I Also Think Vladimir Putin is Kind of Cute

I have developed a crush on Thomas Jefferson.

It was bound to happen, what with all the time we've been spending together lately.

I tried to break it to my husband gently, by means of a funny anecdote over dinner.

"So," I said, idly twirling some pasta around my fork, "I'm finally starting to get into my book club book."

"Oh?" said the P-Dawg between bites of chicken.

"Yeah! It's like, all of a sudden, I'm very interested in Thomas Jefferson. As a person."

The P-Dawg put down his fork and gave me his full attention.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I can't stop thinking about him. He was a fascinating and surprisingly sensitive guy. In fact, I was so preoccupied daydreaming about plantation life this morning, that I completely missed our freeway exit while driving the kids to school!"

"You missed the freeway exit because you were thinking about Thomas Jefferson?"

"Yes, isn't that funny?"

"What were you thinking?"

"Just stuff. You don't have to make it sound dirty."

Of course it's not the first time I've become infatuated with a political figure. I have had a crush on every Democratic presidential candidate since Bill Clinton, and Josh Lyman will always have a special place in my heart.

It is, however, the first time I've ever fancied a man two hundred years dead.

Don't judge me. My friend V (also a book club member) thinks he's hawt, too. When I confided my feelings about T.J. to her this weekend, she admitted that she can't help but periodically flip over to the page with Jefferson's portrait on it as she's reading. "I only wish he wasn't a redhead" my friend V lamented.

Tell me, readers. Who is your political/historic crush?


Hunka Hunka Burnin' Love


Photo courtesy of Google Images.

Fun with Book Club

To: Book Club Members
From: Rima
Subject: Discussion Questions for March Meeting (Draft)

Here are (in no particular order) the discussion questions for our next book club meeting:

1. What do you suppose possessed Jenny to select an eight hundred page long book of scholarly historical non-fiction that is EIGHT HUNDRED PAGES LONG as our March title? Be sure to give specific examples in support of your argument.
   
   
2. Did any of you actually read it? Be honest.
   
   
3. Oh rilly? Okay, what musical instrument did Thomas Jefferson play, how many children did he father, and was he taller than Danny DeVito?
   
   
4. Life in colonial Virginia was harsh. Does anyone else think that Forbes magazine's recent ranking of Cleveland as "America's Most Miserable City?" is total bull$hit?
   
   
5. One can only assume that during the time Thomas Jefferson spent living in France, he drank a lot of wine. Do you think that people who claim to have a "red wine allergy" are full of crap? Why or why not?
   
   
6. Thomas Jefferson kept getting his wife pregnant, knowing that childbirth would eventually kill her. What kind of an insensitive, sex crazed pervert was he?
   
   
7. And speaking of childbirth, how many of us have had c-sections vs. vaginal births? What about epidural vs. natural? How much do you want to bet that Team Vagina secretly believes Team C-Section is a bunch of pansies?
   
   
8. Why do you think evolution has not yet eliminated short, nearsighted people?
   
   
9. How come our book club discussions always turn to playground gossip after ten minutes? Do you think we have ADD? In what way is our book club a microcosm of society as a whole?
   
   
10. Have you noticed that this book is 800 pages long?
    
    
11. Do you think it's OK for someone to pick a Danielle Steele novel she read while standing in the supermarket checkout line as the selection of the month?
    
    
12. Does anyone else feel that this book club could really benefit from a gay male perspective?
    
    
13. Why do you think Glenn Beck is always crying? Seriously, what is wrong with that guy?
    
    
14. How does my husband always manage to spray toothpaste scum on his side of the bathroom mirror, while mine is without fail pristine day in and day out?
    
    
15. Is it considered "uncool" to wear your hair up in a butterfly clip?
    
    
16. And finally, have you noticed that the John Locke character on the hit TV show Lost has man boobs?
    

In closing, I would like to add that I BETTER NOT TURN OUT TO BE THE ONLY SUCKER WHO IS ACTUALLY READING THIS EVERLOVIN' BOOK.

See you on the 12th, everybody!

xo
-Rima