Reacher for Finish Lines

I need to ask the question why I still have the air conditioning on while living in the dreaded Worcester Hills in September.  I guess Someone misplaced the August heat waves that never arrived and is trying to sneak them into September.  That is patently unfair as we are supposed to be moving into my favorite time of year – autumn in New England.  A strong line of thunderstorms are headed our way this afternoon (bad news for my psychotic dog) which supposedly will break up the heat and humidity.

Excellent Boss and Coworkers at Brew City Yesterday

The heat was unable to dent my First Friday celebrations yesterday.  My wife ominously linked up with a member of the Worcester Chapter of the Panamanian mafia to explore exotic shopping venues in Eastern Massachusetts.  This led to an appropriate level of prayer on my part.  I continuing my genuflections at Brew City with my excellent boss along with various and sundry co-workers.  I really needed some taste of the brewer’s art after my humiliating first foray into fantasy football.  I invited the wife to stop by on her way home from her shopping depredations but for some reason she preferred her yoga class to swilling beer with my cronies and I(go figure).

The Mafia at Zorba's

I had my subsequent nap in Couch Potato Position #1 rudely interrupted by the yogacized wife informing me we were meeting members of the mafia at Zorba’s.  Since this is always a huge amount of fun I forgot to object to the crashing of our weekly date.  The mafia lived up to their reputations (as did the pizza) as we had too much fun to adequately describe here.  We paid homage to our new daughter in law, the ABFA, by stopping by Ronnie’s for ice cream on our way home. The week’s finish line was supremely serviced by yesterday’s activities but our decision to maintain our respective diets were definitely moved to the MIA list.

My Nephew's Graduation Yesterday Surrounded by Proud Parents

Speaking of finish lines my nephew (and namesake) graduated from his post-secondary schooling yesterday and is now an official mechanic.  I’m proud of his drive and commitment to his new career.  He’s got a couple interviews for employment and if Facebook is to be believed already has at least one job offer.  He’s good people and I’m excited for him as he embarks on this new chapter in his life.  Well done sir!

I also reached the finish line with the latest Jack Reacher book, Personal.  Lee Child has my favorite literary hero drawn back into the semi-respectable world instead of his usual vagabond lifestyle.  To repay an old debt he’s volunteered to lead an investigation into a sniper operating in Paris and then London.  He’s teamed up with a young CIA operative who learns more tradecraft in the few days she’s hanging out with Jack than she could at any “farm”. 

As with all of Reacher’s cases there are wheels within wheels and I couldn’t put the book down.  The reading consisted of my normal all out 2-day sprint to find out what Jack would do next.  I’m almost exhausted when I finish a Reacher book because they’re so damned good I’m obsessed.  This leads to sore necks and legs that go to sleep in inappropriate locations as the reading consumes me on a very basic level.  On the up side I got a lot more exercise since I read on the stationary bike as well.