WWW.WEDNESDAY

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

 

1. What are you currently reading?   

The Other Side of the Story by Marian Keyes. 30-something Gemma is a successful adult, a event-planner with a great car and good friends. But her romantic life is non-existent, and her mother is suddenly a bigger part of her life than ever before. Dad is having his mid-life crisis a little late and has moved out of the family home so he can carry on an affair with his (much younger) assistant. 

No matter how old you are, you can be affected by your parents' marital strike (confession: a similar situation happened to this gal herself). But complicating Gemma's response is her own recent history: Her boyfriend left her for her best friend. So she feels overwhelmed and disillusioned just now. She expresses this in a series of clever, highly readable emails to her girlfriends, which unexpectedly become her entree to a new career as an author.

Back when the millennium was younger, I read a lot of Marian Keyes. I like her warm and witty style, and I enjoy that she sets her books in Dublin and London, which are unfamiliar to me and fun. For some reason I moved out of my chick-lit phase. This particular volume has been sitting in my TBR pile since  -- gulp! -- 2008. (The sticker on the back is from Borders!) I'm glad its time has come.

2. What did you recently finish reading?  

Being John Lennon: A Restless Life by Ray Connelly. The woman who raised him, Aunt Mimi, reported that she learned early on the most effective way to discipline John was to give him the silent treatment. "Don't 'nore me, Mimi! Don't 'nore me!" he would plead.

That anecdote, shared early in this affectionate but clear-eyed biography, seems to foreshadow John's whole life. He craved the world's attention, but he couldn't resist testing boundaries. It made him often hard to love -- for bandmates, friends, and fans alike -- but irresistible all the same.

Reading this book, it struck me how little time John had. Murdered at 40, he's been dead almost as long as he lived. That aids poignancy to his tale. He wanted more. He wanted satisfaction and contentment. He looked for it in unlikely places -- from fame to transcendental meditation to heroin -- but he never found it. He seemed as though he was getting close at the end, as he attempted to balance fatherhood with music making, and then BANG!

Much has been written about John Lennon and that little band he started. I've read a lot of it. I can recommend this book to both the casual fan and the fanatic.

3.  What will you read next?  

Richard Nixon, The Life by John A. Farrell. I began this book before the Lennon book. I must return to it.

Guess who worked out! That would be me.

I've been going to the chiropractor twice/week for the last two months. Last Thursday, he OK'd me to return to the health club. And so Monday I did -- for the first time in 2019!

I believe this is the beginning of the end of a saga that began back in September, when I visited the doctor about my swollen right calf and she sent me to the hospital for tests to eliminate DVT and phlebitis. Then in December, I began suffering from distracting, sudden, stabbing pains in that same right calf. Another trip to the hospital. Once again, DVT was eliminated. Along the way, diabetes has been ruled out, too.

Great. We knew what it wasn't, but we didn't know what it was. My friend Barb recommended her chiropractor, and my world changed.

It's now been four days without any pain. That's the longest I've gone in three months! I'm getting better!

So I went back to the health club and I stretched. I pedaled. It felt gooooood.

Image courtesy of Ambro at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Sunday Stealing

Popular Queen Songs


Bohemian Rhapsody - What matters to you more than anything in the world? I want to do the right thing. At the end of the day, that's what matters to me. I know I find it tiresome when people hammer me with their faith, but I do try to live a life that pleases Christ.

Don’t Stop Me Now - What makes you feel unstoppable? Success. I'm not being flippant. I find that positive momentum carries me forward.

Another One Bites The Dust - What one thing would you wipe off the face of the earth? Oh, I don't know enough about the intricacies of the eco system to answer this. Pests that annoy me might be vital to the way our planet works.

Under Pressure - How stressed are you currently? On a scale of 10? 7. Big project at work. Worries about Henry and Reg (see post below). Unsure about my domestic situation. I wish it was summer and I was looking back on this period.

We Will Rock You - What was the last concert you went to?

Somebody To Love - Are you looking for somebody to love? I'm not opposed to it.

We Are The Champions - What achievement are you most proud of? I have given stable, healthy homes to shelter cats -- lovely little critters that other disposed of like used Kleenex.

Radio GaGa - What do you think of today’s popular music? I don't care for it, but I'm not supposed to. Every generation gets their own soundtrack.

I Want To Break Free - If you could move to any part of the world, where would you want to live? I'd stay in Chicago, but I'd move into the Palmolive Building. That's the one in the center with the bright beacon (built to help Charles Lindbergh!) and the view of Oak Street Beach.

Love Of My Life - Have you ever had your heart broken? Good goobies, yes!

Killer Queen - What is your favorite thing about yourself? I find humor in most things. The older I get, the more I value it.

The Show Must Go On - What is something you will never give up? My passions.

Crazy Little Thing Called Love - Name some of your favorite musicians. The Bs: The Beatles, Barbra Streisand, Bruce Springsteen.

Who Wants To Live Forever - If you could be immortal, would you? No

Fat Bottomed Girls - What are some traits you look for in a partner? A romantic partner? I'm seriously into hair. I'm attracted to a man whose hair would smell good.

I Want It All - If you could have anything in the world, what would it be? Enough money to no longer worry about money.

 

I know what I know

Henry and I spend two to three hours on the phone together every week. It's been like this since he returned to Key West from Miami, after his accident. Often I love it, sometimes it exhausts me. The way our calls go depends on how Henry is doing at work, how he is feeling physically, whether his TBI is bedeviling him, and how patient I can be.

But here's the thing: he is getting better. Sure, every now and again he returns to rehashing the accident and how everyone is wrong about how it happened -- even though he has no recollection of it. Yes, he continues to insist he never had a brain injury, even though the seizure he recently suffered is evidence of it. OK, it's hard to hear him complain about how his medications affect him, even though he continues consuming multiple glasses of wine each day when he shouldn't be drinking at all.

I don't believe that any of those negatives are unusual or even unexpected from a man who nearly died five months ago.

He's no longer furious all the time. He doesn't rail against Reg, saying he wants a divorce. He doesn't complain about close friends who treat him "like a child." He's sweet and funny and always asks about my aunt. A Trumper, her outspoken support of the President has cost her a relationship with her favorite granddaughter, a situation which makes Henry very sad for all concerned.

Henry is healing. I can see the progress. So why am I unhappy this morning? It's Reg.

Reg is using social media -- reaching more than 150 people -- to complain about Henry. And about me. I have sent texts to Reg, saying, "Henry says he loves you!" "I can tell he's getting better," etc. I thought this would make him happy.

It does not.


This past week, Reg has posted: "Those of you who have spoken to Henry, thinking everything is good. You are wrong and I would like to bring you to the table. Read about TBI." and "Your conversations are but snippets. There is very little that you can say to make it better."

I get that Reg is tired. That he is the one who has to deal with the mood swings, day in/day out. That he is the one who bears the brunt of being with Henry as much as humanly possible (since the seizure, he's afraid to be alone).

But when I say Henry is better, that doesn't mean I think Henry is well.

Before the accident, I was more Henry's than Reg's. The accident brought Reg and I together, for a time. Now I think things have reverted. I'm going to stop reaching out to Reg, since it annoys him. Every month since the accident, I've sent money to their household through the Gofundme page, which Reg handles. From now on, I'll send it directly to Henry. (Example: I have a Shell gift card here that I'm putting in a card to Henry with a note. He can use it to thank the friend who drives him to and from work, or he can give it Reg. His choice.)

This is a journey. I'm buckled in for the duration. But I have to help them, to be there for them, in a way that does not deplete me.

Saturday 9

Saturday 9: Up on the Roof (1979)
Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

 
1) JT sings that, when the world gets him down, he goes up on the roof to find peace. When you're "feeling tired and beat," what do you do to cheer yourself up? Showers and baths do wonders for me. I feel clean, fresh and brand new.

 
2) He sings that, at night, the stars put on a show for free. Are you economizing, or sticking to a budget? I try to watch my spending. But I have no self discipline. I'm as bad with my money as I am with my time. I'm like Lucy with no Ricky.

3) In addition to recording this song for his album, Flag, James Taylor surprised the song's composer, and his good friend. Carole King by performing it the night she received her Kennedy Center Honor (see link above). Tell us about a good turn a friend has done for you recently. A former coworker/Facebook friend sent me a lovely, unexpected present. She was in an airport book store and saw a magazine commemorating the 50th anniversary of The Beatles White Album, picked it up, and FedEx'd it to me. Reading about the Lads always makes me happy, and I was especially touched that she thought of me.
 

4) James Taylor and Carole King have been good friends for decades, but they have never been romantically involved. Do you have platonic friends of the opposite sex? Many.




5) James was born in the Boston hospital where his father worked as a resident physician. Are there any doctors or nurses in your family? No.

6) When James was young, his family moved to Chapel Hill, NC. James has vivid memories of how beautiful the area was in all four seasons. What's your favorite time of year? Autumn. Especially if the Cubs are in the playoffs!

7) In 1979, when this recording was popular, ESPN launched. Do you often watch that cable sports channel? Only when they're carrying a Cubs game.

8)  Also in 1979, the Voyager spacecraft sent photos back to earth that revealed Jupiter's rings. Without looking it up, can you name all the planets in our solar system? Nope.
 
9) Random question: Our Saturday 9 Wizards give you a choice -- you can be 20 years old and gorgeous, 30 years old and brilliant, or 40 years old and rich. Which do you choose? 40 and rich. I can retire and take classes, thereby making me smarter. And I can pay for massages and facials and a personal trainer, thereby making me prettier. 

Sunday Stealing

Curious as a Cat

1. I wish I had enough money to ________. Not worry about money

2. If you had to enter a competition for the "Most Uselessly Unique Talent," what would your talent be? I can take shorthand.

3. When it might hurt their feelings, how do you feel about telling your friends the truth? If it's important, I tell them. If it's not, and it means not hurting them, I'll try to avoid the topic altogether.

4. Peanut or plain? Peanut, please.

5. Is there someone you would like to take your place in life for one day? Who and why? I would have said my mother, since she really didn't understand my life at all. But she's gone now, so I don't have an answer to this.

6. Who was your favorite teacher and why? Mr. Dombrowski. American history. Because he was so passionate.

7. What do you think is the ugliest thing or event on Earth?

You're now the President of ALL Americans, even Chicagoans!

8. What is your least favorite of your personality traits or quirks? I am devoid of self discipline.

9. I wish I could see ________ because _________. I wish I could see into the future because then I'd know what to worry about, and what to let slide.

10. Tell us your favorite children's story. As a baby bull, Ferdinand does not like to butt heads with the others in the

herd. He likes to sit under a tree and smell the flowers. He grows up to be unusually big and strong. One day, matadors come to choose bulls for a bull fight. They see Ferdinand smelling the flowers. 

All of a sudden, a bee stings him on the nose. Ferdinand hurts so he runs around, snorting and kicking. The matadors think he is the fiercest bull ever and take him away for a bull fight. 

When Ferdinand is led into the ring, he is enchanted by the ladies with floral headdresses. He parks himself in the middle of the ring and relaxes, enjoying all the colors and scents. This frustrates the matador, who wants to show off his cape and his sword as he kills a ferocious bull. The man gets so angry he actually starts to cry. Ferdinand is deemed a failure as a fighting bull, but that's OK. Because he gets to live out his life in the pasture, smelling the flowers, which is all he ever wanted to do anyway. So Ferdinand lives happily ever after by being true to his nature.

11. Explain how to play your favorite game. Canasta is rather complicated, with wild cards and melds and such. Plus I just used up a lot of words telling you about Ferdinand. So here's a link.

 
12. What do you keep in the trunk of your car? No car

13. Tell us about your favorite way to get lost in a simple activity — running, chopping vegetables, folding laundry, whatever. What’s it like when you’re in "the zone?" I think of myself as a jet, as the wheels go up and I take flight.

14. What’s your dream tourist destination — either a place you’ve been and loved, or a place you’d love to visit? What about it speaks to you? I've been daydreaming a lot about Colonial Williamsburg. It's a good vacation spot for me because I can get my geek on, immersing myself American history, and pamper myself in the spa.

15. What parts of nature do you like best? When I'm in a forest preserve or on a garden path, I like looking up at the sky and seeing the blue through the leaves of green.

16. What kind of program do you enjoy most on TV — detective shows, comedies, game shows — and why? I like watching movies. I'm a TCM girl.

17. Do you know any professional athletes? Met? Yes. Know? No.

18. What will the next must-have technological innovation be? Jetpacks? Hoverboards? Wind-powered calculators? I'm sure it will be some new iteration of a phone.

19. Have you ever been the victim of a crime? Yes.

20. What if you woke up tomorrow with the ability to understand animals. What do you think you’d hear from them? I'd want to hear from my cat, Reynaldo. I want him to tell me what I do that frustrates him so.

21.What is something that makes you melancholy? Thinking of relatives no longer with me. My grandma, my uncle and my mom. Though I know they are with me in spirit.

There's always wine

My darling Henry has been drinking too much for years. He's joked about it, daring servers to "twist my arm, please!" when they offer to refill his wine glass.

He hasn't gained weight because of it. To my knowledge, it never affected his worklife. It has had an impact on his behavior -- when he drinks, his otherwise very sharp mind gets sloppy. And he makes bad choices ... like getting on his bike and turning into a van.

He knows how I feel about his drinking. I don't belabor this. I went through this with my friend, John, and I know that if I press too hard, I just find myself frozen out.While I don't want to be an enabler, I understand that the only ones who are responsible for Henry's and John's alcohol intake are Henry and John.

Complicating this are Henry's TBI and his relationship with Reg. Henry is taking a mix of meds every day, and he ignores the warning that they should not be mixed with alcohol. He is not the only one in his household who likes his wine. Reg has been drinking too much, too. It's balancing his roles as caregiver and breadwinner that compels him to find relief in the occasional glass (or two or three).

And so there's drama. There's fighting. Reg blames it all on the TBI. He insists that the reason they fight so much is that he is the only Henry lets his guard down with, and that's why he bears the brunt of Henry's rage.

Henry disagrees. He feels that, while Reg does a lot for him, they are the things Reg wants to do, not what Henry needs him to do.

To me, it looks like Reg is in love with his martyrdom and he should stand up for himself and tell Henry to stop being a jerk. Henry is the sweetest of men. He is. But he's only human. He feels vulnerable and frightened and he lashes out. I've felt it. On Christmas, when I handed him his present, he said even before unwrapping it, "Oh. A shirt." Upon opening it and seeing it was an artist's rendering of his favorite, Frida Kahlo, he said, "Who is this supposed to be?"

"Oh, don't be a dick," I snapped. "I had prepared a little speech about how she turned her accident into art, and I hope now you'll turn your accident into art. I was happy about Christmas and your present. And you wrecked it."

The next day, Henry made a point of wearing the shirt. Because he is a sensitive man, he loves me, and he was sorry.

Of course, since I've never been married, it's possible that I'm wrong about all of this.

But I am right about this: both of them being buzzed is not helping the situation. I wish they would each put their glasses down and walk away from the bottle.

Saturday 9

Saturday 9: Come Saturday Morning (1969)
 
Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) What are your plans for this Saturday morning? I don't really have any! I love Saturdays like this.

2) In this song, a man sings of going away for the day with a friend. Where did you go on your last day trip? I spent the day with my friend Kathy in her new hometown, Dekalb. It's a college town 65 miles northwest of Chicago. We had a nice day and it felt good to support her in this new chapter of her life.

3) The lyrics say, "we will remember long after Saturday's gone." What's something you've done recently that you predict you'll remember for a long time to come? My chiropractic treatments. I feel so much better, but I think the ice packs and morning/nighttime stretches will be part of my life for the rest of my life.

4) This song was the Oscar-nominated theme from the movie The Sterile Cuckoo. What's the first movie song that pops into your head? From last weekend's Oscars. As Jackson said to Ally, "You may be a songwriter."



5) In the movie, Liza Minnelli played Mary Ann Adams, an eccentric girl everyone called "Pookie." Have you ever been known by a memorable nickname? Who gave it to you? When I was very young, my dad had nicknames for me: "Andy Panda," "Mouse" and "Tiger."

6) Today's group began their career as The Grads. Recording artist/producer Herb Alpert liked their sound but hated their name. Alpert picked "sandpiper" at random out of the dictionary. Do you still have and use a bound dictionary? Or do you rely on the internet for word searches and spelling? I have a bound dictionary, but more for sentimental reasons than utility.


7) The biggest news story of 1969, the year this song was popular, was one of the biggest news stories of all time. On July 20, Neil Armstrong stepped foot on the moon. Other than the moon landing, what's the most consequential event that you've seen in your lifetime. How do you feel it changed America, and the world? Golly! One of my earliest life memories is President Kennedy's assassination. It left a mark on me personally, like my vaccination scar. I will always remember 9/11 like it was yesterday. Columbine added "school shootings" to our national vernacular. 

But the news story that it feels like we just keep living with, day in/day out is Watergate. "Gate" has become our suffix any scandal. And anyone who lived through it in the 1970s can't help feeling like we're living through it again. In my heart, I fear that Donald Trump will make Richard Nixon look like he belongs on Mount Rushmore.

8)1969 was a big year for music festivals, with Atlanta, Toronto and Woodstock all holding famous fests. Have you visited Georgia, Ontario or New York (state)? Yes to all three.


9) Random question -- According to some plant enthusiasts, house plants do better when they're spoken to. Do you talk to your plants? Yes. When I water my massive philodendrons, I always say, "Here you go, girls," or something of the sort. It seems to be working, as they appear to be heading toward world domination.

Some day I'm going to drape the Audreys around the room like this.

Rehoming Kate, Marilyn, Barbara and Jackie

I checked the Free Little Library on the corner and am happy to report that four of the paperback biographies I dropped off have been picked up by others!

Kate: The Life of Katharine Hepburn by Charles Higham was published in 1975. The lady herself was still alive, perhaps that's why it was so "affectionate" (OK, it was fawning). Still, The Great Kate is a feminist and film icon and when I was a girl, this volume helped explain why. I like thinking it will do the same for another fledgling fan.

Legend: The Life and Death of Marilyn Monroe by Fred Lawrence Guiles was published in 1991. It's a sympathetic and rather well regarded biography of Marilyn. But there are other books that had a greater emotional impact on me. Still I'm glad I was able to share a book that treats Marilyn with respect.

Barbara Stanwyck by Al Diorio is a book from the 1980s that I really didn't like. It's not really the fault of the author. Stanwyck was a dreadful mother. Not abusive, as Joan Crawford has been rumored to be. But disinterested to the point of neglect. Since she played such compelling mothers on the screen (Stella Dallas, Victoria Barkley on The Big Valley), I found this disturbing. Still, she has her loyal fans, and I hope this lands in the hands of one of them.

The Kennedy Women by Lawrence Leamer is from 1994. It was an easy read that goes well beyond my girl Jackie. It introduced me to Bridget, who immigrated to America and married Patrick Kennedy. Her great-grandson was John Fitzgerald Kennedy. The book is a fine intro to women who were Kennedys by birth or marriage. I like that I'm sharing this slice of American history with someone else.

Instead of just yellowing with antiquity and collecting dust, these books are being cracked open again. To borrow from Marie Kondo, giving these books a second life "sparks joy."

Sunday Stealing

Compassion Questions

 

1. What is the most fun thing you have ever done? Ever? That's a little broad, isn't it? So instead I'll tell you the most recent fun thing I did: I laughed a lot with my oldest friend on the phone on Friday. That made me happy.


2. Are you left-handed or right-handed? I'm a rightie. In fact, my chiropractor deemed me "unusually right dominant." Meaning I have strength in my left arm but little dexterity in my left hand. Can't even brush my teeth with my left hand.


3. What is the nicest thing someone has ever done for you? Again, ever is just too broad for me. So instead I'll you the most recent really nice thing someone did. A former coworker, Doreen, sent me a magazine published to commemorate the 50th anniversary of The Beatles White Album. She said the moment she saw it, she thought of me. How sweet was that?



4. What is the biggest animal you’ve seen in the wild? I've never been in the wild. I think the biggest animal I've ever seen was Ziggy the Elephant. He weighed about 2000 lbs.


5. What is the smallest animal you’ve seen in the wild? I've never been in the wild. I suppose a baby bunny is the smallest animal I've ever seen.


6. Do you ever have funny dreams at night? Occasionally.


7. If you could make a law for your country, what would it be? I'd ban assault weapons.



8. What would you do if you were invisible for a day? Eavesdrop


9. If you could be someone else for a day, who would you be? Emma Stone. Because she's so cute.


10. What would you like to change about yourself? My complete lack of discipline.


11. What is your daily routine. Get up, get out of bed. Drag a comb across my head.


12. What would your perfect day be like? Sleep in. Have a coffee house breakfast. Go to the ballpark. Sit in the sun and watch the Cubs beat the Cardinals. Stop for a beer in Wrigleyville to celebrate.


13. How old were you when you learned to read? First grade.


14. What is the most interesting thing you know? President Kennedy's classmate and lifelong best friend, Lem Billings, invented Fizzies.

My favorite flavor was root beer

15. What makes you nervous? Air travel


16. What is your favorite flower? Carnation


17. Have you ever ridden on a horse or any other animal? I've ridden a horse and an elephant (though not Ziggy as referenced in Q4).



18. What time do you go to bed? 11:00 ish



19. What time do you get up? 6:00 ish

20. Do you know how to swim? Yes

Photos I found when looking stuff up

Discovered when working on my Oscar blogathon post. Here are Natalie Wood and her new hubby, Robert Wagner, demonstrating their domestic bliss for a fan magazine. What the hell is going on here? Are we supposed to believe that Nat called out, "Hey, RJ! I'm perched on the ironing board, with our poodle. Let's make some phone calls!"

From the ridiculous to the sublime. While reading about the passing of Lee Radziwill, I came upon JBKO photos I've never seen before. They were taken in Virginia during the summer of 1945, while the Bouvier sisters were vacationing with their father. Sixteen-year-old Jackie looks so natural in these pictures, taken at least seven years before she met John F. Kennedy and entered history.

Saturday 9

Saturday 9: No. 9 Dream (1974)
 
Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) John Lennon liked the number 9. It shows up in three of his songs (in addition to this song, he performed "Revolution #9" and "The One after 909" with the Beatles). He was born on the 9th of October, as was his son Sean. Coincidentally, "No. 9 Dream" hit #9 on the Billboard chart. Do you have a favorite number? 7

2) The phrase repeated in the chorus, "Ah bowakawa pousse pousse" means nothing. It's gibberish that John sang until he could come up with "real" lyrics for this melody. Then he decided he liked the sound of it, so he kept it. Can you think of a word that's fun to say just because you like how it sounds? "Deuteronomy." Since I'm no Old Testament scholar, it doesn't come up in conversation often, but it is fun to say.

3) John referred to "No. 9 Dream" as an example of "craftsmanship writing." A snatch of the melody just came to him and he got it down on a tape recorder, wrote lyrics, arranged it and recorded it in short order because he needed another song to finish the LP, Walls and Bridges. What's the last thing that you did because you were supposed to or you had to, and not because you wanted to? Every day, I do something toward reducing the clutter in my home. Friday it was winnowing out a few more books.

4) Yet once "No. 9 Dream" was recorded, it became one of John's favorite of his solo songs. He loved its ethereal feel. Tell us about something that turned out better than you thought it would. Open seating at work. Instead of offices, we all just sit out at picnic tables. I dreaded it. And I do feel piteously exposed all day long. But on the plus side, it exposed me to Trisha. 

She's an executive vice president in another department. In the conventional office set up, we may not have met. But now we sit side-by-side all day. She's been an unexpectedly delightful, friendly and influential neighbor, and I appreciate her so much.



5) When he was working, John drank a lot of tea, as many as 30 cups in a day. Do you take your tea with cream, sugar, honey, or lemon? Two sugars, please.


6) During his reclusive years (1975 to 1980), John didn't have household help, preferring to take care of his young son and housework himself. He did, however, have a chauffeur on call around the clock. If you could afford to a staff of one, what single thing would you have him/her do? A chef would be nice. I'd love to create a menu, have someone do the shopping and the food prep and the clean up.

  7) When John was a boy, he requested water colors and colored pencils for his birthday and at Christmastime. Do you recall a special birthday or Christmas gift you received as a child? The Christmas I turned 5, I got Blaze. He was a pinto rocking horse that went back and forth AND up and down. Even better, he whinnied! Like all Mattel toys of his vintage, he made noise when you pulled the string. He was awesomely special.

8) Beatles producer George Martin said John was "a completely impractical man." Would you describe yourself as impulsive, with flashes of practicality? Or are you practical, with flashes of impulsivity? Practical, with flashes of impulsivity.


9) Random question -- Congratulations! You just won the Saturday 9 Sweepstakes, and the prize is your choice of a boat or a motorcycle. Which one do you take? A motorcycle, because I think it would be easier to sell.

31 Days of Oscar Blogathon -- Tha Actors

NATALIE WOOD:
Nominated three times by age 25.

At the luncheon for the 1955 nominees

Google her and you'll find lurid headlines: "Sister Says Natalie Wood Murdered by Robert Wagner" and "Why Natalie Wood's Death Remains a Mystery." This reduces her to her final hours, minimizing her hard-earned place in film history.

And Natalie Wood was once one of the hardest working actresses in Hollywood! Here are just some of Nat's stunning stats:

•  74 acting credits over 40 years

•  The year she turned 9, she made three films, including two classics (The Ghost and Mrs. Muir and Miracle on 34th Street)

•  Between 1953 and 1956, she was a regular on three early TV series (Mayor of the Town, The Pride of the Family and Kings Row) while also filming big screen classics like The Searchers and Rebel without a Cause

And there are her Oscar nominations. Three by age 25.  
The only other actress to achieve that stat, before or since, was Teresa Wright in the 1940s. 

Let's take a closer look at those three roles and celebrate Natalie Wood for the career she built.

•  Best Supporting Actress: Rebel without a Cause (1955). She's Judy, the high school siren. Judy "goes with the kids," wears tight sweaters, smokes and breaks curfew. In fact, when the audience first meets Judy, she's in the police station. But she's not a bad girl, just misunderstood. As she moves from childhood to a troubled adolescence, she acts out. She attracts attention from the boys, especially Jim (James Dean) and Buzz (Corey Anderson), and the results are tragic.

Wood showed her range as she ping-ponged between false bravado and romantic yearning. When she's "with the kids," she's loud and casually cruel. Alone with Jim, she's tender and tentative. "I love someone," she says, her voice and eyes filled with awe. "All my life I've been looking for someone to love me, and I love somebody."

She didn't win the Oscar that night. In true Judy fashion, she was all attitude as she feigned disappointment for photographers. At the time, she told friends she didn't care about the statuette. A child of Hollywood, the Oscars just felt like prom night to her. Instead, it was the nomination -- the promise of the meatier roles it represented -- that mattered.

 •  Best Actress: Splendor in the Grass (1961).  The movie begins in 1928, where everything in Bud's and Deenie's world is on the cusp. They are high school seniors, impatient to graduate and start on their adult (and sexual) lives. The nation doesn't know it, but America is on the verge of the Depression.

Warren Beatty is Bud, star athlete. Natalie is Deenie, eager to please everyone. She works for good marks from her teachers. She wants to be the dutiful "good" girl her parents expect. And she longs to please Bud in every way possible, but if they go all the way, she won't be "good" anymore. The stress of living up to every one's expectations causes Deenie to lose herself, and briefly, her mind.

Deenie is achingly sensitive, like a human tuning fork. She's smart, too. Her best scenes are the quiet ones at the very end, when Deenie understands what happened to her, and why. You may wonder what's next for Deenie, but you're confident that she will be OK. Maybe not happy -- not in the way her schoolgirl self defined happiness. After all, "Nothing can bring back the hour of splendor in the grass ...". But Deenie is now strong and self aware ("We will grieve not, rather find strength in what remains behind ...").

When Natalie Wood attended the Oscars in April, 1962, she was as big a star as she would ever be. She caused a sensation on the arm of her costar and lover, Warren Beatty, at a time when their affair had Natalie competing for magazine covers with Jackie and Liz. In addition to Splendor in the Grass, she starred in West Side Story, which would be the evening's big winner. Gypsy was already in the can and would be released before Christmas.

She didn't win that night, either. But it was an important milestone in her career. She was powerful, having earned director and costar approval.

 •  Best Actress: Love with the Proper Stranger (1964).  Imagine kohl-eyed, glamorous Natalie as a clerk at Macy's. She pulls it off in her third and final Oscar-nominated role.

Angie lives in a crowded apartment with her mother and three brothers. They pressure Angie to marry the man chosen for her (Tom Bosley). Anthony is kind and shy and would undoubtedly be good to her, but she doesn't love him. Angie believes that both she and Anthony deserve romance, "bells and banjos."

Angie has a one-night rebellion with a musician named Rocky (Steve McQueen). She discovers she's pregnant and seeks him out to help her arrange an (illegal) abortion. This is no easy predicament for an Italian Catholic girl to find herself in, and it goes from painful to humiliating when she learns Rocky doesn't even remember her.

Natalie captures the desperation of a young woman with no privacy, no freedom. She is also sweet and tender (especially in her scenes with Bosley). She wants a husband and a baby, but she refuses to settle. It's important to note that she doesn't want either man to settle, either. She won't trap Rocky into a marriage he doesn't want, and she refuses to keep Anthony from a wife who will truly love him. And so we root for Angie to get her happy ending with "bells and banjos." 

I could find no photos of Natalie at the 36th Academy Awards ceremony and can't confirm she attended. (But I bet she was there; Natalie was always "a company girl.") Here she is with McQueen at the Golden Globes. Both were nominated, but neither won, so I can't tell you whose Globe McQueen is holding.

This final Oscar nomination marked the beginning of the end of Natalie's superstar days. She worked crazy hard during this period -- five movies in two years -- but none of these big-budget films made much money. 

While not successful, two of those subsequent five were important. Inside Daisy Clover and This Property Is Condemned helped propel Robert Redford from TV to the big screen, and This Property Is Condemned helped launch Sydney Pollack as a director. Natalie used her clout to hire both men, and history proved her prescient. 

She took time off to have two daughters. Then she returned to work, because Natalie Wood got great satisfaction from acting. She went where the roles were, and found success on the small screen. She was especially good as the struggling but irreverent housewife in The Cracker Factory and won a Golden Globe for her portrayal of Karen Holmes in the From Here to Eternity mini-series (both in 1979). At the time of her death, she was working on the feature film Brainstorm and enthusiastic about making her stage debut as Anastasia in Los Angeles.

And so, when I remember Natalie Wood,  
she's not a victim. 

She's a dedicated actress. 

Want more Oscar? Visit Paula's Cinema Club, Once Upon a Screen and Outspoken and Freckled.

Among my bookshelves

So Wednesday night, I decided to choose 10 books to part with. Among them are biographies of the Beatles, Katharine Hepburn and JBKO that I read when I was very young and that I find too superficial to refer back to. That doesn't mean they won't appeal to someone just learning about these people, and so it makes me happy to put them in the Goodwill sack. If they engage or charm someone else, well, that's lovely.

But on the bottom shelf, by the window, I found a paperback biography of Barbara Stanwyck. By Al Diorio. That I bought approximately 35 years ago.

And that I purchased again 2 1/2 years ago.  I actually read it -- and didn't much care for it! -- during the summer of 2016.

So that's what a mess my personal library is! Two copies of a book I don't even like! I know Stanwyck has her aficionados -- my movie group moderator adores her -- so I wouldn't be surprised if the Diorio book is appreciated more elsewhere. So it makes me happy to toss it into the Goodwill bag.

Which is why I sent Surrender, Dorothy to Kathy. It's a book I appreciated more than liked, but I recognize it has value. Rather than let it languish in my den, I slipped it into a padded envelope and mailed it off to Dekalb. It's a thought provoking book, and I'm happy to give Kathy a crack at it.

I just finished it and January and WHOOSH! It's gone. That's a far cry from the Stanwyck paperback that I moved with me from one apartment to another but never read. (Or never recalled reading.)

Again, this is my version of Marie Kondo. For me, the question isn't, "Does this spark joy?" Instead, it's "would having this make someone else happier than it makes me?"

Another trip to the dumpster

Tonight I disposed of three cardboard boxes, a bathmat and a rag that had been in my den since October. I've been hanging onto the boxes because I thought I could use them for ... something. In more than three months, that something hasn't presented itself, so I guess there's no reason to keep them.

The mat? Oh, it was a "what if?" As in "what if the new bathmat I bought doesn't work out?" The new mat has been in the bathroom for more than three months. I think that's long enough to establish that it's fine. The rag? I could wash it and put it in the closet with my other rags, but why? I have plenty of rags in there already.

And this, ladies and gentlemen, gives you a window into how my home has become overstuffed.

These four!

Monday night, my movie group watched Libeled Lady. You know how the old folks say, "they don't make them like this anymore?" This 1936 screwball comedy is the kind of movie they're talking about.

Libeled Lady boasts classic MGM star power. Three-time Oscar nominee, suave and divine William Powell. His favorite leading lady, elegant Myrna Loy. Reigning sex symbol, feisty Jean Harlow. Hollywood's new favorite Everyman, Spencer Tracy.

Myrna Loy is the "lady" of the title. Tracy's newspaper prints a story, claiming that she was the other woman in a messy, high society divorce. She wasn't. She retaliates with a lawsuit that could bankrupt the paper. William Powell is brought in to entrap her in a compromising situation, so Tracy can blackmail her into dropping the suit. Harlow is Tracy's long-suffering fiancee, a girl who is beyond sick of playing second fiddle to her boyfriend's job.

The plot machinations are too ridiculous to recount. And they don't matter, anyway. The point of this movie is to let Powell, Loy, Harlow and Tracy charm us. And to transport us to a world where newspaper men drink whiskey at their desks, and heiresses take cruises and escape to their country homes, and bell boys are tipped to forget what they just saw.

We all had a delicious time watching it.