The Writer's Life 10/2 - Nothing

I envy people who believe in God and an afterlife. I have no trouble believing the universe was created, that there was in the least a God particle, but I find all the religious explanations about it lacking, unconvincing. I would rather be wrong about this than any other aspect of my life, but I don’t believe prayers are answered. It may appear some are, but I’d chalk it up to coincidence. Anyway, when I saw the title of Nica Lalli’s Nothing, I was intrigued, more so when I read she is a resident of Park Slope, where I set up the floating book shop on Sundays. Half Italian, half Jewish, she grew up in Manhattan. Her parents were non-believers, although they celebrated holidays in secular fashion. The lack of belief had her feeling alienated, but she never found anything that made sense in religion. I identify with that. As argument, the book fails completely. I doubt it will convince anyone to not believe, although it will certainly comfort those who don’t, have them feel they have company. Yes, Lalli fails to convince, but no one, even mankind’s greatest minds, has ever won this argument. Unless there is a second coming or God one day pokes his head through the clouds and waves so that everyone sees Him, it will continue. The biggest difference between Lalli and me is that she seems annoyed by those who believe. I accept that most people do. I don't bark at the Haccids that ask if I'm Jewish every time I pass the train station. I say no and keep walking. I know they wish only to do good. According to surveys, more than 80% of Americans believe in a higher power, 12% of those being non-religious. I do not want to give the impression that the book has a negative tone. It is the earnest, reasonable work of a devoted mom and art educator. It is written in clear, unpretentious prose. Although this is her only book, she writes a weekly column for The Brooklyn Paper’s Park Slope edition. 23 users at Amazon have rated it, forging to a consensus of 3.5 of five. I say 2.75. Of course, when seeing the word Nothing in large print, I can’t help but think of George Costanza’s description of the TV series he and Jerry hawk to NBC execs:  

Speaking of Seinfeld -- last night Channel 11 pushed it back to midnight. It aired back to back episodes of The Honeymooners at eleven. I just visited the CW site and the schedule does not reflect the change. Was it an error? I don’t see how this lineup change would work well unless the CW included The Honeymooners lost episodes, which pale in comparison to the Classic 39. If it sticks with the latter Monday through Friday, it will run through them in four weeks. Seinfeld shot 172 episodes. Why not air one of each to keep them fresher?

Nothing is what the floating book shop will be earning until this stretch of bad weather blows away. Done with chores and the crossword by 2 PM, I didn't know what to do with myself. Fortunately I recalled wanting to see if there's a guitar tab available online for Blake Shelton's haunting Sangria. The chords are simple: Em, C, G, D. The lyrics are surprisingly tricky. Except for the main phrase: "Her lips taste like sangria," it does not have the poetic flow of most songs, although there is vivid imagery.
Vic's 5th Novel: http://tinyurl.com/okxkwh5

Vic's 4th novel: tinyurl.com/bszwlxh

Vic's 3rd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3

Vic's Short Story on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/k95k3nx
Vic's Short Story Collection: http://www.tiny.cc/Oycgb
Vic's 2nd Novel: http://tiny.cc/0iHLb Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/kx3d3uf
Vic's 1st Novel: http://tinyurl.com/l84h63j

Vic's Rom-Com Screenplay: http://tinyurl.com/kny5llp

Vic's Horror Screenplay: http://tinyurl.com/cyckn3f

Vic's Blog: http://vicfortezza.blogspot.com/

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