dual personalities

Month: April, 2012

April 3, 2012

Hail to thee Maryland!

by chuckofish

We are very excited that daughter #2 will be a doctoral student in English at the University of Maryland in College Park, MD in the fall.

Although through the years daughter #2 has been the “best” student in the family, effortlessly acquiring straight A’s, scoring high on the PSAT and SAT tests, garnering 5’s on her AP exams, learning to speak a foreign language fluently (unheard of in this family), and ultimately graduating third in her high school class, she has been the brunt of much teasing from the rest of her family for being a “good test-taker”. Much of this teasing resulted from her not being particularly interested in history, which is, of course, akin to sacrilege in this family. And truth be told, for many years she was more interested in pop culture than in her studies.

But she was just a late bloomer. When she went to college, and especially after transferring to Washington University and discovering the Norton Anthology of American Literature, she really blossomed. (I might note parenthetically that she discovered that a knowledge of history is important in order to put all that great literature into context. Ahem.) And, then, reading Moby Dick changed her life.

We couldn’t be prouder of her. She is a beautiful young lady, inside and out.

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April 2, 2012

They call you lady luck

by chuckofish

But there is room for doubt
At times you have a very unladylike way of running out!

Oh I do love Guys and Dolls. All this talk of the lottery and mega-millions reminded me of the classic Frank Loesser show. I have seen it many, many times–it is a perennial favorite in high schools and college (I even tried out for a production at Williams College in 1977!)–but I particularly love those Kirkwood productions that the boy was in–twice: in seventh grade and as a junior in high school–both times playing the ever-popular Benny Southstreet!

Here he is with Nicely-Nicely Johnson: What’s in the daily news? I’ll tell you what’s in the daily news. Story about a guy who bought his wife a small ruby with what otherwise would have been his union dues. That’s what’s in the daily news.

And here he is basking in the after-show glow of middle school stardom.

I was unable to find any pictures from the Kirkwood HS production. Darn it. “I plead the fifth commandment.”

I also always loved the 1955 movie of Guys and Dolls with Marlon Brando and Frank Sinatra. I mean, Marlon Brando singing? Irresistible! Johnny Silver played Benny Southstreet and he was pretty good. But the boy–he had that special “je ne sais quoi”. At least his mother thinks so.

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April 1, 2012

Speaking of Gardens…

by chuckofish

The Secret Garden illustrated by Tasha Tudor

One of my favorite books (even now) is The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Once, when I was home sick for several days my mother read it to me. I was old enough to read it for myself, but too sick, and it was just magic to listen to my mother read it. I’ve never liked reading out loud myself, but both my parent were wonderful at it. No one could read Winnie the Pooh like my father. But I digress.

The Secret Garden is a truly wonderful book: a magnificent house full of mystery, wonderfully drawn characters (including the moor itself), and a great moral to boot. They don’t write them like this anymore. Much as I enjoyed Harry Potter the writing is not in Burnett’s league at all. Take this passage as an example:

“One of the strange things about living in the world is that it is only now and then one is quite sure one is going to live forever and ever and ever. One knows it sometimes when one gets up at the tender solemn dawn-time and goes out and stands out and throws one’s head far back and looks up and up and watches the pale sky slowly changing and flushing and marvelous unknown things happening until the East almost makes one cry out and one’s heart stands still at the strange unchanging majesty of the rising of the sun–which has been happening every morning for thousands and thousands and thousands of years. One knows it then for a moment or so. And one knows it sometimes when one stands by oneself in a wood at sunset and the mysterious deep gold stillness slanting through and under the branches seems to be saying slowly again and again something one cannot quite hear, however much one tries. Then sometimes the immense quiet of the dark blue at night with the millions of stars waiting and watching makes one sure; and sometimes a sound of far-off music makes it true; and sometimes a look in someone’s eyes.”

The Secret Garden is one of those books that I find myself going back to again and again — comfort food for the soul as it were. If you’ve never read it, read it! If you haven’t read it lately, go back to it. If you know someone young looking for a good read, share it!
Look for a future blog on another favorite, The Little Princess.

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