Spring Break 2011

Spring break has come and gone, and I am exhausted!  I went around the world in 10 days!  What!?!?!?!  I'm sure you all are saying,  "Now, Denise, I specifically recall you whining on Facebook about how you were trapped in downtown Marne, Ohio in the gloomy cold weather.  What's the deal?"  Well, my blog posse I understand your confusion.  You see I physically sat in Marne,  but intellectual I travelled the world. You see I have a love for literature.  From the time I could pick up the book Cinderella at the age of 18 months,  I have been reading.  I have my Grandma Hershberger to thank for teaching me the power books have.  So sit back and let me share with you my Spring Break 2011 "photo" album.

My first stop was Chicago, Illinois.  What a city!!!  Thanks to Michael Wiley and his book, The Bad Kitty Lounge, I took a journey to the seedy side of Chicago.  I helped Joe Kozmarski solve the murders of Greg Samuelson and Judy, the Virginity Nun.  Unfortunately, these folks had skeletons in their closets that led to their demise.  But the murders didn't stop there.  Throughout our adventure, we came across 3 more dead bodies!!   Talk about unnerving!  Of course, then there were the two chicks in his life.  Those two need to get grip and dump Joe's butt. The man is commitment challenged.  If it weren't for Joe's  great sarcasm and the two bumbling henchmen that kept following us, I might have caught the first airplane out of Chi-town. I'm glad I stayed though.  Together we figured out whodunit and brought closure to many people.

Next I went to Los Angeles and San Diego, California.  I have to say this was not my favorite part of the trip.  Some people are just annoying and offensive.  I'm sorry Justin Helpern, but The Sh*t Your Dad Says borders on grotesque. It's hard to believe that Justin's dad is a doctor of nuclear medicine and not a drunken sailor.  At times I just wanted to wash Dr. Helpern's mouth out with soap.  I really enjoyed Justin, but I just don't understand why he wrote the book.  If that was my dad, I wouldn't want anyone to know!!  But Justin is brave; he actually sold the rights to the book for a TV sitcom.  Now the world knows The Sh*t His Dad Says.   But as with every trip I take,  there is always good parts and bad parts.  I wish you great success Justin, but I for one will not be watching your "Dad's" show!

I got out of San Diego as fast I could and hopped the next  plane for Calcutta, India.  I was so excited to meet up with my dear friends, Lady Julia Grey and her husband Nicholas Brisbance.  These two are a throw back to the 1880s.  Both of them grew up in England and still abide by old English proprietary.  Every now and then they do exhibit some enlightenment ideas!  Anyways, they invited me to stay with them in Darjeeling, India at the Peacocks, a tea plantation in the Valley of Eden.  It was a beautiful place.  The Himalayan mountains was the back ground to some of the most beautiful landscape I've ever seen.  I got to experience the Hindu culture.  I actually went to a pooja!  (It is a celebration held at the beginning of the tea picking season.).  What fun!  But as it always happens, where ever Julia and Brisbane go, so does a murder that needs to be solved!  While solving a murder is always to be treated seriously, I just laugh at the two of them.  They don't play well together when there is a case to solve.  Julia wants to out do Brisbane, and he just wants to keep her safe.  If the two of them would just work together, they could solve the cases much faster!  I spent most of my time with them laughing and loving them.  Deanna Raybourn's Dark Road to Darjeeling is the fourth and best installment of the Julia Grey series. 

While I was tired and kind of jonesing to get back to America, I decided to make one more stop while on vacation.  I decided to detour to the beautiful country of Ireland.  One of my oldest friends, Maeve Binchy had a new story, Minding Frankie, that she wanted to share with me.  How could I resist!  I love her and will go where ever she sends me.  She took me back to St. Jarlath Street in Dublin.  I absolutely am in awe of the residents of this little burg.   This neighborhood knows how to support one another.  When I arrived Noel had just found out he was going to be father in two weeks.  Apparently a girl from his past found out she was pregnant and kept the news from him.  Unfortunately, she also had cancer and would not live to see the baby, Frankie, be born.  I was amazed how everyone on the street rallied around Noel and helped him raise Frankie.  Watching these people support each other reaffirmed my belief in humanity.

Of course all good things must come to an end.  I'm home now and recuperating from my travels.  I'm exhausted, but satisfied with my journey.  I love being able to go anywhere in the world with nothing more than a book in one hand and a good glass of wine in the other.  I encourage all of my readers to pick up a book and escape to another world, country or time period.  You may be surprised what you find.

Make Every Day Count....

Denise

PS:  I want to share with all of you of a blog that I am currently reading.  It is called bloggingtheword.com  Adam Lorence is the son of my friend Cheryl.  Adam is reading the Bible everyday and sharing God's word and commentary with the Internet world.  He is starting at the beginning with Genesis and will continue he has finished the Bible.  If you want a fun way to learn more about God's word, I encourage you to check it out.  Thanks Adam for all of your hard work.