Sandra Miller, Member 56,191 has a new novel, “No More Patients” released this month. She told us that the protagonist is Vivian Waters, a 91-year-old woman in a retirement community. She’s smart but snarky, and doesn’t always like herself. She has a new neighbour – Percy Loftus, a 90-year-old man who is a retired climate scientist and loves clouds. Sandra credits the Cloud Appreciation Society for enhancing her enjoyment and understanding of the science behind the stunning sky creations we see every day from Earth, and advises readers to “Treat yourself to a membership—you will not regret it and your spirit will be enriched”.
Here is a snippet from the novel which is now available on Amazon
He stood out in his front yard again, gazing at the sky. No sunglasses. What an idiot. You’d better use sunglasses that block out ultraviolet light or you’ll get cataracts, those hazy lenses in your eyeballs that make the world look foggy. An ophthalmologist can remove cataracts, but who wants a knife in their eyes if they can avoid it?
“What are you doing out here?” I ask him, walking over and following his gaze, peering up, seeing nothing but sky and clouds. “What the heck are you staring at?”
He blinks a few times, like he can’t quite see me. Probably because the sun fried his retinas.
“Hello, Vivian. Just look at these amazing cirrus clouds. It’s been like this all day.”
He gestures up where delicate filaments stray across the blue. Gauzy, like fine long hair, all these thin brushstrokes filling the sky. I hadn’t noticed, and I’ll admit they actually were quite beautiful, almost stunning, but I wasn’t about to buy into this nonsense.
“Uh huh,” I concede. Maybe he was more simple-minded than I thought. “But you ought to wear sunglasses. You’ll get cataracts.”
“Cirrus clouds are very high in altitude, you know,” he goes on, as if I hadn’t spoken. “Thirty thousand feet up there, sometimes forty thousand. They’re made of ice crystals.” Then he looks at me, the gray-white waves and curls of his hair ruffling from the breeze. “You’re right about cataracts, though. I do get carried away and forget my sunglasses. Thanks for reminding me.”
