the book of kiki

yes, i'm here - i haven't given up on blogging. i don't know what has happened to all of my free time, but i feel like i haven't read a book in a long time.
actually, i just finished "the book of guys," by garrison keillor, who is one of my favorite people in the world. i am a faithful listener of "a prairie home companion" and a subscriber to the writer's almanac. i enjoyed "the book of guys," which was funny, but what i really want to talk about is "a prairie home companion."
i haven't lived in my parent's house for the last five years, but i do get back to madison every once in a while. when i am home on a saturday we always turn on NPR at 5:00, because that's when garrison keillor comes on. usually mom and i are in the kitchen preparing dinner, so we turn on the radio and listen while we cook. when dinner is ready we all sit down, still listening to the radio, usually right around the break when garrison reads the greetings ("hello mom and dad from the world's largest ball of twine!").
my favorite part, though, is when garrison takes a deep breath and says, "well, it's been a quiet week in lake wobegon, my home town..." and the audience cheers and claps. we are usually done with our dinner at this point, sitting around the table, digesting and smiling to ourselves, full of food and thankful for simple pleasures.
garrison goes on to tell a story about first love, lost love, someone growing older, or even just a story about a few short moments in the life of one person. these characters are so real and their stories so beautiful, that i often find myself closing my eyes and sitting, completely enraptured, until the story is done and i hear those fateful words, "and that's the news from lake wobegon, where all the women are strong, all the men are good looking, and all the children are above average."
oh, i live for those 20 minutes. they are like pure heaven on earth.
so in garrison's own words, be well, do good work, and keep in touch.