Remarkable Life
Last week a regular customer spotted a copy of Mitch Albom’s The Five People You Meet in Heaven and raved about it. Assuming it was non-fiction like his mega-hit Tuesdays with Morrie, I hadn’t given it a look. Even though it did not seem like the kind of novel I enjoy, I brought it home. Although I find it simplistic, it is a painless read — and its heart is always in the right place. Its chief strength is the flawed protagonist. Although he’s a good person, he does a few reprehensible acts during his 83-year journey. Most do. One of the messages is that most people’s plusses outweigh their minuses. I also like the all-is-one theme, which I believe is true even if in the end there is no afterlife. Humans are connected even when they are odds, even while killing each other. The prose and dialogue are solid. The 194 pages of the small hardcover edition read like considerably less. Although it is written from a non-religious perspective, I think it would appeal to believers of all faiths or those who long to believe. Published in 2003, it is still selling well. There are sequels. 7500+ users at Amazon have rated The Five…, forging to a consensus of 4.7 on a scale of five. I’ve lived 70+ years and for some time have believed belief in an afterlife is the ego’s denial of death. I hope to be proven wrong. Albom, 62, began in journalism. He was named best sports columnist in the nation a record 13 times by the Associated Press Sports Editors and won best feature writing honors from that same organization a record seven times. He has won more than 200 other writing honors. He also worked in radio and TV. He published two sports books before making a major breakthrough with Tuesdays with Morrie, which has sold more than 14 million copies and been translated into 45 languages. The Five… followed several years later. It has sold ten million copies and been translated into 35 languages. A movie of it was made for TV. Three other of his works have made it to the small screen, including Tuesdays…, which was also an off-Broadway play. Albom has written at least four other plays, and he’s a songwriter too. A pianist, he performs with the Rock Bottom Remainders, a band of writers that features Dave Barry, Stephen King, Ridley Pearson, Amy Tan, Kathi Kamen Goldmark, Sam Barry and Scott Turow. They donate proceeds to literacy efforts. Awesome, sir.
There are few endeavors as cold-blooded as politics. I have only contempt for NY governor Andrew Cuomo, a career politician. I was surprised when recently he began to be bombarded by deserved bad press concerning the Corona nursing home deaths. I wondered why he was suddenly being thrown under the bus after his useful service to the party during the presidential election. This morning, talk radio host Mark Simone shed light on the subject. Current NY Attorney General Letitia James is merely following the playbook of those before her, Eliot Spitzer, Cuomo himself, Rudy Giuliani, who all used the office to advance their careers. Maybe James has her eyes on the governor’s mansion.
In blizzards past I noticed that wind patterns left some places with little snow while it piled high elsewhere. At 2:15 I left the apartment to use my CVS Extra Bucks reward, which was due to expire tomorrow. On the way I ordered a chicken gyro from Waj’s food cart. When I returned I noticed that the corner of East 13th and Avenue Z was virtually snow-free — as was my car and the sidewalk beside it. Even if the wind dies and the remaining snow falls there, it will be easy to shovel away. Since the alternate side regulation is likely to be suspended for the week, I’ll leave the old Hyundai there. On Saturday I’ll enter from the passenger side, as the driver side is blocked by the work of the plows. There should be some melting starting Wednesday, but it won’t be enough to allow access to the driver door. I’m still hoping to set up shop Wednesday. It will depend on how much wind there is.
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