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A Moment in the Sun - a literary journey

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I just finished reading this huge novel, A Moment in the Sun by John Sayles. It felt really important to me, the experience of reading this, so I wanted to expand on it a little bit more.  John Sayles is an award winning film director whose work I have enjoyed in the past. Anybody seen any of them? Some people complain that his films are more like novels and I think that's why I like them. My favorite is Matewan , about the coal miner strike in 1920 (that featured a young Bonnie Prince Billy in an amazing role as the young preacher).  We also just rewatched an old favorite, The Secret of Roan Inish , which I had forgotten was also a John Sayles film. I love the way he digs into the cultural relevance and communities of place. But I hadn't realized he is also a novelist. His 1977 novel, Union Dues , even won the National Book Award.   I didn't know any of that when I picked this book up and was surprised to see his name as author. I could tell at once that it was gri...
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Kids and Bodies

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If you know our family, you probably know that our parenting style is not very restrictive. I don't try too hard to restrict much of anything because I know it just draws attention to that thing and makes it seem desirable. We're not super overboard about candy or cuss words or plastic, you get the point. But there are two things I care about keeping away from my kids. One is personal screen time. I don't mean watching tv shows or movies (especially good ones!) as a family. We are wide open to that. But ugh, I reject the small personal screens that draw kids in to their own little worlds and away from togetherness and quality activity. But that's a topic for another day.  The thing I least want my daughters to witness is negativity about body image. I don't allow weight talk around my kids. I would never make a disparaging comment about my body or any other body; in fact, I would only offer praise and positivity. At a glance, this might seem disingenuous, but it...
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Be Sure to Touch the Ground - Ramblings While Staying at Home

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Thanks Cole McKenzie for reminding me about the new Waxahatchee album , of which I'd heard three songs and loved: "Fire," "Can't Do Much," and "Lilacs," but yesterday the whole new album dropped and today I listened to its entirety. Incidentally, I listened while on a five mile treadmill run, building back up to where I was at the beginning of this month, after a short period of taking it easy due to the current situation with the Covid 19 scare and a brief cold-like illness. I read that building up your natural immune system means working out but not overdoing it. I am still "taking it easy" but finding it imperative to push myself a little, because that's when I feel most healthy. It felt good to be out of breath and to pull beautiful air deep into my lungs and to appreciate that in a way that makes me want to cry. Another side note is that I am now able to run to all kinds of music, and find running the best time to really take i...
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