I can’t read them. Sometimes, if I watch the credits a lot, I can manage the main characters’ real names, but not much more.

Movie credits are thankfully slower, which helps.

Another thing about me is that I’m usually fairly good at remembering faces and can generally place where I’ve seen a face before. If I’ve seen an actor in something else, I can usually tell where.

So on with what is bugging me.

I watched the premiere of Star Trek TNG. I was, after all, an adult when it came out, and I grew up watching Star Trek. (Big fan here.)

So, right off, I spotted Brent Spiner. I didn’t know his real name at the time, but I had certainly seen him on Night Court.

I also spotted Johnathan Frakes. I knew two things about him. He’d been part of a two-episode storyline on Highway to Heaven, and I knew there was a connection between him and the soap star Genie Francis. Names came later. I did recognize him, though.

Lavare Burton was easy to spot because, despite being an adult, I liked Reading Rainbow. I even knew his name. Of course, he introduced himself in Reading Rainbow; I didn’t need to read credits. By the way, I did not connect him with Roots until I read an article about him. I knew him from Reading Rainbow.

Then there’s the guy who played Worf. Now his makeup was so complete there was no chance of placing his face, but man, his voice rang a bell! The problem was I absolutely couldn’t place where I’d heard it before.

This fact has bothered me all through the TNG series, the movies, and DS9. Where do I know that voice? It’s so rich, so deep, and so memorable, I know that voice! I just couldn’t ever place it, not even after that DS9 episode where Sisko dreams he’s a magazine writer in like the 1950s. All the main actors from DS9 are in the dream sequences, but of course, Dorn wasn’t in his Worf makeup. It didn’t help; I still couldn’t place him (whose name I finally got off the credits from Generations).

Then just last week, I was scrolling through Facebook and came across a post about “Where are they now” for the stars of the old TV series CHIPS. Another show I really enjoyed growing up. So, I actually watched the whole thing with pictures of the actors from the show and pictures of the actors now.

Can anybody guess who the last actor they showed was?

Michael Dorn!

The big, gorgeous, tall guy with the big bushy mustache and all that hair from CHIPS was played by Michael Dorn! The guy doesn’t have the mustache or hair anymore, but he’s still got that too die for voice! I could kick myself for not placing him sooner!

I might point out that, in the years since TNG, DS9, and Voyager, I have spotted some of those actors in other shows. After all, I do know them. I loved TNG, DS9, and Voyager. Though I think the one I enjoyed spotting again was Pam Dawber on NCIS. Even though she’s aged a bit from her days on Mork and Mindy, she was easy to pick out because her voice and profile haven’t changed.

It was great seeing her again. But even before she showed up on NCIS, I had read an article about her and Mark Harmon and how she gave up acting to raise their kids. So, it was doubly nice to see her on the screen again.

It was also nice to spot Marina Sirtis on NCIS, but she’s changed enough that it took me several minutes to place her. I did place her!

Anyway, happy writing, everyone! 

A Book Review by Bonnie Le Hamilton

 

It is no secret; I like to read. I swear I have more books than I have Nativities, and we all know I have a ton of those. What I don’t like is when a description of a book is misleading.

Case in point: Amazon describes “Christmas at the Marshmallow Café” as a “heartwarming and feel-good Christmas romantic comedy. . .”

I have tried to read this book a couple of times since I fell for this description; I’ve never managed to get more than halfway through the thing, which leads to a couple of questions I have:

Where’s the comedy?

Where’s the romance?

Okay, I admit, I don’t often get comedy, but I can’t find anything laughable or funny about this story, nothing. Absurd, but not laughable, I find the storyline more than a little unbelievable, far beyond “suspending disbelief.” And what I’ve read of it is as boring as all get out. It is a blow-by-blow of a boring “adventure” for a boring old lady.

And romance? There is certainly no “romantic” interest for the main character (AKA the boring old lady) and while her young friend does find a love interest during the telling of this tale, it is announced, but never shown developing, because it happens mostly when the young friend isn’t in the company of the boring old lady, and what she does witness she sees just the bland facts and not any romantic tension.

In fact, the story is in the sole POV of the boring old lady, and her outlook on life is bland. No flavor at all. Nothing. It reads more like the character from the old Dragnet TV show told her, “Just the facts, Ma’am.”

Because all you get is facts, no character, no inner commentary, nothing to give the story some pizzazz. Some curiosity that makes you read to the end.

Do you want funny? Do you want romantic interest? Do you want funny inner commentary? Read any of the Miss Fortune series by Jana DeLeon. Now that is funny, and the romantic tension is present from the second Fortune Redding sets foot in Sinful, Louisiana.

Of course, in this series, the POV character, Fortune Redding, is more of a fish out of water in the strange universe that is Sinful, Louisiana than your everyday common variety female would be, and the mishaps that happen! Well, it is hilarious, and as that comes from someone who doesn't often get comedy, I promise you will laugh.

It’s like book three or four when the good deputy and Fortune actually get together, but the tension is there from the start. Fortune referred to him as Deputy Charming a few times; of course, she was mad at him at the time. 😊 It’s funny every time!

I have found the series funny, and I’ve laughed every time I’ve read the books I own in the series. Fortune’s inner commentary is the funniest part of the series.

In the Marshmallow Café book, I can’t even remember the POV character’s name; she’s that boring and forgettable.

And the worst part about all this is, if Amazon can tout “Christmas at the Marshmallow Café” as a romance, how can anyone believe any of their other book descriptions?

Did they even read it?

I mean, really, there’s no comedy and no romance. Why do they list it as a romantic comedy?

This isn’t the only time I’ve been disappointed by a book blurb; this is just the only time they didn’t even get the genre correct!

I have a book I’ve had for a while and have read several times. I’ve enjoyed it. Then, recently, I learned it was book six of a series, and I found a sale on Amazon for the first five titles.

Okay, I can’t believe the same author wrote the first book and the sixth book. Two chapters in, and I’m wondering why I’m reading book one, let alone that it is the same author.

The sixth book gets right to the plot. It was a lot of fun to read -- every time. The first book seems to want to take its time getting to the juicy stuff. I lost interest fast.

And these are two books by the same author. Generally, when I like one book by an author, I like all the books by that author.

Of course, I do love Jana DeLeon’s Miss Fortune series, but I haven’t been able to get past the first few pages of her Mudbug series. It’s the same author!

Until this Mudbug series, I’ve always enjoyed anything by a favorite author. I actually like everything I’ve read by Dick Francis and his son, Felix! So, I don’t know why I don’t like the Mudbug series.

Anyway, happy reading and writing, everyone!

Of Memories and Birthdays by Konnie Enos

Recently, I saw an article about the events in our life that we remember clearly even as we age. The point of the article was the more things we remember clearly, the better our memory is overall.

Now I think I have a pretty good memory, and I remember a lot of events from my childhood at least vaguely. Though, I expected to the article to mention specific national news events which most people who lived through them will remember.

Things like the moon landing, walking on the moon. I know it happened, but I have no actual memories of watching it on TV. Though I have to admit I was still pretty young at the time. I was even younger when the Cuban Missile Crisis and JFK’s assassination occurred, so I have no memory of either event.

Though the events in the article were mentioned in broader terms and were personal events rather than national news. Things like the first day of school. Your best friend from grade school. Your first date or kiss.

I have no memory of going to school on my first day of school, it made no impression on me. I do remember our first teacher constantly telling me I was picking up my writing implement with the wrong hand, a lot. I finally learned to only use my right hand for that activity. Of course, I also remember all my teachers complaining about my sloppy handwriting. That is until I started spending my summers filling every leftover notebook I could find practicing my penmanship. (All this was before I figured out that I should have been using my left hand all along.)

As for best friends, we moved so frequently and changed schools so often that I can barely name three friends from grade school. Though one of those I only remember his face and first name. One was actually Bonnie’s friend and again only her first name. The third? I was twelve when we met, so far easier to remember. I also still remember my best friend from 8^th grade, but we’re also still in touch and both grandmas now.

I do remember my first date, even the movies we saw. Song of the South and The Aristocats. I also remember my younger brother watching us and my date disappearing halfway through the first movie. I found him talking to my brother and sister. After I joined them there, he disappeared entirely. Just left. His mom was supposed to give me a lift home, but he was already long gone. I had to go home with my brother and sister, but I don’t remember if Momma picked us up or her husband at the time. That was the last date I had until I was in college so remembering my first kiss was even easier.

The events I remember the clearest are the ones that made the biggest impression on me. I vaguely remember inviting friends to our 8^th birthday party. The party itself is far more memorable since it turned into something of a block party. It was the largest party we ever had.

I also remember our infamous 6^th birthday. From the plants falling on me to Bonnie opening two of everything.

The article also mentioned the Bicentennial and I do remember snippets of those events. Parts of the parade and the party in Ross Park, but I did turn 14 that weekend.

There were other things mentioned in the article that didn’t bring any memory for me, not even the events I knew had to have happened at some point in my life. They just didn’t make a lasting impression on me.

So according to that article, my memory isn’t that good. But I beg to differ. Most of the specific memories they mentioned did not make a lasting impression on me, but I do have lasting memories, some from when I was no more than three years old. True, the older ones are just snippets here and there and the details, names, dates, etc. are vague. The feelings are not through, I remember those. The stronger the feelings from the event, the more likely I am to remember more details.

Things like seeing Grandpa Westover for the last time or waking up Christmas morning with strangers in a strange house. (Both happened before I was five.)

But being the first week of September, and so close after Labor Day, the one memory that I’m thinking about today is the one I so eloquently spoke of in my post of September 2017 “Of Holidays and Other Memories”. And today just happens to be the date Labor Day fell on that year. So 46^th Happy Birthday, Dan.

Smile. Make the day a brighter day.