Apr 28, 2010

630-8 pm. We will be discussing the book And You Know You Should Be Glad by Bob Greene. Bestselling author Greene Duty has filled a shelf with two dozen books, including his 1993 novel All Summer Long, while appearing as a broadcast journalist Nightline and writing for newspapers the Chicago Tribune and magazines Life. Now he looks back on his youth in Bexley, Ohio pop. 13,000, where he and his four pals grew up together, calling themselves ABCDJ for Allen, Bob, Chuck, Dan and Jack. Their lives' paths diverged, but they always stayed in contact in 2004, the news that Jack was terminally ill reunited them. Then and now, the group used jokes to hide our feelingsto pretend to feel nothing... which seemed much better than the alternative. Greene met Jack in kindergarten, and they remained best friends for life. Remembering people and places they shared, the two revisit old haunts, discovering that their beloved Toddle House, where they once went for late-night chocolate pie, is now a Pizza Plus. Greene's repetitive, rambling free associations recall everything from his Halloween costume and old songs to ice cream parlors, state fairs and clothing fads. Unfortunately, the author's dusty attic of lost Americana is cluttered with clichs, nostalgia and overly sentimental yearnings.For more information or to register for the Can We Talk program please e-mail Linda Parker at lparkerpcdl.org.

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