RECENT VIEWING
Soldier Father Son
This New York Times documentary is moving and extremely well crafted. Brian Eisch is a single parent of Isaac and Joey and a career soldier fighting the war in Afghanistan. When he sustains a serious leg injury, he returns home to a life very different from the one he had envisioned. He’s in constant pain, can’t do the activities he’s always done with his sons, and his sense of manhood is diminished by this loss of physicality. Opening in 2010, the film follows Brian in Afghanistan through having part of his leg amputated and all the adjustments recovery requires. The intervening years bring new relationships (Brian’s girlfriend Maria) and unexpected grief, ending in 2019 when Isaac has transitioned from high school student to Army soldier. It presents a slice of life many of us have never experienced and is raw and tender and gritty. Highly recommended!
Endeavour (PBS Masterpiece)
This is Season 7 of Endeavour. Only three episodes in all, but each one is 90 minutes, and unlike previous seasons, they are all interconnected. A series of murders on the canal towpath seem to have been successfully solved, but then another one occurs. Morse has a new woman in his life and a budding friendship with a rich Italian. He and Detective Thursday have their usual grumbles and disagreements, but this time Morse may have gone too far and caused a permanent rupture. And we get a warmer, more relaxed side of Superintendent Bright in tender moments with his invalid wife. In each episode, we also have more of the private lives of the principals, adding to the richness of the series. Recommended!
BEACH READ—SARASOTA SCENE
Footprints in the Sand by Mary Jane Clark (2013)
I believe I got an online offer for this Piper Donovan mystery. It’s part of a 5-book series of Wedding Cake Mysteries, and not something I’d ever normally purchase. I was probably lured by a cheap Kindle price and by the Sarasota/Siesta Key setting.
Protagonist Piper Donovan is an actor turned wedding cake baker who gets hired to make these fancy cakes in gorgeous locations. She and her parents fly to Sarasota for her cousin Kathy’s wedding. Kathy’s best friend is missing and then found dead. Thus, begins a whole series of murders. Piper sticks her nose in foolishly and, with telephone advice from her FBI boyfriend Jack, attempts to help solve the mysteries.
This is what’s called a cozy mystery, murders yes, but little in the way of gore or horror. It’s light fare. I enjoyed it as much for the Sarasota locales I know as for the Amish culture and characters Clark weaves in. The Amish have a strong presence in Sarasota’s Pinecraft neighborhood each winter.
BLOG HISTORY—STATISTICS
About a month before I retired in Summer 2014, I created Jots & Jaunts and wrote my first blog post. That year, I produced 15 posts total. In January 2015, I committed to writing a new post each week. When traveling, especially internationally (those were the days!), I posted a new entry almost every day, thus creating an online journal for myself and others.
Besides accounts of faraway places, blog topics include books, movies and TV, and the arts scene, as well as food and favorite restaurants. The past five months have been challenging with no movies, no concerts or plays, and no restaurant dining—lots more content about reading and viewing.
To date, I have published 396 posts with this one being #397. That represents an average of 67 postings each year in the more than five years since 2015. Besides the web, I share my blog on Facebook and with a select group of friends. I enjoy and appreciate the feedback I get from my readers. Thanks for your continued interest!
Note: Header photo of water off Newagen and rock photo ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved).
