Booklist for 2019

I didn't make it to 100 books read this year.  In fact I read fewer than in 2018.

If you haven't read these I recommend you add them to your "to read" list for 2020.

#6 Becoming by Michele Obama

#30 Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield

#33 The Girl with Seven Names by Hyeonseo Lee

#41 The Clockmaker's Daughter by Kate Morton

#66 A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

# 76  Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell

But I have to say if a book was terrible it didn't make it on the list because I gave up on it.  So there are lots of good books on that list.

I have a book discussion on Monday of #77 After Anna and one on the 17th of a book I have yet to read.  Before reading that one I must finish Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout.

Happy reading in 2020.  It's something I try to do every day!

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ONE AND ALL.

AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR TOO.

Poinsettia Tree

Last century when the daughters were young, the Columbia Mall built a poinsettia tree in the middle of the center fountain area.  Sometime in this century a renovation of the Mall eliminated the fountain area by paving it over.  The poinsettia tree placement there disappeared for a time until complaints asking for its return.

I don't often shop at the Columbia Mall and especially have avoided it at the holiday shopping times but Friday Dan and I went to see Tom Hanks as Mr. Rogers at the AMC theatre there and then had dinner in the food court in the Mall.  The shortest walk back to our car to avoid the rain was through the Mall and past the poinsettia tree.

I don't think it looks quite like it used to.  It looks too crowded in the space.  There was something special about being built in the fountain pool before that set it off nicely.  At least its back.

By the way the Mr. Rogers movie is a gem!  A must see if you have a chance.  Tom Hanks really becomes the character he's playing quite masterfully.  The one critical comment I had was there was no mention of Mr. Rogers being an ordained Presbyterian minister and his show was his ministry.

[I'm back from hibernation because I found myself caught up with all the Christmas to do list for now.]

Sharing a Letter from Mayor Pete

If you haven't taken a look at Pete Buttigieg I suggest you do so.  I think he's the best one right now for all of us.

Good morning,

My time as mayor in South Bend is almost over. Earlier this week, I attended my final city council meeting -- and reflected on how far South Bend has come.

When I took office in January 2012, it had been just over 47 years since the last Studebaker rolled off the line in a South Bend factory. It was only one year since we had been named a “dying city” by Newsweek magazine.

Every administration in the previous fifty years had to undertake heroic work simply to keep the city afloat. The 2010 Census told us our population was in decline, and the blows we had faced as an economy were everywhere in the crumbling, vacant houses dragging down our neighborhoods.

South Bend’s wounded psyche loomed over us in those first months I was mayor. But today, thanks to the resilience of our community, South Bend’s trajectory has been changed beyond recognition. Our population has seen a fragile but steady increase, while our unemployment rate has fallen drastically -- from 11.8 percent to 3.9 percent. City partnerships have brought in over $900 million in private investment, representing over 7,500 jobs.

We are no longer known as a dying city. Instead, we’re a beta city -- a national model for innovative ideas and practices.

We are on the cutting edge of urban mobility, and are pioneering systems of lifelong learning. Last year South Bend was named a top Race-Informed City by Governing Magazine thanks to efforts to recognize and remove barriers to inclusive economic development.

The challenges and opportunities ahead for our city are enormous, but we know this much: South Bend is back. And now we need a new approach for our country, too. We need solutions big enough to meet this moment and unifying enough to actually get things done.

The crises we face have been years in the making, and politicians in Washington have seemed more interested in fighting with each other than in actually fighting to make our lives better. Americans are so fed up with the dysfunction and division -- especially from this president -- that many of us have completely given up on the idea that government can do anything for them.

But America has overcome tremendous challenges before and we can do it again. If we can summon the courage to break with the past, and if we can enlist the energies of every American, then we can be proud to tell our kids what we did to leave them a better future.

I am running for president because America is running out of time, and I am profoundly grateful for your support and partnership.

Thanks,

Pete