Mini Book Review of Theo of Golden

I don't do a lot of book reviews, but when I read one that's better than normal, if not superior, I want to tell others about it. It's good news that needs to be shared.

A friend of mine gifted me the book called Theo of Golden.  While I won't give the book's thematic elements away, because you really do need to read this and be so immersed in it that you don't come up for air for a day or two, I will give you a couple of highlights as to why you should read it.

It's heart-warming. -  I read a lot. I think I read almost a hundred books last year. So when I say a book is heart-warming, you're getting a book that doesn't fit the usual mold. Books can be cute, quirky, mysterious, and adventurous, but heart-warming? That's a hard one. And this book is that. I walked away from it questioning my everyday choices.

It's well-written. - I suppose it sounds ridiculous, if not redundant, to say that the book is well-written. After all, if the book is published, it has to have been written (and edited) well, right? Yeah, actually that would be one of the biggest misconceptions in the book world. Just because it's published doesn't mean it's well-written. I just read a cozy mystery that was cute and very Murder, She Wrote, but some of the author's writing elements made me roll my eyes and groan in pain. Writing is hard. And getting your readers to like your story is harder. I didn't roll my eyes or groan in pain with Theo. I devoured the book and wanted more.

The main character is unique. - The protagonist of the book, Theo, is an older man who gifts portrait photographs (from a photographer, whom we meet in the story), to the very people in the photographs. Why he does this, what his past is, and who the people he chooses to give the photos to are. That's what we don't understand, and that's all uncovered, chapter by chapter, forcing you to read. It's not your typical protagonist, and the narrator only gives us enough information to go on to squeak on to the next chapter, leaving us constantly wondering, why is he doing this? For whom? What? How? He's not this young, attractive character, flying through the story with his youth and good looks. Instead, he is an older - but very charismatic - gentleman who cares about people, and happens to be extremely secretive - which is the crux of the whole story. 

And that's all I'm going to say.

Read it, and you won't be disappointed. You might feel just a little bit like I do: that this is one of the best books you've ever read. If you only read one book this year, make it this one, Theo of Golden. And Author Allen Levi? Thank you for writing it.

Death, Taxes, and the AARP

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I’m having a milestone birthday soon. You know, the one that rhymes with shifty. (It also rhymes with nifty, but shifty is just a touch more appropriate.)

And while I’m ready for it, even if I don’t want to admit that this is even more “over the hill” than what I was ten years ago, what I’m not so happy with is that even if I try to ignore the looming birthday, there are those who never forget.

Death and taxes, they say, are the constants of our lives. 

But really, those two words uttered together should be amended, if we're being honest. We really need to add AARP to that little dynamic duo because two weeks from my birthday, I received a nice little notice in the mail - with my maiden name, of course, because that’s when they found me, as a child happily oblivious to death and taxes heading my way - that congratulated me on my joyous arrival.

"You're eligible for AARP! Won't you join us?"

I stood there when I got the mail, just looking at the envelope, unable to fully grasp that they found me. Two things occurred to me: One: they have known about me for decades. This, in and of itself, is remarkable and scary, and I firmly believe that the government and AARP are working together. (This is not a political statement, but it could be...) 

And two, they used actual mail to get hold of me, because they knew full well I'd delete an email (and I do) that looks like that. And in a small way, maybe I'm just a touch flattered? After all, they took the time to add me to their list! By golly, I'm eligible. I'm so honored.

Even worse, instead of just throwing the mail away, I opened it. I did! I looked at how much money they wanted per year, and then I looked at the handy dandy plastic card I'd get if I accepted to partner with them while my hair grows grayer and my bones just a little more frailer.

Then, I did what a lot of people do: I threw it away in the recycling bin so it would be recycled into more paper for future card-carrying AARP members.

While I gest, the truth is, aging isn't a bad thing. It's what we're all doing. I just wish it wasn't thrown in my face like confetti. I just wish we got some certificate for making it to fifty - or a gift card or something (and not have to pay to be in AARP). Because life truly is a gift! I noted several high-profile people who passed away last week, all under 50. And it happens all the time. I'm blessed to get this far. 

So if you're like me and approaching this decade, or perhaps another significant decade, just remember: the government hasn't forgotten you. Nope, death and taxes are a constant, and they know where you are. (The grim reaper and the government). But, never fear... so does AARP.

And maybe that brings a smile to your face, just like it did to mine.

Anyone there?

So, to simplify my life - to get the life I want, really - I'm always looking for ways to make complicated things simpler. I'm looking for ways to omit old activities that don't further my slow living, even if it means giving up something I thought would be helpful.

Isn't it funny how we add things in our lives that we think will help us, but instead only drag us down or force us to do "one more thing?"

One of those things that came to me was, Did I want to renew my domain name for this blog? In all honesty, I did. Who doesn't want a blog with their name in it? But I wasn't using it the way I thought I would... a personal dot com is helpful if I'm selling a lot of books! 

Alas, I'm not. I write a lot of articles, blog posts, and devotions. I'm always writing something (including books that may or may not see the light of day). So it isn't that I'm not published or that I don't feel successful in some small way. I do! But, this domain isn't necessary for where I'm at right now. So, I'm giving up my domain, which means I don't have to pay for it. It came up for renewal, and I declined.

Except that I forgot it affects my posts coming to your inbox.

So, this is a test post of sorts. Hopefully, it shows up in your inbox. Otherwise, I'll have to work on the technical side of this blog until I figure it out. Yikes.

Now, yesterday I posted about approaching 50. Here's the post, assuming you missed it.◄ 

Hopefully, all will be back to normal. Thanks for following along with me and my writing, reading, and slow living all these years. It hones my writing skills and, hopefully, helps you in some small way.

-Heather

Approaching Change: Turning 50

In a few weeks, I will officially become "middle-aged," or at least, in my view, I no longer will be "young."

It's all relative, of course. I can't tell you how often people (older than me) who find out I'm turning 50 tell me, "Wow, you're so young. You've got your whole life ahead of you." Yet, surely, my own children look at me turning 50 and think, "Wow, mom is old." Because I am. I remember my own parents turning 50. And I definitely didn't think they were young. Maybe not ancient, but definitely not like the youthful 20-year-old I was.

My goal ♥

Even though I feel young, even though nothing in my mind about me has changed (minus those blasted wrinkles), even though I don't feel different, there's just something about turning 50 that wasn't there for me when I was turning 40. 40 was great. It was freeing, I was happy, probably in the best shape of my life, had my closest friends near me, and I was doing what I loved.

Maybe it's because I have a decade more experience, happiness, sadness, and general life to look at and ponder, but it feels like everything is different only ten years later. 

I'm still feeling free (more than ever now that both of my boys flew the coop), and I'm happy, and I'm still doing what I love, writing and vintage, but my closest friends are not living near me anymore, and I'm not in the best shape of my life.

I just started running again after only a few years off, and wow, if you ever want to feel old, look at your personal best results before you stopped running and compare them to your current ones after you start again. Pure chaos, wonderment, and depression. Sure, I'm being a touch sarcastic, but not really. How could I have become so slow? It wasn't like I stopped going to the gym. What in the world has happened?

Aging, that's what happened. We lose muscle, and we lose it fast. Fighting decay all over and inside my body is what I'm doing these days. I heard a funny social media personality say, "Getting enough protein in my diet is a full-time job!" Truer words have never been spoken. 

Regardless of all the physical changes, the best thing about turning fifty is not caring much anymore about what people think. I've heard this one for years, but it's true. It goes hand in hand with doing what needs to be done before I leave this earth, too. Tomorrow is not promised. Am I doing what I've been called to do? Am I loving and helping those who truly need it? 

I wrote about it in a guest post at No Sidebar, which is a huge minimalism community I'm a part of (and partly why I've been a little absent here.) It encompasses living a minimalist life in our wardrobe, home, activities, and absolutely connects with the slow living lifestyle I've been drawn to over the last decade: slowing down, living with purpose, and connecting with the creative and true side of living that our busy world has forgotten about.

But, now that I'm turning 50, some of the things I strived for in my forties don't pull as much of a draw; I want to do more of what I've been called to do and do them right so that I can give a "job well done" account of my time to God when I leave this earth.

Aging isn't easy, but if I try to do what I need to do - staying healthy, doing things that really matter, and living as simply and slowly as possible - then the next ten years may be the best yet. 

Bring 'em on!

A New Year to be a New You

Happy New Year!

How's the resolution list going? Hopefully, you're feeling encouraged. If not, I have a book you may want to read. 

Two more of my stories have been included in another Chicken Soup for the Soul series, and this book, which is released today, is a fun one.

It's all about 101 big and small ideas for a better you. Need a little push to get moving? How about some motivation to eat better? Need some insight on how to clear up your schedule or minimize your home? This book is called Change Your Habits Change Your Life.

One of my stories deals with lessening the coffee intake for a healthier me (I know, crazy thought...), and the other story is about becoming a minimalist and how a trip to Italy started it all!

I realize having a successful year doesn't necessarily mean fulfilling resolutions; sometimes, we don't need to do the whole "New Year's resolutions" thing. But I find that without goals, I flounder. I drift along. And in my life, for me, drifting is as good as dying. I need goals to feel alive. Goals create motivation.  

If you need a little help figuring out your goals to create that motivation, I'd suggest this wonderful book filled with stories to help you become a healthier you. ♥

AI - Friend or Foe?

This is a controversial subject, AI. The use of it, the love or hate of it, the usability of it, to the overpowering and world-dominating aspect of it, we all have different views.

There is a plethora of articles about AI and its benefits and detriments, so I'm not going into that. I'm curious how you, as the everyday person who likes the slow life, or writing, or anything arts-related, feel about it?

I've been an opponent from the beginning. Sure, there may be a few amazing things it can do, like taking any and all information from all over the world and delivering it to you in seconds, but do we really need that? Will science truly thrive from it? Will the world evolve more positively from it?

I don't think so. We already can't navigate our own roads without Google anymore. How is this going to help our brains? It can't.

Music written, composed, and sung by AI? Yep. We don't need musicians or music teachers anymore.

Art created and displayed for the world to ooh and ahh over? Yep, there go the artists. 

Actors, acting on television, movies, and in theaters, are created by AI, not actual human beings. No more real people acting. Isn't this the ultimate tragedy Shakespeare never saw coming!

Articles, stories, and books now written and emitted like a factory product, out in seconds? No reason for writers anymore, is there?

And that's why I can't stand AI. Our brains began stagnating with the start of the internet, and now, with AI, we will be perpetually lost. We are not smarter having everything at our fingertips; we've merely placed our brains into autopilot - more realistically, we have turned off our brains - and have stopped learning.

I write regularly for Chicken Soup for the Soul, and one of their "requirements" for a good story is to not use AI. Over the last two years, their wording about AI was rather congenial and said something to the effect of "It doesn't make your words sound that good anyway." How kind of them.

Now? I just looked at that paragraph placed at the end of their story guidelines page, and it says in the boldest letters possible, "DO NOT USE AI AT ALL." My, my, my ... how things have changed.

There is the misconception that using AI will improve a piece. It does not, apparently. I'd like to venture that the same concept can be said for music. Sure, it can spit out a piece of work, but is it that great? Is it not a conglomeration of regurgitated pieces from all over the world? 

In my opinion, if a human brain didn't work on it, it's not going to be ideal. It may be pretty, it may be packaged nicely, but it's not real, it's not whole, and it's not complete.

Yet, this is a Pandora's box that has been opened, never to be shut again. I suppose this post is a little too much, a little too late. We can't go back. The revenue generated from AI creation is what will propel AI to keep improving, if that's possible.

But I don't want art, music, acting, or writing from a machine. I want it from a human being. A being who was made in the image of God. AI is a machine made by man... it's a removal of ourselves further from God, more to the world of man-made "freedoms" and "rights."

AI is the dumbing down and numbing down of the whole world. Exactly where "they" want us to be (I'm still not sure who "they" is, but "they" certainly aren't for us.) "Trust AI," they say, "It's here to help you," - and with that, all I have to say is "no." I'm not saying no because I'm getting old and don't want change.

As I'm writing this post, my Grammarly software keeps telling me how to rewrite and "make better" the sentences I'm forming. I don't want that! I want my words. I use this software strictly to correct typos, not to rewrite paragraphs for me. How do I become a better writer if the software is doing it for me?

I'm saying no because by saying yes to AI, to a very powerful entity, it is trying to (and going to) succeed in taking the place of us God-made humans and ultimately, God himself. 

We don't need us; we don't need God; we only need AI.

I will write without AI, I will choose to listen to real artists, and I will watch real actors as often as possible. And to all of those others who love AI and will try to convince me otherwise to use it, I kindly but ever-fervently say, in my best Dr. Evil (from Austin Powers) voice, "How about no?"

Thankful for the Birds

"All the good birds are at the tops of the trees."

These were the words I said the other day on a walk as my husband and I watched a hawk survey our neighborhood. Because it's true. The biggest and the best ones seem to be in plain sight, yet often, we don't see them because we aren't looking up. 

My husband told me to write down those words, that they would make a great title for a book. And he's right, it would. It feels like a middle-grade/ young adult book by John Green, or even a thriller by James Patterson. Regardless, I said it because it's true and because it's taken me almost fifty years to figure this out.

Looking for a bald eagle? It's probably going to be at the top of a tree. We have them. They're rare, but such a fun sight to see. They hang out by the river and occasionally come inland (a few hundred yards to our house) searching for food. Looking for a hawk? Well, that's what we found, sitting all by himself, watching us walk along, his eyes piercing through the distance.

Looking for a group of vultures? (Also known as a committee). They live in our neighbor's backyard too, especially in the evenings, up to ten of them, and all toward the tops of the trees waiting for the next meal to show up, maybe on our street, or the next street over. Who knows.

I was lucky to spot a pair of beautiful barn owls the other morning at the top of two sequoia trees next to our house. They were hooting to each other and probably heading to bed. But there they were, just as I woke up, and the phrase rang out true again: All the good birds are at the tops of the trees.

Now, can I say this of turkeys? Well, as it turns out, yes. We have a ridiculous number of wild turkeys in our neighborhood. Rafters of them. And they take turns in groups, trotting through the neighborhood, messing up our lawns and sidewalks, only to act shocked that we might run them over as they nonchalantly cross the street. The toms are the worst, fluffing their feathers and acting tough - as though the car were just another turkey to fend off.

These turkeys also sleep in the trees! I've seen them morning after morning cawing out something that sounds like a dying duck, as they take turns flapping out of the tree to the road to take control of the roads again. They're not smart, yet they're rather noble. And also happen to make a good meal.

Where am I going with this? Only to make sure you enjoy your turkey dinner. Truly, enjoy it. They won't be missed (too much). And two, next time you take a walk, look up. There's a host of wildlife perched at the tops of trees. If you're not paying attention, like I haven't, you'll miss a simple thing that's been going on for thousands of years: All the good birds are at the tops of trees.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. Slow down and enjoy it all.

-Heather