Why pizza is the best food in the universe, Reason #53: You only need one hand to eat it.

The final Borders Books stores closed this past weekend. My wife and I will miss going there to walk through the aisles of printed enjoyment. The smell of a freshly printed book as it is broken open for the first time is something wonderful and should be experienced at least once in everyone's lifetime. The fun of browsing in Borders for the next book by a favored author is gone. The excitement at finding a new release by a previously unknown author is no more.

Sure there are other bookstores, Barnes and Noble comes to mind, but Borders will always hold a special place in my heart. I totally understand why they went out of business - a combination of rising sales over the internet combined with a failure of Borders to see how large a market eBooks would become. Putting it in perspective, though, my loss of a location to purchase books pales in comparison to the issues facing the 10k+ employees who lost their jobs and are now entering into the worst job market in my lifetime. I hope all of them are able to land on their feet and enjoy a good slice of pizza.



Curling up with a good book in bed, on a couch, or a large comfy chair is one of my "comfort actions", that is to say - things I do to relax and be more at peace. Previously, it would solely be printed books, but more recently I have been reading numerous eBooks. I have a large library of printed books, but only a few eBooks. I love the portability of eBooks and my current eBook reader doubles as my cellphone. On the other hand, I love turning pages in a printed book - the thrill of getting to the end of a page and the anticipation of what is going to happen next as you grab the top corner of the sheet and flipping it over to reveal the author's next words hiding behind. I love it!

My mom says I started to read at an extremely early age. I would read the newspaper, not understanding half the words. My mom says I read everything I could get my hands upon. She would take me to the library every few weeks and I would go in with one stack of books to return and exit with another stack of comparable size. In school, I was in an advanced English program where I would read a book and have to make an oral presentation to my class, weekly. It was a ton of fun traveling the world in those book reports doing everything from exploring the tomb of Tutankhamen to traveling to distant planets with Tom Swift.

As far back as I can remember I have been an avid page turner. I have explored Middle Earth, Pern, Faerun, Krynn, the world of The Belgariad, the world of The Wheel of Time, and many more fantasy worlds. Many science fiction novels have passed through my hands as well. I have stayed up many a late night walking down dusty trails and traveling from planet to planet with the characters in these books.

My current book selections are still as fantastic and wonderful as they were in my childhood, but I have become more discerning in my book choices. I have started examining books that my favorite authors enjoy reading to get a better idea of what they look at as good entertainment, and I have found a few hidden gems that I would never have known. I would like to share these fantastic stories with you here. Most people probably already know about the last one on the list, but I am keeping it for sake of completion.

Patrick Rothfuss - The Name of the Wind Series
Brent Weeks - The Night Angel Trilogy
Jim Butcher - The Dresden Files
Simon R. Green - Deathstalker, Nightside, and Secret Histories series
George R.R. Martin - A Song of Fire and Ice (A Game of Thrones)

For a while, a few years back, I lost interest in reading. It was a difficult part of my life and it was hard to do many of the things in my life that previously made me happy. My wife encouraged me to continue reading, knowing how much I love it. I eventually made it through that part of my life and now I am back to devouring books as fast as I ever have. I also have a new goal in my life. I want to write. I know, I know... everyone thinks they can be a writer. What I really want to do is craft a world and spin a tale that will, hopefully, one day help someone else through troubled times in their life.

Recently, I have been going to Panera Bread, buying a large bowl of french onion soup, and spending a few hours enjoying my book. I can enjoy one of my comfort foods while taking a journey in a book in between spoonfuls. However, when I go out for pizza, I can eat a pizza slice being held in one hand while simultaneously reading my book with the other. Is there any other food that can be easily held and eaten while reading? Possibly, but none that are anywhere near as delicious. Eating pizza and reading - two of my favorite things.



Why pizza is the best food in the universe, Reason #53: You only need one hand to eat it.

Where was I when it happened?

It started as an ordinary day. Just like every other ordinary day. Ordinary 70 degree temperatures with clear skies. Ordinary traffic on the roads. Ordinary music playing on the radio. Ordinary in every way, but one. By the end of this ordinary day, September 11th, 2001, the world will have changed.

I cannot remember the exact timeline of the events as I experienced them, but I do remember what I heard. What I saw. What I felt.

I was working at McDonald's at the time as an assistant manager. I had the mid-day shift and was scheduled to work at 9:00 am, but I showed up a bit early - I don't remember how early. The business was a little slow that morning, and nobody at work knew what was occurring 200 miles to the northeast.

Right around 9am, one of the shift managers came in and ran back to the break room sobbing loudly. I quickly followed to see what was the problem, and found her openly crying while tuning the television to... honestly I don't remember what channel she turned it to, probably just whichever one got the best reception. She got it tuned in just in time for the two of us, joined by a few other crew members who came back to see what was wrong, to see Flight 175  impact into the South Tower of the World Trade Center. One of the staff muttered a prayer under her breath somewhere behind me, but it was silent in that room other than some muffled sobs from the shift manager. She then spoke up and said that a plane had just hit a building in New York. None of us had any idea at that time that we had just seen a SECOND plane impact.

The next half-hour or so was a whirlwind of emotion as we followed the story play out live before our eyes and ears. We had to continue running the restaurant, so I worked the front while the shift manager composed herself. We switched off watching television and helping customers. Oh yes, customer after customer reported to us what was occurring. One guy said that he heard there were three more planes that were hijacked and heading to the west coast. Another said he heard that the U.S. Military was being mobilized and all military personnel were being ordered to report. I had no idea what to believe.

Then the other manager came out and passed on some information that made my heart skip a beat. She said there were reports that a third plane had hit the Pentagon and a fourth hijacked plane possibly also inbound for Washington D.C.

My wife's work at the time was located in Washington D.C.

She worked for an OB/GYN located in Dupont Circle - right down the street from the White House. I tried calling my wife's work, but could not get through. The phone circuits were all busy, both land lines and cellular lines. I could not get through to her. I got a very deep sinking feeling in my gut and I cried.

I don't know how much time passed, but my cellphone rang. OH MY GOD IT WAS MY WIFE CALLING. I picked up the phone and asked her if she was alright or hurt, and if she was on her way out of the city. She paused for a second and assured me she was fine, then reminded me that it was Tuesday which meant she was working in Rockville (a city in Maryland about 20 miles outside of Washington D.C.) I told her I loved her probably twenty times that call before she promised to call me when she got home safely and hung up.

I sat in the restaurant office for a few minutes to compose myself, when another employee called out for everyone to get back to the break room, followed by a much quieter "Oh my god." The South Tower had just collapsed.

They replayed it over and over. I never saw any replay of the planes themselves hitting the towers, thank god for whomever made that decision, but the station we were watching replayed the collapse over and over. It was as if there was nothing else happening in the world, it was so surreal.  I stayed and watched the television for a while. Employees came back and relayed information/rumors they were getting from customers: Car bombs are going off in Washington D.C. (false) The Air Force shot down a hijacked plane that was heading for the White House (false - it crashed) All US air travel is shut down (true) and all planes found to still be flying will be shot down (false - no planes were shot down) All US military is on high alert anticipating further terrorist attacks (true) This was done by terrorists - Very true - it was all over the news by this time that this was a terrorist act.

I then watched the North Tower collapse.

The news anchors/reporters were trying to remain calm, but I could hear the tension in their voices as they tried to clinically describe for the viewers what was happening. I admire them, whomever they are, for their strength to continue reporting the news at a time when most of the nation was in shock, grieving or both.  As the day continued, the news agencies firmed up reports of the airplane brought down in Pennsylvania and dispelled rumors. After these events, most of the rest of the day passed with me in a haze. I do remember the district manager calling to say that any employee call-outs are not excused. At the time I just agreed and hung up. Looking back on it, I cannot believe how heartless that woman was. That action was one of the many reasons why I would leave that job within a month.

I don't remember driving home that day, but I do remember looking up into the sky at work and after I got home and seeing no planes. None the next day either. It was a strange feeling to look up into the sky and KNOW that there was no planes in the air anywhere in the US. I got home and held my wife for a long time. I said a prayer that night, giving thanks that my wife, and my family were safe that day. Then I prayed for all those that died.







Thank you to all the first responders who were there when you were needed the most.
Thank you to the passengers on Flight 93 for having the strength to do what you did, even when you knew it would cost you your lives.
Thank you to the U.S. Military for protecting this country hour after hour, day after day, month after month, and year after year.