WWW.WEDNESDAY

 

WWW. WEDNESDAY asks three questions to prompt you to speak bookishly. To participate, and to see how other book lovers responded, click here. 

PS I no longer participate in WWW.WEDNESDAY via that link because her blog won't accept Blogger comments. I mention this only to save you the frustration I experienced trying to link up.

1. What are you currently reading? Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell. I would be hard placed to think of a more influential novel than this one. Scarlett O'Hara is the prototypical diva heroine, strong-willed and beautiful who has a lot to learn about life. Would we have had Erica Kane on All My Children or Rose in Titanic without Scarlett? Then there's Melanie, the yin to her yang. Selfless, honest and eager to see the good in everyone. GWTW is one of the best selling books -- and, when you adjust for inflation, most profitable movies -- of all time. And it's got three-dimensional women at its core! Imagine that!

 

It's also insanely entertaining. Margaret Mitchell keeps us inside Scarlett's head almost the whole time. We see the war and the fall of a civilization through this girl's eyes. We meet at least a gazillion other citizens of Atlanta or The County: Tarletons and Fontaines and Munroes and Calverts and Merriweathers ... Yet I never get them confused. Mitchell draws even the minor characters sharply and uniquely. Brava!

All of this is not to say it's not disturbing at times. The way the Confederacy is portrayed -- as though there is moral equivalency with the Union and that The Cause is admirable -- is skin crawly on its face. Slavery is presented as acceptable and even benign. Again, skin crawly. No, obscene.

We live in a country where people continue to revere the  Confederacy without taking single moment to consider how that makes their neighbors of color feel. GWTW is a constant reminder of America not only in the 1860s but well into the 20th century and beyond. At a time when school boards resist telling our young people the truth about our history of race and slavery, this book remains highly relevant.

 

2. What did you recently finish reading? The Boys by Clint Howard and Ron Howard. I enjoyed this joint memoir enormously. "Opie Cunningham" and the kid from Gentle Ben have some terrific stories to tell! While the setting is Hollywood, the vibe is universal and highly relateable.

It's got popular and promising young Jean giving up her own acting career because she doesn't ever want to be separated from the love of her life, husband Rance. Then there's Rance, a struggling working actor, facing the fact that his pre-school aged son Ronnie is a more marketable commodity than he is. How does a family navigate all that and maintain their values? Rance and Jean were not perfect, but they were admirable. They are the heroes of this book, and I liked Rance and Jean very much.

 

PS I'm happy to report that Andy Griffith showed up for Ron Howard's wedding, and Henry Winkler is an all-around mensch.

3. What will you read next? Don't know.

 

 

 

August Happiness Challenge -- Day 27

Today's happiness: "I'm glad you were here today."

My 2024 Happiness Icon

Monday was a bad day at the card shop. I'm glad I wasn't there yesterday. The store was robbed by a homeless man, likely off his meds. He grabbed a lot of stuff from the gift rack beside the register -- hair clips, headbands, brushes. Never once asked anyone to open the register. He just filled his arms and left. It was very disturbing for the women working there. It was aggressive, yet it made no sense because nothing he took had any resale value. Ceecee, the manager on duty, pressed the button near the register that alerts the local police. Laney went in back and phoned regional headquarters. It went to voicemail. Both women acted just as they were trained to. No one was hurt. Nothing of value was taken. But it was upsetting nevertheless.

When I got to the store this morning, Ceecee and Jen were both there and both very upset. No one from corporate had called the store back. No one inquired about how the staff was doing. In fact, the head of our region sent Ceecee an email to cancel their previously-scheduled meeting.

They vented to me, separately. I learned that Corporate's apathetic attitude was a turning point for them both. Jen is actually going to sit down with her husband, "crunch numbers," and decide on how soon she can quit and look for another job. Ceecee wondered aloud why she worked so hard for a company that cared so little about her physical/emotional well being.

I told Ceecee that, though I'm new to retail, I'm not new to corporate. OF COURSE they don't care as much as she does. Ceecee is a Mama Bear, looking out for her cubs (us). To her, the robbery was a big deal and she wants support in making her team feel safe. To corporate, it's just something that happened to just one of the nine stores in this region. No one was physically hurt, not much money was lost. What's the big deal? She thanked me for the perspective.

I advised Jen not to act hastily. She's upset now. But she knows the store so well and cares so much. She shouldn't leave it to get out, she should leave to go to something. Something she will find fulfilling. Instead of figuring out when she can afford to quit, she should take a breath and choose what she wants her next chapter to be.

I was very glad to give back to the two women who have done the most to ease me into this new job. As she was leaving, Jen said, "I'm glad you were here today. Thanks." That made me so happy.

Happy August Happiness Challenge!

 

Each day in August you are to post about something that makes *you* happy. Pretty simple. And, it doesn't even have to be every day if you don't want it to be. It's a great way to remind ourselves that there are positive things going on in our lives, our communities, and the world.

 

 

Teaser Tuesday

Here's how to play.

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) 

Scarlett O'Hara was not beautiful, but men seldom realized it when caught by her charm as the Tarleton twins were. In her face were too sharply blended the delicate features of her mother, a Coast aristocrat of French descent, and the heavy ones of her florid Irish father. But it was an arresting face, pointed of chin, square of jaw. Her eyes were pale green without a touch of hazel, starred with bristly black lashes and slightly tilted at the ends. Above them, her thick black brows slanted upward, cutting a startling oblique line in her magnolia-white skin--that skin so prized by Southern women and so carefully guarded with bonnets, veils and mittens against hot Georgia suns.

Yes, I'm spending the waning days of summer with Margaret Mitchell's Gone with the Wind. I haven't read it in years and it's good to spend time with my old friends in Atlanta and The County. Everything ties together so beautifully. It's well written, meticulously plotted, and highly entertainingly.

It's also beyond problematic. Maybe it's because I was raised in The Land of Lincoln, but I have never understood the fetish for the Confederacy. The Southerners were the least patriotic people in our history. They fucking fired upon the American flag, people! (No wonder those rioters on January 6 were carrying Confederate flag.) There is nothing "noble" or "brave" about them, regardless of how many times Melanie says it.

Then there's the language. I can throw "fuck" around with the best of them, but I never use really obscene words, like racial epithets. The way blacks are referred to on these pages makes me shudder.

Which is not to say I'm not enjoying the read. I don't like Scarlett, but I get her -- and at times I am her. Melly, Miss Pitty, Rhett, Ashley, Pa and Miss Ellen ... I feel like I know them all and I've missed them. When I put it down, I tell myself it won't be long until I can pick it back up and get back to them. Is there any higher compliment for a book?

And I think GWTW important. I don't think we should ever forget how popular these words and concepts once were, and question why for some convoluted reason The Glorious South and its culture are still celebrated today.

 

August Happiness Challenge -- Day 27

Today's happiness: My credit card stayed in my wallet

My 2024 Happiness Icon

Monday was my doctor day. In the morning I went to an orthopedist for the first time time. He took x-rays of the knee that's been troubling me all month. Turns out I have a "slightly torn" meniscus and (here's the bigger problem) arthritis. While I am certainly not happy about this, I am relieved to have a diagnosis, grateful it isn't more serious, and glad to have a treatment plan.

In the afternoon I went to my PCP for my annual physical. I adore her. She listens! I have to go back after fasting for 8-10 hours and then have bloodwork, and she wants me to get a shingles vaccine.

Best of all:

•  Both of these doctors are within walking distance -- even with arthritis and a slightly torn meniscus.

•  I paid nothing out of pocket because of Medicare and Medicare supplement insurance.

I am very lucky to live here.

Happy August Happiness Challenge!

 

Each day in August you are to post about something that makes *you* happy. Pretty simple. And, it doesn't even have to be every day if you don't want it to be. It's a great way to remind ourselves that there are positive things going on in our lives, our communities, and the world.