Pretzel Bites: Things I love about March.

Plus my streaming highlighs and recommendations

Photo by Yan Ming on Unsplash

There is no time quite like March. For me, there are several milestones that make March unlike any other month in the year.

• First, my wife’s birthday (mwah!). She’s always agnostic about it, but there is no time like her birthday to continue that acknowledgement and appreciation of her. Love ya!

• March Madness. I’m a sucker for the pageantry and nonstop silliness that is College Basketball March Madness. It starts with the end of the regular conference season, followed by conference tournaments and then… BOOM. The field of 68. I’m never good at picking brackets. In fact, I’ve usually thrown it away by the end of the first weekend. And don’t tell my boss when I’m working at home that I don’t have a TV right next to my computer on Thursday and Friday.

• St. Patrick’s Day. OK, I don’t like going to bars for this March Madness. This year, I got a nice corned beef, prepped the smoker, pulled out a Guiness or two and when it was done, perfection. Side Note: I tried Non-alcoholic Guiness. I have to say, the taste wasn’t that different. Or maybe I just thought that.

• Long t-shirt weather: My favorite casual clothing? long t-shirts and shorts. We’re not quite there for the shorts, but a good long sleeve t-shirt is the best. Not too cold. Not yet warm.

  What do you love?

Streaming Highlights

Now onto my favorite entertainment of the month. I finished a lot of streaming shows in March. Hard to imagine since I’ve been working hard on this upcoming book release (More on that in a bit).

Masters of the Air (Apple TV+). From Spielberg and Hanks, the fellas who brought Saving Private Ryan, Band of Brothers, and the Pacific, comes a show about the pilots who manned those crazy daytime bombing missions over Germany during World War II. I enjoyed it from the first moment. The characters were compelling, including the relationship between Major Gale “Buck” Clevin (Austin Butler) and Major John “Bucky” Egan (Callum Turner). Every mission felt like it might be their last. The one knock is that the story threw in a story about the Tuskeegee airmen in the last couple of episodes. I would have liked their story more broadly told. Recommend

Mr. and Mrs. Smith (Prime). If you’re thinking this is a direct take on the 2005 Brad Pitt/Angelina Jolie movie, nope. It’s a little deeper and darker than the romantic comedy movie about two married spies who discover their true occupations and have to assassinate each other. The show takes two strangers (Donald Glover and Francesca Sloane) who are thrown together for this job to be husband and wife spies. They get to know each other. Fall in Love. Have relationship issues (even seek counseling in a hilarious/heartbreaking episode) and ultimately have to decide their future. It was not what I suspected, and I was pleasantly surprised. Recommend

Murder and Other Details (Hulu). Think Agatha Christie. Everyone is on a luxury ocean liner. Someone is murdered. Everyone’s a suspect. And who is on the boat? But the world’s most famous detective (Mandy Patinkin). Only, is he really that good? And, he’s not really the singular Point of View. The show takes the Christie narrative and adds a few twists to keep you guessing. A couple of episodes could have been trimmed to make it tighter, but overall, a good time. Recommend

‘90s replay

In March, we rewatched Reality Bites (1994) and I enjoyed going back 30 years to relive the youth and who I was back in the day. This time, my daughter brought back the nostalgia with 10 Things I Hate About You (1999). This teen comedy based on Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew has nods to Billy Shakes himself, but you can’t help but keep your eyes on the late great Heath Ledger as he plays Patrick, who tries to woo the unwooable Kat. Enjoyed it, but while the girls look age appropriate, why does everyone except Joseph Gordon Leavitt look over 30. Heath Ledger was 30, David Krumholtz, 31, Andrew Keegan ,30, and even Gordon-Leavitt was 28. But hey, it was a teen movie, and it was the ‘90s. All good. Recommend

Next week… A bye, sort of

Unless this is the first time you’ve read Salted Wetzel, or you haven’t read in six months, you know that my second novel, Lose Yourself, is released April 2.

So, instead of publishing on Friday, March 29, I’m going to push out a Special Edition Salted Wetzel that is all about Lose Yourself; how to purchase, where to purchase, background info, etc. on release day.

It’s been more than three years since I started the first draft of this labor of love. I’m excited to bring it to you and hope it will intrigue you enough to purchase. I appreciate all of your support.

Lose Yourself: Out April 2

It’s The Final Game of the Season…

All Star Brett Austen has a chance to secure the first .400 batting average for a season in more than 80 years. But increasing pressure and his own hubris threaten the apex of his career.

Meanwhile…

A sideline reporter wrestles with a choice between career and her mom in crisis.

A retiring usher takes in his final game before moving in with his son’s family.

A lanky 15-year-old can’t understand his future stepdad while pining for a girl from school.

A lemonade vendor agonizes over a big score to settle gambling debts and fulfill his daughter’s dreams.

An adult daughter navigates uncomfortable family dynamics at home while her father lies in hospice.

Will their choices meet the moment?

Character Profile: Lizzie Hernandez

Lizzie made an appearance in the short story An Empty Nest Night Out. Her daughter Heidi is prominent in the prequel serial The Intern.

Support the Salted Wetzel

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Each paid subscription will get an autographed copy of Lose Yourself at release April 2. (For monthly subscriptions, you will receive after six months paid).