Michael Connelly "The Waiting": book review

 

"The Waiting" Introduces New Characters and Solves Historic Murders

I read the Michael Connelly’s most recent book “The Waiting” over the last week.

It features Renee Ballard, the surfer detective with an unfinished backstory about her life in Hawaii. This is the 6th addition with this character if my counting is right. If you’re new to the series, Renee was a tough detective that worked the overnight shift until she came across Harry Bosch while researching a case. In the first book she sued a high ranking official for sexual harassment. Her relationship with the department is frosty to say the least. Harry’s primary role in these new books is researcher and undercover investigator. He knows a lot of old cop tricks and finds a way to keep her away from any departmental blowback. Not to mention, showing her how to maneuver around legal roadblocks.

They’ve both settled into a comfortable arrangement. Ballard heads up the Open Unsolved Unit and uses Bosch when she thinks the department may not approve of her decisions. Think of the Open Unsolved Unit as a library of cold case files that Renee’s crew works from. She has a handful of volunteers that dig up old addresses and social security numbers to connect murderers to deaths. “The Waiting” gets its name from the Tom Petty song of the same title. As the lyric goes, “The waiting is the hardest part”. It sums up police work. Whether waiting for the results of an autopsy or a stakeout, it’s both tense and boring at the same time.

Renee goes surfing and has her badge and gun stolen from her car while in the water. She can’t report it missing or she’ll lose the ability to run the cold case unit. She’s made a lot of enemies since leaving the LAPD. Some of the higher ups would love to kill the unit altogether. She calls Harry for help. The trick is to get her badge back from the thieves while keeping the loss a secret until they can locate it. Another new piece to this story is the addition of Maddie Bosch, Harry’s daughter. She needs access to the Open Unsolved Unit because of some information she ran across on one of her cases. It just happens to be one of Los Angeles's most notorious homicides, the Black Dahlia murder.

I’m not sure if this is the first book that has Maddie as a cop. It feels like she was written in a few books ago, but I must have missed it. To me she’s always Harry’s kid, away at college or visiting her mom. But she knows Renee Ballard from all the times spent working with Harry finding a murderer. It makes me think she’s going to be another regular character with her own case load and missing person’s. Most of the fan reviews about this book were positive. But across the board, people want more Harry Bosch out of these stories. Readers complained that he didn’t have a large part to play. Although true, it’s not a Bosch novel. It does make me wonder if author Michael Connelly wants to write Renee Ballard as a stand alone character with only occasional references to Harry Bosch. Bosch is still the reader’s choice though.

I think we can expect to see Renee’s mother make an appearance in the series as well. She is alluded to a few times via Renee’s visits with her therapist. So there’s another possible link to Hawaii and her past. Connelly’s a wonderful writer who could probably be a detective himself. The city must give him a lot of access to records and police files in order to put such compelling stories together. I don’t mean they’re all true, but the process and politics feel very real. He had to stop writing his latest book in order to incorporate the recent fires into the narrative. I feel like I know Los Angeles a little better every time I read a Michael Connelly book.

Bears Hire New Coach from Division Rival

 

Bears Hire a Coach and Try to Put 2024 Behind Them

The Chicago Bears just hired Ben Johnson as their head coach for the 2025 season. He was the offensive coordinator of the Detroit Lions for the last 3 years. Their season ended this last weekend. Both of their coordinators found head coaching spots around the league.

I started paying attention to the NFL just this year again. Since Covid and George Floyd, professional sports had become another wedge for left wing groups to divide the country over. It was a good time to tune out. I won’t recount my personal animosity towards the league here. I’ve written about it before enough times. But I did start miss it. My dad had the Lions and Bears game on when I went over there for Thanksgiving this year and it reignited my fandom just enough.

As is typical of the Bears however, they blew a big chance to win in the last couple of minutes. Poor clock management doomed their 2 minute drill at the end. Chalk up another loss. Their rookie quarterback, Caleb Williams, put together a decent second half but fell apart at the end. The coach (Matt Eberflus) sounded circumspect about the whole thing during the post game wrap up. The Chicago media was apoplectic over the loss and blamed the coach. I’m not one for blaming the coach, but he didn’t inspire confidence either. But does it really matter? There are a lot of inspiring, take-no-prisoners types of coaches that don’t win too. Rod Marinelli was like this. Great defensive coordinator, poor head coach.

I think fans get too caught up on optics. We get irritated with the way the loosing coach answers questions. The sports radio guys analyze interviews hoping to dig up some unknown piece of information. They assume the organization is always hiding something. A lot of times they are, but it’s never an issue when the team wins. It's loosing that invites carping. After the Thanksgiving Day loss, the Bears canned Coach Eberflus after an unceremonious Q&A with the press. The decision to send him out and get grilled was either a parting shot from the organization or miscommunication from management to staff.

You don’t send a guy out there to field questions if you’ve decided to fire him.

That was my reentry into the season. I’d been loosely following the pick of Caleb Williams in the offseason. He was clearly the best available in 2024 and the Bears, having yet another first pick, grabbed him up. I’m not a great evaluator of college talent, but the Bears haven’t been able to get quarterback right in years. Just the opposite is true. For whatever reason the team can’t coach the position. I’m not even sure whose fault it is. But it’s noticeable and embarrassing. My attitude on draft night was “I guess we’ll wait and see”. 

Like most fans, I just want a team that looks promising. Optimism among the Chicago media and fans was stratospheric. A ‘savior’ had arrived.

I never fall into that trap. I talked to a guy who came into my store the other day. He had played college football and rooted for the Bears as well. We talked at length about the upcoming season and the future quarterback. He had the same reservation about the team as I did. Not because Caleb Williams didn’t show promise. But if it rains on your annual family picnic every year, you start to look for secondary places to meet. If every quarterback the Bears pick gets traded in their 3^rd year, you start to cautiously evaluate their chances. 

I heard a few TV people pick the team to go to the playoffs in the first year. I never trusted that opinion. After the midseason firing of the coach, the team seemed to spiral. They’d already fired the offensive coordinator (Shane Waldron) weeks prior to that. After the head coach was shown the door, they elevated the newly named offensive coordinator to the top slot. This was a team without a rudder. It’s clear they expected to win more at this point in the season. When they didn’t, the organization scapegoated whoever they could, to appease the gods for the time. I watched them on a few occasions recently. They played a game at home on a Thursday right after Christmas. They lost. I had the sense that despite all the sacks and missed opportunities, this team was emotionally done for the year. They weren’t talentless, just effortless. The air had gone out of the balloon.

I guess we’ll see if Ben Johnson can pull this group out of the trash heap and demand better than they’ve given. Like usual I’m hopeful but not expectant. I’ve been to this picnic too many times. The chance of rain is always strong.

Running in the Cold--or Not?

 

Treadmill Running or Cold Weather Running: Get to It

I’m back to running in the cold. It takes a lot of effort to get outside when it’s cold. Not 30’s and 40s cold either, I’m talking 20’s and teens cold. This particular week is setting up to feel truly wintry. But it’s January, so whatever. Most of the country is having a very cold week. A good chunk of the Midwest is experiencing snow and ice. We aren’t getting snow until tomorrow and even then, just an inch or so. It’s enough to cancel schools, but not enough to disrupt much other than that. I was hoping for a milder winter this year. It’s been a few years since we’ve had one. I’d say close to 5 years ago the temperature never dropped below freezing. That’s not normal but it’s always a nice break when it happens.

I’m supposed to go for a run in the morning and I’m having second thoughts. Whatever the weather is up to I’ll go for a run, but it might be on the treadmill in a climate-controlled gym. But going 6 miles on the treadmill is almost worse than just bundling up a little and jogging at the park. Treadmills are a convenience, I’m at the gym 3 times a week anyway. Lifting weights and then going for a run outdoors would take too long.  Besides I’ve gotten used to it over the years. The difficult thing about indoor running is your hyperawareness of the time, distance and heart rate. The giant blinking screen stares at you.

 Sometimes you want to drift off and enjoy the run but you can’t. It’s dangerous.

Jogging in place on a moving conveyer belt requires a little dexterity too. Ever lost your balance? It’s embarrassing. Usually, you can catch yourself before you go flying off the back into the elliptical machine. But not always. A lot of people don’t have the balance to do it. They find out the hard way. It’s not like riding a unicycle, but it’s certainly trickier than jogging on a sidewalk. And trying to ramp it up without having the energy to match the speed can be disastrous as well. I’ve seen people wipe out on them. I nearly wiped out myself a few times. Runners hate them. I can’t think of one runner that I’ve met who trains on a treadmill even some of the time. That makes me an outlier.

If I hadn’t already been used to it from years of doing short runs at the gym, I might not either. But I also don’t know many others that lift weights and run. For me the best part is that I can choose to do hills at any point. Unless you know where to look for hills, it’s much tougher to do a set of hill work. Some neighborhoods are known for their hills but it’s not a consistent way to train. Treadmills allow you to put a specific hill work routine in place. I do this at least once a week. It’s great for stamina. It’s also great for your posterior leg muscles. Without intentional hill work I’d be gassed at a lot of the city running we do. It’s slow grinding work on the machine, but the payoff is big.

Winter running is so dependent on clothing it almost feels like it’s not worth it. You spend more time thinking about how to dress than anything else. If you’ve done it for any length of time, it gets easier to figure out. A rookie mistake, everyone makes is dressing too warm. I used to wear a tee-shirt with a heavy fleece under a windbreaker when the temps were in the low 30s. It doesn’t sound like it but that’s way too much clothing. I’d sweat through both the fleece and the jacket, then shiver when a gust of wind blew across my body. I learned to layer and dress lightly. You warm up quick on a run.

Like most exercise related things, it’s kind of miserable at first. But getting over the discomfort is so worth it. Cold weather jogging is its own special kind of exhilaration. And the only way to feel it is to go through it. 

Purpose in All Things: Life is a Gift

 

Finding Purpose in a Christ Centered Life

I helped my brother rearrange some of his furniture yesterday. My Saturdays are basically on repeat. Early morning runs are followed by breakfast at home, then a few hours of writing before heading to church. My brother texted me the night before. He worked in the morning and had to pull down the baby clothes from the attic. I was impressed with the tidy assortment, 0-3 months, 3-6 months and so on.

Our task was to rearrange a few of the rooms and make one a nursery for his and his wife's incoming baby. I thought he might need help putting the dresser together, or the crib. He’d already taken care of that. The biggest part was pulling down the plastic tubs of clothes and setting up the nursery.

It took two looks at the new set up. We couldn’t figure out how to make the space look open. Every direction and corner the crib ended up in felt cramped. Placing it under the window was a non starter. I guess the noise from street could wake her up. It’s not a terribly loud street but the neighborhood does have a lot of kids. That only left two options for how to angle the crib. The second one just looked better. The middle of the floor was open, the dresser under the window and the bed along the long wall seemed like the best arrangement.

Purpose

We talked for a few hours about life and relationships.

He gives good advice. As an older brother I’m not used to any of my younger siblings doing this. They do though. The married ones at least. For years, some of the best relationship advice I’ve received has been through one of them. ‘Older brothers sort everyone else out, not the other way around. At least that’s been my default attitude towards help, advice and scolding. But it hasn’t been true for a long time. Thankfully, default attitudes fall off when we let them. What was helpful for a time can become a hindrance if we don’t cut it loose.

Refusing to hear advice from younger siblings is called pride. Good advice doesn’t just flow one way when humans are involved. Leaders often struggle with this. Especially if they’ve had success being the go-to font of wisdom. Business CEOs that adjust to changing times can ruin their company with an obstinate attitude and a hardened stance. This doesn’t apply to values and service culture, which hopefully remain, but on course corrections. Churches fall into this as well. A dynamic leader that’s built a large congregation might be loathe to hand it off to a son or daughter. It’s an understandable reaction. When you do something well it becomes your reason for existing, fairly or unfairly. You found your gift. Let others find theirs.

Fulfillment

Purpose drives us. When it’s from God, it’s particularly fulfilling. Even moving furniture and sorting baby clothes is purposeful. It’s not the big picture creative stuff, but it’s critical and worthwhile.

God fashioned us for a reason and put us on this earth to complete a specific plan to meet the needs of others. How we do that varies. It’s something that goes beyond career or skill or interest. Those play a role, but the goal is to share Christ in a meaningful way. Even that description doesn’t quite get at it. Jesus isn’t just a story about a manger, or a ministry, or a death followed by a resurrection. It’s a plan. It’s redemption. It’s victory over sin and death and disease. Life is a gift, but life with purpose is something eternal that we get to discover every day we’re on this earth.

The purpose is the gospel, the “how” is ours to find. The big change of direction for me is seeing life in that order, Christ first and me second. When we put our gifts first, it limits plan of God. We’ve handed Him a matrix through which we offer our service. Here and not there. “I’m a singer Lord, use me”. Or “I’m great with children but not the homeless”. Our interests or skills can be a starting point but they don’t define the mission. When we understand the first principles of following the Lord, our gifts will come alive. We worry about gifts at the expense of the mission.

Conclusion

Paul sums it up like this:

 “There are diversities of gifts, but the same spirit. There are diversities of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities; but it is the same God who works all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all”. (I Corinthians 12:4-7)

We all want to matter. Giving our gifts to God ensures that they’ll be used in the best way. Comparison gets us all in trouble. It’s easy to feel that we aren’t doing enough with our talents. But our task is to be useful where we can and show Christ in every action. The big picture in life will take shape when we let God be the author of our story. Sometimes it’s writing an essay and sometimes it’s moving furniture.

 

2025 A Year of Optimism for Americans

 

A Sense of Optimism About America’s Future is Back: 2025

New Year’s Day again. This time it’s 2025 and I’m looking forward to a better year.

Optimism on Tap

It’s easy to think of the political turmoil of the last year and be grateful that Joe Biden is out of office. Not that politics is everything, but it does set the tone for a lot of people. When we feel better about ourselves and our country, a sense of optimism pervades. When Trump asked Tom Homan to come back and be his Homeland security chief, he came out of retirement. In an interview with Tucker, Tom said that so many retired border patrol officers offered to come back once he was selected. The reason is obvious. We know instinctively that patriots are going to run key positions in DC. They love the country and want to help. It’s knowing that your leadership is for you. That’s inspiring.

Presidents Matter

I don’t buy anymore that the economy isn’t really affected by the president’s policies. The Wall Street Journal and others would always run these snotty articles about how it doesn’t make a huge difference. They think the ‘rubes’ need an education on how unimportant the president is to the economy. I wish it were true, but anti-business moves, flooding the country with illegals and canceling drilling leases for oil companies have trickle down effects.

There may have been a time when policies were similar enough from Republicans to Democrats. In the 90s and even early 00s, the economic policies weren’t that different. Candidates talked like they were. Democrats always sounded like FDR and Republicans like Reagan, but in reality, the big budget stuff was always signed off on. No one was going to seriously threaten social security or defense spending or Medicare. Even today, those programs are fully funded without a lot of fuss. The difference is what the democrats restrict, the climate mullahs have attacked oil and gas by shutting down new leases for drilling. President Biden shut down the Keystone Pipeline that’s been hanging by a thread since Obama’s term.

Climate Hysteria and Insurance Fraud

In the same vein, Uncle Sam subsidizes electric vehicles and forces CAFÉ standards on automakers. EV’s come with a discount ($7,500) for the buyer and upwards of $10,000 with the state subsidy. This is an industry that shouldn’t need the boost anymore. But taxpayers still have to shell out for plug ins that are getting less popular by the year.

 Since President Obama’s two terms, the separation of a private and public sector in medical insurance is a joke. Most of the big insurers are owned by the federal government after Obamacare. You may hate insurance companies but they’re hardly even making their own decisions anymore. They signed on to impossible rules that govern their businesses, like covering pre-existing conditions. They also signed up to limit their own profits. Costs continue to go up for the ACA (Affordable Care Act) while Insurers denied more claims than ever last year. They took something complicated, insurance, and wrapped in more red tape. They wanted windfall profits and didn’t care about the future. Obamacare is probably the biggest single reason that the president does make a difference on the economy. It ruined what was at least marginally a private industry.

Somewhere in those Obama years I stopped being a libertarian. It’s laughable to think there exists a sharp distinction between federal and private business anymore.

Rising Pride Lifts all Boats

If investor exuberance can hold the stock market afloat, then so can pride in country boost the mood in future ventures. People need leadership and it doesn’t even have to be perfect. It does however, need to be genuine. Joe Biden was never the duly elected president and he knew it, everyone knew it. Most didn’t admit it. The sense of hopefulness after the Trump win is about the future and progress. It’s difficult to describe a sense of optimism but you know it when you see it.

It’s like when the substitute teacher, who’d been filling in for the sick teacher finally leaves. This particular substitute was teaching Marxism and letting the bullies pick on the other kids. He was deconstructing the whole idea of education and telling lies about the country, God and gender norms. He did real damage. But now the regular teacher is back and a sense of optimism has returned.

Conclusion

Not that it won’t be an uphill struggle. But Trump won a mandate and if he doesn’t root out the poisonous corruptocrats it will be for naught. He has a much better sense of what needs to happen in this term. Hopefully, he won’t trust the swamp dwellers in the Republican party this time. I mostly like his cabinet picks. I’m not completely sold on Kennedy (RFK Jr), but there’s time.