Random Connect Points:
Reba's Stories

 As a lifelong news nerd, I love reading about the machinations of a newsroom – How do news stories actually get to the front page? Who decides if the tone of a news story is right? When do reporters know when they have gathered enough information to accurately report the truth?   My interest in the news gathering process is what prompted me to pick up “Newsroom Confidential: Lessons (and Worries) from an Ink-Stained Life” off the shelf at Litchfield Books recently. The title and cover art could lead a bookstore browser to assume this book is an intriguing work of fiction. However, a quick glance at the dust cover describes real-life backroom stories written by Margaret Sullivan who was the first woman to serve as the public editor at the New York Times and was later media columnist at the Washington Post. Most newspapers in markets the size of South Carolina don’t have a public editor. This is a role many large news organizations have on staff to provide an outsider’s per...

  “ Our Best Intentions ” by Vibhuti Jain revolves around an Indian immigrant family living in a small, well-to-do New York suburb. The father, Barbur Singh, is raising his teen-aged daughter, Angela, alone after his wife abandons the family when Angela is a young child. With a singleness of focus and a remarkable innocence about the ways of the world, Barbur attempts balancing the grueling schedule of his small business with ensuring Angie has what she needs to succeed in her highly competitive high school swimming career. During summer vacation, Angela stumbles upon a fellow high school student who has been stabbed on the school’s football field. This discovery drops Barbur and Angela squarely into an unfamiliar world of the community’s upper crust shattering their innocence about what’s right and wrong. The book has all the elements of a well-told story. The characters are developed with plenty of subtleties that ultimately converge at the end. Jain touches on many aspect...

My dream has long been to quit life and join the band. While I’ve taken up music lessons in recent years (see photo at the end), this book allowed me to vicariously live out that dream without the messiness, madness and complexities of doing it in real life. My fascination with the behind-the-scenes intrigues of being in a band played out in every chapter of this book. “ Daisy Jones and the Six ” (2018) by Taylor Jenkins Reid chronicles the rise and fall of a successful ‘70s rock band, The Six, and its lead singer, Daisy Jones. Written in a format that could be called an “oral history,” each chapter is narrated in first person from the various characters’ perspectives. The narrative feels more like an interview than traditional prose. Daisy is a strikingly beautiful and hugely talented young singer who makes her way to the stage in a band called “The Six.” The story weaves through the drama, successes, secrets, failures and personal demons of these seven people, their families and...

Is there anything that we take for granted more than the power of our five senses? Gretchen Rubin’s new book, “ Life in Five Senses, How Exploring the Senses Got Me Out of My Head and Into the World ,” stunned me out of complacency. It reminded me about the riches we overlook daily because we fail to pay full attention to what we are seeing, tasting, touching, smelling and hearing. Gretchen studies the five senses through the lens of connectivity to the world around us – a simple premise – but likely something most people easily forget to appreciate. By overlaying art, literature, food, science, family and the natural world, Gretchen chronicles her personal sensory exploration. A reader can choose to ride along on her journey or use her journey to plot their own path. I did a little of both. The author responds to a potentially life-changing medical issue as a jolt to examine the power of her own senses. Her research includes enough scientific data to be credible, but not boring, f...

One of the interesting exercises in "Life in Five Senses" is creating a "Five Senses Self-Portrait." As part of my personal accountability to pay better attention through my senses, I'm sharing my self portrait that I'm updating regularly. Seeing The stillness of the ocean, the lake, any large body of water My weekly flower arrangements especially when I pop in the ceramic flowers bought on a trip to Germany A bright blue sky The vivid colors of sunset over water Big dogs running and chasing balls on the beach My yellow bike Hearing My dog’s toenails tapping through the house on the hardwood floors The barred owls in my neighborhood at night Neighborhood kids playing outside on a summer afternoon The deep resonant strum from a single acoustic guitar The natural sounds of my neighborhood as I take a walk without earbuds. Early morning chirping birds outside my window The laughter and music of my Sip N Strummers '70s music playing in a   ra...

My normal reading habits lean toward the elements of a well-balanced diet. I like to have several books going at once wanting each to supply me with something different. I like to have one book that teaches me something, one that entertains, and one that’s just “junk food” reading. But recently I found myself with three “teachable” books going at once (stay tuned for reviews of the other two). It was unintentional, but so interesting to find these three books were perfectly aligned to read in tandem. They all pointed me strongly toward similar types of practices carried out in different ways to increase my capacity to be present to the wonder of my daily world. Roger Hutchison ’s recently released book “ The Art of Calm ” is the perfect mix of thought-provoking, easy reading, insightful and practical helping bring new awareness to our daily lives. Roger is a former Columbia resident, and I knew him many years ago when he was on the staff at Trinity Cathedral in Columbia. He and his...

USC’s graduation this weekend makes me realize it’s been 40 years since my graduation with the best speaker possible for a journalism school grad – Walter Cronkite! Several days after graduation, I packed my car heading to DC to start my first job as a Congressional receptionist. In looking back, I tried to remember if I was concerned that my first job mainly involved answering phones, giving tours and driving my boss to the airport. After all, I believed my resume illustrated strong leadership skills, solid job experience and good writing samples ( and yes, it was appropriate back then to include age and marital status on a resume ). As best I can remember, I was thrilled with that first job. I knew turnover was high in Congressional offices, and young staffers could move up quickly if given the chance to prove themselves. I had my sights set on being a press secretary, after all. That newly minted young professional had no idea what was in store for the next 40 ye...