good news

Today, I'm going to share with you five good things. When I discover something great, I tell you. I'm here to serve. In this life, we have our people. Our people are what matters. You are my people, so here you go.

1. On watermelon. How many years does it take to figure out how to choose the sweetest possible watermelon? If you're me, the answer is fifty-two. Dooogh! I have been a poor chooser all these years and have finally learned the secret. All this time, I've been studiously (and inadvertently) avoiding the good melons in my attempts for perfection. Isn't that always the way? We aim for pristine when wabi-sabi is the way to go. If you don't know Wabi-sabi, Wikipedia it. Anyhow, I finally decided to ask the produce dude how to get a good melon, having been burned a few times already this year.

In the past, I'd always picked the roundest, greenest melon in the bunch, avoiding imperfection. Produce guy thumps a bunch of gnarly looking melons, and hands me the ugliest one with a big yellow blemish the size of Manhattan. "This is a god one," he says' handing it to me.

"Aaaah, huh?," I say. "What about the yellow splotch?

"Yep. That's what you want to look for. If your melon doesn't have the yellow, it was picked too soon. The green ones are the ones to avoid. If it has a nice yellow patch and makes a hollow ting when you thump it, it will be red, crisp and sweet inside. Trust me. This one is good."

Oh my Lordie. What a revelation. All these years, I've been avoiding the yellow splotch and neglecting to thump. Produce dude was sooooo right. This melon is the best. The coolest part of this experience is another lesson I've been learning lately. This lesson is compliments of my buddy Lauren Smart. Her secret? Just Ask. If you don't know something, ask for help.

Sometimes this will pan out, sometimes it won't. Either way, you'll be no worse for the wear. Since Lauren enlightened me on her asking philosophy, I've been experimenting with it in many realms with interesting results. The melon insight was an example of a positive outcome. I've only had one negative outcome. Perhaps I'll tell you about that soon. All I'm sayin' is that some people are too big for their britches and think they're too cool to help a lowly beginner like me. Whatev.

2. Good series. Quiet Guy and I just finished watching the series Life (2 seasons in all)on Netflix. It is awesome: intriguing characters, quirky bits, mysteries and good fashion. What else could you ask for in a series? Pop yourself some popcorn and hunker down to watch this series.

3. Searching for Sugar Man, the documentary. If you haven't seen this yet, you are wasting time. Do it. So interesting, so thought provoking. It's about a musical artist from the seventies called Rodriguez who is about as gifted as they come. I am slightly obsessed with his music now, as we bought his CD's and I listen to them over and over again, but still cannot get enough.

4. The book The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls by Anton DiSclafani. Do I condone everything that happens in this novel? Aaahhh, that would be a no. But who cares when the writing is this beautiful. Seriously lyrical, seriously genius. This gal can turn a phrase.

5. The book In The Woods by Tana French. Good mystery, first novel. Warning: her second effort, The Likeness, will disappoint you. It is too preposterous for words.  However, I can forgive that, and am now onto her third: Faithful Place. I have high hopes for this one. I am a believer. Gotta admire Ms. French. Not only is she Irish, but she can string together a story with good characters.