Thoughts from the Mountain Top

Pros: good depth to most characters and relationships, well-paced story Cons: the character of Bobby, some contrived moments, the ending Summary: There are things that could have been better in Between Sisters , but overall I did enjoy reading it and recommend it. Kristin Hannah is great at writing the tear-jerker. If you don’t want your emotional heart-strings pulled, she’s an author to avoid. However, if you enjoy that sort of fiction, there aren’t many that do it better. Her characters usually have a great deal of depth and follow a path that makes sense while the reader experiences the highs and lows of the emotional journey at this point in their lives with them. Between Sisters is one of those good reads. It tells the story of two siblings, Meghann Dontress and Claire Cavanaugh, who didn’t have everything going for them in their lives. Raised for the most part by an alcoholic, self-involved mother, Claire relied on Meghann to be the parental figure in their y...

There are people around who cant process certain facts and it's certainly frustrating to have to make the same point to them over and over again and watch them spin their wheels trying to ignore facts and the law once it's been presented to them several times.  I've watched this happen over several years in regards to people who live in the same development as me, debating our water system. A little background: back in the 1960's the area now known as the Village District of Eidelweiss was subdivided by a corporation into ~1100 lots and sold.  Due to the size of some of the lots, they were unbuildable if required to have both a septic system and a well for drinking water.  Therefore, the development had it's own water system laid in.  This was shoddily done.  I know this because the "contractor" who worked on my house (that I won a $20k judgment against and he subsequently declared bankruptcy) would tell stories of working here and how the roads were used ...

Inspiration comes from everywhere, and sometimes where you least expect it. I've struggled with my weight all of my life.  It was never easy, and the lowest I ever was weight-wise was late in high school and again in my early 20's.  I lost a lot of weight a number of years back and felt better, but losing my daughter and subsequent health issues have contributed to it coming back on and then some.  However, I was always healthy.  I can remember going in the hospital to have my kids and the nurses being shocked that I didn't have high blood pressure.  The same lately with every doctor asking if I have diabetes, because of my weight.  Up until my most recent blood test my A1C was usually low, and the most recent one I put more the blame on my lack of mobility as I wait for knee replacement. There was an online community I liked that attempts to normalize being overweight.  I think that it is no one else's business what you weigh and you shouldn't be sh...

One of the biggest problems we face as a nation is getting back to the sense of community we once had.  There was a time when we thought about "the greater good" and worked towards it together.  We wanted to have better schools where now it seems to be all about how we can shrink the budgets and provide the bare minimums.  We wanted nice parks and recreational facilities, where now it seems to be "I don't use it, why should my tax dollars pay for it?"  The prevailing notion among many lately seems to be "nothing matters unless it happens to me."   There are a number of factors that have led to that.  Selfishness and greed are at the top of the list.  These have always been present in society but it seemed like the many who were compassionate and community-oriented outnumbered the greedy and selfish.  More and more I see people I once thought were decent human beings not care that the child down the street might not have health care or mi...

I've detailed before how I grew up in a town that became integrated, primarily while I was in high school.  I was friends with people regardless of skin color.  That alone does not mean you can't be a racist.  I saw that demonstrated dramatically this past week. I'm Facebook friends with several of my former high school teachers.  They are educated people and one in particular is very outspoken on the topic of our current President.  He's lived in New York as have I through the many years of seeing Trump for what he is.  I don't think that's the only reason he's so outspoken about the current President, but that is what I know. With Oprah's speech on Sunday at the Golden Globes, there started to be a wave of "she should run for President" throughout the social media.  My personal opinion is no.  I want someone experienced in government in there.  We are seeing what a disaster someone who doesn't understand politics and the law is for our c...

The title might sound a bit like a petulant child.  Really, though, it's a matter of letting people make choices for themselves. I was reading one of my Disney groups yesterday where a woman complained about the lack of trams in the parking lot at Epcot during the recent RunDisney events.  These are marathons of various lengths that take place throughout Disney World at different times of the year.  January, an otherwise slow month for tourism, is one of the popular months for these events. Anyway, this woman is in a situation similar to me right now.  She has bad knees - bone on bone.  This is my condition as well and I am getting knee replacement next month.  The woman made the call to go to Epcot, thinking when she parked her car she was okay because she could hop on the tram to the entrance to Epcot.  I have made it through a couple of vacations recently just knowing when I can sit and taking breaks as I need them.  I've rented a scoote...