Lucky 13th. Thanks to the three kind folks who purchased books today: an elderly woman who selected a beautiful children's book, Time for Bed; a young woman of color, who took five paperback romance novels; and a middle aged woman who has passed the floating bookshop by scores of times, who was finally hooked by The Party Book, which lends advice on hosting. Surprisingly, the Russian-English dictionaries did not sell, although they drew interest. Maybe tomorrow.
I've occasionally spoken of a group that hung out in the P.S. 101 schoolyard in Bensonhurst. Its members were five to ten years younger than me. They jumped headlong into the post '60's counter-culture. Several have spent time in rehab. This past year alone, five of them have passed away, none older than 55. The latest was Lynn, a lovely, sunny-faced blond who succumbed to cancer. I did not know her well. She was the girlfriend, then wife of one of the group, Steve, who played on the Lafayette HS JV football team that I coached and also on a softball team I managed. Subsequently, they divorced, Steve righted himself, moved to Florida and became a marketing director. Lynn remained in the life and now has left us. In a heart-breaking plea on Facebook, Steve asked God to be understanding and to take Lynn into his kingdom, citing a good heart that the devil had seized. Whenever I think of this group and its young deaths, I wonder if it is indicative of others around the country or just an aberration. I suspect the latter. After all, life expectancy increases every year, according to reports. It would not be rising if such deaths were widespread. These unfortunate souls cheated themselves and their families and friends. It's a damn shame.
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