Summertime 1968. I was 12 years old. The Detroit Tigers were playing baseball the way it was meant to be played, going 103-59. Denny McClain goes 31-6 with a 1.96 ERA. Al Kaline, Willie Horton, Bill Freehan. Norm Cash. Jim Northrup. Oh, my! The Tigers face the St. Louis Cardinals in the World series that goes seven games. Detroit’s #2 starter, Mickey Lolich allows just five World Series runs in three complete games, winning all three, including the final game…and also helps himself in game two hitting his only home run of his 16 year career. Are you kidding me??? Baseball. Running through the sprinkler. Splashing in a pool somewhere. No school. Hanging out with friends. Summertime. It is magic! Summer 1968, I shot my basketball thousands of times against a backboard mounted on the garage in my backyard, while every radio in the neighborhood boomed the Detroit Tigers games for all to hear. Wait! What’s that??!! Did Willie Horton just hit it out of the ballpark again??!!! You bet he did! And Al Kaline, racing back to the warning track in right field…you know he made that catch! Oh, man! Tigers win!!!
Summertime is full of magic and wonder if you know where to look, and with a little planning. Maybe it’s not at the ballpark. Maybe it’s at the beach or the mountains or the big city. And maybe…just maybe…it’s in a perfectly grilled burger. There used to be a recipe on the side of the box of Lipton Onion Soup..mix that into your hamburger and then make patties to grill. Oh, yes! Maybe it’s still on that box. Now grilling a burger is a little tricky. Too long on the grill, or press down too hard with the spatula, and the juices don’t stay in the burger and the burger is burnt. But when you know what you’re doing… Now add the cheese…oh, you have to add cheese! There you go! You just grilled up some summertime magic, and it is spectacular!
Need a little help? Come see us for the “Taste of Home Ultimate Guide to Grilling.” Just $5.99 until they’re gone! The recipes are a-ma-zing! Summer never tasted so good. At the MoonPie General Store, we want to be a part of helping you make that summertime magic for your family. And we know a lot of ways to make that happen, believe me!
And for some of us…summertime is all the better if the neighborhood radios are blasting a Detroit Tiger Baseball game!
Mike Beagan
Someone I follow on twitter posted a list of 12 reasons “Why We Read.” If I asked you why you read, you might say “I enjoy reading.” Maybe you would say “I read to learn.” Perhaps you’d say “Reading relaxes me.” You might say “I grew up reading books…they were important in our family.” Maybe you read to bring romance or mystery or adventure into your life…at least through imagination and day dreaming! Some might say “I read to connect with people and places that are not a part of my everyday world.”
I’m sure you could give me more and more reasons to read. But it is that last reason, about connecting, that interests me today as I write to you. That post on twitter with 12 reasons to read? One of the reasons was to “know that we are not alone.” I can’t think of anyone who has ever said that to me. But I think if we stopped for a good while and gave thought to why we read, we would be able to express for ourselves that reading connects us to other people. And it is in that connecting and relating to other people, that we recognize and appreciate those things we have in common with others, as well as our differences.
It brings us a measure of comfort to discover our own uniqueness, as well as seeing that other people often think and choose and behave in the world in much the same way we do, as they encounter similar life circumstances that become part of our daily living. Indeed, we are not alone…and books introduce us to people and places and events that make up this ever-changing world around us. Plus, with a book you do have some say in the who, what, where you are getting introduced to!
Need a new book to feel connected, or for any other reason? Come see us.
Need a REALLY new book? Tuesday, May 29th was the release date for the new Karen Kingsbury book titled “To The Moon And Back.” We can certainly recommend Ms. Kingsbury to you, as well as many other authors whose writings will give you plenty of reasons….to read!
The Great American Read
What is the Great American Read? PBS with the help of people all across our nation, has created a list of America’s 100 most loved novels! And starting Tuesday, May 22nd at 8pm Eastern Time, PBS will begin a summer series hosted by Meredith Viera where the viewers…and actually perhaps we should say the readers…will help narrow the list down from 100 to 1. When this PBS summer series is done, millions of readers choosing from books on this list will cast their vote for their all time favorite novel. And in the end, a single book will be declared America’s favorite!
We here at the MoonPie General Store and the Original Book Warehouse, being booksellers and book lovers, think this is a fun and wonderful idea! Of course! We’re in favor of people reading books! And we’re also in favor of celebrating some of the great novels of all times as we journey together to picking an all time favorite!
And remember how you when you were on vacation, your parents took you to a museum or historical site? Suddenly without even realizing it, they had mixed in a little education with your trip, and you just thought you were having fun! And you were! So hats off to PBS, because as you and I lean into summer, we might just find ourselves reading a good book, perhaps a classic novel from this top 100 list that starts the PBS countdown to the top book. And maybe…just maybe…we’ll all find ourselves flipping the channel away from basketball playoffs, Family Feud, Trading Spaces, NCIS, The Voice, or whatever we love to watch on tv…and the next thing you know…we’ve read a book or two AND we’re watching PBS! Hey! This is fun!
And don’t you look good, and feel good, sitting out on the porch while reading that book in your hand!
Mike Beagan
On the subject of “nature walks” in Sally and Sarah Clarkston’s book “The Life Giving Home,” she writes the following: “Such walks provide a matchless way to help children learn the art of attention, to train them in the art of wondering so that they learn to meet the world as a miracle.” I am thinking the same is true of books. Would you agree?
While the whole quote is good, I particularly like two phrases. “The art of wondering,” and “meet the world as a miracle.” Both of these phrases move me…touch my heart in a special way. Doesn’t it seem like children in particular, without even knowing it, engage in the art of wondering? We adults need to do more of this…more wondering…more being moved by both the ordinary and extraordinary that surround us. Marveling at the earth, and the life that moves and breathes, the skies, the sun, the moon, the stars. And people. What if we looked at people and saw their beauty and uniqueness? What if we wondered about how things work together, fit together, hold together? How the one is part of the whole? What if we gave thought to the simple and the complex, turning our heads to the side in a lengthy pause to consider what was, what is, what could be? When I read “the art of wondering” I think to myself…it IS an art. A talent. Something we adults should practice…like being grateful.
And that second phrase, “meet the world as a miracle.” I want to put an exclamation point on that! I like that the author did not say “see” the world as a miracle, although that would have been good. She said “meet.” As if embracing, becoming a part of it, welcoming it. Touching it, and letting it touch us. Inhabiting the same space in a “life giving” way, as the book title suggests. Maybe even considering ourselves as one miracle meeting the miracle of all that is around us.
Today. Perhaps in your walk of life, perhaps in a nature walk, or perhaps in a good book… May you practice and enjoy the art of wondering, and meet the world as a miracle. Well said, Sally and Sarah. Well said.
Mike Beagan
Barrels of candy. They sit inside our MoonPie General Store in a shop we call Yummy Bear. And every single day while at work, I walk past those barrels again and again and again. Sometimes I stop and pick up a single piece to enjoy. On some days, I might stop a couple of times for a single piece of candy. Lately it has been the Peppermint Patties. They are a newer barrel candy item for us, and they are delicious! But in the past three months, I have been working at losing some weight. So I say to myself, “Make wise choices.” And I walk by those barrels without stopping. To be honest, I did stop at those barrels twice today, before telling myself, “You don’t need that. Make wise choices.”
We are faced daily with making decisions. Where shall we spend our money…where shall we spend our time…how do we pick our friends…what will we eat…will we exercise…how will we relax…how much sleep…what has to be done and what are my priorities…and on and on. Some decisions we make without a thought because we have developed certain habits or routines. Because we are booksellers, we think choosing books and reading are wise choices! They certainly can enrich our lives in a number of ways, and they contain no calories or unhealthy ingredients! If only we craved books, the way we crave sweets! Maybe we can train ourselves to be hungry for books. I think we can. Today I said “no” to Peppermint Patties. Now then, let me find my next good book!
Michael Beagan
I am making myself laugh even as I start to write this. I was going to say “I picked up a book the other day.” Funny! If you work at a bookstore, you’re constantly picking up books. Sometimes you’re putting out books for your customers to shop. Sometimes you’re straightening, and returning stray books to the shelves. And sometimes you touch a book and because you’re a bookseller and a book lover, you want that book for yourself or a friend. So I did pick up a book the other day. “The Road Home.” A children’s book. I thought it was sweet, and I had someone in mind to buy it for and send to them. I like the repeating theme, “This road is hard, this road is long, this road that leads us home.” I especially like the page near the end that reads, “This road is hard, this road is long, but we are not alone. For you are here, and I’m with you…”
Seems like we’re all traveling through this journey of life with one destination or the other in mind. It’s good to know where you’re going. It’s good to get to your destination. And surely it is good to enjoy the journey, and to find strength and rest and friends and help, when the road is hard and long. We need that. To not be alone. To have others walk alongside us, and re-affirm we’re going the right way and the destination is worth it.
If your road is hard and long, and you need a place to stop and rest…. A place to be reminded of your value and your purpose… Well, that seems a lot to ask of a MoonPie store that also sells books and gifts. But we are stretching…trying to be a little bit more than that. And sometimes we might have the right word or the right book, to help you with the next little bit of of your journey. So we invite you to come in for a bit, and visit and shop, sit and play checkers, work a puzzle, have a moonpie and an RC, wander the book aisles, find a good book, and possibly discover that we care about you and are glad that you gave us a few minutes of your time as you paused from that long, hard road.
Michael Beagan
