A Grateful Goodbye

What’ll we do with ourselves this afternoon?  And the day after that, and the next thirty years?

-F. Scott Fitzgerald

People tend to have strong opinions about The Great Gatsby.  They utterly adore it or they can’t fathom what all the fuss is about.  Readers of both minds flocked to the Pfister this week for our final book club meeting.

It was a beautiful celebration.  We made much of my year as Narrator, of Fitzgerald’s landmark book, and of the community that’s come together this year around reading in such a remarkable, storied place.  We enjoyed champagne and slices of elegant lemon cake, some of us decked out in flapper finery.  We reveled in what we imagined would be the last time we were all in a ballroom together, talking about stories under chandeliers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But then, because stories are fickle, breathing, hopeful things that startle in devastating or delightful ways…I shared with everyone that though my time as Narrator is ending, our beloved Pfister Book Club will continue on!  And the crowd cheered.

So Pfister Book Club will continue to meet at 7 pm on the second Thursday of each month, resuming not in June, but on July 12, but perhaps with some changes— we’ll be in touch via email!  At our July meeting, we will discuss The Feather Thief: Beauty, Obsession, and the Natural History Heist of the Century by Kirk Wallace Johnson.

 

But while we will have many more evenings to discuss books together, this is my last post as Pfister Narrator.

It’s been my honor, my challenge and my joy to tell your stories;  I truly hope you’ve sensed that in every piece I’ve written.  I’ve been so glad to be part of the Pfister and your lives this year.

I’ve learned that often it is the quietest story that needs to be amplified.

It may be the unexpected moment that lingers.

And sometimes those opportunities in life when you’d nervously wondered should I even try for this? eventually lead to a sweet and satisfying goodbye.