Sunday Salon ~ 'tis July in St. Louis

So did Charlie Brown kick the football yesterday?  What do you think?  Is that why his friends are holding footballs for him to kick?  Do notice that not a one of them is Lucy.  Maybe these friends want to set things right.

READING

Brothers on the Run: Based on a True Story ~ by Pat Lorraine Simons, 2013, historical fiction (Germany)

Based on a true story, Brothers on the Run takes you on a high-velocity ride across pre-World War II Europe.  In 1933, two teenage Jewish brothers barely escape death at the Nazis' hands, only to find themselves crisscrossing Europe as refugees whose survival depends on their luck, daring, and wits.  In 1936, when the US denies them entry, the boys enlist as foreign soldiers in the Spanish Civil War — a fateful decision that indelibly scars them, brutally delivers them into manhood, and serendipitously opens the door to freedom.

I wouldn't have chosen this book and I'm not particularly enjoying it, but I want to read it before going to see the author at the Brodsky Library on July 16th.  Here's how the event was advertised:

"Join us to hear local author Pat Lorraine Simons.  She will discuss her novel, Brothers on the Run, based on a true story of two teenage brothers who barely escape death at the Nazis' hands, only to find themselves as refugees whose survival depends on their luck, daring and wits.  This is part of the Holocaust Literature Series, sponsored by Bill Solomon in memory of Karen Solomon."

QUOTES

Tapestry of Fortunes ~ by Elizabeth Berg, 2013, fiction (Minnesota), 8/10

(p. 213)  "What's the point in loving anything when it will just change or be taken away?" I asked.  And she said, "The point in loving is only that.  And when you lose something, you have to remember that then there is room for the next thing.  And there is always a next thing, Cece.  I wish you would believe me."

I've moved, getting rid of a bunch of stuff and negative people and attitudes, so now I have "room for the next thing."

(p. 217)  We're hosting a potluck dinner tonight, Dennis and I.

I read this on the third page from the end, on the morning of the day Donna and I were hosting a potluck lunch and thought:  "Synchronicity!"  We had a great time, we six friends who eat at the same table during the week:  Bonnie and Donna, Evelyn, Sheila, Nancy, and Marilyn.  Thank you, Donna, for suggesting the potluck for the Fourth of July and hosting us at your apartment.

Bloggers gather in the Sunday Salon — at separate computers in different time zones — to talk about our lives and our reading.