Georgia Bottoms, is a 30 something Southern "lady" from Six Points, Alabama. From all outward appearances she has it all together. She is single by choice and takes care of her aging and increasingly forgetful mama, and her brother, who is always getting into some sort of trouble. She wears fashionable clothes, is friends with the female mayor and attends church EVERY Sunday because that is what good Southern ladies do. However, appearances can be deceiving. Ms. Georgia Bottoms has a side life that no one in town is aware of, even her own Mama who lives in the main house. Georgia entertains a different influential man in town one night per week, six nights out of the week. One is the bank manager, one the sheriff, and one is the preacher of her church. She has never asked them for money for her company but they all leave her a gift when they go. Until....it all comes unraveled. Just when Georgia thinks she has a handle on the next crisis, something else happens. Her secrets keep popping out all over and before long she is swimming in a pool of lies and carefully engineered plans and schemes. She cannot seem to keep it together and then it gets worse. The biggest secret of her entire life is exposed and she has no choice but to step up to the plate and figure a way out of the fallout.
I loved the characters because they are familiar to me. I have lived in a small Alabama town and even now, live in a larger town but with the same kind of people. My ABSOLUTE favorite part is when Georgia gets Eugene Hendrix "re-assigned" by the Baptist Convention and then calls the moving truck to show up on their steps and move Eugene and Brenda, just out of spite. I would do that. Great, fast read that had some unexpected twists and turns and kept me turning page after page.
I think that this is a book that you will either like or hate. There were parts of Georgia that I did not like at all. But she is a scrapper and found a way to take care of her family in her own way. If you are easily offended by adultery, lies, vapid females with no real sense of the outside world, etc. then this book is not for you.
Monday, August 8, 2011
Friday, August 5, 2011
Where the Wild Things Are
One of my most favorite books EVER! As a mom, I have had these kind of days-- you get the house clean and suddenly here comes your child, fork in hand, terrorizing the dog, pretending to be a wolf and telling you he won't eat what you are cooking because he is a cannibal. Oooookay! Enough! Go to your room (and you add the threat about not getting dinner just out of spite). If Max had a bad mom his dinner would not have still been warm on the table when he woke up from his nap or whatever you want to call his trip. :)
Max does get sent to his room and while there a wild and magical forest grows and grows and grows. Out of the forest comes a herd of wild animals. Now here is Max...a human among wild, man eating animals, so he has to improvise and posture a little. Yep, laws of survival kick in. Max has to step up and be the biggest and the baddest and let those animals know who is boss. So he makes himself their king. And they let him. They could have gobbled him up but let's face it, they were ALL having too much fun. But all fun things have to end sooner or later. Max is sleepy and he misses mama and he IS still hungry. So he tells his monster friends goodbye and sails away back home where momma has his supper waiting on him and it is still warm.
Max had a great imagination whether he was asleep or awake. He was content to play by himself and make up a whole story about what was happening. He did not need video games or expensive play things. He had a wolf suit and a fork and he was good to go. Bravo, Max!
[book:Where the Wild Things Are|19543]
Max does get sent to his room and while there a wild and magical forest grows and grows and grows. Out of the forest comes a herd of wild animals. Now here is Max...a human among wild, man eating animals, so he has to improvise and posture a little. Yep, laws of survival kick in. Max has to step up and be the biggest and the baddest and let those animals know who is boss. So he makes himself their king. And they let him. They could have gobbled him up but let's face it, they were ALL having too much fun. But all fun things have to end sooner or later. Max is sleepy and he misses mama and he IS still hungry. So he tells his monster friends goodbye and sails away back home where momma has his supper waiting on him and it is still warm.
Max had a great imagination whether he was asleep or awake. He was content to play by himself and make up a whole story about what was happening. He did not need video games or expensive play things. He had a wolf suit and a fork and he was good to go. Bravo, Max!
[book:Where the Wild Things Are|19543]
The Ugly Duckling
This is the classic story of not judging people by their outside looks. Poor little ugly duckling. He is just not right is he? He does not look like his brothers and sisters. He is gangly and clumsy and SOOOOO ugly. The other ducks are afraid of him so they torment him. But his momma loves him anyway. Even if he is not the same. She loves him. Then one day, months later, the little ugly duckling finds out something. He is not ugly. He is beautiful. Much more beautiful than his brothers and sisters. He is a gorgeous swan. Graceful and delicate and just perfect. It was what he was all along. It just took him longer to get there than it took the ducks. Good lesson for everyone in life. Don't target and torment and bully people who are different than you because one day, they might be prettier or better than you at something and you will have to eat those ugly words.
[book:The Ugly Duckling|122967]
[book:The Ugly Duckling|122967]
Rumplestiltskin and Other Grimm Tales
I am a big fan of short stories and Rumplestiltskin and Other Grimm Tales fit into this bill. Of course, they are stereotypically gender biased. Poor dumb miller's daughter gets sold into the kings hands by her sorry and greedy father. He tells the king that his daughter can spin straw into gold. Well if she was so good at that, why did he turn her over to the king? Would he not have rather hidden her away and made her spin for HIM? The king should have asked a few more questions but you know how it goes. Now the King has the girl and tells her if she does not get to work, he will kill her. Not exactly words of love and endearment. He should really work on his wooing skills. Then out of nowhere pops this creepy little elf or goblin or something and works out a deal with the girl. He will turn it into gold for her BUT she has to give him all her possessions including her firstborn child. Now maybe the miller's daughter has seen the future and knows that once her kid reaches oh, 14 or 15 year of age, that will be a sweet deal for her. I mean, she would have to buy him/her a pony to drive, insurance for said pony, clothes for the dances, etc etc etc. Maybe that is why she agrees or maybe, just maybe, she is not so dumb after all. But she has to figure out his name. He is so sure that she will NEVER guess it but in the end, the not so dumb girl guesses correctly, marries the rich old king (who will die and leave her loads of cash) and gets to keep her beautiful baby. Ha! Maybe that was her plan all along....who knows? But it was a good story. I like the illustrations because they were a bit different and kind of distorted. Like me.... :)
[book:Rumpelstiltskin|280240]
[book:Rumpelstiltskin|280240]
The Giant Jam Sandwich
If I had to choose on of my favorite books growing up, this one would be in the top 5. I remember pulling it off the shelf and noticing the edges were a little worn and the spine was a little loose. This is a great story about all the people pulling together to make a GIANT jam sandwich to trap the nasty wasps that were terrorizing them. They could not fix the problem one man alone but together, they were able to bake a huge loaf of bread. Together they were able to churn a massive amount of butter. Together they made vast quantities of jam. And when the time came--- SPLAT! They trapped the wasps and together they hauled the sandwich out to sea with helicopters and balloons and airplanes and everything else.
This book show kids that working together accomplishes bigger things than trying to go it alone. Great book for all kids.
[book:The Giant Jam Sandwich|904812]
This book show kids that working together accomplishes bigger things than trying to go it alone. Great book for all kids.
[book:The Giant Jam Sandwich|904812]
Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder
This was probably my least favorite of the Little House books. But it was still an okay book. I guess it is because growing up, I watched the show religiously and really did not like Almanzo when he came on the scene. I kind of thought he was spoiled and petty. So I guess I was not able to leave my predjudices behind when I read this. Anyway, it is in the same vein as the other Little House books. Tells about his family and his growing up and how he always loved his papa's horses and wanted to take care of them. Good read. Maybe I will re-read it one day and have a different take on it. Who knows!
[book:Farmer Boy|8252]
[book:Farmer Boy|8252]
The Emperor's New Clothes
I ask my kids what they thought the moral of the story is. Here are their answers.
The 14 year old: Don't be an idiot. Any moron should know that they are naked no matter what they are being told.
The 11 year old: If you can't tell you are naked, you should not be king. Let the kid be king. At least he could see the truth.
The 9 year old: Always tell the truth, even if it makes people sad or cry.
So there you go. All three are girls and they all had a different take on it. I always liked this story even though it was amazingly silly. It takes a kid though to stand up and tell the truth even though it was embarrassing to the ruler of your country. And good for the king who accepted the fact that he had been fooled and tricked and took it gracefully. Good cute book and one that I hope is around for a long time.
[book:The Emperor's New Clothes|343002]
The 14 year old: Don't be an idiot. Any moron should know that they are naked no matter what they are being told.
The 11 year old: If you can't tell you are naked, you should not be king. Let the kid be king. At least he could see the truth.
The 9 year old: Always tell the truth, even if it makes people sad or cry.
So there you go. All three are girls and they all had a different take on it. I always liked this story even though it was amazingly silly. It takes a kid though to stand up and tell the truth even though it was embarrassing to the ruler of your country. And good for the king who accepted the fact that he had been fooled and tricked and took it gracefully. Good cute book and one that I hope is around for a long time.
[book:The Emperor's New Clothes|343002]
Thursday, August 4, 2011
The Social Triangle by O. Henry
While I have some down time here at work today I picked up a collection of short stories by O.Henry. I have decided to take each one and blog it individually to give it it's proper credit.
The first one is The Social Triangle. It is very short but very powerful. Here is the premise of it...
Ikey Snigglefritz is a tailor's apprentice. On payday, he finishes work, collects his wages and goes down to the bar. Ikey is on the bottom rung of society. He is poor and will never be anyone important in his world. He goes to see his idol, the man he mosts admires, Billy McMahan. Billy is a politician of sorts. Whatever he says goes down in that part of town. Ikey admires him, as do so many other men who are much more powerful and influential than Ikey. Ikey gets brave and in a rash moment, approaches Billy and invites him to have a drink with him. Ikey throws his entire paycheck into buying liquor for men much wealthier than him in an effort to impress Billy. When Ikey gets home his mother and sisters beat on him and scold him for losing all his money but he does not care. He has shaken the hand of Billy McMahan. Meanwhile, in a restaurant across town, Billy McMahan and his wife are dining together. Many if not all of the other patrons do not care for Billy and it bothers his wife. It is hurting her own social standing and keeping her out of the most elite circle. But Billy does not see this. He is fixated on his own idol who sits across the room- Cortlandt Van Duyckink. Van Duyckink is a very powerful man who can make or break anyone in town. He is very wealthy and as you will find out, spends a good bit of his time doing social work and helping to improve other people's lives. Billy has a fit of braveness and approaches Van Duyckink to tell him that he would love to help him do his work in the slums because Billy pulls a lot of weight down there. Van Duyckink is grateful and tells Billy he would appreciate his help. Billy goes back to his table full of hopes and pride because he just shook the hand of the man he admires most while his wife is overjoyed that they are NOW finally in the inner cirlce because Billy is acquainted with Van Duyckink. Finally we see Van Duyckink driving his fancy car through the slums with a lady friend and commenting on the deplorable conditions. He tells her of the improvements he wants to make and how he wants to help the people have better lives. He sees a man come out of a building and he jumps from the car and runs up to the man. Van Duyckink shakes the man's hand and tells him that he is going to help him and they will be good friends. Van Duyckink goes away with a glad heart because he has just shaken the hand of a man he admires greatly---Ikey Snigglefritz. Ikey never knew that the man who shook his hand was the envy of his own idol and that Billy McMahan would have tripped all over himself if he could have been told that Van Duyckink wanted to be his good friend.
This story is so indicative of how small our worlds really are. Everyone is connected one way or the other and no matter who you are, you make a difference to someone and have a place.
The first one is The Social Triangle. It is very short but very powerful. Here is the premise of it...
Ikey Snigglefritz is a tailor's apprentice. On payday, he finishes work, collects his wages and goes down to the bar. Ikey is on the bottom rung of society. He is poor and will never be anyone important in his world. He goes to see his idol, the man he mosts admires, Billy McMahan. Billy is a politician of sorts. Whatever he says goes down in that part of town. Ikey admires him, as do so many other men who are much more powerful and influential than Ikey. Ikey gets brave and in a rash moment, approaches Billy and invites him to have a drink with him. Ikey throws his entire paycheck into buying liquor for men much wealthier than him in an effort to impress Billy. When Ikey gets home his mother and sisters beat on him and scold him for losing all his money but he does not care. He has shaken the hand of Billy McMahan. Meanwhile, in a restaurant across town, Billy McMahan and his wife are dining together. Many if not all of the other patrons do not care for Billy and it bothers his wife. It is hurting her own social standing and keeping her out of the most elite circle. But Billy does not see this. He is fixated on his own idol who sits across the room- Cortlandt Van Duyckink. Van Duyckink is a very powerful man who can make or break anyone in town. He is very wealthy and as you will find out, spends a good bit of his time doing social work and helping to improve other people's lives. Billy has a fit of braveness and approaches Van Duyckink to tell him that he would love to help him do his work in the slums because Billy pulls a lot of weight down there. Van Duyckink is grateful and tells Billy he would appreciate his help. Billy goes back to his table full of hopes and pride because he just shook the hand of the man he admires most while his wife is overjoyed that they are NOW finally in the inner cirlce because Billy is acquainted with Van Duyckink. Finally we see Van Duyckink driving his fancy car through the slums with a lady friend and commenting on the deplorable conditions. He tells her of the improvements he wants to make and how he wants to help the people have better lives. He sees a man come out of a building and he jumps from the car and runs up to the man. Van Duyckink shakes the man's hand and tells him that he is going to help him and they will be good friends. Van Duyckink goes away with a glad heart because he has just shaken the hand of a man he admires greatly---Ikey Snigglefritz. Ikey never knew that the man who shook his hand was the envy of his own idol and that Billy McMahan would have tripped all over himself if he could have been told that Van Duyckink wanted to be his good friend.
This story is so indicative of how small our worlds really are. Everyone is connected one way or the other and no matter who you are, you make a difference to someone and have a place.
Back to School
It has been a while since I posted anything. Here we are already going back to school. I am starting a new school this year-West Morgan Elementary. I think it is going to be good if for no other reason than I will stay busy. The girls are excited but anxious about starting but they wanted to come over here with me. I am determined to get back to reading soon. I got several books on the dollar cart at BAM the other day and they are still in the bag because I have not had the time to even pull them out. Oh well, maybe this weekend I can get around to that.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)