Random Acts of Kindness blow me away: The Legend of #chuckformike

I have a friend who recently let it be known that he has acquired a rather significant tenant in his pancreas, who is not only a squatter there, but has staked claims elsewhere in his body. This is not Good News, but is being faced pragmatically, with humor, and with careful thought by Mike and his family.  Though he lives in Wales, and we've only seen each other in person a few times, Mike has been to Charleston, and by all appearances, loved the visit, even contemplated a return trip sometime.

Sitting at my computer an ocean away from my friend, I am reminded how nearly 5 years ago, I reached out to the same community through which Mike and I met, when my mother found herself host to the unwanted tenant of metastatic breast cancer.  She told me that she didn't mind dying; she'd lived a good life. Her big regret would be not being able to hear what people said about her at her funeral. I turned to the BookCrossing community,  and to friends and family.  In return, they flooded her with love. It meant a lot to her to know she'd touched so many lives. I looked down at my hands on the computer and knew that though I live an ocean away, maybe I can do something that makes Mike smile, or teases that fabulous brain of his. And so, I wrote him: "Mike, my friend, what are your favorite place memories from Charleston? Don't ask why. Just give me a few places.  PS Tell that tumor to go to hell. I'm mad at it."

He responded with some of his favorite memories, and then I told him my idea: to take a special tour of Mike's Charleston for him, and to send him pictures and videos along the way.

Mike, that big hearted man, recognized that he'd be helping me, while I'd be amusing him. "I'd love that!" he wrote. "Can we ride in one of those horse buggies?"

"You betcha!", I replied. "Anything goes as long as it doesn't involve a strip club or drugs". And with that, I was on a mission: to show Mike the town he visited and loved. He thought Facebook would be a good place for the pictures, though I've put some in a BookCrossing book I had which he'd started travelling. (Sacre Bleu, if anyone's interested. The pictures there are not ones that have appeared on FaceBook.) So, I've been documenting on FB with the hashtag #chuckformike and #miketravels. Mike has let me renew the pact I made with my mother, to face the days ahead with courage, caring, laughter and love. I normally devote my June to mitzvahs in her honor; now her memory is in good company with Mike.

Now, on to Random Acts of Kindness.  The other day, I went to the City Market to take pictures for Mike, and see about a carriage ride. As I got closer to the carriages, I thought about it: most of the fun for a local is seeing friends react to this beautiful city. Taking a carriage ride by myself, even with Mike in my mind, seemed like not as much fun, plus I couldn't be sure I'd hit a district he'd want to see. (For the uninitiated, the carriage tours are strictly regulated as to where they can go, how many can go to a certain area, etc. They're also regulated about temperatures and hydration for the horses and mules that pull the carriages. It's all pretty humane, for what it is.) Plus, my wallet was remarkably bare. I figured that I'd wait until my granddaughter was here at the end of the month, and get some footage then. But in the meantime, I had this idea that I'd document a carriage ride without actually going on one. First, I got a picture from the seat of a carriage of a horse named Montague, and of the poop catcher the horses are required to wear (though adventurous poop occasionally escapes the diaper, something with which any parent is familiar) 

Then I told the ladies who do the lottery for which area carriages can go about Mike, and one of them volunteered to show the sorter for tour-route selection, as long as I promised not to show her face in the picture. I'm pretty sure she rigged it though, because the ball she is holding up is for the prized tour of South of Broad and The Battery:

I continued taking photos and walking in the market, planning the route I'd take for the pseudo tour route. As I walked, I realized I didn't have a picture of a carriage. Montague was out on tour, so I stopped at Old South Carriage Company on Anson St. and explained the situation to the tour guide, and asked if he could take a picture of his horse from the carriage view as well (a la the Montague picture). He not only welcomed a photograph, but invited me aboard.

Then he asked, "You got a video on that thing (my phone)? And a few minutes to spare?" When I replied yes, he invited me on a private tour around the Market, just for Mike! Wowzer! So, meet tour guide Shawn, horse Freddy, and an extremely grateful czukie, on a private carriage tour, just for my friend Mike. To paraphrase and rephrase Tennessee Williams, I am often overwhelmed by the kindness of strangers. Blogger is having trouble uploading the video, so I will try an alternate route. It's a'coming, Mike, two items from your list: the Market and a carriage tour! (edited to add it is up on Facebook now, though my settings are for friends only, though I can change that if needed.)

Shawn did let me take one more picture, that of the markers used for escaped poop and piddle, dropped at the scene of the crime, and radioed into the persons with the worst job in the city: the horse brigade, who go out to clean up the waste. Wouldn't you just love to ride around scraping up excrement when it's 90+ degrees F?

What Shawn wouldn't do was take any gratuity, but I got him back. I left a tip with a co-worker and am wrote a 5 star review on Yelp. 

So Mike, know that not only your friends rooting for you, but strangers are, too. And you deserve it. Thank you, my friend, for travelling with me. Sit back and enjoy the ride!

The Last Chinese chef by Nicole Mones

Clearly, with the exception of one memorable supper in San Francisco's China Town, orchestrated by a friend whose family is from Beijing,  I have been going about Chinese food all wrong. This book is a sensual blend of  words and tastes, with a dash of history and a good modern story thrown in. Read it, but not on an empty stomach.

I've now read 3 books by Ms Mones -- all different, all excellent.

Lucky Us by Amy Bloom

I had to let this one marinate a little bit. There's a lot to consider within this book. Lucky Us centers on the concept of family, whether it is blood or created. The opening line is a great one: "My father’s wife died. My mother said we should drive down to his place and see what might be in it for us.” And indeed, young Eva, who only saw her  father on Thursdays when he came to visit Eva and her mother, take a road trip, where Eva meets her flamboyant older half-sister Iris.  but is also abandoned by her own mother. It's just the first of many episodes where family is created by those around you, and where characters shift and reshape themselves with chameleon-like ease.

The girls run away to Hollywood, where Iris has hopes of becoming a star. She is remade by the studio and her character is revealed bit by bit. The sisters gather and create a home and family, and though they flee California when scandal strikes, family tags along as they move to the east coast to recreate themselves in the New York area.  These characters are survivors, which is a good thing, as the life they create, and the characters they don do not always have an easy go of it. But, they're compelling, and the novel is well written and paced, so the ride is easier for the reader than for Iris and Evie. There was one thread of the story which, while I enjoyed very much, seemed somewhat disjointed -- more as a backstory for the reader than an experience for the two girls. It also involves a reinventing of a character, who seems minor but ends up quite significant. (I'm really trying to be mindful of not revealing spoilers as I write this.)

The title, Lucky Us, is a bit misleading. It reminds me, in some odd way of the line from "Young Frankenstein":  It could be worse. It could be raining. There's a lot in this book that could be worse, but a lot that it the raining. However, Bloom is excellent at her craft, so even when it's raining, the skill of the writing carries through until the sun comes out. Lucky us.

Fish gotta swim, redux

Dance has become a part of my life in these handful of years after the deaths of my mother and brother. It is something that moves my soul in a way nothing else has, and brings my joy of music right along with it. I stumbled into it, looking for a way to fulfill a promise to my mother, that when she was gone, I should do something to take care of myself now. And when I say stumbled, that's almost the truth. I went in search of a yoga class and found a dance class instead, but that's another story.  Yesterday, dance once again carried me into the realm of memory, this time, via a Nia routine that in many ways mimicked the swim of the dolphins.  It brought to mind two memories of my brother Erico, which are linked below:

Fish Gotta Swim -- Happy Birthday Eric

A birthday gift for us

I've often said that the heart is a marvelous thing; it keeps our loved ones alive and close, even if they are neither one nor the other. It may be an organ made of tissue and blood, but it is also made of memories.

An Audacious Alphabet, written and illustrated by Amy J Francisconi

Simply splendiferous! I love everything about it, from the bright yellow cover to the fact it was printed right here in Charleston! As to the tasty tidbits in between, wowza! Don't ask me to pick my favorite drawing, the other 25 favorites might have their feelings hurt.

That the author is a incredibly treasured friend makes no difference. This book is fun, funny, creative, and oh so clever. So happy our book loves brought us together to collide in the wondrous BookCrossing universe. Who'da thunk that I'd find a piece of my soul living up in Delaware?

This book has a permanent place in the czuk home.

The Serpent of Venice by Christopher Moore

Mixed feelings on this one-- Christopher Moore can make me howl with laughter, but this one combined so many elements (previous characters, CM books, several Shakespearian plays, several other literary and dramatic works, and an extreme sense of the absurd) that it took me a while to find the rhythm. I actually put it aside for a few days and then started over.

Previous characters: Pocket the fool, his assistant  Drool, and the monkey Jeff (also the ghost of Cordelia, last seen romping happily with Pocket in Moore's <i>Fool</i>.

Previous books: See above

Shakespearian plays: Merchant of Venice, Othello, with throwbacks to Lear

As to the others you'll have to discover for yourself.

But forget everything you know from your high school/uni English classes. This Venice has sea serpents in it. And it's a wild ride.

Delicious!: A Novel by Ruth Reichl

This book tickled me to the bottom of my foodie/cook/historian/mystery-lover/storie-within-a-story-fan/romantic heart. I've really enjoyed Ruth Reichl's memoirs, and her way of bringing her life vividly before the reader. In this, her first novel, much of the details that she perfected in her nonfiction also brings the scents and tastes of the story to life.

Billie has come to New York after her life on the West Coast proved too painful to stay there. As the new assistant to the editor Delicious!, a magazine for food lovers, cooks, and gastronomic adventurers, she thinks that perhaps she can find a new niche. Indeed, the magazine is filled with characters, as is her part-time job at a cheese shop. Life seems to be good, perhaps even great, though Billie, who has the ability to taste something and discern all the ingredients, and gives every indication of being a great cook herself, refuses to pick up a spatula, or a whisk, or anything that would necessitate cooking.

Then, suddenly, the magazine folds, the offices are stripped, and the only thing that remains is the "Delicious Guarantee", which since the inception of the publication,  has been the venue for readers to voice their complaints, problems, and dissatisfaction with recipes and articles published. Billie is retained as the sole employee, simply to deal with these calls and letters. In doing so, she stumbles upon a hidden room in the library of the old federal style house that used to be home to the magazine, and in that room stumbles upon one more surprise: WWII era letters from a young girl named Lulu to James Beard, who had written for the magazine.

It is these letters, and Lulu, that sealed the deal for me with this book. I learned all sorts of stuff about WWII cooking that I never heard before. (Milkweed pods taste like cheese? Who knew??) Billie heads off on a quest to find Lulu's letters, before the building is sold, and all is lost.

If Lulu isn't real, she should be. And did I mention there's a recipe for an incredible sounding ginger cake at the back of the book?

Many thanks to LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program and the publisher for sending this book along to me. This book is scheduled for publication May 6, 2014.