In Need of a Fix

 In Need of a Fix

Noel Laflin

12-25-22

I closed out Christmas Eve by completing the last chapter of ‘A Prayer for Owen Meany’.

I spent much of the month of November and December making my way through ‘The Last Chairlift.’ It’s a really long book – but so worth the time.

And then there was a long cruise earlier in the year where I read ‘The Cider House Rules.’ It's a really long book too, but a favorite in both book and film form.

With the exception of ‘The Last Chairlift,’ the other undertakings were both re-reads of John Irving novels. But as I have mentioned before, it had been so long between reads, each book, and each crazy, outrageous, loving storyline felt fresh.

I found myself looking at the clock and noting that it had just turned Christmas Day by the time I crawled into bed last night. And then I quietly fought back tears just thinking about the impact that Owen Meany had on me once again. I remember similar feelings thirty years ago after closing that very same book the first time.

I need to stop reading John Irving stories, I told myself.

But the addiction for fine storytelling is too strong, apparently, as I began Christmas Day by beginning the first chapter of ‘The World According to Garp.’

It’s been forty years, I told myself, and so what’s the harm?

I explained my addiction to a beloved neighbor today when I took a break from the book and stopped by her home to deliver some Christmas candy; she’s a retired school teacher, so I thought she might be of help.

Turns out she’s a fan of the author, too, and ‘A Prayer for Owen Meany’ and ‘The Cider House Rules’ were two books that were required reading for all her sophomore students for many years.

“Some addictions are worth keeping,” she advised me.

“Have you, by chance, read “Last Night in Twisted River” or ‘A Son of the Circus?,” I asked her.

“I have not,” she replied, looking very interested in a further discussion of Mr. Irving and exploring new waters.

I now know what she’s getting as a New Year’s gift. I hope I can re-read both of them in the next seven days.

After all, some addictions are worth keeping, not to mention, sharing, especially with those in need of a fix.