Still new after all this time ...

I have been keeping up with my Newbies, but can't find the time to blog about them. I could give you all the usual excuses about work and more work but that would make for a boring, whiney blog, so I won't ...

On Monday night I hosted my first book club. I have hosted book clubs before but this time, which I think makes it a Newbie, it was MY book club. I organized it, asked the people, invited them to my house, picked the book and launched it at my house with great food and wine. I think it went over well. We read a powerful book called "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini. I won't tell you the details of the book but will give you a synopsis of the story of women in Afghanistan: "Like a compass needle that points north, a man's accusing finger always finds a woman. Always." The book celebrates the ability of women to endure. This quote from a 17th Century poem by Saib-e-Tabrizi stands as a theme and namesake of this book: "One could not count the moons that shimmer on her roofs, or the thousand splendid suns that hide behind her walls."

On Tuesday I had a Newbie at work. First, it was new for me to work at my second moonlighting job by myself. That could have been a Newbie in itself but rather, I would like to count my interaction with Amy. Amy is a short, roung, happy, little, adorable and proud woman who has developmental disabilities. She appeared older than me but was probably developed to the stage of a young child. She went there to work out with her father and took a liking to me immediately. She slapped my hand and told me Merry Christmas many times over. She visited me while she was supposed to be on the treadmill and when it was time to go, she got very sad and hugged me around the waist. It caught me off-guard to the point that it almost knocked me over. She seemed so happy when I hugged her back that I was ashamed of my surprised reaction to her hug. As she left the gym, she called to me, "I'm going to come talk to you again Bucky." It made my whole night.

I'm not sure I can beat that one tonight, but my friends and I are getting together for a Chick-mas Party so there is sure to be something new to report from that! Maybe a new drink ....