Gaming Friday night

I am going to fling open the doors of Casa Toscano at 6 p.m. Friday night for gaming until we get tired or the Lovely Nataliia boots us out.

We're gonna start with Settlers of Catan.

I will also have the Risk Lord of the Rings Trilogy edition available in another room.

The rest is up to you.

RSVP to billtoscano@comcast.net for directions, phone, etc.

We are on the beautiful North Shore, in Peabody, literally seconds off Route 128.

I would expect pirate movies for the non-gamers.

Books 15 and 16

Cross-posted from 50bookchallenge


I get rid of the pneumonia, and I am so busy catching up in my life, I don't read a book for all of February?

Finally finding a little time

15. Strong of Heart, by Thomas Von Essen.

I have not read many books on firefighters and Sept. 11, but I get the feeling that if I had, I would write "If you only read one book on firefighters and Sept. 11, read this one."

Von Essen was the Chief of the Department in NYC when the Sept. 11 attacks occurred and this book really proivides an inside view of what happened. It also really puts a face on many of the firefighters who died, many of whom Von Essen knew personally.

One of the best parts (and you may remember me lamenting the lack of pictures in some other recent non-fiction books) is a great center section of pictures, many in color of the Von Essen, the fire scene and many of those who died. There are also 30 pages of his notes that he kept from Sept. 12 to Dec. 31. Fascinating stuff.

I highly recommend this book.


16. White Death,”by Clive Cussler and Paul Kemprecos.

I often ask myself why I read this pablum. Then I realize because it's like eating popcorn. Fun, easy to do and doesn't take too long or much concentration.

This is another (I assume) ghost-written book in Cussler's NUMA series, the one which spawned Dirk Pitt. This series features a hero named Kirk Austin, but familiar Pitt characters such as Admiral Sandecker and Rudi Gunn show up on occasion.

You know the drill: Odd things happen. A madman threatens the world. The hero gets the girl. Well, at least something like that.

Definite beach reading, but there's still snow in New England.

I love my kids

My National Honor Society kids -- particularly a core groups of about a dozen of them -- have made me proud all year, and they did it again today.

We went to the Massachusetts state NHS convention. The kids presented three times about our Outstanding Service Project award project, and I kept hearing raves about them from kids and teachers who attended.

I was busy presenting myself. (I think I wowed the teachers in one session -- Making Service Fun -- but bored the kids in the session on publicizing your chapter.)

One of my students won a regional student-of-the-year award and $500.

But that's not what impressed me the most. The kids dressed well, traveled well, were unfailingly polite and were clearly very comofrtable with being with 120 other top-end kids.

I guess my kids have been watching me. I always urge them to meet new people at things like this, and when I looked in during the breakfast session, my kids were walking around to each table saying, "Hi, we're from Peabody. Where are you from?

The opening speaker complimented them on their enthusiasm.

Days like this make it all worth it.