A Confession

I am a cry-baby. People who worked with me in my past can attest to that fact. In my defense, when I was working I was going through menopause and one of my symptoms was crying. As I came out of that stage and entered where I am now, I can say that I do not cry as much any more. Yet, I am sensitive and will cry in movies that touch me, commercial that are sentimental, if someone does an unexpected kindness and stories I read that touch my heart. Hearing The Star Spangled Banner will bring a lump to my throat. Horse racing also makes me cry when the winner crosses the finish line. Seeing my children or grand children score a goal or win a race also made me cry! Seeing a beautiful sunset or sunrise is something else that makes me tear up.


Our book club selection for next month is Boys In The Boat : Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold by Daniel James Brown, a story about winning an Olympic gold in Germany by American rowers. Not knowing anything about rowing, this book written in  fiction style and easy to read made me realize what competitive rowing is all about. The story is interesting and I found it difficult to put the book down. Reading about things that happened in the past and reading about the men who were involved in winning the gold, I found to be interesting and in parts, heart-wrenching. I am at the beginning of the book and as I read about the first competition between the East schools (Yale, Harvard) and the West (Washington State, Berkeley) I could see the slim boat gliding in the water. When Washington pulls ahead my heart began to race also. And guess what? When the freshmen team wins, out came the tears. It surprised me that just reading about a race would cause me to cry. I was so happy that the western state won, how could I not cry? Now I know that not only horse racing makes me cry but evidently boat racing does too!

"Only the guy who isn't rowing 

has time to rock the boat."

Jean Paul Sartre

The story lets the reader meet the men involved plus giving us hints about what was happening in the country while these men were growing up. (The depression, politics,dust storms, Germany, weather, and other happenings in the world) and I am only in the first quarter of the book. Who knows what more will be revealed before that Olympic Gold is won!

There, now you know. I shed tears when my heart is grabbed and squeezed!

"We need never be

ashamed of our tears."

Charles Dickens