Dear Reader

Dear Reader Column - April 7, 2023

Dear Reader,

I wasn’t sure if there was going to be a big Easter Egg Hunt at Grandma’s house this year, but when I asked my 16, 14, and 12 year old grandkids if the Hunt was on, immediately I heard, “Yes, yes, yes!” I was relieved and very happy. My backup plan, if the kids felt they were too grownup to look for Easter eggs, was to have the grandkids hide the eggs and the adults find them. Fortunately, I didn’t have to suggest that idea, because I’m sure, there would have been one or two adults in my group who wouldn’t have been able to let their inner “child” come out and play. 

Bringing the family together to celebrate a holiday like Easter, I learned the “how-tos”' from my Grandma Hale. Her dining table always looked inviting. A fancy white tablecloth, the good china, polished silverware, the meal and desserts Grandma served were never a disappointment. I felt her love and that she was trying to create holiday memories for me. So I don’t know if my Grandma would approve, but for Thanksgiving, Christmas and now for this year’s Easter dinner, there won’t be china plates on my table. Instead, I’m using paper plates. Actually at first glance, the fancy, thick paper plates I used for Thanksgiving and Christmas looked like the real thing, so it was a little unnerving to toss them in the trash after dinner. 

The holiday paper plate story started with a misunderstanding…

When my granddaughter, Bailey, visited this past Thanksgiving, I asked her if she would set the table while I went out to do an errand. I had purchased some fancy Thanksgiving paper plates for visiting relatives to use during the week. Bailey saw the paper plates next to the tablecloth and the water glasses I had decorated with ribbon and straw flowers, and when I returned, the table was set with the paper plates. The table setting looked adorable, and cleanup was going to be so easy. Yes, I loved the way the table looked, but I also felt guilty, because I was giving up some of Grandma Hale’s traditions. Was I getting lazy? Real plates to paper plates--it sounds like a silly concern as I type the words here. 

But what ‘would’ Grandma Hale think? 

Well, on second thought, Grandma didn’t have a dishwasher, so she might think it’s a pretty darn good idea. 

To see photos of my Christmas and Easter paper plate settings, go to: 

http://www.dearreader.com/photo/formal.html

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected] 

Dear Reader Column - December 23, 2022

Dear Reader,

A few years ago, I tried my hand at writing some holiday poetry for readers--an amusing version of "'Twas The Night Before Christmas," and now it's become a tradition at the book clubs.

Okay, I admit it's a bit hokey, but it's really kind of a catchy little number once you start reading it. There's a syncopated beat throughout, and if you throw in a little sing-song rhythm, you'll be smiling by the end.

'Twas The Night Before Christmas at the Book Clubs

'Twas the night before Christmas and in every house

All good book club readers were clicking their mouse.

They'd hung all their stockings, decorated their trees

And now it was time to sit down and see

What their email had brought them on this Christmas Eve.

A five-minute break to read a good book

Was just what they needed, but oh my--look...

When they opened their email, no read could be found.

"Oh no, we're afraid Suzanne went out of town.

Could she have forgotten to send us our read?

How could she do this in our time of need?"

The readers all panicked, they shivered in fright,

They pined for their emails and settled in for the night.

"Could we have misplaced them? Did we hit the wrong key?

Did it go in our deleted files?" Oh such misery.

And then in a flash, with a stroke of a key,

One by one, they discovered their Christmas Eve reads.

Their eyes how they twinkled, they laughed and they smiled

And they settled into their chairs to read for awhile.

Their hearts were delighted, they felt just like kids,

But it's still such a mystery where that email had hid.

Was it there all the time and they just didn't see?

Or did Santa step in and do a good deed?

Good boys and girls are on Santa's list

And good book club readers he vows never to miss.

It's been a long night, time to climb into bed,

So they shut down their computers and laid down their heads.

But in the quiet of night, before things came to an end,

They heard, "Thanks for reading with me,

It's so good to read with friends."

 

Happy Holidays. I wish you peace and joy.

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

Dear Reader Column - December 20, 2022

Dear Reader,

Instead of exchanging gifts this Christmas, my husband and I, and our 25-year-old granddaughter, Bailey, are exchanging Christmas letters. And we’ll all be reading our letters on Christmas Eve. 

Christmas always makes me remember the times I spent with my Grandma and Grandpa Hale.” I wrote to Bailey. “They were special people in my life. They felt like characters out of a novel that described the perfect, loving grandparents. I felt safe and secure and that if I ever needed help, they would be there for me. I hope you always feel the love Grandpa and I have for you. 

I have some Christmas traditions that are dear to my heart, and so I want to share them with you.

It just wouldn’t feel like Christmas if I didn’t…

…watch the movie, ‘Miracle on 34th Street’ (black and white version) I always tear up and start crying at the beginning, because it brings back the very vivid memory of the one Christmas Eve, when my parents and I were driving on a country road, on the way to my grandparent’s house, and I saw, very clearly, Santa and his reindeer flying through the sky…

…read the children's book, ‘The Night Before Christmas’ (I sent along a copy of the book). I don't think I’ll ever get too old to read it on Christmas Eve, and the artwork always makes me think of my granddaughter, the artist!

 …read the editorial, ‘Is There a Santa Claus?’. It was first printed in ‘The Sun’ newspaper (New York edition) in 1897. (I sent a copy of that, too.) 

I’ve also enclosed some photos of Grandma and Grandpa Hale, the two people who loved me, and showed me their love when I was growing up. Don't know what I would have done without them.

Have a very Merry Christmas, Bailey. You are a gift to Grandpa and me all year long. We love you.

--Grandma

My husband penned a letter to Bailey, too.

Dear Bailey,

What better gift for Christmas than some good advice from your Grandpa...

Take care of your back. That 40 lb. bag of kitty litter can be 10 lbs. too much.

Make memories. Money comes and goes.

Moisturize, use sunscreen, exercise, travel, and eat your vegetables.

Don't go comparing yourself to everyone else. We all walk our own path, at our own pace.

Put a blanket on your lap while you work. It's life changing. Cats will love it too.

Treat yourself.

Be your own advocate.

Lift weights. (Grandma’s lifting every day now.)

Keep making friends.

Start therapy sooner. Therapy is about maintenance.

Stop watching the news.

But the best advice I can give you, ‘Keep doing what you’re doing. I am so proud of you.’

I Love You, Grandpa

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

Make some new memories this holiday season.

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

Dear Reader Column - October 31, 2022

Dear Reader, 

Due to hurricane Ian delays, the winning columns of 18 Annual Write a DearReader Contest will now be featured the week of November 14th. Stay tuned!

Last night my husband went to the wholesale club store and when he came back home he proudly showed me a "Value Bag of Child's Playtime Candy"--5 1/3 pounds of candy: Tootsie Roll Juniors, Tootsie Pops, Tootsie Roll Midgees, Tootsie Fruit Rolls, Tootsie Snack Bars and Mini Dots (made by Tootsie Roll, who else?) There were 200 pieces of candy in the bag--I counted them. Well, 204 to be exact, minus the lollipop in my mouth and the three other pieces of candy I snuck out of the bag, before my husband suggested we make a pact, not to open the bag, until Halloween, so we wouldn't be tempted. 

But I was--tempted. (Tootsie Rolls are just as good as I remember them.)

My husband longs for the good old days when it comes to Halloween, and I admit so do I. It's fun when kids come to our door and we get to hand out candy. But the good old days are gone, because here's the reality of our Halloween statistics: five years ago 35 kids showed up, four years ago 27, the year after that 20, two years ago 11 and last year 6 teenagers knocked on our door and said, "Trick or treat." And if the trick or treat market continues its steady decline this year, we can expect two kids to holler "Trick or Treat!"

Okay, I'll be generous for my husband's sake and think positive--probably three tiny tots will show up at our door this year for Tootsie Treats. And if I don't want to be eating Halloween candy until July, that means in order to get rid of the 5 1/3 pounds of Tootsie treats, my dear husband bought, we'd need to give each of the three kids 66.6 pieces of candy--I hope they're each carrying a big sturdy bag.

But my husband is hopeful, insisting we could beat the odds this year, "Maybe a family with children will move into our neighborhood the week before Halloween."

"Yes Dear, or we might get lucky and a dad who's driving his son's Boy Scout troop around to trick or treat might run out of gas in front of our house. You're right Dear, anything's possible."

In the meantime, I think I'll find three Halloween Candy Bags that are strong enough to hold 66.6 pieces of candy!

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

Dear Reader Column - April 15, 2022

Dear Reader,

(Suzanne is on vacation today. This is one of her favorite Easter holiday columns.)

My husband bought me fresh tulips last week. It wasn't a romantic purchase, more of a rescue. We were at the market and after we picked out some strawberries, we walked through the flower section and that's when I got a case of the "remember when" blues. Looking at the spring flowers made me think about my father and our Easter tradition.

Every year, the day before Easter, my father would walk down to the florist and when he came back home he was carrying two small white boxes. Inside one was an orchid corsage for my mother and in the other box, a pretty pink and white carnation corsage for me.

My father wasn't a sentimental man, far from it. He never said "I love you" but once a year, when the tulips and daffodils of spring were peeking up through the ground--signaling a change in season--briefly there'd be a change in my father, too. I'm not sure how or where my dad got the idea, but buying a corsage for my mom and me, it became an Easter tradition. 

"Look at what my dad bought me." I wore my corsage all day long, even after I came home from church and changed into my play clothes and I fell asleep with it on my pillow.

When I was older and moved out on my own, my father stopped buying me an Easter corsage. I missed it. Not just the flowers, but the feelings I used to get every year when he'd hand me the box from the florist.

And now here I was standing in the middle of the market, tears in my eyes and my husband knew why. "I think you need some fresh flowers for Easter, Suzanne. Don't these tulips look like spring?" And he handed me a pink and yellow bouquet of tulips--a new beginning and a new tradition of love.

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

Dear Reader Column - April 14, 2022

Dear Reader,

“Suzanne, I made your shrimp salad last year for Easter and my family, and extended family loved it. Only now I can’t find the recipe. Will you please share it again?” –Carol G.

I agree with Carol, this shrimp salad is a winner! You can make the shrimp salad the same day as you're going to serve it, but it does need at least two hours to chill. My suggestion, from experience, is to let it sit overnight in the refrigerator, or even for two days, it tastes even better.

SHRIMP SALAD

2 cups (7 oz package) macaroni shells, cooked and drained

17 oz can LeSueur Brand Small Early Peas, drained

1/2 to 3/4 pound of medium or large shrimp, cooked and deveined, cut into halves (if medium) or thirds (if large)

2 1/2 oz jar sliced mushrooms, drained

1 cup finely chopped celery

2 T diced pimento

For Sauce:

1 1/3 cups salad dressing or mayonnaise

1/2 cup cocktail sauce

1/4 cup milk

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp onion salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/8 tsp celery salt

horseradish (to taste)

In a large bowl, gently combine shells, peas, shrimp, mushrooms, celery and pimiento. 

In a small bowl, combine remaining ingredients. Gently stir salad dressing mixture into macaroni mixture.

Cover and chill at least 2 hours before serving.

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

* Congratulations to the winners of "Edgewater Road" by Guest Author Shelley Shepard Gray: Elsie W., Nancy R., Peggy T., Virginia T., and Beverly D.

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

Dear Reader Column - April 1, 2022

Dear Reader,

We're celebrating National Library Week at the book club next week. This year's theme is "Connect with Your Library." Send me an email about your local library or if you're a librarian, how has the library changed in your community? Everyone has a feel-good story about their library or a special librarian, share it with readers and librarians who read at the book club.

Every day, during National Library Week, I'll be giving away fun prizes to folks who work at libraries. But who wants to wait? Let's get the party started early. Enter my first drawing, today, and you might win a "Bookmarks are for Quitters," 15 ounce enamel mug. To enter, click here.

"Hello Suzanne, I want to share with you why I love the library. As a child and teenager, I loved to read all the time. I had an aunt who didn't drive, but loved to read. She didn't want to ask anyone to bring her to the library, so she made arrangements for the bookmobile to visit her. As a result, during the summer we would all run next door to get books. As a parent with young children, I took my children to the library for programs often. It was a great way to keep them entertained and not have to spend lots of money. Now for the last 12 years, I've worked at our local library. I am not a librarian. I am a circulation assistant, and I plan programs for adults (I started out in children's, which was fun, too).

I am so glad I applied for this job. It has been the most fulfilling and rewarding job. I love to connect with our patrons, share book recommendations, and help them find just what they need. And, I am around books all the time. The only drawback is that my 'Must Read' list is so long, I will have to live to be 1000 years old to read them all. I love reading your column every day. Thanks for letting me share." – Brenda G., East Regional Library, Destrehan, LA

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

AUTHORBUZZ: Discover new books, "meet" the authors and enter to win.

Dear Reader Column - March 31, 2022

Dear Reader,

"Dear Suzanne, I enjoy your emails, and I love your writings. How would I prepare for your annual, Write a DearReader Contest? Do you have certain themes, topics and word limits? I'm very interested, as I am a newly retired educator who is enjoying writing."

-- Fondly, Jennifer S.

(Suzanne replies:) Congratulations on your retirement! The contest page from last year's Write a DearReader Contest won't be updated until August (launch date August 22nd), but the guidelines will be the same as previous years. The guidelines are below and to read previous winning entries, click here.

1. Maximum word count is 650 words.
2. Submit original entries that have not been previously published.
3. Feel free to submit more than one entry for us to consider.
4. You must be at least 18 years old to enter.
5. Your story will be judged on style and content.
6. Collaborative teams are limited to two people.
7. You must include the name and mailing address of your local library with your original entry in order for them to be eligible to receive the 50% matching, cash prize.

Jennifer, I would encourage you to get in the habit of writing something every day, even if it's only for 15 minutes. Don't worry about thinking ahead of time, 'What topic should I write about?' Instead ask yourself, 'What am I thinking about this very minute?' You could start by typing today's "to-do" list and if you keep your fingers moving on the keys, after that free flowing ideas will appear on the screen.

Your body is a quick study. After a couple of weeks of writing a few minutes every day, when you sit down in front of your computer and put your fingers on the keys, your mind will know exactly what it's supposed to do, because it's been in training every day.

I look forward to reading your entry this year.

Get ready to celebrate National Library Week at the book club, April 3-9. This year's theme is "Connect with Your Library." Send me an email about your local library or if you're a librarian, how has the library changed in your community? Everyone has a feel-good story about their library or a special librarian, share it with readers and librarians who read at the book club.

Every day, during National Library Week, I'll be giving away fun prizes. Celebrate!

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

AUTHORBUZZ: With so many new books out every week, we promise this title deserves your attention:

(FICTION)
JUST ONE WISH by Carly Phillips

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader

This month's Penguin Classics book is The Sun Also Rises, by Ernest Hemingway. I have a copy of the book to share with a lucky reader, so start reading and enter for your chance to win.

Dear Reader Column - March 29, 2022

Dear Reader,

Today's the last day you can enter to win the March Chocolate Chip Cookie Giveaway. Three lucky book club readers will receive some of my homemade chocolate chip cookies delivered right to their front doors. I'm ready to bake for you. To see last month's winners and to enter the drawing, click here.

Rabbi Toba Spitzer is today's guest at the book club. A popular teacher of courses on Judaism and economic justice, she has received the honor of being included in Newsweek's Top 50 Rabbis in America list and the 2010 Forward list of 50 Female Rabbis Who Are Making A Difference. Since 1997, she has been the spiritual leader of Congregation Dorshei Tzedek in Newton, MA. Her new book is, God Is Here: Reimagining the Divine.

Email Toba at: [email protected]

In 2007, I received an email at work that I almost deleted. It began, "Dear Rabbi," which sounded sort of anonymous. I thought it might be spam. But I read on, and it turned out the email was from a literary agent at a very large talent agency. He had found some of my sermons online, and thought I should write a book. I was busy being a congregational rabbi and wasn't really thinking about writing a book. We emailed a bit and had a phone conversation, and I told him I'd think about it. He was based in L.A. and I told him, if you're ever in Boston, give me a call. And that was that.

About a year and a half later, I got another email, from another literary agent at a talent agency. She had also found my sermons online, and thought I should write a book. When she mentioned me to her business partner, it turned out that he was the one who had emailed me first.

While I don't believe in a God that micromanages human lives, I had to admit that something mysterious was afoot here. The universe seemed to be telling me I needed to write a book. The duo of literary agents had moved to NYC, and I took the train down one day to have lunch with them. I couldn't quite figure out what kind of book they wanted me to write. "Like your sermons!" they said. But I give sermons on lots of topics, I replied. What exactly is it that you think I have to say in a book? After an hour or so of conversation, I realized: "I think you want me to write a book about God."

That conversation happened back in 2011. In the years since, I began and completed a journey that resulted in my book, God Is Here: Reimagining the Divine. I wrote the book because, after discovering metaphor theory and cognitive linguistics, I realized that helping spiritually-inclined people who aren't so sure about God delve into ancient, non-human metaphors for the divine could literally change lives. With my congregants, I explored how we might bring metaphors like Water and Place and Rock off of the pages of ancient texts and into daily life. The results of our exploration were powerful, but there were only so many people I could teach in person. A book, I hoped, would help me share with many more people of all backgrounds the texts and practices that I had found to be so transformative. Writing this book has been its own spiritual journey, and my sincere hope is that it brings some measure of insight and healing to our broken, beautiful world.

-- Toba Spitzer

Email Toba at, [email protected]

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

AUTHORBUZZ: Discover new books, "meet" the authors and enter to win.

This month's Penguin Classics book is The Sun Also Rises, by Ernest Hemingway. I have a copy of the book to share with a lucky reader, so start reading and enter for your chance to win.

Dear Reader Column - March 22, 2022

Dear Reader,

Today's guest author, Priscilla Masters, was born in Halifax and adopted into a multi-racial family of seven. Brought up in South Wales she moved to Birmingham in the 1970's and trained as a registered nurse at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, in Birmingham.

She has produced more than thirty crime novels and one children's book. In addition to the series featuring Coroner Martha Gunn and a forensic psychologist Dr Claire Roget, Priscilla has written the DI Joanna Piercy series since 1995. The latest title in that series is the newly released, Almost a Whisper.

Priscilla has two sons, two grandsons and lives in a Victorian ex-laundry cottage on the Staffordshire/Shropshire border.

Please do contact Priscilla via her website and say "Hello." 

To enter Priscilla's book drawing (you could win one of three copies of Almost a Whisper), send an email with your mailing address to: [email protected]

Priscilla Masters on a First Date

As a first date it could have ended a lot better but not much worse, to be truthful.

I was a first-year student nurse in Birmingham 1970 when I was invited to a party by one of the medical students. So far so good. Except...

My date for the night had heard that the famous clock tower, Old Joe, was undergoing some restoration. A little earlier in the evening he'd recced the tower which was normally padlocked and found a small opening in one of the doors where a panel had been removed. He reckoned that I was just small enough to squeeze through and open the door from the inside.

Old Joe aka The Joseph Chamberlain Memorial Tower, is a clock tower and campanile, or bell tower, located in Chancellor's court at the University of Birmingham. According to Wikipedia it is the tallest free-standing clock tower in the world, although I didn't know that at the time. The university lists it as 361 feet tall. The clock dial measures 17 feet in diameter; the length of the clock's hands are 10 and 6 ft, and the bell weighs in at 5 tons.

A prominent landmark in Birmingham, the grade II listed tower can be seen for miles around the campus as well as from the surrounding roads, and has become synonymous with the University itself.

And my new boyfriend thought it would be a nice start to the evening to pop up to the top, ring the bells and maybe tinker with the hands before heading to the party.

I wasn't exactly dressed for the occasion in lime green hotpants, wedge heels and false eyelashes and I'm not over fond of heights. But luckily the heights thing wasn't a problem as we couldn't look down as we climbed and climbed and climbed, finally reaching a platform. A couple of hangers on had joined the pre-party party and had clanged the bells (I don't know if any of you have read Dorothy L Sayers The Nine Tailors?) Another mischief maker had 'played around' with the clock hands causing confusion to the commuters the next morning on their way to work!

It might not surprise you to know that we didn't get to the party. We were "arrested" by the University Police but released by the Selly Oak Force who between incredulity and guffaws cautioned us and let us go.

What might surprise you more is that I actually married the guy!

-- Priscilla Masters
Enter a drawing to win one of three copies of Almost a Whisper. Send an email with your mailing address to: [email protected]

You may contact Priscilla via her website: https://www.priscillamasters.co.uk/contact-priscilla-masters/

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

This month's Penguin Classics book is The Sun Also Rises, by Ernest Hemingway. I have a copy of the book to share with a lucky reader, so start reading and enter for your chance to win.