Happy Holidays!

Happy end of 2016!! I am actually relieved to see this year come to an end, mostly due to a miserable election process with an ending I had not seen coming. I am hoping for a better 2017, but time will tell on that with our new administration. As I have said many times-my desire to be well informed is currently at odds with my desire to remain sane.

Onto to happier moments-Alan and I took a cruise out of Baltimore to the Caribbean in February-perfect timing. Warmth, sunshine, umbrella drinks, great company, cheesy entertainment. A much need break.

Maddie finished her first year at NC State with great success. She joined the Rugby team and we were all introduced to a whole new language-scrums, line outs, rucks, trys, knock ons....yeah, definitely a learning curve to understand this game. They pass backwards, they wear silly scrum caps, push people into the air and huddle in large groups with heads between thighs. Those are tough girls. Until the game is over. Then the opposing team is invited to a rugby 'social', where they sing dirty rugby songs and drink. The appeal is the non competitive spirit off the field and the social connections among team members. Kinda like a Rugby sorority, where everyone is welcome. As a mother, it is hard to watch-you hope your off spring will avoid injury and simply run away.

Andrew continues to live in Baltimore and juggle 3 jobs, two of which are at 2 different county libraries. His goal is to find full time work at just one library. Going back to school is also in his mind. He has also taken a liking to cooking and his new endeavor is Korean. He did find out that one can be a bit heavy handed with the Korean peppers and hot sauce-all at one time. Not recommended.

Lucy the dog is working towards being a therapy dog, where she can visit nursing homes, hospitals, and libraries. This is more challenging than one might think-she is still very much a dog with springs on her paws. No command is completed without huge enthusiasm. She jumps into a lay position, if that is even possible. She sits, but she twitches until she is released. Patience is a challenge.

Alan hasn't given up the job yet, although he could walk away tomorrow. And I could as well. Just got to get through college tuition...

Rest of the family is doing well-Abby is at Towson working towards her 4 year degree. Conor has finished his degree and deserves a huge pat on the back! Katie is living in Annapolis and doing very well in her job. Nick is working towards becoming a limo driver, with an official hat. Tim might be getting involved with the medical marijuana business with Sophia in the next year.

Wishing everyone good health and prosperity in the coming year!!
The Adams

summer reads

Boy, I have really lost my mojo since my mother died. I have no desire to write for the longest time-maybe the tides are turning. So, I thought I could start with a simple blog item about good summer reads. I was just asked for some suggestions, so this might be a good place to share. So, here ya go...happy reading!!

Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J.Ryan Stradel A story of Eve, who is born into a foodie family of the Northern Midwest, and we follow her life as she makes food her passion. Chapters are written like vignettes, all tied to Eve in some fashion as the sotry moves forward. And there are great recipes in there as well...

All Things Cease to Appear by Elizabeth Brundage. Book opens with a father and his 3 year old daughter standing on the doorstep of a neighbor to announce his wife was murdered while he was at work and the 3 year old was present when the murder occurred. Great Psychological thriller.

Kind Worth Killing by Peter Swanson. Liked Gone Girl? You will like Kind Worth Killing. Fast paced with ruthless characters.

Book of you by Claire Kendal. A great stalker story. And a perfect summer read.

Light between Oceans by ML Stedman. A young couple live on an island to care for the lighthouse hundreds of miles from the mainland, where a boat, a dead man, and a very alive baby, wash ashore on their island. There are great moral questions with this story.

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara This is a heavy but well written story of four men who meet in college and remain friends thorughout their lives. The story focuses on one character, Jude, who probably has had more heartbreak and tragedy than anyone could imagine. A beautifully written story, but a long one..700+ pages.

Enjoy!!

the political climate

There is a new series running on HBO called the Circus, which is a documentary showcasing the current presidential race to the White House. And it truly reflects the insanity..it is like watching a 3 ring circus before our very eyes.

I am starting to believe the GOP is going to implode on itself with the direction it is going. It has no one to blame but themselves, when the Tea Party reared its ugly head a few years back and splintered the Party. So now the price is being paid. They have Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, and Donald Trump as their front runner candidates. Who exactly is the better choice among these folks? Ted Cruz, who is a stanch Evangelical, who touts far right positions in abortion, gun ownership, and gay marriage. Marco Rubio, a youngster, who lambasted Trump with a reference to how small his hands are and 'we all know what means'. This topic of interest came up at the Republican debates, where Trump declared that there was nothing wrong with his anatomy-he was good down there. Yes, a presidential debate where we are discussing your penis size. That is found in ring number 1. In Ring number 3, we have Ted Cruz, who says he will support Trump if he gets the election-UNLESS HE SHOOTS SOMEONE. Obviously, Cruz has a very strong morality line he will not cross.
And then in the center ring, is Donald Trump. The reality star/businessman, who is a racist, a bigot, and a bully. All illegal Mexicans will be deported. Muslims will be required to register in this country. He is arrogant and has the mentality of a 13 year old. He makes false statements, lies, and says what his people want to hear. This week, there has been some very ugly protesting going on a Trump's rally's, in which Trump feels they need to be thrown out or better yet, beat up.
Is this really where the GOP party wants to go? Because if, god forbid, he is elected, it will be the end of the Republican party as we know it.

Someone better take the reins, before this horse race is completely out of control for years to come.

library musings...

Never drink and read....

At around 3:15, a customer at the public PC exhibited trouble handling her belongings. I was unable to have a coherent conversation with her and could smell the odor of alcohol from her, just as another staff member had alerted. She was a customer familiar to me from past visits -- first name Heather -- and I asked if we could call anybody to assist her. She could not give me a straight answer and her attempts at communication trailed off into mumbles, although she periodically began to yell and also tried to get the attention of the customer on PC 14. I told her we needed her to leave the library until she felt better, but she did not comply. I called 911 for assistance and an officer responded after about 15 minutes to assist. The officer tried as I had done and called for backup when her first several attempts did not result in any voluntary movement by Heather. Eventually, Heather was gently escorted out of the library by two officers and she sat on the curb a while. A staff member saw the officers hand cuff her a while later.


Meanwhile, in a bathroom near you...

An occasional customer notable for his missing teeth and his difficulty communicating used the restroom prior to closing and required repeated encouragements to vacate the restroom after 9 pm. We are simply recording this incident in case it becomes a habit, as we suppose he may be homeless and we wish staff to be alert to him. He carries a strong odor of infrequent bathing mixed with heavy tobacco use. He was responsive but unintelligible to staff speaking to him through the closed door, and he did exit before 9:10 pm without further incident.


Another Trump supporter...

Around 12:00 or so this afternoon, a slender black adult male presented himself to the info desk and launched into an aggressive speech, advocating for votes for Donald Trump by everyone 18 years or older in order to rid the country of bleeding heart liberals. He went on a little bit about getting rid of illegals, and we were taken aback by his extremely aggressive speech.

It was unclear what he had come to the library for, but as Kelly and I engaged in a little back and forth conversation, we did not meet his standards in any way. He accused us of looking like bleeding heart liberals whom he continued to spew hate speech about. He ranted offensively about Hispanics not paying their bills and working the system. We also listened to him tell us that we did not know who we were speaking to and he reached into his jacket.

He pulled out an ID, which we were really hoping for, given the obvious alternatives and his obvious disgust with much of humanity. He is a "frickin' Inspector with the State of MD" and he is "in the courts" all the time (watching dishonest illegals abuse the system) and we better "watch what you say" because "you never know who you're speaking to". Also: "You better be careful because you don't know who you're speaking to."

We agreed to his wise advice, and I apologized for any offense, so that we could diffuse the situation and end the connection, withdrawing the audience for his rants.

Holly witnessed most of the exchange and kept ready to call 911 and will attach his picture. She says he has been in before and responded angrily and inappropriately to being advised that we are not part of Baltimore City Library. Her perception is that he was extremely threatening to the staff and we want to alert staff that you might find yourself unable to communicate rationally with him if he visits you.

He went on to seat himself at a PC assigned to another person and left our "stupid library" when Holly advised him of the signup procedures.