Author: JWF

Carolina Comments: Having Fun!

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KINDS OF FUN

With all the tension in the world and around the upcoming election, it can be helpful to have an outlet that distracts us, makes us laugh, or gets us up and moving around. This week, you get a TV series, a fun novel, and Olympics for the mature set.

ADVENTURES IN WINE MAKING, KIWI STYLE

Under the Vines, Season 3 (Prime Video)

William, Louis, & Daisy (primevideo.com)

In this latest season of Under the Vines, Daisy and Louis, co-inheritors of Oakley Wines, are challenged by the arrival of obnoxious William, who claims to own part of the winery.  Their focus is on scheming both legally and otherwise to get him to leave, while Daisy plans her upcoming wedding.  

The supporting cast includes the mostly silent, but talented winemaker Tippy, their local friends Nic and Vic who are awaiting the arrival of twins, and Gus, who returns when his relationship with movie start Griff collapses.  Add in their chief competitors Don and Marissa and the somewhat flaky Hilary, fortune teller and devotee of the occult, and you have a spirited ensemble.  

 This comedy-drama is fun and occasionally silly, an energizing change from crime shows.  It’s best to start with the first season, but I think this one is the best.  Recommended!

FINDING ONESELF THROUGH FOOD

The Paris Novel by Ruth Reichl

Reichl (austin.eater.com)

Ruth Reichl’s The Paris Novel has a bit of everything: scenes of Paris, that famous bookstore Shakespeare & Company, and appearances by literary figures like James Baldwin, John Ashbery, and Allen Ginsburg. And of course, food and cooking.  Knitting it together is Stella’s somewhat delayed coming-of-age story.  

At her mother’s death, Stella is left with money and the directive, “Go to Paris.”  She has lived a sheltered, controlled life.  She wasn’t close to her mother, she works as a copy editor, and she hasn’t ventured out of her comfort zone.  Paris overwhelms her, and Stella flounders a bit until Jules, a kindly older art collector and widower, takes her under his wing.  

She discovers the bookstore, drops in there, and reluctantly becomes a Tumbleweed, those who help in exchange for the privilege of staying overnight in an alcove.  Stella’s main quest has to do with finding out about a piece of art (Jules is helpful here). Secondarily, she wonders about the mystery father she never knew or was told about.  In the process, she samples all manner of French dishes and is pleased to learn that she has a discriminating palate and perhaps even talent in the kitchen.

There’s a lot going on in this novel, probably too many strands, but it’s a fun adventure—watching Stella expand her horizons while vicariously savoring all those luscious French meals.  For those who might not know, Reichl was the editor of Gourmet magazine for ten years. Bon appetit!

MATURE OLYMPICS

Brightspire Olympics

Who would have thought that senior living communities would host an annual Olympics?  Well, to my surprise and skepticism, four Continuing Care Retirement Communities (CCRCs) in North Carolina compete each fall in a host of activities, both physical and mental.  There are some obvious events like bocce ball, pickleball, and walking races, but also timed puzzle contests and a quiz bowl.  Residents sign up in the summer for their preferred event and practices are held.  There are even cheerleaders, decked out in short skirts and tops with pompoms ready!

For those of us, like me, who were spectators only, highlights included cheering the arrival of the other teams midst band music, the opening parade of all the competitors (lead athlete with a torch, of course), chair dancing and line dancing performances, and witnessing the nail-biting last round of the quiz bowl competition.  A spirit of fun and camaraderie reigned all day at Glenaire.  It was hard not to get caught up in it!

Showcasing Olympic smiles

Note: Unattributed photos ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved.)

Carolina Comments: Park, Drama, & Book

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OUT AND ABOUT:  POCKET PARK IN CARY

Kay Struffolino Park

The Meeting Place

Initially, this parklet on the edge of downtown was named “Meeting Place Park” for the sculpture in its center. Later it was renamed in honor of Kay Struffolino, a long-time Cary resident and active volunteer with the town’s parks and recreation and the cultural arts. 

The Meeting Place is a ceramic sculpture house by Danish artist Nina Hole (1941-2016) commissioned by the town.  Building and firing it involved 36 volunteers and 175 hours over three weeks from mid-October to early November 2012.  

From the town website: Her method of using slabs as modular building blocks enable her to make very larger sculptures which she raku fires in situ wrapping the structure in a blanket of high temperature refractory fabric that acts as the kiln during the firing. She uses a number of assistants and considers the process, including the stimulating communal experience of working with a group of people, as important as the final product. Fired through the night, the spectacular effect of the glowing form as it is unwrapped is the peak moment of the event. 

Kay Struffolino Park

VIEWING: A BROTHEL IN WARTIME

Madame K (Prime Video & PBS)

Mr. Metsla and Mrs. Kukk (rmpbs.org)

In this dramatic series, a group of young women with diverse backgrounds work in an elite brothel run by Mrs. Kukk aka Madame K.  The setting is an elegant villa in Tallinn, Estonia, beginning in October 1939.  Foreign Ministry Counselor, Mr. Metsla, friend and suitor to Mrs. K., is instrumental in moving the brothel to this house.  Their clients include Baltic Germans and then high-ranking Russians.  New girls are added, the war intensifies, dark secrets are revealed, and events at hand take on a deeper, somber tone.  

The 10-part series is in Estonian with subtitles and presents yet another facet and face of WWII. Recommended!

READING:  CARRYING ON AFTER A SUDDEN DEATH

Us, After:  A Memoir of Love and Suicide by Rachel Zimmerman

When Rachel Zimmerman’s 50-year-old husband, without any warning, jumped off a bridge, she was both devastated and worried for her two daughters, ages 8 and 11.  Seth was a noted and driven robotics professor; Zimmerman a seasoned reporter who worked for the Wall St. Journal at one time. 

Trained to be observant, Zimmerman becomes hyper focused on looking for answers to why he did it: contacting experts, raising many questions, and, along the way, excavating the layers of their courtship and their marriage.  Simultaneously, she embraces parenthood and seeks to be both mother and father to her girls.  

In part, the book is an exploration of one’s public persona versus one’s private self, Seth’s especially, but also her own.  A no-holds-barred discussion of their lives, it describes how she and her resilient girls re-surface and re-engage with the world.  It is raw reading at points, but ultimately uplifting as this threesome moves forward. (~JWFarrington)

Note: Header photo is a close-up of the sculpture in Kay Struffolino Park. All unattributed photos ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved.)

Maine to North Carolina & Books

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GOING HOME

After our wonderful week in Sweden, we enjoyed ten more days in Maine. The air was cool to chilly, there was an occasional stiff breeze, and we felt that fall had already arrived. We left behind our view of the ocean water, our favorite botanical garden, and good friends. At our last dinner, we tucked into one more lobster roll—lobster makes Maine Maine.

Back home in the Triangle Area, we had several days of constant rain, an unnamed tropical storm which flooded southeastern parts of the state, and then a return to sunshine and 80 degrees.

Carolina sunrise

READING–WAR FICTION

AMERICAN CHARM AND DONUTS FOR SOLDIERS

Good Night, Irene by Luis Alberto Urrea

Luis Alberto Urrea (nytimes.com)

One might rightfully query, do we need yet another historical novel about WWII?  There are many good offerings out there.  I too wondered, but I ended up being captivated and engrossed in Good Night, Irene.  

Inspired by his mother’s experience in the Second World War, Mexican American poet and novelist Urrea focuses on the Red Cross clubmobiles, something I’d never seen referenced before.  These vans or buses traveled around Germany and France and even to the UK where soldiers were based, serving up American warmth and charm along with coffee and donuts.   Two young women, Irene from New York. and Dorothy from a Midwest farm sign up, not having an inkling of what they will see and experience in their tour of duty. 

Irene is escaping an abusive fiancé, and Dorothy is in it for the adventure.  With their vastly different backgrounds and life experience, they are an unlikely pair.   But they become close friends and each other’s strong support amid challenging living conditions, occasional bombs, and the sounds and sights of battle.   

Urrea is a wonderful wordsmith. His descriptions of battle conditions and these women’s travels and travails are punchy, graphic, and simultaneously mesmerizing and haunting.  Named by NPR and others as one of the best books of the year (2023), it received high praise from critics and is well worth reading.  Recommended!  (~JWFarrington)

BRINGING THE LIBRARY TO CHILDREN

Miss Morgan’s Book Brigade by Janet Skeslien Charles

Janet S. Charles (simonandschuster.com)

You may have noticed that libraries and librarians feature in recent fiction and nonfiction.  Examples include The Personal Librarian about J. P. Morgan’s librarian, The Library Book (fire in the Los Angeles Public Library), That Librarian (dealing with book banning), and The Paris Library, also by this author.

Jessie Carson, nicknamed Kit, was a young New York children’s librarian, chafing under the constant correction of her work by her boss.  In 1918, she applied and was accepted for a 2-year post to France to create children’s libraries in war torn Blérancourt in northern France.  CARD (Le Comité américain pour les régions dévastees) was started by heiress Ann Morgan, daughter of J. P. Morgan. Young women, usually affluent ones, volunteered and were assigned to serve villages that had been destroyed.  They lived not far from the front midst the noise of guns and the sight of injured soldiers.

With no intact library structure and no chance of one anytime soon, Kit and her compatriots improvised.  They visited women and children camping in huts and other makeshift shelters bringing them food and provisions.  Initially, Kit created a roving story hour taking books to the children, reading to them, and coaxing traumatized adults to sample a book.

Linking Kit’s experiences to the present day is Wendy Peterson, an archives librarian and aspiring writer who becomes intrigued by a newsletter published in 1918 from Blérancourt and the CARD project.  Her determination leads her to dig deeper into the archives to ferret out the story of these women and Kit’s groundbreaking work in establishing an actual children’s library. (Note, in the France of that day, a library dedicated to children was a radical proposition.)

Charles’ work is refreshing; it unearths yet another aspect of wartime service.  It’s a novel of relationships among colleagues, lofty goals, and coming-of-age, both for Kit Carson in the early 20th century and for Wendy Peterson in 1987.  Midst the horrors of 1918, friendships are fostered, some goals realized, and strong support provided to these French communities.  Thanks to my friend Alice for this recommendation! (~JWFarrington)

Note: Header photo of the Maine coast and all unattributed photos ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved.)

Sweden to USA: Re-entry

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OVERNIGHT IN NEW YORK

Check-in area at TWA Hotel

Returning from Sweden, we did not come directly back to Maine.  Given the timing and logistics, we opted to stay overnight at New York’s JFK Airport before flying to Portland.  The old Trans World Airlines (TWA) terminal, built and opened in 1962, was and is an iconic building designed by Finnish architect Eero Saarinen.  With curves and wing-like arms, the walls soar with a sense of motion and flight.  Today, this striking futuristic building is the TWA Hotel.  

Staying here is a trip back to 1962.  If you came of age in the 1960’s as the Chief Penguin and I did, you know the words to the continuous rock ‘n roll playlist (Beatles, “Johnny Angel” by Shelley Fabares, and “Let’s Twist Again,” e.g.).  You probably recall playing Twister (there’s a Twister alcove), and maybe you went to a beauty parlor (they weren’t called hair salons) like this mockup, all in pink with helmet-like hair dryers.

Billionaire businessman and aviator, Howard Hughes acquired control of TWA in the late 1930’s and expanded its routes and operation.  He and his partner, fellow aviator Jack Frye, were the first to fly the Constellation, a beautiful new Lockheed plane, from DC to California.  When jet engines replaced propellers, the Constellation, or “Connie” as it was dubbed, was immediately obsolete.  

This building functioned as an air terminal until 2001.  As it was transformed into a hotel, the original terminal and two adjacent buildings were joined together.  Partially encircling the original building is a replacement terminal for JetBlue which opened in 2008.  The hotel opened to the public in 2019, and it and the new terminal are together known as Terminal 5.

Sunken lounge with mechanical flight display board

Staying at the TWA hotel is a unique experience.  The spaces are cavernous and grand while the swoops and curves of the walls and ceilings inspire gasps or even awe. Tubes that took passengers to their aircraft are now passageways that eventually connect to guest rooms.  Rooms are minimalist, but quiet, with rotary phones.

Passageway from lobby to rooms

The Constellation, that marvelous plane, was acquired in 2018 and after being refurbished in Maine, made the long journey by road back to the terminal.  It now sits on the hotel property and is considered by some to be one of the world’s best cocktail bars.  It’s certainly one-of-a-kind!

Disembarking “Connie”
Wine at a fancy seat!

We couldn’t resist the lure of the Connie.  Like others, we boarded just after 4:00 pm, had plastic cups of wine and a snack package of pretzels, and soaked up the atmosphere on a red banquette.  I also tried out the cushy, but worn, seats.  

Sample TWA poster

Dinner in the Paris Café, part of Jean George’s empire, was meatballs and a Caesar salad, and better than we expected.  You can also eat in a food hall, spend money on TWA memorabilia, and read the history of this terminal and that plane on the walls. We enjoyed this taste of history and absorbed all we could in our one-night stay. The Chief Penguin and I both have memories of flying out of this TWA terminal.

VACATION READING

Here are my thoughts on a novel I read while on our Sweden trip. This is a contemporary one by Frances Mayes.  

A Great Marriage by Frances Mayes

I have a soft spot for Frances Mayes.  I loved Under the Tuscan Sun and have read many of her subsequent works, both nonfiction and novels.  At Lehigh University, the Chief Penguin and I had the pleasure of hosting her at a small dinner.  More recently in 2022, we soaked up the atmosphere and the architecture in Cortona, Mayes’ Tuscan hilltop town.  

Despite all this, I think Mayes is a better writer of nonfiction than fiction.  But I did enjoy her new novel, A Great Marriage.  It’s set mostly in in the Research Triangle Area, but also in California and London.  The North Carolina towns have new names, but the setting is one I know, and one my NC friends will recognize.  

Days before her upcoming wedding, Dara breaks her engagement to Austin when he gives her some shocking news.  Dara has always admired her parents’ wonderful marriage and knows that her grandmother had a very successful long marriage to her senator husband.  The book focuses on how she and Austin separately manage their lives after their break-up with an underlying message about what one needs to create an enduring relationship.

The situation is an intriguing and complex one, but I found the characters a bit like board pieces being moved without enough explanation.  What Mayes excels at are descriptions of scenery and streets, colors and smells.  A Great Marriage is diverting and good end-of-summer reading. (~JWFarrington)

Note: All photos except one ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved.). Header photo is of lobby area at TWA Hotel.