Imogen & Albie
Born in Birmingham, England in 1968, Imogen Edwards-Jones hit on a million-dollar literary idea — exposes` about major industries, pairing an anonymous insider’s knowledge with her writing skill. Her first of eight such books, published in 2004, Hotel Babylon: Inside the Extravagance and Mayhem of a Luxury Five-Star Hotel, was wildly popular and inspired a BBC adaptation. Written like a novel without a plot, it details 24 hours in the life of the guy manning reception, who has the bad luck of working a double shift. The narrative is chock full of excess in all its forms. It includes anecdotes about celebrities. Despite the differences between UK and USA English, it is a fast read, its 351 pages seeming a lot less. For me, it never rose above interesting. 340 users at Amazon have rated Hotel Babylon, forging to a consensus of 4.3 on a scale of five. I’ll go with three. Edwards-Jones has published ten other books as well, several co-written.
RIP Albie Pearson, 88, short in stature, huge in heart. Born in California, he earned 15 letters in high school playing baseball, basketball and football. He was drafted by the Red Sox in 1953 despite being only five-five, 140 pounds. The shortest man in MLB, he was traded to the Senators in ’58 and was named AL Rookie of the Year. He was traded to the Orioles in ’59 and then drafted by the expansion California Angels in ’61. He led the AL in runs scored, 115, in ’62. A back injury ended his career. Overall, he batted .270 during his ten-year run. After retiring, he became an ordained minister. He and his wife opened a ranch for neglected, abandoned six-twelve-year-old boys. He was a father of five daughters. Well done, sir. I recall him hauling in a majestic drive by Mickey Mantle, back to the wall near the 407ft. mark in Yankee Stadium, circa 1960. It was either the first or second game I ever attended, courtesy of Ricky Gilman’s dad, Bernie. I wonder what ever became of Ricky. I’m sure googling his name will bring up hundreds of possibilities coast to coast.
Oops, photo from nypost.com:
With my car in the shop, I brought only as much as I could carry out to my usual book nook. The limited selection included all 14 of my books, six kids’ books, audio non-fiction and Russian DVDs. I wasn’t expecting much but got lucky when Wolf came along and bought five DVDs and three kids’ books. My thanks, and also to my Constant Benefactress, who donated ten non-fiction titles and offered to lend me a shopping cart to transport the stuff back home, as did Eve a few minutes later. I am blessed. As for the old Hyundai, it’s in bad shape, in need of $1370 of work simply to pass inspection. I was tempted to say forget it, use it until the inspection sticker expires, and then donate it to charity. It’s 20 years old. I simply dread the thought of shopping for a new car.
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