After reading my book, many ladies (and even some gents) tell me that my husband is "too good to be true." And, they say it like they don't believe he really is as I portrayed.

Well, all you naysayers, behold the latest Project Nerd exploit:

Tim walks early (natch) every morning in our neighborhood. It was terribly cold a few days ago and he was just about to turn around when he heard a woman say, "Hello."

Not, he insists, "Hello" as in "Hi, handsome, how are you?" but as in, "Help! I need your attention." (That's why, he says, he didn't just keep turning around.)

He was wearing earphones and a winter hat, so couldn't tell exactly where the voice came from, but couldn't see anyone anywhere and was about to walk away, when he heard the voice shout, "I'm up here! On the roof!"

He looked up and spotted a 60ish year-old woman in sweat pants, t-shirt and no shoes, standing on a small balcony on the second floor of her home. He, of course, walked right over. She asked if he had a cell phone, so he could call someone to help her get down.

Never one to shy away from a challenge, PN asked, "Why can't I help you get down?"

Tim inquired if she had a ladder, but instead of responding, she climbed over the edge of the balcony and onto the roof of her garage. She then insisted she could climb down to the top of the fence from there. And, indeed, she made her way to sit on top of the six-foot fence - albeit in her bare feet with nothing but frozen concrete below. Tim told her not to jump down, and instead, to let him lift her off the fence. She was reluctant, making some derogatory comment about her weight and started to slide forward. Tim grabbed her legs as she reached around his neck, holding her steady and setting her gently down on the ground.

I'm sure all you ladies are thinking, "What's so special? Any decent guy would do that."

Well, PN is not just any guy.

During his fabulous rescue maneuver, he made a special point of turning 180 degrees and easing her oh-so-slowly down, just to minimize her embarassment about her size, in effect, emphasizing that her "weight" was nothin' at all.

Talk about above and beyond.

OK, ladies. Whatcha think now?

Kathy Corbin, Zulema Bewley, Meagan Sullivan, Thanya Montemayor, Erika Munoz, and Rhea Watson.

When Zulema invited me to call in to her book club, she apologized that it was the second meeting, saying, "I know you are probably disappointed that we didn't choose your book to be the first but being second isn't so bad sometimes."

Second is just fine by me. (I've been first a couple of times, and truly: too much pressure! I've probably also been the last a few times, but the ladies were likely too polite to let me know.)

Her book club in Mission, TX (in the Rio Grande Valley, not far from Mexico) just formed and all the members are staff of an elementary school.

Apparently, the members vote on their book club selections, and Queen of the Road garnered 7 out of 8 votes. (Not that I'm counting, or anything.)

Notice that in the picture, Zulema is wearing the "Cousin JT Got Run'd Over By the Tractor" t-shirt. As I told her club, cousin JT is still going strong. And, for those of you who missed it, here's the picture of him standing in front of that very same tractor (in his Cousin JT t-shirt):

Ladies, thank you so much for inviting me to be your second book club pick! (The first, for those who must know, was The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, so yes, I'm in very good company.) Here's wishing you many evenings of good books! And, to help you on your way....

When I looked up your lovely community on the web for the link, I saw that right at the top of the City of Mission page is the proud proclimation, "Home of the grapefruit!"

I LOVE grapefruit. So herewith, a martini recipe that didn't make it into the book (if I had only known) which I shall henceforth call, "The Mission." Enjoy!:

The Mission Martini

3 Parts Orange Vodka
1 Part Midori
1 Part Ruby Red Grapefruit

I was talking to a lovely doc in Texas the other day, who mentioned he was going on vacation next week.

"What are you going to be doing?" I asked.

"Well, my idea of a vacation is lying around, not shaving and reading a good book." He replied.

Me too.

Happy Holidays!