Dear Reader

Dear Reader Column 7-15-05

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Dear Reader,

One of the toughest, but most rewarding jobs I ever had was all about sitting in a room with someone. I was part of a volunteer program, and once a week, I visited terminally ill people in the hospital. I had attended a 6-week training course, but nevertheless, I was really nervous the first night I went to do my volunteer work. I assumed that trying to figure out what to say to someone who was dying would be the tough part of the job, but it wasn't. Actually the most difficult thing was learning how to feel comfortable just sitting in a room with someone, and not talking at all.

When I first walked into someone's room, we'd exchange pleasantries and a bit of small talk. But then most of the people that I visited just really wanted me to sit by them. And if the quiet stretch got too long, or they just felt the need to, they'd talk about what was on their mind: their fears, their concerns, their hopes for how they'd wrap things up before moving on. But most of my job was simply sitting. Sitting in the quiet of the night; no television, no radio, just the occasional loudspeaker page for a nurse or a doctor who was needed somewhere.

Two people, sitting together, keeping each other company and it felt good.

Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com
www.DearReader.com

Dear Reader Column 7-14-05

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Dear Reader,

I don't know if it's me or the bottles, but I can't seem to open them any more. Every time I try to screw the cap off of my water or ice tea bottle, I huff and I puff, and I twist and I turn, but I just can't get that darn cap off. I've been telling myself that it's because I usually have lotion on my hands, so I can't get a good grip to turn it. But this morning before I lotioned-up, I washed and dried my hands, flexed my fingers, even massaged them to wake them up--to let them know it was time to do some work--but I still couldn't budge the cap on my bottle of green tea.

Whenever my husband sees me struggling to open a bottle, he gallantly offers his assistance, "Hand me the bottle, Dear," he proclaims. But lately even my bottle-opening, knight in shining armor, can't loosen the cap and he ends up using a pair of pliers.

I think someone needs to tell the manufacturers to make some adjustments to the machine that seals the deal--that makes sure the cap it screwed on tightly--because removing bottle caps is really becoming a serious problem, even a safety issue. I was driving to an appointment the other day, and I'd brought along a bottle of green tea. But when I tried to twist the cap open at the first stop light I came to--no go--the cap wouldn't budge. Thinking maybe I just needed to get a better grip on it, I put the bottle underneath my shirt and gave the cap another try. But that didn't work either, and the light turned green so I had to go.

When I'm home, my last resort for bottling opening is to tap the top of it on the kitchen counter. So at the next stop light, I gave the bottle a little whack on the steering wheel, which made the horn blow, which made the guy in front of me turn his head, look back and give me a nasty stare. But I still couldn't get that bottle open.

I thought about hitting it on the inside of the door a couple of times, but then I noticed the airbag sign and I was paranoid that maybe the impact might deploy it. So I opened the car door, tapped the top of the bottle on the road, and finally the cap came off, but so did the entire neck of the bottle.

Apparently I'm not the first consumer to experience this roadside incident, because before I threw the bottle away, I noticed the manufacturer's warning printed on the top of the bottle cap: "Inspect the bottle for signs of breakage before drinking. Enjoy America's best-selling ready-to-drink green tea. Ginseng for energy. Where great taste and goodness come naturally together."

But only if you can get the darn bottle open.

Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com
www.DearReader.com

Dear Reader Column 7-13-05

Join my email book club. Over 280,000 people read 5-minutes a day. To see what books I'm featuring this week, go to: http://www.dearreader.com/

Dear Reader,

Our big oak tree seems to be confused, and it's driving my husband crazy. It's the middle of summer, but it keeps dropping its leaves. No doubt about it, our sapling is in a state of disarray and has miscalculated the calendar, because it sheds its leaves in the fall, winter, spring, and now in the midst of over 98 degree temperatures, in the summer, too.

Every morning when we get up, our car is covered with foliage. My husband says it's embarrassing. We don't have a garage, so there's no escaping the leaves. They're stuck to the windows, caught under the hood, they even drift inside the car when you open the door. While our neighbor is washing, waxing, and buffing his car, my husband is busy "de-leafing" ours.

I can tell that my dear husband feels betrayed. He keeps the tree trimmed and fertilized, and he even used to brag to the neighbors about what a fine looking specimen it was. But now he just looks at it and shakes his head. I've tried to convince him not to take it personally. I thought maybe a little humor would lighten-up the situation. So, I suggested to him that even though our tree is probably over 80 years old, maybe in tree years, it just hit puberty. You know, those tumultuous teenage tree years and it's feeling the need to rebel. I thought he would be amused. But instead, I think he took me seriously, because he's outside this very minute, showing our tree "sap blots"--trying desperately to discover what "motivates" it.

I don't think our tree is the only one who's confused. What is that old saying? "The apple doesn't fall far from the tree?" "The crazy man and his tree are joined at the hip?" Something like that...

Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com
www.DearReader.com

Dear Reader Column 7-12-05

Join my email book club. Over 280,000 people read 5-minutes a day. To see what books I'm featuring this week, go to: http://www.dearreader.com/

Dear Reader,

"Suzanne, I don't know how you manage it! Every week, you say at least ONE TRUE THING that I can carry with me like a talisman, repeating my mantra, 'I'm not crazy! Suzanne thinks so too!' I absolutely love you, Suzanne! Never, never stop writing..." - Robin

From my Email Bag:

"Hi Suzanne, I love the book clubs! I am an avid reader and am always looking for a new book. I sometimes get stuck in the 'bestseller' trap and that isn't always where the treasures are.
You've introduced me to authors I didn't know about before, for example, Mark Spragg in this week's fiction club. The first two mailings have me hooked--I have to buy the book."-- Kim H.

Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com
www.DearReader.com

P.S. I'll be giving away 5 "just because" books from my book shelf every day Tuesday through Friday this week. All you have to do is email and say hello, and be sure to include your mailing address--just in case you're a winner.

Dear Reader Column 7-11-05

Join my email book club. Over 280,000 people read 5-minutes a day. To see what books I'm featuring this week, go to: http://www.dearreader.com/

Dear Reader,

I've been thinking about selling my car, but I think my car has other ideas. Ever since I called the detail man to come and get it all spiffed up and ready to sell, strange things have been happening.

Four very visible dings suddenly appeared out of nowhere--the odometer tripped over the 60,000 mile mark, which means I had to take it in the for the big "check book" check-up; new tires, rear brakes, hoses, fluids, windshield wipers, nuts and bolts that I didn't even know cars had--it was time to replace them all.

And then when I was turning my car around yesterday--backing it into the yard a little bit--I heard a dragging sound. I got out to investigate and our old porch swing was stuck underneath my car. (We had pulled it out of our carriage house because we were trying to figure out how to get rid of it.) A piece of chrome on my car's bumper had popped off, and once I wrestled the swing out from underneath my BMW, I noticed that now I had another new, real big ding. But at least I solved the problem of what to do with the swing. Trash day is Tuesday.

Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com
www.DearReader.com

Dear Reader Column 7-08-05

Join my email book club. Over 280,000 people read 5-minutes a day. To see what books I'm featuring this week, go to: http://www.dearreader.com/

Dear Reader,

Where do you begin? Usually not at the beginning, at least I never do when I'm thinking about trying something new.

No, I like to jump right to the part where I picture myself doing this new and exciting thing. I always look accomplished, and quite confident in my new ability, so obviously I've skipped over the beginning part.

You know, those bumbling, awkward moments, sometimes days--heaven forbid weeks--where no doubt about it, everyone knows you're a beginner.

I used to try to hide those first steps because I didn't want anyone else to see me at my worst. The idea of knowing that people were thinking, "Look at her. She's not very good at that," didn't appeal to me. And for some reason felt a bit shameful, too.

So instead of asking for advice from the experts, I'd try to go it alone. And most of the time it worked pretty good for me. But then one day someone told me, "You know, Suzanne, you're pretty amazing for a beginner," and all of a sudden being a "beginner" didn't feel like such an unbecoming word after all.

Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com
www.DearReader.com

Dear Reader Column 7-07-05

Join my email book club. Over 280,000 people read 5-minutes a day. To see what books I'm featuring this week, go to: http://www.dearreader.com/

Dear Reader,

Feel like cooking? When I featured the book, The Devil Served Tortellini, by Shirley Jump in our romance book club, hundreds of readers emailed me their favorite pasta recipes. Readers loved the book, and I think you'll love the recipes.

Go to: http://www.emailbookclub.com/photo/pasta.html If you try one, let me know how it turned out.

Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com
www.DearReader.com

Dear Reader Column 7-06-05

Join my email book club. Over 280,000 people read 5-minutes a day. To see what books I'm featuring this week, go to: http://www.dearreader.com/">http://www.dearreader.com

Dear Reader,

Okay, I admit it. It's hot. When friends ask me, "Suzanne, how can you stand to live in Florida in the summer?" I give them one of those, 'you must be kidding' looks and I adamantly defend my home turf.

"It doesn't really get all that hot," I assure them. "If you flew into Sarasota in the middle of July, you might notice the heat and humidity. But when you live here, you simply ease into the summer. It's just a matter of what you're used to."

But I don't know. Lately I have to change my outfit at least three times a day: go for a walk, change my clothes; water my outdoor flower pots, change my clothes; go to the market, change my clothes; even think about going outdoors, change my clothes--get the idea?

Could I have unintentionally been putting a 'wishful' spin on the truth all these years? Kind of like the last time I asked my dentist, "Is this going to hurt?" "No," he assured me, "but you might feel a 'little uncomfortable'." And the next thing I knew I was screaming "give me another shot of Novocain now!"

But I really do like living in Florida, and you have to 'root for the home team' so, "Does it get really hot in Florida?" No, but you might want to bring some extra clothes in June, July and August.

Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.

Suzanne Beecher
www.DearReader.com
Suzanne@DearReader.com

Dear Reader Column 7-05-05

Join my email book club. Over 280,000 people read 5-minutes a day. To see what books I'm featuring this week, go to: http://www.dearreader.com/

Dear Reader,

A friend of mine keeps everything in her house in plain sight. Her cupboards are always empty--cans of green beans, Tupperware, casserole dishes, boxes of cereal--almost her entire kitchen inventory is stacked neatly out in the open. There's not a bare spot to be found on any of her countertops.

Over-the-door hangers that are suppose to hide your clothes inside the closet--my friend reverses those handy-hang-ups, then she never has to wonder, 'Where did I put my bathrobe?' because it's hanging on the outside of the door. Keeping everything out in the open is how she organizes her life.

I used to insist that she had some kind of disorder, and suggested that she might ask her doctor about a pill to fix it. But I don't know. Because lately, I'm starting to take a liking to her way of looking at life, and the things around her.

If my calcium and vitamin pill bottles aren't out in plain sight, I forget to take them. If the dental floss isn't lying on top of the bathroom vanity, I might not attend to my pearly whites for a couple of days. And the list goes on...

And I've discovered other positive reasons for storing things out in the open, too. I used to leave my sewing machine and quilting material sitting on a table in my sunroom, so whenever I was in the mood, I could work on it. But then I decided that it made the sunroom look kind of junky. So now my sunroom always looks tidy, but I haven't worked on my quilt since I tucked it away in my hall closet.

Maybe it's all in how you look at it. Maybe I just need to market this out-in-the-open "thing" differently in my mind. After all, the Shabby Chic look is popular these days, and before someone gave it a name, I thought it was just old stuff with paint peeling off of it. But now I admit, it looks cool, and I like it. So if I can just come up with a fashionable name for my out-in-the-open, garage-sale look, who knows, I might start a whole new trend.

Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com
www.DearReader.com

Dear Reader Column 7-04-05

Join my email book club. Over 280,000 people read 5-minutes a day. To see what books I'm featuring this week, go to: http://www.dearreader.com/

Dear Reader,

From my Email Bag:

"Suzanne, I enjoy your 'Dear Reader' column very much. Your anecdotes always create some sort of effect on me. Most of the time, it just takes me back in time. But what I love the most about it, is that they seem so human. I can always make a mental picture of what went on.

A lot of those mental pictures are so funny that sometimes, they stay in my mind for a very long time. And they appear all over again at odd places, or at unexpected times, (like at church in the middle of the sermon) that I just start laughing my head off all over again.

One of my favorites is the one were you and your husband were fighting an insect with the vacuum cleaner in the middle of the night."--Oralia M.

(Suzanne responds:) If you missed the "battling bug column" go to: www.emailbookclub.com/photo/bug3.html

Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com
www.DearReader.com