Dear Reader

Dear Reader Column - March 1, 2022

Dear Reader,

Today's guest author, Benjamin Gilmer, is a family medicine physician but still a teacher at heart for UNC medical students and MAHEC family medicine residents. He continues to be a pilgrim in the mountains of western North Carolina where he lives with wife and two children. He has written his first book, The Other Dr. Gilmer: Two Men, a Murder, and an Unlikely Fight for Justice, which is being released today.

The book is the complete story that he first told to millions on This American Life about starting his life as a physician and following in the footsteps of a presumed murderer with the same name. Benjamin has committed the last ten years to understanding the other Dr. Gilmer, and advocating for his release from prison. He is producing a feature film along with Concordia Films that speaks to this advocacy pilgrimage and why we should treat the mentally ill, not incarcerate them.

Contact Dr Gilmer via https://benjamingilmer.com/contact/

I needed to be a pilgrim!

Back in the 90's, while trying to sort myself out, I decided to become a pilgrim. At the time, I didn't understand the significance of walking a thousand miles from Arles, France to the tomb of St. James in Santiago, Spain. Twenty years later, I finally understand.

The Camino de Santiago is an ancient pilgrimage, one that was well-travelled during the middle-ages and likely the most significant unifying element in Europe's history. People walked from every corner of Europe to Santiago. Some traveled for penitence, others walked as a spiritual journey, but all were in search of something. My walk was a portal, a transition into a new life from teacher to doctor. I was thirty and a late-bloomer to medicine. Life was complex, and I was about to give up everything I loved: my job as a teacher, scientific endeavors, and a relationship. So, I decided to walk.

The Camino has been revealing universal signs to pilgrims for hundreds of years and that was what I needed--a mystical sign to reveal my new path, and to soften this life transition. Only days after returning home, I was to start medical school, leaving behind my previous life as a teacher and neurobiologist and a woman I loved.

My first realization.

Each literal step of the Camino offered something: a breath, a pause, an experience. After a decade preparing for medical school, I realized I had never slowed down, not for a moment. The Way of St. James offered space to experience what I hadn't seen in so long, and to have a different tactile experience with the world: birds that I could finally hear singing, the whisperings of the wind, the heat of the sun at every angle throughout the day, the cries of muscles that had not experienced walking 20 miles every day, and voices that emanated from the silence of my own brain.

I was awoken.

Thinking of the contemporary life I have chosen as a physician and writer, I dream about my pilgrimage experiences often and deeply cherish my Camino's many gifts. I yearn for walks, and have had twenty years to reflect on the importance of being still, and listening.

Writing the Other Dr. Gilmer was another Camino. Doing so required persistence, and forced me to be reflective again and open my eyes to the universal, but also to myself. Each page was another step forward, another opportunity to experience with open eyes.

I am grateful for the teachings of both journeys.

-- Benjamin Gilmer

Contact Dr Gilmer via https://benjamingilmer.com/contact/

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.

SAPPHIRE SUNSET (FICTION) by C. Travis Rice

Allow me to introduce you to C. Travis Rice, the alter ego I invented so I could write the kind of big, sexy, beachy sunny romance novels that have provided me such escapist pleasure during these difficult times--only in my version, the heroes are both men. This is the first in series in which handsome heroes release the shame that blocks their heart's desires and find sexy happily-ever-afters in the process. Your room is waiting, and they all have an ocean view.

I'm giving away five copies, click on the link to Authorbuzz and the book jacket to enter.

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader click on SAPPHIRE SUNSET to read more and to email author C. Travis Rice, you'll get a reply.

Dear Reader Column - February 23, 2022

Dear Reader,

Today our guest writer is Peggy P. Sutton, one of the 2021 Honorable Mentions from my Write a DearReader Contest. The quality of writing in the 2021 Write a DearReader Contest was outstanding. Thank you so much Peggy for sharing your story with us.

Russell's Obituary

A week before his 95th birthday, my friend Russell asked me to type his obituary. I swallowed quickly and said, "It would be an honor. I'd be happy to help, so when you need it, it will be ready." I tried to emphasize 'when' as though it was an abstract vague time in the future. In truth, Russell had been in poor health, and 95 was just a week away.

He sent me several pages from a yellow legal pad, filled with careful printing that was still a struggle to read in places. I meticulously typed information about his siblings, children, and wife. Russell and his wife had been married 62 years. That gave me pause. They were married longer than I have been alive. When he lost his wife a few years ago, they had been together for nearly all of his life. How did he survive that?

As I typed in his education, career highlights, and offices held in civic organizations, I felt a strange realization; this is it. This is his life boiled down to part of a column in the local newspaper. I thought about his career achievements and awards, and thought those were probably really important at the time. They probably consumed a lot of his time and energy. And yet, a couple of decades later, the immediacy, the stress of the moment had faded away. What was left was a curious recounting of a life, but not the details that made it memorable and, hopefully, happier than not. I read with interest that he and his wife had lived in 11 places during their marriage. I thought about the new starts, the goodbyes to old neighbors and neighborhoods, the moving logistics that probably seemed overwhelming at the time.

Reading other obituaries has never given me the same feeling. Perhaps because I was typing the notes, and this seemed more immediate. I've only known Russell as an old man. He was a senior citizen when I met him nearly 20 years ago. This gave me a small glimpse of what his life was like when he was younger, healthier, busy with so many clubs, committees, promotions, and relocations. Would he, I wondered, have done anything differently if he could see into the future?

It made me think about what my obituary would say, years from now, one hopes. But the listing of career notes would not convey the way work and stress can take over my life. And yet, soon enough, that career will just be lines in a column in the local paper, noticed or not. I remind myself that all this pressure will be distilled into a small amount of ink on a quickly recycled page of newsprint. As I'm beginning to realize, this is not what's important. Will it matter a year from now, five years, ten?

Could I possibly let go of some of this constant worry that more needed to be done? The habit of rushing is a difficult one to break. I am gradually getting better at slowing down more and stressing less. I have discovered leisure is a garden in need of constant care. I smile more, I take more deep breaths, and try not to be weighed down by the crisis of the day. More and more often, I stop to watch the hummingbirds at my feeders, pause to enjoy the sound of my husband's laugh, and savor a little extra time with my dog.

Russell died a couple of months later. I keep his obituary handy, to remind me of what really counts.

-- Peggy P. Sutton
Honorable Mention, 2021 Write a DearReader Contest

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

KIDSBUZZ: Looking for a great read for kids ages 4-6? Acclaimed and bestselling author Robie H. Harris's SOMEWHERE captures the magic of a child finding her inner strength and curiosity--and discovering somewhere new all on her own. For a chance to win free copies, to talk with the authors, see http://www.authorbuzz.com/kidsbuzz.

 

Dear Reader Column - February 18, 2022

Dear Reader,

It's been my favorite cake since I was a kid, but I never knew the name of it. To me, it was always the "funeral cake." I know that sounds a little strange, but I grew up in a small town and whenever someone passed away, neighbors would take food over to the bereaved family, so they didn't have to worry about cooking. Even if they didn't have much of an appetite, most likely there would be a steady stream of friends and relatives stopping by, and they could offer them something to eat.

I was an only child so I’d always tag along with my parents and while they were talking to the other adults, I'd look for the "funeral cake." Oh boy, was it good. A devil's food cake with a buttercream frosting.

When my mother passed away and her friends and neighbors brought food over to the house, guess what showed up--the funeral cake. I wasn't hungry, couldn't eat a thing, but how could I resist? So after everyone left, I ate the rest of the cake myself.

Months later I got a note from Betty, the funeral cake baker: "Suzanne, I was thinking of you and your mother today, and I remembered that you asked me for the recipe."

Of course, I couldn’t resist. I baked "the funeral cake" later that day, and it tasted just like I remembered.

The Devil's Food Cake with Buttercream Frosting

Cream 1/2 cup shortening and 1 1/2 cups sugar.
Add 1 egg.
Add 1/2 cup milk alternately with the following ingredients that have been sifted together:
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup cocoa

Add 1 cup boiling water and 1 tsp real vanilla.

Grease and flour pans, add the cake batter and bake at 350 degrees for the following times:
Loaf pan: 40 minutes
Layer cake: 2 round pans - 30 minutes
Cupcakes: 17 minutes

Frosting
Cook until thick, stirring constantly:
1/2 cup milk and 2 tablespoons flour (then let the mixture cool)
Whip together: one stick of soft butter and 1/2 cup sugar Then whip the two mixtures together.

*If you make a layer cake, then double the frosting recipe.

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

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

* Congratulations to the winners of With Love From London by Guest Author Sarah Jio: Deanna R., Lisa A., Ruth V., Joan A. and Marianne J.

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

Dear Reader Column - February 17, 2022

Dear Reader,

Today our guest writer is, Laura Shaffer, one of the 2021 Honorable Mentions from my Write a DearReader Contest. Thank you so much Laura for sharing your story with us.

I am the youngest of four girls. If our mother asked, "Who broke the vase?," we responded by birth order.

Sarah, the oldest, said, "Lisa."

Lisa said, "Becky."

Becky said, "Laura."

I had no one's name to say. Until the day I created Mary Lousa. If anything got broken or misplaced, Mary Lousa did it. She took the brunt of my childhood misdeeds. Our parents didn't condone lying, but I think they knew I needed Mary Lousa for a while.

Mary Lousa first came to my parents' home when I was about eight. I can't remember how old I was when she disappeared. After my sisters and I moved and had families of our own, Mary Lousa resurfaced once again.

After a family gathering, my mother emailed us something like this:

It was great seeing everybody. Now that you all have gone, I am missing a few things. My blue knitting needles and small silver scissors. They were both by my big chair. Did anyone see them?

We responded with four "nos." Someone typed one name: "Mary Lousa."

Mary Lousa was an active member of our family once again. She took the strangest things. She hid the remote control, a throw pillow, and a can opener. Usually, she returned the items to out-of-reach places, making us scratch our heads and ask, 'Why would she put the remote control under the sofa?'

Once while I cat sat, Mary Loosa stole the kitty litter scooper. I never did find it.

Our mother sent us another email after a long weekend visit. In the subject line, she wrote "Mary Loosa on the Loose."

Mum typed, "That girl has been busy."

Trash talking began as emails flew back and forth.

"She is so bad."

"What a slut!"

That message went too far. "Don't call her names," I typed. "I created her. I will defend her."

"When did you start defending a thief?" another sister retorted.

Poor Mary Lousa/Loosa. Even with the name calling, she insisted on visiting our mother's house. Her antics halted during COVID, however. She stayed away like everybody else.

Once restrictions were lifted, Mary Lousa reappeared after we visited our mother. Fortunately, she only removed items from one table to another.

As adults, I believe Mary Lousa reflects a bit of each of us. She helps us to laugh at ourselves and understand the need for make believe when we take ourselves too seriously.

This summer, my 93-year-old mother, a rug hooker, completed a pre-stamped piece. A young girl about twelve faces the sea. We can only see the back of her turquoise dress. The wind whips her black hair about her shoulders. Appropriately, Mum has titled the piece "Mary Loosa." To Mary Loosa's left is a cliff. On the other side of it, I imagine Mary Loosa has pitched an item or two from my mother's house, such as a kitty litter scooper. If I listen closely, I can hear her giggles float out to sea.

--- Laura Shaffer
Honorable Mention, 2021 Write a DearReader Contest

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 these titles deserve your attention:

(FICTION)
JONAH BENNETT: A Bennett Mafia Novella by Tijan

(FICTION)
TAKING THE LEAP: A River Rain Novel by Kristen Ashley

(NONFICTION)
RACING WITH ALOHA: An Inspiring Journey from Humble Barefoot Maui Boy to Champion in the Water by Fred Haywood

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

Dear Reader Column - February 15, 2022

Dear Reader,

Our guest author today Ben Rawlence, is a former researcher for Human Rights Watch in the horn of Africa. His new book is The Treeline: The Last Forest and the Future of Life on Earth. The book takes us on a journey of wonder and awe at the incredible creativity and resilience of trees and the mysterious workings of the forest upon which we rely for the air we breathe.

Ben is also the author of City of Thorns and Radio Congo and is the founder and director of Black Mountains College and lives with his family in Wales.

Ben says, "I never set out to become a writer, I just found that I liked doing it and had stories to tell. Now I confess I am addicted. It's a kind of curse, if I don't write, I don't feel good. So I try and write for at least an hour each day."

Ben is giving away three copies of The Treeline. To enter the drawing, send an email with your preferred shipping address to: [email protected]

Please welcome author Ben Rawlence...

Dear Reader,

You have a heartbeat. Did you know that the planet has one too? In fact it has more than one. The daily pulse of breathing in and breathing out of plants exhaling oxygen and inhaling carbon dioxide, the seasonal pulse of deciduous plants and trees photosynthesizing during the spring and summer and then shutting down for the winter, and lastly, the most amazing and dramatic heartbeat--of ice, rising and falling like a white blanket over the top of the earth every 100,000 years. The ice ages have defined life on earth for millions of years and, each time the ice has retreated north, the forest has followed on its heels, rising and falling, like breath.

And as the lichen, moss, then grass and trees has colonised the rock, the advancing treeline has transformed the surface of the planet into a habitable crust of soil and plants. There is barely a square inch of the northern hemisphere that has not been passed over, and blessed, by the treeline.

I went North, to the Arctic circle, to catch a glimpse of the future where the planet is warming fastest: where the trees are on the move more than ever. I was completely unprepared for what I found. Forests have been shifting north since World War Two, trees are popping up where they have no right to exist and all the other denizens of the forest, including humans, are confused.

The clues to the changes underway and what they might mean for humans and non-humans alike are to be found in the past: the study of rocks, ice and trees. And if we are to find new, more healthy and respectful ways of co-existing on this planet with other species, then we must pay attention to older ways of living in harmony with the forest, ways of life practised by indigenous peoples of the woods the world over.

In The Treeline we meet the Sami people of Norway herding reindeer on the tundra, the Nganasan of Siberia whose lives have been turned upside down first by communism then by its ending, the Koyukon of Alaska who first noticed changes signalled by the birds a century ago and the Anishinaabe of Canada who have confronted the traumatic history of colonialism and in the process created the largest protected enclave of old growth forest in North America.

Trees offer us a warning but also consolation, and in their generous, creative and social, example they show us a way out of the dead end we have driven down. The Treeline is an invitation to take a walk in the woods and participate in the infinite, mysterious and majestic unfolding algorithm that is the co-evolution of all life on earth.

-- Ben Rawlence

Ben is giving away three copies of The Treeline. To enter the drawing, send an email with your preferred shipping address to: [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.

TAKING THE LEAP: A River Rain Novel by Kristen Ashley

River Rain is back! Sweeping from the mountains of Arizona, to parties in New York City, the next in the River Rain series, brings on one of my  favorite tropes. A bashful woman who's willing to take what she can get and a good man lying to himself about his future, that future being with her. Can Alex and Rix see the possibility and take the leap? I'm giving away five copies, click on the link to Authorbuzz and the book jacket to enter.

Go to: AUTHORBUZZ click on TAKING THE LEAP to read more and to email author Kristen Ashley, you'll get a reply.

Dear Reader Column - February 9, 2022

Dear Reader,

"Listening" stories from readers responding to Monday's column...

"Good morning Suzanne, I loved reading your thoughts about listening. I sometimes think listening is a lost art. Everyone has something to say, but there are times when one needs to just be quiet.

My mom had this saying...'Eat something, you'll feel better.' It really had nothing to do with the food. It was about the act of sharing a snack or a meal with someone. Because during that time together whatever was on your mind came out. At the end of the conversation, she'd say, 'Now don't you feel better?' With that weight lifted off my chest and a full belly, yes I felt better! It took me years to figure this out and I'll be forever grateful that I had her listening ear. Thanks for letting me read with you. Have a wonderful week." -- Maria M.

"Dear Suzanne, Sometimes I find people don't want an answer, they just need a sounding board to let it all out! I just listen! Have a happy week." -- Robin W.

Congratulations to Tina R., the winner of Our Favorite Recipes.

The cookbook was compiled and first published in 1949 by The Ladies of St. John's Guild in West Bend, Wisconsin. If you'd like to see a digital version of the cookbook, thanks to book club reader Carole, you can access it below...

"Hi Suzanne--I was intrigued to see what the Lutheran ladies of the St. John's Guild, were cooking when I was five years old (having been born in Wisconsin and having had a ton of Lutheran relatives), so I looked it up. I remember my aunts having endless recipes for Jello molds." -- Best Wishes, Carole K.

To view the cookbook's recipes and hand drawings online, click here.

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.

RACING WITH ALOHA: An Inspiring Journey from Humble Barefoot Maui Boy to Champion in the Water (NONFICTION) by Fred Haywood

Racing with Aloha is part adventure tale, part spiritual memoir. I met my friend Mark Spitz in high school, which led me to a championship swimming career. Later, I surfed isolated Indonesian beaches, mentored a young Laird Hamilton, and competed in world-renowned windsurfing contests, from Maui to England to Africa during the sport's heyday.

I'm giving away five copies click on the link to Authorbuzz for a chance to win one of five books and to learn how you can enter for a chance to win a pair of Maui Jim sunglasses!

Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader click on RACING WITH ALOHA to read more and to email author Fred Haywood, you'll get a reply.

Dear Reader Column - February 2, 2022

Dear Reader,

Browsing through the 1949 cookbook that's been sitting on my shelf for the past 30 years, it felt like an Antiques Roadshow experience...

Have you seen the show? Folks bring in items, "things" from their homes they think might be valuable, and an expert takes a look and gives them an appraisal. Sometimes the expert confirms the garage sale "thing" was worth the $5.00 they paid for it, but other times the "thing" ends up being "Cha-ching!"--a valuable collector's item that would sell for $15,000 at auction.

The first question the Roadshow expert always asks:

"Suzanne, what do you know about this 1949 cookbook?"

"This cookbook, Our Favorite Recipes belonged to my Grandma Hale. (I know, because Grandma put her mark on everything she owned. 'Lillian Hale' was printed with permanent marker on the bottom of Tupperware, dishes, underwear, books, vases, even the living room sofa read 'Lillian Hale' underneath, just in case the neighbor's needed to borrow it sometime. 'Hmm, Andy, we borrowed this sofa from one of the neighbors, do you remember who it belongs to?')"

(The Roadshow appraiser replies:) "Well, I did some checking into this cookbook Suzanne and there's an interesting story behind it. As you can see, the copyright is 1949 and it was compiled and published by The Ladies of St. John's Guild in West Bend, Wisconsin. After World War II, the congregation decided to build a new church. The church ladies wanted to install a 'real' kitchen (hot water, counters, cabinets, appliances), but knew they'd have to find a way to raise the money to pay for it. They were excellent cooks and had established a reputation in the community, so they decided to put together a cookbook as a fundraiser. Each of the 353 recipes were handwritten by volunteers, using an ink dip pen. Pages were proofread (including looking for ink smudges), and if any mistakes were found the entire page had to be redone.

The original plan was to publish 300 cookbooks, but the husband of a committee member persuaded the ladies to order 3,000 copies, and he offered to put up the money, interest free. The cookbook received so much publicity, the 3,000 cookbooks sold in only three months. It was reprinted and over 200,000 have been sold. Suzanne, the cookbook your grandmother left you, is from the 2nd printing and she got a real deal. Grandma paid $2.00 for her book; if you sold your spiral bound, second-printing copy at auction today, it might be priceless because it says ‘Unavailable’ on Amazon. Cha-ching!"

Of course I'd never give away Grandma Hale's cookbook, because it is "priceless" to me. But to my surprise, when I was sorting things this past weekend, I discovered a second copy of the 1949 cookbook. Why Grandma bought two books, I don't know. But lucky for you, I'm giving away the second copy to a book club reader. To enter the drawing, click here. 

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.

KIDSBUZZ: Click here to discover new books, "meet" the authors and enter to win.

Looking for a great read for kids ages 10 and up? Greg Howard's THE VISITORS is a heartrending tale of friendship, hard-won truths and the healing power of forgiveness. Plus "a ghost story of substance." (Booklist) For a chance to win a free copies, to talk with the authors, and more, see http://www.authorbuzz.com/kidsbuzz.

Dear Reader Column - January 28, 2022

Dear Reader,

Today our guest writer is Sandra Rafter, one of the 2021 Honorable Mentions from my Write a Dear Reader Contest. The quality of writing in the 2021 Write a DearReader Contest was outstanding. Thank you so much Sandra for sharing your work with us.

I've been afraid in my life.

As a youngster, Roy Rogers jerked his head back just in time. The bullet with his name shattered the rock behind him and tiny stone pellets almost seemed to split into my cheek.

All of us in 3rd grade crouched on the cold marble floor at school waiting for the bomb to explode over our heads. Ten of us might die staring at the picture of Lincoln and some of us would live for the next Russian death drill.

At quarter moon, a skeleton reached its arms from under the bed and grey bone claw fingers pulled at my sheet until I opened my eyes and screamed and screamed.

We practiced dance steps with the boys in gym class. Boys chose girls as partners for the real dance. Then, there were two girls left, and I was last. I was alone. I hurt.

There was that awful day when the road was icy when I braked, and the car slid without my steering toward the white concrete barriers no longer side of the road but floating ever so slowly over the windshield missing me and the glass but crushing my right fender and tire.

I watched submarine movies--John Wayne, Cary Grant, Glen Ford--sailor heroes, with rushing water and fire from a depth charge around them and their breath faint. My mother was diagnosed with lung cancer, the sea of disease enclosed her. I gasped along with her raspy cough.

I lived my worries and hurts and knew them like Christmas presents I didn't want but accepted stoically, sometimes, with a brave smile.

I've learned to tamp down the fire of my fears, go along, try not to be too selfish. But, I saw a hermit's cabin in a museum. Small, tight, no extras, but none needed--a place to yearn for these days of pandemic. Outside my house I often seem to be picking daisies.

This petal you live, this petal you die, you live, you die, live, die.

Never so much before as this time in my life, I recede inside myself, aware I can picture winning four million in the lottery but cannot face the terrible truth and loneliness of four million Covid deaths.

Still, I believe this, we may sigh, but survive--fear vanquished, hands entwined, eye to eye, stride by stride, you and I. We hold our hands forever in hope with light near and far. I have been frightened, have hidden, and cried. But, we persevere. We live both silent and bold. Isn't hope trusting beyond ourselves?

-- Sandra Rafter
Honorable Mention, 2021 Write a DearReader Contest

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 HOW THE GARCIA GIRLS LOST THEIR ACCENTS, by Julia Alvarez, with a foreword by Elizabeth Acevedo. 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 - January 14, 2022

Dear Reader,

Congratulations to the winners of the January Chocolate Chip Cookie Giveaway, Danielle M., Heather M., and Kelly P. Your cookies are going out on Monday, so you'll be dunking and munching soon.

Today our guest writer is Victoria Stuppy, one of 2021 Honorable Mentions from my Write a Dear Reader Contest. The quality of writing in the 2021 Write a DearReader Contest was outstanding. Thank you so much Victoria for sharing your story with us.

I'm not sure who first said travel is exciting and glamorous, but I'm certain they never traveled to the Pacific Rim and back to the U.S. in 10 days. Don't get me wrong, the trip to Hong Kong and onto Thailand was a wonderful experience. My husband and I knew we'd miss the exotic locale and wonderfully sweet people, but there is no place like home when it comes to sleeping in your own bed. And after our non-stop agenda, sleep was fast becoming a precious commodity. The almost four-hour flight back to Hong Kong was mercifully quick and it appeared we'd make our tight connection and be home in time for Mother's Day!

And here's where it all began to go terribly wrong.

Our next flight was delayed by over three hours until nearly one o'clock in the morning. Then four hours into our flight we were awakened by the pilot asking if there were any doctors on board for a medical emergency. About an hour later, the pilot announced that the medical situation had worsened and he would have to turn the plane around and land at Narita airport in Japan. What?! We were nearly halfway to L.A. Okay, perhaps not that close, but I was sleepy and a bit cranky.

Not much to do about the situation short of commandeering the plane and forcing the crew to land at LAX. On to Tokyo. Sadly, the woman was very ill and died just before landing in Japan. While the family had been prepared for weeks that she probably wouldn't make the flight due to congestive heart failure, we felt the shock of their loss and spent time in prayer for her soul and for her family.

Upon landing the plane was swarmed by officials and Japanese police. It appeared that landing a dead body in Tokyo is not something the Japanese Medical Examiner takes lightly and they were not accepting the corpse. So the flight staff had to make some highly unusual arrangements to allow us to fly off the island by encasing one of the passenger seats in numerous sheets of plastic secured with tape, covered the seat with blankets and then with the assistance of four flight attendants, quietly escorted the body back to the seat.

Almost no one on board knew what had transpired save for those of us closest and so as not to alarm all of the passengers, the flight attendants seated the woman in her seat, tucked a blanket up to her chin, balanced her face against a pillow, buckled up her safety belt and then put on the finishing touch--they placed her reading glasses on her face! We were flying this poor woman to the States and we were spending the next eleven hours with a dead body three seats in front of our tray table.

We considered disembarking in Japan, but assumed we wouldn't think anything more about it until the flight attendant came around with the hot moist towels prior to our meal. Imagine our surprise when she stopped at the deceased woman's seat, removed the woman's eyeglasses, wiped her face and then replaced the glasses.

About six hours into the flight, I awoke and I still wonder to this day, did I really see the attendant gently spritzing eucalyptus oil on the body or was I dreaming? The moist towel scene was repeated once again before we landed. It was truly an academy award winning performance by the flight crew.

In the end, it is a lesson for all of us. To the family, it didn't matter where death took place, it was important that life had been lived. And to the few of us that witnessed it, it only reminded us to live and love each and every day.

-- Victoria Stuppy
Honorable Mention, 2021 Write a DearReader Contest

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 these titles deserves your attention:

(FICTION)
HAUNTED HOUSE by Heather Graham

(FICTION)
THE BAIT by C.W. Gortner and M.J. Rose

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

This month's Penguin Classics book is HOW THE GARCIA GIRLS LOST THEIR ACCENTS, by Julia Alvarez, with a foreword by Elizabeth Acevedo. 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 - January 12, 2022

Dear Reader,

Rachel Dodge, this week's guest author, teaches college English; speaks at libraries, literary groups, and teas; and writes for the popular Jane Austen's World blog. A true kindred spirit at heart, she loves books, bonnets, and ball gowns.

Rachel is the author of The Little Women Devotional, The Anne of Green Gables Devotional, and Praying with Jane. You can visit her online at www.RachelDodge.com

Rachel is giving away three copies of her new book, The Little Women Devotional. Authors love to hear from readers and when you contact her, you'll be entered in the book drawing. Rachel's email: [email protected]

Fail-Proof Resolutions

Did you make any resolutions this year? Have you already fallen off the wagon?

Me too!

A lot of people I know make New Year's resolutions, start new challenges, or decide on a theme for their year. And while some of them stick with it, most of them don't. Sound familiar?

That's why I prefer to set smaller, more reasonable goals that I will actually meet. Yearly goals overwhelm me, so I tend to stick with weekly or monthly goals I can list out and cross off.

The personal goals I set are things that I want to do and I'm likely to do. It's all about baby steps and reachable, reasonable goals.

Here are a few examples:

*I will finally buy myself new kitchen shears.

*I will treat myself to an ice cream cone when I get the rose bushes pruned.

*I will hug the people I love and tell them I think they're great.

*I will sort through my shoes and coats and donate a bag to help someone else stay warm.

*I will buy a pack of gum for the cashier when I get groceries.

*I will smile when I'm driving through town.

*I will curl up with a good book at least twice this week.

*I will do 20 minutes of exercise that's FUN--like dancing in the kitchen to music from my teen years!

You get the idea, right? These aren't obligations; they are joy-giving, life-enhancing goals. You can make up your own list and be as silly or serious as you like. Honestly, one of my goals is to cuddle my dog every day! Talk about fail-proof.

But you can fail-proof your more serious resolutions as well by making them joyful and by giving yourself incentives and doable tasks. If there's something you really want to do but can't seem to stick with, what about doing it a few times a week, rather than daily? Set a goal you can actually meet. You can always add to it as you go.

One of my goals two years ago was to start journaling each day so I could keep track of my prayers and praises. My goal was simple: Write something every day. My rules: It doesn't have to be fancy. Bullet points count. Bad handwriting is fine. Once I started, I found I enjoyed it. And because I enjoyed it, I stuck with it.

If you're already "over it" when it comes to resolutions, but you really do want to reach a few personal goals, try making your own fail-proof list. If you fall off the wagon, that's okay. Get back up, think about another way to go about it, and try again.

The best way to fail-proof your goals is to make them reachable and reasonable. Start small, have fun, and learn as you go!

-- Rachel Dodge
Email Rachel to be entered in the drawing for a copy of her new book, The Little Women Devotional, [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 HOW THE GARCIA GIRLS LOST THEIR ACCENTS, by Julia Alvarez, with a foreword by Elizabeth Acevedo. I have a copy of the book to share with a lucky reader, so start reading and enter for your chance to win.