SSW: Lost Child, Joyce Carol Oates (from the New Yorker)

 I wonder if JCO holds the record for the most stories in The New Yorker.

We get most of the early part of the story through the eyes of a three-year old who is traveling with her scary father. Oates does a great job on making him threatening in a way that seems real.

He tells her to get out of the elevator on the 8th floor. But he doesn't follow him and that's the last time she ever sees him. She stands there for an hour and them is rescued and eventually ends up with an aunt. Her mother has apparently died. 

She never learns much about the circumstance of the death or where her father went. She carries this burden for the rest of her life.
 

Monday, Monday

 After finishing JOHN OF JOHN, I decided to read Stuart's first book SHUGGIE BAIN. It's another long one, but so easy to get into.That's a real gift.

Saw the movie THE WORK IN PROGRESS, which puts millennials and baby boomers together and tries to get them to exchange ideas. I think the real trouble is more about class than age though. Also rewatched ALL THE JAZZ. What a delight.  I also enjoyed MY Brilliant Career. 

Watching NO EXIT on Apple. LANTERNS on HBO. LAST MEAL on Tubi. TED LASSO on Apples. 

I went to a lecture on American women from the Revolution on. Our senior center has a lecture every Thursday night by college professor and other ones in the daytime. And many other activities including bus trips, exercise, art classes, music, book groups. discussion groups, card groups, etc. All this for $60 a year.  I also went to hear folk music one night. 

I am going to PT for my balance issues. I think it is at least partly related to the drug I am taking for AFIB. 

What about you?  

 If you will notice, your blogs are not updating. Trying to fix it. 

FFB-SIDESWIPE, Charles Willeford

 SIDESWIPE, Charles Willeford 

Following MIAMI BLUES and NEW HOPE FOR THE DEAD, Miami homicide detective Hoke Moseley abandons his pregnant partner and housemate, Ellita Sanchez, and his two daughters to manage his father's apartment complex in Riviera Beach, Florida. 
When the book begins he cannot even get himself out of bed. 

Stanley Sinliewicz, a Ford retiree spending a night in jail, does a favor for a killer named Louden, which results in his release from jail. The two then embark on an odyssey which can only lead to disaster.
Hoke soon finds the simple life is easier to envision than envelop. Coping with a job offer from the local police, a string of local burglaries, and a daughter with an eating disorder puts him back on the path home. Playing the disinterested father can only go so far. 
Like others in the series, SIDESWIPE is packed with action and humor. Elmore Leonard says no one writes a better crime novel than Willeford. Who am I to argue with that? Walter Mosley claims he reads Willeford for a break for the monotony of endless grimness. There is a real art to telling a hard-boiled crime story with this much humor. 

SSW-"August Heat"by William F. Harvey

 https://americanliterature.com/author/w-f-harvey/short-story/august-heat

A man, looking for something to sketch, finds a man in a courtroom on trial for murder who is grossly overweight and sketches him.  Later he runs across the same man making a headstone. The headstone has the artist's name on it and today's date. The two men go inside to try and avoid both of their fates. A very short and subtle story about fate

Happy Labor Day

 

Detroit has always celebrated Labor Day probably more than most of the country because of the auto industry and the associated workers unions. There are marches and bridge crossings and a lot of people standing around with petitions of some sort.  Here are some of these year's activities.

 Top Labor Day Events

Detroit Jazz Festival: Held at Hart Plaza and Wayne State University, this is the world's largest free jazz festival, running through the final day on Monday with special performances like Coltrane 100. 
Arts, Beats & Eats: Located in downtown Royal Oak, this massive festival features over 200 musical acts, local art, and dozens of food vendors through Monday. 
Hamtramck Labor Day Festival: Features live music, carnival rides, a parade, and the traditional pseudo-canoeing/yacht race. 
Labor Day Union March: Traditional march stepping through Corktown on Monday morning, followed by community showcases. 
Michigan State Fair: Hosted in Novi at the Vibe Credit Union Showplace with carnival rides, agricultural exhibits, and monster trucks through Monday.

 Does Labor Day get as much attention where you are?