READING A CLASSIC
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Partly out of response to the recent film version, my local book group opted to re-read Little Women. Most everyone in the group had read it at least once. As a girl, I was caught up in the lives of these four sisters and was stunned when Beth died. And Jo was my favorite character. As an adult, I found some of the early chapters slow going and a bit tedious (the plays they created didn’t appeal to me) and thought that Marmee was just too good to be true. For me, it got better farther in, although since I knew the story, I admit to doing a lot of skimming. Jo was still very much my favorite sister and agreeing to marry her professor fit her personality. What I liked about the film version, which echoed the novel more closely than I initially realized, was the sheer energy and exuberance of Jo, Meg, Beth and Amy. They are lively girls and re-arranging the order of events and letting Jo dominate added punch.
WATCHING
Between my treadmill viewing and sampling other programs with the Chief Penguin, I’ve located some good viewing.
Inside the Vatican (PBS)
This 2-hour documentary focuses not just on Pope Francis, but also to a large extent on the individuals around him who work for the Vatican. From the men who are tethered up high to clean the Bernini sculpture in St. Peter’s, to one of the interpreters of the pope’s speeches, to the Vatican’s social media director, to the head of security, to newly named cardinals from Madagascar and Pakistan, it is a fascinating portrayal of what is both enclave and enterprise. Highly recommended!
Gold Digger (Acorn)
It might seem like a classic May-December romance, except that the woman is 60, and he in his thirties. Julia is a recent divorcee with unhappy grown children while Benjamin comes out of nowhere and chats her up at a museum exhibit. What is he after? Her money, say her children. Or something else? And what happened to this family in the distant past to generate so much angst? Not knowing Benjamin’s ulterior motives or what scarred Patrick, Della, and Leo, her children, makes for underlying suspense. I enjoyed this 6-part series, while finding Julia somewhat unbelievable in her unquestioning acceptance of Benjamin.
Belgravia (Epix)
Belgravia is another series by Julian Fellowes, based on his novel of the same name, and written and directed by him. Opening on the eve of the Battle of Waterloo and then fast forwarding to 1840, the series is set in the exclusive London neighborhood of Belgravia. It’s a classic story of upper middle-class striving, gambling, thwarted love affairs, and subterfuge. Mr. Trenchard is a successful businessman in trade with a married grown son, Oliver, and a deceased daughter, Sophia. Unbeknownst to his wife Anne, he has provided financial support to a young cotton merchant, Charles Pope, who, subsequently, attracts the attention of the rich and titled, Lady Brockenhurst. How these two families and their relatives become intertwined in each other’s affairs is the stuff of drama and intrigue. While the first episode is a bit slow and the end results mostly predictable, it’s fun entertainment. Recommended.
A DIFFERENT SORT OF SUMMER
Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial start of summer. Folks crowd beaches, friends congregate at barbecues, and parades abound. Not this year. In the midst of Covid-19, this year is different. States are loosening up and lifting their shelter-in-place and lockdown decrees, while many people remain wary and businesses and restaurants open under restricted conditions.
As we pause to recall the reason for this holiday, may we also think of the 100,000 individuals in this country gone because of Covid-19. The front of today’s New York Times is entirely covered with the identities of 1,000 of those people, a mere fraction of that death toll. It is a sobering piece that makes me doubly appreciative of all that I have, especially my health. What follows is a small sampling of those who are no longer here.
BY THE NEW YORK TIMES MAY 24, 2020
One hundred thousand.
So imagine a city of 100,000 residents that was here for New Year’s Day but has now been wiped from the American map.
Auditor in Silicon Valley. Patricia Dowd, 57, San Jose, Calif.
Great-grandmother with an easy laugh. Marion Krueger, 85, Kirkland, Wash.
Wife with little time to enjoy a new marriage. Jermaine Ferro, 77, Lee County, Fla.
Sharecropper’s son. Cornelius Lawyer, 84, Bellevue, Wash.
Cancer survivor born in the Philippines. Loretta Mendoza Dionisio, 68, Los Angeles
Former nurse. Patricia Frieson, 61, Chicago
Ordained minister. Merle C. Dry, 55, Tulsa, Okla.
Traveled often in the United States and Mexico. Luis Juarez, 54, Romeoville, Ill.
Bounce D.J. and radio personality. Black N Mild, 44, New Orleans
Vietnam veteran. Michael Mika, 73, Chicago
Conductor with “the most amazing ear.” Alan Lund, 81, Washington
Preserver of the city’s performance traditions. Ronald W. Lewis, 68, New Orleans
Loved to travel and covered much of the globe. JoAnn Stokes-Smith, 87, Charleston, S.C.
Liked his bacon and hash browns crispy. Fred Walter Gray, 75, Benton County, Wash.
Member of a Franciscan monastery. John-Sebastian Laird-Hammond, 59, Washington, D.C.
Squeezed in every moment he could with his only grandchild. Carl Redd, 62, Chicago
Followed in his father’s footsteps as a pipefitter. Alvin Elton, 56, Chicago
Jazz pianist, composer and educator. Mike Longo, 83, New York City
Educator and marathoner. Arnold Obey, 73, San Juan, P.R.
Co-wrote nine books about computing. Donald J. Horsfall, 72, Rydal, Pa.
Active in the AIDS Foundation. Kevin Charles Patz, 64, Seattle
Engineer behind the first 200-m.p.h. stock car. Larry Rathgeb, 90, West Bloomfield Hills, Mich.
Could make anything grow. George Freeman Winfield, 72, Shelburne, Vt.
Early woman on Wall Street and a World Bank official. Carole Brookins, 76, Palm Beach, Fla.
Renowned for her business making detailed pins and corsages. Theresa Elloie, 63, New Orleans…
Loved reading, especially mystery novels.Peggy Rakestraw, 72, Matteson, Ill.
Preacher and blues guitarist.Landon Spradlin, 66, Concord, N.C….
Architect of Boston’s monumental City Hall. Michael McKinnell, 84, Beverly, Mass. …
Loved travel, mahjong and crossword puzzles. Carol Sue Rubin, 69, West Bloomfield, Mich. …
Taught math, English and history for over 30 years. Julia Maye Alexander, 81, Upland, Calif. …
Known for her Greek chicken and stuffed peppers. Helen Kafkis, 91, Chicago …
First black woman to graduate from Harvard Law School.Lila A. Fenwick, 87, New York City
Met Opera violist and youth orchestra conductor. Vincent Lionti, 60, New York City…
No one made creamed potatoes or fried sweet corn the way she did. June Beverly Hill, 85, Sacramento …
Took great joy in writing little ditties under her pen name, Penelope Penwiper. Susan Grey Hopp Crofoot, 97, Westwood, N.J. …
One of the few African-American corporate bond traders on Wall Street. John Herman Clomax, Jr., 62, Newark …
Loved his truck, Dorney Park, Disney World, model trains and especially California cheeseburgers. James W. Landis, 57, Krocksville, Pa.
