February 22, 2008

• …I watched a wonderful movie!

  Yesterday I drug ironing board, iron, extension cord, spray bottle, hangers and a huge mound of unironed garments into our living room, along with my determination to finish this job that, for some reason unknown to me, I put off until it is of monstrous proportions. I never mind the actual ironing, once I get started. In fact, I kind of like it, seeing the wrinkles smooth away and blouses and shirts made to look nice again. But for some reason that I cannot explain, I put it off. Each time, I vow that this will never happen again, that I will set aside a couple of hours one morning each week and do what needs to be done. But I never do it. Never. Weeks pass, the pile grows, and with it the dread.

  So I decided to try a new tactic. I moved from the utility room to the living room. Who wants to be confronted with an ironing board in their living room? Certainly no one that comes into my living room. Once moved, the job had to be completed and everything put away before the day waned.

  Also, the living room is home to our newest possession, a wide-screen television purchased on sale after Christmas by my beloved who considers television something to love. On any given day, the television is on from 6:00 a.m. until 7:00 a.m., and then again in the evening from 7:00 p.m. until someone falls asleep in his chair, usually before 9:00 p.m. I don’t think we watch as much television as the average American family, especially me.

  Yesterday, though, ironing gave me a good excuse to check out our new toy. What could I find to watch, though? No soaps for me, no game shows, no Food Channel (Please! I’m trying to count calories!), and no, not even Oprah. Classic movie channels seemed my only resource. I found that “I Am David” happened to be coming on, and what a fortuitous choice!

  If you have the chance, watch this delightful, moving movie. It is about a young boy who has lived his entire life in a Stalinist work camp and manages to escape. The actors are superb, and the acting and dialogue are very understated…quite European feeling. I loved it!

  And the movie got me to thinking about why I liked it. I think it is because it fit into one of my “themes.” I read in themes. One of my all-time favorite themes has been the Holocaust, especially first-hand accounts. Starting with Corrie ten Boom’s The Hiding Place, which I read 35 years ago, I’ve gravitated to these startling, often horrific stories that usually manage to end with some sort of message of hope. Seed of Sarah, To See You Again, All But My Life….these are all good. I’m intrigued with people who are survivors. They make me wonder if I could be one, if I could have the kind of courage, determination, grit and faith exhibited by survivors of attrocities. The movie I watched yesterday would fit into this category.

  On the whole, I love books far better than movies and could talk about them all day. Other book themes I choose are based on places. I’ve read lots and lots of books about Africa, and again, they are usually autobiographical. I loved Out of Africa, West with the Night (the story of Beryl Markham’s life) Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight, and the unforgettable, intense The Power of One. While not true stories, Alexander McCall Smith’s series about lady detectives are pure delight and so entertaining!

  There must be something about the letter A, for I love books about Alaska. Long, long ago I fell in love with Tisha, and that was the beginning of this theme. Two Old Women, Arctic Homestead, A Schoolteacher in Old Alaska, and Ada Blackjack are other good ones. I can read and reread Shadows on the Koyukuk, which is even better than the very good On the Edge of Nowhere, written by brothers who lived absolutely amazing lives.

  Perhaps the most enduring theme for me has been stories dealing with pioneer women. Willa Cather ignited this flame with O Pioneers and My Antonia, and it continues to burn brightly. I love the series of books, Covered Wagon Women, which are compilations of western women’s journals and letters, as well as Susan G. Butruille’s books which include Women’s Voices from the Oregon Trail and others. Jane Kirkpatrick’s Sweetness to the Soul is so very good, much, much better than her more recent fiction. A Quilt of Words, Westward the Women, and One Woman’s West are all good. Runner-up to the best is A Lantern in Her Hand by Bess Streeter Aldrich, but my absolute favorite is Letters of a Woman Homesteader by Elinore Pruitt Stewart. I so wish I could have known Elinore.

  Even modern-day pioneering intrigues me. Helen Hoover’s books about homesteading (sort of) in northern Minnesota in the 1940s are nature books at their best. Similar are Louise Dickinson Rich’s books about living in the north Maine woods. I’d love to have a conversation with either of those women about their experiencese of moving from city life to the remotest places…what gumption! Helen Hoover actually inspired our trip to northern Minnesota last fall.

  All these books I’ve mentioned are about or by women, but I don’t discriminate, for James Herriot’s books are some of my very most favorites. In fact, that’s another theme, for I’m a confirmed anglophile. Dear old Miss Read, the Brontes, Jane Austen, Dickens, Wilkie Collins….that list could grow like Topsy!

  My list of themes would not be complete without mentioning books about regions. When traveling, I’m always drawn to books about the places we visit. A good place for finding these books of regional interest are the shops inside state or national parks. When we were in Arizona, I loved reading Sandra Day O’Conner’s Lazy B, in Wyoming I got The Log of a Cowboy, and in Montana I found Girl from the Gulches and Up on the Rim. A trip to Tennessee inspired The Education of Little Tree, and while visiting in Kentucky one week I discovered Janice Holt Giles’ many wonderful books, as well as Eliza Calvert Hall’s Aunt Jane of Kentucky. What a treasure! You other quilters would love that one.

  It’s always a sad day when I finish a simply wonderful book, for invariably I’m tempted to think that I won’t ever find another book as good, that I’m doomed to read ho-hum, humdrum books the rest of my life. But of course, that is never the case. For out there are just thousands of other good books waiting for me to discover them, in various and sundry ways, like I Am David, by Anne Holm, the inspiration for the movie I enjoyed so much yesterday.

  If you’ve stayed with me throughout this very long post, let me hear what you’re reading right now. I’m thinking it’s time for a new theme….any ideas?

  • 6:39 pm
  • 16 Comments