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It's been awhile since I've written anything but a review, but it's time to get back on track. Last week, Susansw sent an email with a link to a list of the best donut places in the U.S. On that list was the Donut Vault on Franklin in Chicago. I'd been after Nancy L. to go to the Mart because we hadn't been in ages, not since the Apparel Center wrapped up and moved across the street (to the Mart). I now knew about Spot Hero, so we wouldn't have to stress about parking which had pretty much dried up in the last couple of years. Dried up in the form of no more cheap parking lot down the street from East Bank, and no more 4 hour meters on that same street. Now there were fewer spots and that thing where you park, go over to a machine, figure out how much time you want, use your credit card to buy it, get a receipt, go back to your car and put the receipt in a visible place, and finally, finally, go rushing around on your errands so that you'd be back to the spot before your time expired. With Spot Hero (which really is a Hero) you just figure all this out at home, buy a discounted parking spot near your destination in a garage or on a lot, and go there. Get your spot, usually for the entire day, and go easily about your business without the worry of expiration and tickets. But I digress.
On the way down, I mentioned to Nancy that I had a taste for a good donut and a taste test if we make it there by 11, because these new boutique donut places make donuts, sell them, and close for the day. Just like The Donut in San Pedro, remember? Nancy never ever casually buys fun food, but she agreed to go along with me, 'cause she also doesn't want to miss out on a good thing. She didn't know that Donuts were the new Cupcake.
Donuts are the new Cupcake. Of course, anyone can make a good cupcake. Baking is easy and pretty neat, and cupcakes are the easiest. Frosting is like three ingredients, so I never got the big deal with cupcakes. Wouldn't turn one down, but would never go out of my way for one. Whereas with donuts, you've got multiple steps. They need yeast, which needs rising time, and then you've got to deep fry, which is messy and you've got to deal with the leftover oil. So donuts are the perfect destination food because I wouldn't make them for myself. Donuts are the new donut. Cupcakes aren't supposed to be a thing. (In my humble opinion)
Firecakes - It's a pretty and bright little place with the donuts front and center under glass. So so good. The triple chocolate donut is all I want in a triple chocolate donut and more. The glazed donut was melt in your mouth heavenly. I cannot wait to go back.
Donut Vault - It's just a little tiny brick hole in the wall with an old fashioned cash register and the donuts on one of those stack tray carts hidden behind a wall. They were out of the chocolate, so I bought the Vanilla Glazed which was a very very good big donut. Nancy had a piece of each of my donuts, and this was her favorite. Mine was Firecakes.
After Visiting Friends - A Son's Story by Michael Hainey - At heart, a true mystery. This book is so good. It's about a cold case, family secrets, newspapermen, family love, Chicago, and finding truth. The mystery is what were the circumstances surrounding the death of his father alone in a Chicago street one cold pre-dawn morning? No one ever talked about it, which made it taboo to talk about, which made it a secret kept by some, from others. Really tough stuff for a bright, curious child, and even tougher for the newspaperman he became, because that's what newspapermen do....they search and research until they find the truth. This is a beautifully written true story that becomes an honest homage to the memory of a man who died young.
Family secrets: Someone says to the author during his quest
"I know what it's like to seek the truth from others but not be told it."
It just so happens that I know this too. To not know and want to know. It weakens you as a person. Are you not important enough to know the truth (secret)? Are you not intelligent enough to understand the truth (secret)? Why do they exclude you? What could it possibly be that it's such a secret? What is its power that it causes people to lie to protect it? I can answer that one - it's power is that it's very painful, and by lying, supposedly one can cover the pain. Who else is in the club of knowing the secret? Why can't I have the truth? May I please have the truth? What is the truth?
"I know what it's like to seek the truth from others but not be told it."
Gray A Novel by Pete Wentz with James Montgomery - Second in a row first person novel about a young man in love. Only where the last one was witty and a bit outside the box, this one is very much inside the box, well written and truthful. The unnamed narrator keeps his reader close, and we only get to know what he wants us to know. It's tightly written yet in some ways this guy is an open book. He hints at things that are happening to him, but gives no indication that he is doing anything besides being very passive about impending success and fame. On the other hand, he does what he wants, when he wants, which is always the charm for me.
Project X - This is one of those movies I love to love. Someone like me was never the intended audience, which makes it even more fun. It's Risky Business on steroids. The ultimate trusting parents go out of town and leave their nerdy only child home alone for the weekend movie. You think you can imagine how wrong it will go, but really, you can't. It's really funny, and fun in a sick way. That is fun in a normal way for kids, but fun in a sick way if you're a parent. Is anyone more sweet and frustrating than a teen age boy? How do they pull off that sweetness? How? 
Lilly by Kathryn Livingston - Now we swing the pendulum back in the other direction. Lilly is the biography of Lilly Pulitzer, she of the Palm Beach colorful shift dresses and now mega conglomerate colorful everything. If you care to know a little about Lilly and how she did it, I recommend doing a quick internet search. If you care to know every last detail about every rich ancestor and friend Lilly ever met, then read this book. It's just too much! The bits and parts about Lilly are sweet. She accidentally fell into her business in one of those women saw her wearing it and wanted one too, so she had one made for them, and then more women wanted one, and soon she had a store, and soon she had a factory and a company. Good stuff and it always makes a good story. Without all the background about the other people, thank you. 
Meets Girl by Will Entrekin - The only way to read Meets Girl is not from an actual paper book. So on Sue's advice that this was a magical story, and with her assistance in figuring out how to read it, I downloaded the Kindle App and read it on my iPad. Meets Girl is a modern love story by an engaging author. Will Entrekin speaks right to his reader, and in the moment, more like he's talking and we're listening, except that he's such a great writer that you know you're reading. Happily reading. If you're a book downloader and like a love story with a little magic and a straightforward voice, then go for it. You don't need me to tell you any more. Will will foreshadow and entice you right into the middle of his angst, his choice, his love and his enlightenment. Sue was right....it's magical!
As for me, I'm back into the real pages of a real book. No brightness backlight and fonts and columns to constantly adjust, no falling asleep reading and discovering the battery- exhausted iPad in the morning, or worrying about whether I might drop the iPad as I sleepily put it on the nightstand after I've fallen asleep reading. Reading is my escape and iPad is my distraction. I really don't want to mix the two. Escape is essential. Distraction is throwaway.
Cyndi Lauper A Memoir by Cyndi Lauper with Jancee Dunn - I just finished it this morning, came into my office and saw that last night was the book discussion about this at the Rock House in Wilmette! I usually don't go to the discussions, and wasn't going to go to this one, but I kind of liked reading Cyndi's book, and I would have gone after all. Oh well, as Cyndi says, shoulda coulda woulda. I need her to be my personal coach! I've liked Cyndi ever since Girls Just Want to Have Fun....her style, her voice, her words. Her music videos were among the first in the early 1980s, and I also loved Time After Time and True Colors. She's great. Then she fell off my radar until she was on Celebrity Apprentice. It was wild to watch. She comes across as ditzy and some of the other contestants tried to eat her alive. She held her own, though, and made the show fun to watch, if not maddening because she is a creative spirit, not always practical, but able to get a job done. She was that girl in school who looked different and wasn't the smartest in the class but was always doing something interesting. I had friends like her in school and they were the best, because they were up for anything without having to think about it. It's refreshing, but you need a lot of energy. And nerves of steel. And a passion that will not be denied. Cyndi goes up against the "big guys" and she stands up for what she believes in. Her work on behalf of the LGBT community is born out of love for her fellow human beings as well as her believe in equality and fair treatment for all. Thank you Cyndi!
The Cruise of the Rolling Junk by F. Scott Fitzgerald - Let's drive to Alabama to eat peaches and biscuits! They had money, youthful energy, an expensive old car nicknamed the Rolling Junk, because it was always breaking down, and a taste for peaches. Originally published in three installments in a magazine, this charming story covers a spur of the moment journey undertaken by Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald. I love Fitzgerald's voice in a short story. This one is fun to read, and a trip back to the time when it took many days and nights to drive from Westport, Connecticut to Montgomery, Alabama. The staged photos of Scott and Zelda add to the experience of Scott, Zelda and the Rolling Junk on their cruise.
The Magic Room A Story About the Love We Wish for our Daughters by Jeffrey Zaslow - This sweet non-fiction book centers around a long standing bridal shop in a small central Michigan town and the mothers and daughters who come looking for The Dress. Although the mood is warm, and the shopping is happy, the back stories are what makes it interesting. This would be a great gift for any bride or her mom. I even learned about trashing the dress which is a thing now. Not sure I could ever, but who knows? Times change and things change. There is a lacy white silk dress circa 1955 up in Yia Yia's closet girls!
The Cruise of the Rolling Junk by F. Scott Fitzgerald - Let's drive to Alabama to eat peaches and biscuits! They had money, youthful energy, an expensive old car nicknamed the Rolling Junk, because it was always breaking down, and a taste for peaches. Originally published in three installments in a magazine, this charming story covers a spur of the moment journey undertaken by Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald. I love Fitzgerald's voice in a short story. This one is fun to read, and a trip back to the time when it took many days and nights to drive from Westport, Connecticut to Montgomery, Alabama. The staged photos of Scott and Zelda add to the experience of Scott, Zelda and the Rolling Junk on their cruise. 
