A Thunderous Weekend

The annual Thunder in the Valley air show was this weekend. My backyard is in the turnaround flight path for getting back to the airport. So even though we didn't go see the show, we could follow the trail of dust as the the bi-plane looped across the brilliant blue sky and search for jets that outran their own thunder.

In the meantime, there was a wedding going on in my backyard. Not a large one, but a bride in her gown and a groom in his tux saying their vows on the rocks in my creek while the aircraft circled overhead.

What a day!

I recently listened to Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls. It's billed as a true-life novel, an interesting twist to the recent memoirs and autobiographies that have been pulled off shelves for their invented facts. Half Broke Horses is based on the life of Walls' grandmother, a thoroughly likable, fearless heroine who rode through the 20th century like a half broke horse herself. A good read with a solid sense of place and an entertaining voice.

On the audio version, the author reads the book herself. In my opinion this is seldom a good choice. A professional reader would have done a much better job. If I ever have a novel published and they ask me to read it on tape, remind me to decline.