I often lament not having enough time to read so I set aside one whole day to just read a book (#31). That day, August 26th, began very early for me as it was also the day I chose to watch the sun rise (#44). I got up at 5:15 WHILE IT WAS STILL DARK so that I could get my coffee, set up my camera and be somewhat awake by the time the sun actually rose at 5:58am. The thing about sunrises and sunsets is that you never know if you're going to get a so-so one or a knock-your-socks-off one. That morning God blessed me with a stunning sunrise full of vibrant color and an overcast sky - the kind that makes you glad you rolled out of bed to see it.
There were roughly 12 hours between the end of sunrise and dinnertime. I don't think anyone could read for 12 hours straight but I did spend about eight hours reading The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak (recently made into a movie). I enjoy historical fiction and have read several Holocaust novels but this one was from an entirely different perspective. The narrator of the story is Death and the central character is a young German girl. That's all you're going to get from me other than to say it was one of the best books I've read in a long time - well worth the time.
As I was standing outside watching the sun rise, the weather app on my phone said it was 82° - a pleasant start to an August day! I read for several hours on the patio before retreating inside to the air-conditioning.
I looked for opportunities to anonymously buy a stranger lunch (#40) all summer but had trouble finding the right time - and the right person. I finally realized I was being judgmental, looking for someone who was "worthy." Ouch. The idea was to anonymously bless someone, to do a random act of kindness without looking for recognition. Given that parameter, anyone and everyone was "worthy" so finally I waited in the drive-through line at a popular fast food restaurant. When a car pulled up behind me, I moved forward and placed my order, then proceeded to the pick-up window. When I told the employee I wanted to pay for the car behind me, he asked if I knew them. I replied that I did not, but I wanted to buy their lunch. With a confused look on his face, he said, "But you don't even know what they ordered!" I replied that while it was true I didn't know, he did know and could tell me how much I owed him. He finally broke out in a huge smile and said that he had never had someone pay for someone they didn't know and it was the nicest thing he'd ever seen. While I really hope it wasn't the nicest thing he'd ever seen, it did get me to realize that random acts of kindness often have a ripple effect. This was one of my favorite summer activities and one I plan on repeating. And obviously, there are no photos - taking pictures makes it difficult to be anonymous!
We watched two movies in August - the 1966 blockbuster Fantastic Voyage (#27) with Stephen Boyd and Raquel Welch and the 2013 hit 2 Guns (#22) with Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg. I saw Fantastic Voyage as a child when it first appeared on the big screen and wondered if miniaturization technology would be possible when I was a grown-up. While we aren't shrinking people, having them swim through someone's blood vessels and then hop out through a tear duct before they regain regular size, nano-technology is often in the news. 2 Guns was a fun, athough somewhat predictable, movie about two federal agents working together without realizing the other is also in law enforcement.
Although very different, we enjoyed both movies. It's fun to rewatch older movies that were cutting-edge in special effects at the time (Fantastic Voyage won an Oscar for Special Visual Effects!) and see how much farther we've come.
With all the busyness in trying to finish up this list this month, it was nice to have some relaxing things to do. It's good to have balance!
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