Greeting loyal airmen.  The country has really been in the deep frier this past week, hasn't it?  Oddly enough only two parts of the country have been spared this awful heat; Oregon and Eastern New England to encompass New Hampshire and Maine.  Living in NH, we were part of the very lucky few who had mild, temperate weather all week.  In fact the sun only popped out here yesterday afternoon.  Whereas I mentioned the word lucky here, it segues nicely into topics for this week's log entry.

I sometimes plan these entries and other times I just take whatever comes at me unexpectedly.  Up until this morning, I was going to speak about books and my love of reading.  It's a addiction I've had since I first learned to prounounce the word invulnerable.  You see, it kept being used in the Superman comics I was reading as a child and drove me crazy.  I was forever pestering my mother to say the word and define it for me.  Well, she took that for only so long and finally sat down me down on the floor, opened a huge dictionary in front me and taught me what it was and how to use.  Talk about a light flicking on in my brain!  I've never been the same since. Thanks, Mom. Oh, and for you non-readers (..I find it hard to believe any loyal airmen is a non-reader by the way) the word invulnerable means impervious to harm.  Superman can not be harmed.  Except for kryptonite, but that came later.  Moving on.

I continue to be an avid reader and generally will knock off anywhere between fifty and sixty novels a year.  And that doesn't count my copies of National Geographic (which I read cover to cover) or all the comic books I devour in the same twelve month period.  Like I said, I love reading.  But here's the true irony, because reading gave me such a love of the English language and fiction, it was only inevitable that I would one day become a writer.  And when you are writing, you cannot be reading.  It is a wicked curse.  Still, I manage to get it done and a few years ago even started reviewing the books I read in a personal blog…Pulp Fiction Reviews.  There's a link to it just above this entry.  If you've never checked it out, give it a look-see.  To those hundreds of you who have and come back on a regular basis, thank you so much.  That column has become very successful to the point where it is recognized by lots of publishers who not only quote my comments, but many have begun sending me new books to review.  Free books!  It just doesn't get any better than that. 

Last week, Barnes & Noble had a huge sale on their website to deplete their over stocked inventory.  They listed hundreds of titles for sale at tremendous discounts.   Some were as low as $2.  I immediately went through their list and ordered five.  When they arrived, two I set aside to eventually review in my column.  Whereas the other three were non action-adventure titles that I simply was going to read for the pleasure.  One was a memoir, the other a political tome by Sean Hannity (..remember, your Hangar Chief is a Conservative Republican, a truly incurable condition) and a book called Jinxed.  I began to get the notion that this week I would discuss those particular three books under a heading of “Books I Won't Be Reviewing.”  But when I awoke this morning, Valerie reminded me what day it was; Friday the 13th!!

                                   
Wait a second, my mind flashed.  I dug through my new stack of books and pulled out JINXED edited by Ken Leiker. I am not a superstious soul.  Never have been.  Which is why these kind of things have always amused me and I am fascinated by people who shape their lives around such omens, good or bad.  Of course atheletes are among the most superstitious folks in the world, none more so than baseball players.  In the four years since Valerie and I have become fans of the game, we have often marveled at the bizarre habits and rituals each and every player seems to adhere to passionately.  You've only to watch certain hitters when they come up to bat to understand what I am talking about.   Julio Lugo, the Red Sox short-stop, takes his stance, stares at the pitcher and then, with his right hand, gently pulls up the material of his shirt on his left shoulder.  He does it every single time.   Jason Varitek, the catcher, when batting left hand, jerks his right leg up several times before getting into a ready stance.  When he bats right handed, it is the left leg that gets jerked.

I could go on and on.  Which is the point of this marvelous little collection edited by Mr. Leiker.  I haven't had time to read through all of it yet, but the few pages I've peeked at had me chuckling aloud.  Others had me almost crying.  Pitcher Curt Schilling's father died before he made it to the pros.  Still, every game he pitches, Curt buys a ticket for his Dad and has it left at the front box office.  God bless him.  See what I mean.  Superstitions, if not taken seriously, can provide some fun and spice up one's daily life. Again, as long as you keep things in their proper perspectives. 

So, don't go walking under any ladders today and be just a bit weary of black cats.
Ron – Over & Out.