I pulled out my glass and filled it with ice, but when I went for the vodka, I found that I had run out. The liquor store is right around the corner from my house, so I put on a pair of flip flops and grabbed my wallet.
I was at the front door when my youngest daughter, my shadow, and self appointed wing man of fun muted iCarly and said, "Wait Mom! Where are you going?"
I replied, "The liquor store."
She turned off the TV and jumped up. "I'll come!"
No, my daughter does NOT think the liquor store is a magical place...she thinks the frozen yogurt store next to it is Heaven on Earth.
I shrugged and said, "Well, let's go then." We all have our vices.
All the way there, she talked about froyo. I told her that she could go get her treat and that I'd meet her in there, but she wanted to wait for me. We found the vodka easily and went to the register to pay so that we could go next door.
Not so fast. The clerk asked me for ID.
I thought he was kidding. I said, "Oh?" and waited for him to laugh.
Nope.
I reached for my wallet slowly and chuckled. "You want my ID, right?"
He was not amused. He nodded seriously and stuck his hand out, expectantly.
I was thrilled when I rifled around for my drivers license. I said, "Sure! No problem at all!"
Suddenly, my twelve year old daughter said "Mo-o-om". I could hear her eyes roll as sarcastically as her voice did beside me.
The clerk looked her up and down as if he hadn't noticed her there before. His first "Oh..." revealed that something had begun to click, but he took the ID anyway. His next "OH!" echoed throughout the quiet store as he did the math...
Over birthday cake yogurt and gummy worms, my pre-teen and I laughed about the incident, but it got me thinking about when I was younger and all of the stupid things I had done.
I wasn't the craziest person out there; my only brush with drinking and driving was when a serial offender jumped the divider and hit the car I was in head on. I was driving with two other people. He sent all of us to the hospital for Thanksgiving and to physical rehabilitation for a few months. I still bear the scars and memories of that night, and great perspective.
Some of my decisions were probably ones I wouldn't want my own kids to make as they get older, but sooner or later I will have to accept that it comes with the territory. We learn through our mishaps and behavioral slips.
And that brings us to the next BOOK CLUB pick:
Thank you for joining us for WEEK 2:
The rules:
1. Book discussion comments are left on this site and on: http://lindenhurst.patch.com/groups/christina-fifieldwinns-blog/p/friends-dont-let-friends-read-alone--week-2
2. Comments should only be about the BOOK and in no way be offensive or degrading to any person or persons.
3. It's ok to jump into the club late. Join us on any day of any week. BUT if, for example, you are starting with SUKI on WEEK 3, DO NOT READ THE DISCUSSION COMMENTS. Stop after you get to the link to purchase the book or you may ruin the story for yourself. I cannot stress this enough.
WRONG PLACE, WRONG TIME
by David P. Perlmutter
THE SYNOPSIS:
One bad decision can change everything. As a young man, David had a good job, friends, and a comfortable lifestyle. The night that he gave in to all of his desires without a thought about the consequences, was the night when he lost it all. Like a small rock that gathers momentum as it tumbles from a mountain top, David's first mistake would spiral into a chaotic avalanche of disastrous events. This true story relays what the author describes as, "...the most terrifying time of my life."
THE REVIEW:
I love a true story. There are so many books written about how we wish things could be, or how we'd do things if only we were granted the right technology, enough money, or the perfect mate, but real life is messy, exciting, and soul changing. That's exactly what WRONG TIME, WRONG PLACE offers the reader.
On the surface, David's character appears to be a hopeless alcoholic, unable to grow up and finally conquer his bad habits, but if you wade through the sea of purposeless choices and look closely enough, the smart reader will see that David is a shining example of why thinking things through before reacting is so very important.
Many of David's reviewers have labelled the string of events, "bad luck" and they "feel sorry for him". Judge as you see fit and call it what you want, but David's brand of storytelling and style of writing easily brings a plethora of emotions to the surface. There were times when I rooted for him to change his life, only to scream at my Kindle, "David! Are you kidding me?!" a minute and a half later.
Does he finally learn his lesson? Is he living a peaceful existence now? Follow David from London to Spain and find out. You will not be let down. WRONG PLACE, WRONG TIME is a real life nail biter, keeping you interested until the last page.
Join me in the discussion about this controversial story. Comment below and let me know how David's obvious frailties affected you.
ORDER THE BOOK:
ON AMAZON: http://www.amazon.com/Wrong-Place-Time-ebook/dp/B008955FG2
IN PRINT: http://thewrongplaceatthewrongtime.blogspot.com/
HAVE SOME FUN: Every time David drinks in the story, take a swig of your favorite liquid refreshment... and remember, drink responsibly! Even caffeine highs can be crazy!
*The winner of last's week's giveaway is ROBBIE COX. CHEERS to Robbie! Enjoy your print copy of my pick for WEEK 3!*
MORE GREAT BOOK CLUB PICKS BY INDIE AUTHORS:
SUKI:
http://simplystick.blogspot.com/2013/06/summer-reading-book-club-week-1.html
MY TWO FLAGS:
http://simplystick.blogspot.com/2013/07/i-am-master-of-my-words-captain-of-my.html?showComment=1430071350264
OCTOBER SNOW:
http://simplystick.blogspot.com/2014/06/life-is-like-blanket-of-snow.html?showComment=1430071350264
TRAILER TRASH, WITH A GIRL'S NAME:
http://simplystick.blogspot.com/2014/10/you-know-youre-modern-day-trailer-trash.html
MOORE THAN MEETS THE EYE:
http://simplystick.blogspot.com/2014/09/theres-always-another-story.html
WELCOME TO HEIDI:
http://simplystick.blogspot.com/2014/06/welcome-to-must-read.html
KAFE CASTRO:
http://simplystick.blogspot.com/2013/08/why-are-you-so-serious-do-it-kafe.html
BROKEN ANGEL:
http://simplystick.blogspot.com/2012/09/broken-angel-review.html
DEJA DREW:
http://simplystick.blogspot.com/2012/08/deja-drew-excerpt.html
THE GAZE:
http://simplystick.blogspot.com/2012/05/gaze-by-javier-arobayoyay-or-nay.html
PGB:
http://simplystick.blogspot.com/2012/05/javier-robayo-author-of-gaze-steps-in.html
HAUNTED HOUSE, HAUNTED LIFE:
http://simplystick.blogspot.com/2014/10/haunted-house-haunted-life.html
CF Winn is the author of The COFFEE BREAK SERIES, a hilarious group of short stories meant to be read while on break or in the waiting room of the doctor's office. Her first novella, SUKI, has been grabbing hearts and hugging souls all over the United States.
9 comments:
Hi Christina - I love the idea of this, but I absolutely can't commit to reading anything at the moment as I am hellishly over committed with stuff to do - I am already letting one book club down and think I am going to have to read the reviews and pretend I've read it, I feel so bad about it!
Thanks so much for thinking of me though, and I liked your post very much! xx Following the blog now
Hey Terry! No worries! This is supposed to be fun, not work, so jump in only if you can and want to. There might be a book that you've already read...so feel free to comment then...or one that might grab you so hard, you can't help but read it in the wee hours of the night. Or maybe you'll just be amused by the discussion as it gains momentum. No matter what, you are always welcome! xoxo
Hello Christina, I enjoyed your blog. And I've read and reviewed David's book - think it;s really good, and have chatted to him on twitter -he;s very nice. If I can help boost his sales in any way, happy to do so
Glad to have you on board Geoffrey!I'm glad you read WRONG PLACE, WRONG TIME and enjoyed it. I hope you backtrack to WEEK 1 and join us for the rest of the book club reads. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the erst of my picks.
I just downloaded the book to my Kindle and will start reading today. Sounds like a good one!
Hi Christina, firstly thank you for taking the time in reading my book and then placing a review on your excellent blog.
As you read, yes I made some errors in judgement, mainly because of my state of mind at the time. Also as you stated I did throw back the booze but and this not not an excuse, I was young and got carried away I guess, with the circumstances.
Writing the book took a huge weight of my shoulders and has placed me in a better place. Thankfully since the episode, I have had four amazing children, lived in Portugal for many years, which was amazing and to meet so many beautiful people was wonderful and now pleased to say I have the writing bug. So at least something has come good out of it. Also as you read, I did and still do have an amazingly close loving family.
Finally, thank you Margie for buying the book, I hope you enjoy it and best wishes to Terry and Geoffrey.
Thank you again.
Best wishes.
Thank you Mr. Perlmutter. I did enjoy your story!
I finished the book last night. Good pick Chris!
My thought throughout this book was something the author's brother said..."You're a &^$%#ing idiot!"
However, I must say that is me thinking with all of my life experience of 40 plus change years behind me. Dave was in his 20's during this time. Can we remember how we were in our 20's? I do and I did very stupid and naive things too with no consideration of what possible dangerous consequences can occur. Dave was bold enough to write a book about one of his growing experiences.
One occurrence which relates to his story in a traveling sense: I was at a dance club with friends in Kuala Lampur and we met a bunch of Canadian guys who we drank with all night. At some point, I went with one of them to get something to eat. We took a taxi to some area I wasn't familiar with and sat at a little cafe. All I remember was looking down at a bowl of soup and seeing a fish head floating in it and thought, "I gotta get out of here". The Canadian left and I was by myself in a foreign country, didn't have my passport with me, hardly any ringgits in my pocket, I couldn't remember the name of my hotel and I was drunk. Somehow, I returned to the hotel safely. It could have been much, much worse.
Anyone else have stories like this? I'm sure we all do.
These are the experiences we collect in our 20's to gain the maturity in our subsequent years.
Another life lesson that Dave realized and it is a universal truth - family will always be a constant in our lives. Strangers and friends may come and go, but family will always have our best interests at heart.
Thank you for sharing your unfortunate experience. I really enjoyed the book and will share it with my reader friends.
Dave, Margie...Other Readers...Writing this past week took me to one of those wrong place, wrong time moments in my own life. We all have many, and I will tell you from my experience this week, revisiting these moments was bittersweet, at very least. Regrets? I try to steer clear! Of course we ache for any pain we many cause others in the process of 'growing up' but sometimes, no matter how horrible the mistakes...they are necessary for us. Bravely and well written, David! I felt a slow start, I was engaged, but the language was simple...I wonder if that was intentional on your part? Because as you became more engaged in your own drama, your language blossomed. What I thought early on may be a flaw, surprised me. Having blossomed late myself, I appreciated seeing the intricacy of emotion develop, and I was so pleased to see your HEA, in your note above, Dave. Great choice, Chris!!!
I must say that this book would have lost me early if it wasn't part of this book club. The story is one that is compelling, but the way it is told makes the reader feel like they are observing it from afar. I didn't get a sense that the main character felt anything early on, and so I didn't either. The best part of the book was his flight from Spanish justice, but in the hundred pages before that, nothing much happened, over and over.
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