May 4, 2020
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“One For All & All For You” – The Quest Begins!
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Before getting into “My Quest” ….
All is NOT Quiet on The Western Front… or any of the “Fronts” in Battleground America, but Daily Life in its socio-politically abridged format moves on for each of us.
I have spent 50+ years fine-tuning my social-distancing skills. So Bre’r Rabbit BobLee is doin’ just fine in this briar patch. I miss “dining out” on a whim, but other than that Life @ BLSays HQ is pretty much as it was in Pre-COVID-19 days. MANY others are not so fortunate.
Everyone has decided Who to Blame – and Why… and is confident in your personal decision-making. I won’t bore you with my assessment… or inquire about yours.
Prior to OMG A PANDEMIC!… my interest in “sports” as an entertainment option had shrunk down to MLB… PERIOD. Even MLB has faded away now. “Watching baseball” is not an option; but I honestly don’t think my interest in “Who do The Cardinals play tonight?” will be rekindled. I’ve moved on. Finding alternatives has been much easier than I would have anticipated back in February. It is A Good Thing!
The immediate future of College Football is a subject of great concern across Battleground America. If not you – certainly many of your friends and neighbors will be befuddled without a means to declare “vicarious superiority” over rival neighbors and associates. Resorting to alternative means to achieve vicarious superiority could get “interesting”. Who has “the greenest lawn” … “the most outdoor Christmas decorations” … etc ???
The loss of Football Revenues WOULD be a major challenge to many institutions resulting in unpleasant belt-tightening once the deep pockets of Old Reliable Fat Cats have been emptied.
UNC Football just announced a HUGE MEGA $$$ Gift from The Eddie Smith Family of Greenville / Grady-White Boats. … So HUGE MEGA $$$$ that pretty much everything about UNC Football will now be named for various members of The Smith Family.
Naming Stuff for People has been known to be “dicey” over at UNCCH. Hopefully The Smith Family Tree was scrubbed clean back to The Jurassic Period. Lets hope so …
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A week or so ago, a Facebook Friend noted that his daily routine was now Reading – Binge-TV watching – and FaceTime with his grandkids. Thats pretty much “me” too.
A popular 4th option is finally getting to that lengthy list of “Someday I’m Gonna …”. For many of us that includes – reducing CLUTTER around the house in all its insidious forms – minor household repairs that require a screwdriver, hammer, or pliers and maybe one power tool – and, of course,
Resisting the urge to buy ANY sort of Home Exercise Equipment.
The innocent phrase – “I think I might actually use that” – haunts many a man’s (and woman’s) past.
Over the past decade or so my creative problem resolution skill has increased many-fold from what it was in earlier decades. I don’t know why. Recently, I’ve made significant improvements to my Fortress of Solitude… as well as improvements to our primary and secondary Home Entertainment Centers. I did so without temper tantrums and without “breaking anything”. AND without buying a bunch pf new stuff … simply re-employing how we were utilizing existing stuff.
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I’ve often mentioned one of my Simple Pleasures is a long walk on a Greenway listening to a good book. For 5-6 years earlier in this millennium I was doing five miles/day at least six times a week… burning thru audiobooks like a Malibu wild fire. The first exercise program of any duration I actually looked forward to each day.
My retina detachment several years ago got me out of the habit. Getting back to the prior level with regularity has been more difficult than I anticipated due to nagging back soreness. Last week I achieved a major breakthrough … 4.5 miles with no pain… and a Terrific final two hours of a Really Good book by a favorite author – Vince Milam.
As fellow book aficionados know – when asked My Favorite Author – my immediate reply for 6-8 years has been C.J. Box and his Joe Pickett series. I still binge every one of CJ’s book as soon as they come out. But Vince Milam now shares that lofty pinnacle with CJ & Joe.
Vince has five books so far in his “Case Lee” series … they all have “Job” in the title. “The Hawaii Job” is his latest. Case Lee is a retired Spec Ops Marine who does “contract work” for a mysterious Swiss organization. His “Jobs” invariably involve really bad guys and become quite perilous. He calls on his fellow former Marine buddies – Bo, Marcus and “Catch” – each of whom bring unique combat skills.
There are a lot of authors in this genre and I’ve read many of them. Vince Milam’s books are especially good. He uses a lot of Eastern NC locations in his books which adds to my interest. Vince Milam’s books are available in all the popular formats. I recommend reading any series in order but its not required.
THAT SAID … right after I finished the Very Exciting Conclusion to Case’s latest adventure, I went immediately to a brand new release – Savage Son by Jack Carr. Some buddies of mine have a Book Review podcast and they were Ga-Ga about Savage Son.
Carr is a retired SEAL with three books to his credit. I had read the first two and they were OK … This one is OUTSTANDING! Carr’s hero is James Reece and he is a Mitch Rapp / Scott Harvath-type. This book – Savage Son – is every bit as good as the best Vince Flynn / Brad Thor stories. Really!
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NOW … To The Quest
You are thinking, based on those two strong Recommends above, that BobLee is stuck on knuckle-dragging – shoot-em up – high body count “Rambo” books. Not so fast my friends.
My New Quest is to read /listen to 25+ “Classics Novels”. Most of which I am familiar with in one form or another even if only thru Classic Illustrated comic books and/or movies based on the novels. All of them are, of course, available on Audible.com
My List in no particular order and with no time limit to complete are …
Three Musketeers
Tale of Two Cities
Count of Monte Cristo
Les Miserables
Gullivers Travels
Robinson Crusoe
David Copperfield
Hunchback of Notre Dame
20,000 Leagues Under The Sea
Around The World In Eighty Days
The Iliad
The Odyssey
Sherlock Holmes
Last Of The Mohicans / Deerslayer
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
Don Quixote
Treasure Island
Catch – 22
A Farewell To Arms
Gone With The Wind
The Red Badge of Courage
Tom Sawyer / Huckleberry Finn
Catcher In The Rye
Chronicles of Narnia
Moby Dick
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Your List will be different as all lists should be. Before you say… What About Great Gatsby? … I “read” that last year.
In preparation I watched three Three Musketeers movies over the weekend. I love “Buddy Stories” and this is The Quintessential Buddy Story … Porthos – Athos – Aramis … and one of literature’s most dashing heroes – D’Artagnan. …
“One For All & All For One”.
My Dad had this “game” he made up using characters in literature as players on a Football team based on their skill sets. Robin Hood’s Little John was an Offensive Lineman, etc etc etc …. I wish I could remember all the other players and their positions. Natty Bumpo / Hawkeye and Edmund Dante and Ishmael and, of course, Achilles and Ulysses were all on the team somewhere.
No siree … I’m not going to miss “watching sports” one little bit…
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