Working Together For Good

This is the cover of this week's Time Magazine.  Even with all the hoopla going on about the extraordinary number of presidential candidates out there,  the brother of one of these guys or the wife of the other, will most likely be their party's nominee, and, consequently, the next president of the United States.

So, in our overheated, ratcheted up society, they should hate each other, right?

Wrong

George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, who were first brought together by the elder President Bush, are still working together on some extremely important issues.  They're still treating each other with respect.  For instance, this year Bush, Clinton and the LBJ and Bush libraries created a leadership-training program for 60 mid-career private and public officials.  They're also still getting together socially.  When they were at the NCAA basketball finals last year, the crowds cheered like crazy.

I think Bill Clinton, in this article  by Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy, says it best for all of us who truly want to be a part of making this world a better place...

I do believe that people yearn to see us both argue and agree.  And they know in their gut, they gotta know, that all these conflicts just for the sake of conflict are bad for America and not good for the world.


***

Publix and the Movies

We've had our last "Florida Goes to the Movies" class at Rollins College.  As you know, I loved every minute of it.

One of the films that was briefly discussed was "Edward Scissorhands."  What flashed up on the screen was our most iconic shopping center in central in Florida,  Southgate in Lakeland .  It had a cameo in "Scissorhands."  But, with its retro arches and long history,  it was a well loved icon long before it was in the movie.

Johny Depp as Edward Scissorhands
leaving Southgate.

My son, Scott, has been married for thirty years.  His father-in-law, Roy Tye, (one of the sweetest kindest southern gentlemen I've ever met), as a Publix Supermarket employee in 1957, supervised the construction of Southgate Shopping Center.

 Scott attended Florida Southern College in Lakeland in the '80s so Southgate has had a special place in his heart for a long time.  In the last few decades the company he founded, Crossman & Company, has managed Southgate.  This has included some re-dos, and one that involved totally tearing down the Publix Supermarket and rebuilding.

But the iconic, pop culture, retro arches are still there.  So, having given birth to Scott,  I'm claiming a little part of this part of Florida history.

***

Gabby Rates the Movies

See this. 

Last week my grand kids from Georgia were visiting.  While I was walking in the mall with my youngest, Gabby, who is seven, I asked her opinion about the summer movies.  She's somewhat of an expert.  Her exact words were:

Grandma, do not watch "Paul Blart, Mall Cop 2." It's the worst movie I've ever seen.

Don't see this. 

OK, got it.

Then she asked if I'd heard of a film called "Minions."  Of course I have.  It opened number one at

Minions are the key to
understanding this.

the box office a few weeks back.  But Gabby doesn't know or care about box office receipts.   She knows what she likes.  And it disturbed her that, a couple of years ago, I didn't sit through the entire showing of  "Despicable Me."  (I can't believe she remembers that.  She was five.)

In my defense, Gabby knows I have difficulty with animation.  But she didn't think that was the problem.  Here's what she told me in the mall last week.

Grandma, I don't think you understood the plot.  I think you should go see "Minions".  Then watch "Despicable Me" again.  You'll understand it better.  

Because Minions is the prequel!


***

All The Light We Cannot See

I, just this morning, finished reading this beautiful, amazing, frustrating, hard to read best seller.

Besides being on the New York Times Bestseller list for weeks and weeks, the Times also listed "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr, as one of the 10 best books of 2014.  It was a National Book Award Finalist...and the list goes on.

I'm amazed that it was, and still is, a best seller because it's not easy.  At 530 pages, it's daunting from the get-go.  From the beginning where we meet the main characters - nothing much happens the way you think it will - or hope it will.

The story follows the lives of two characters.  Marie-Laure lives with her father in Paris. Marie-Laure is blind.  Her father adores her.

Werner is an orphan in a mining town in Germany.  He is gifted with the ability to fix radios.

Naturally, in this epic, there are loads of other complicated characters playing against the backdrop of World War II.

What did I like about "All the Light We Cannot See?"

The Magic of Radio - I grew up listening to the radio.  I still do.  It's an intimate means of communication.  I can relate to how important radio was to both Marie-Laure and Werner.

Saint Malo

Cultural Treasures - This book reminds us, once again, of how conquerors like to plunder and steal treasures and what those who love them will sacrifice to save them.

Kindness and Strength - We see both coming from people whom society doesn't see as having these traits.  For instance we see kindness coming from some German soldiers during the war and strength coming from old women and men - and a blind girl.

Much of the story takes place in the beautiful, walled city of Saint-Malo, off the coast of France.  We, the Americans, bombed it almost to oblivion in 1944.

I chose to read this novel slowly and to read each chapter as its owe entity, and to savor the beauty of the writing.  Otherwise, I would have been seriously frustrated.  For instance, I was engrossed in something happening in 1945 and, at the end of the chapter, anxious to learn how the situation resolved.  I turned the page to see the heading "1974."  What?

***

Jonah

One of my favorite books in the Old Testament is Jonah.  Why?  Well, because, for one thing, it's very short.  But, by far, my favorite point in the story is that Jonah has a bad attitude.  You'd think that he'd get an "attitude adjustment" by the end of the book.  But, no.  He's still mad at God and wishes all those folks in Nineveh had been blasted off the face of the earth.

You know, like those folks who like to rant on Facebook.

The new minister at my church, David, has been with us for three Sundays and this is his third Sunday to preach on the book of Jonah.  Each time he's begun the sermon he's started with a funny analogy about our new relationship.  First was about "First Dates," last week was about "Job Interviews" where he ended by thanking us for not leaning back and folding our arms and giving him the limp handshake at the door.

This morning he did the pre-sermon about "meeting the family."  Some of the tips were, when meeting your girlfriend's parents,  not to stare at your phone, not to arrive drunk, to bring a gift but not too expensive (don't want to look desperate) and so on.

Then he's gone on to teach from the book of Jonah - which, as I said above, is all about attitude and  exploring the nature of God and the nature of human beings.

So I'm thinking that the lesson here is that we can rant all we want but God hangs in there with us and still allows us to do magnificent things, inspite of ourselves and our changing circumstances.


***  

Easy to Love

As you know, I've always loved movies.  When I was a kid I would have lived in the movie theater if I could.  I distinctly remember seeing Esther Williams, "Easy to Love" at the Circle Theater in downtown Indianapolis.  I'd seen her before but the diving and swimming in this film were over the top.

So I was thrilled the other day when, in our class "Florida Goes to the Movies," we discussed "Easy to Love."


- First, what brought on this crazy swimming movie phase?  It came right after Olympic Gold Medalist Sonja Henie's popular and spectacular skating movie phase.  In the 1940s, when Esther Williams could no longer pursue her Olympic dreams because of the war, she started making auqumusicals featuring synchronized swimming and diving.  Not to mention singers and comedians and dopey but entertaining plots.

- "Easy to Love" was filmed in 1953 at Cypress Gardens in Winter Haven Florida.  Van Johnson played Ray Lloyd, the founder of Cypress Gardens but it was a thinly disguised version of the real founder, Dick Pope.  Mr. Pope was "Mr. Florida Entertainment" long before Walt Disney ever thought of us.  

- "Easy to Love" is the movie where Esther does the big drop from the sky and then comes back up from the water carrying a lit candelabra.  Wow!  Bugsby Berkeley, the great choreographer, outdid himself in this film.

- And our big, tall, muscular Esther did it all (with a little help from stand-ins) while, in real life, she was pregnant.


***

Disney Doesn't (Often) Make Mistakes

I live in Orlando, Florida, home of the "Attractions," chief of which is Disney World.  We, who are knowledgeable about economics, appreciate that if Disney suffers we suffer.

Giraffe poop being studied.

So, thank you Disney World and all the other attractions that keep us the vacation capital of the world.

Knowing how powerful and perfect the Mouse is, I thought it was really funny when one of their swell ideas went south.  A few months ago Animal Kingdom announced that a new chocolate treat would be served at their sweet shop Zuris.  And it would be called Poo!  That is as in hippo, elephant, giraffe and tamarin poo.

Disney Chocolate  Giraffe Poop.

Since Disney does everything exquisitely well, they studied the various animal poop for size, shape and consistency (but I'm not sure about smell) and came up with some yummy desserts.

(I can just see some little toddler thinking, Hey, I think I'll try this at home!)

For whatever reason, the poop idea was pulled soon after it started - so, no poo for you.


*** 

Tarzan Goes to Florida

In our class at Rollins College titled "Florida Goes to the Movies," we studied my all time favorite Tarzan, Johnny Weissmuller.  He was born in what is now Romania in 1904 and was one of the world's fastest swimmers, winning 5 Olympic gold medals.

Scene from sexy "Tarzan the Ape Man"

Several of the scenes in the Tarzan movies were shot in Cypress Gardens, here in Florida.  Why?  Because the water, at that time, was crystal clear.

In our class we first saw a clip from "Tarzan the Ape Man, filmed in 1932.  This was a far more sensuous film than the later ones that came after  the Motion Picture Production Code (sometimes called the Hayes Code) that was put in place in the late 1930s.  Prior to that time there were some pretty sexy movies and "Tarzan the Ape Man" was one of them.

However, when "Tarzan Finds a Son" was made in 1939, it was a far different story.  Tarzan and Jane couldn't have a baby, they had to find a baby.  (Actually Cheetah found the baby.)

Tarzan and Jane don't know where
babies come from so they have to
find one. 

In this film there is a remarkable swimming scene.  Tarzen and Boy swim and play in the water,  along with a baby elephant at one point, in the African jungle - but really they are at Cypress Gardens, Florida swimming in a deep lagoon.

This scene, called "Swimming Shenanigans." is on YouTube and is pretty amazing.  Here's the address.

https://youtu.be/QMj5Ztme-ZI






***

Florida Goes to the Movies

I loved our first class session at Rollins College.  The course we're taking in Rollins' Life Long Learning program is titled "Florida Goes to the Movies" and is taught by Floridan historian, Joy Dickinson.  Since you know I love Florida and you know I love movies,  you would assume I'd like the class, right?

Here are a couple of highlights:

- Joy gave us a sheet listing all of the movies made in Florida up to the 1990s.  There are almost 150 movies listed - including some great films like "Midnight Cowboy," some very good films like "Parenthood," and, of course, some bad films.  Oh, and one pornographic film, "Deep Throat."  (I would think this would be hard for anybody to watch in light of Linda Lovelace's real  life full of human trafficking and abuse.)  But I digress.

Oliver (Babe) Hardy 

- Jacksonville was by far the largest Florida city in the early 1900s and a starting place for movie making.  It's where Oliver Hardy started making silent films long before he met Stan Laurel.  Joy showed us a very funny "short" featuring Hardy and some babies.  (By the way, Hardy's nickname at this time was Babe.)  I was a bit nervous about the babies being flipped around and left alone sitting on beds and in rocking chairs - but this was before all those pesky rules about keeping kids safe.

The photo of Hardy is how he looked in this film.  Much different from later on when he had the crazy mustaches.

-  Helen Gardner was an astonishingly  beautiful young woman who was brought to Florida by Duncan Pell, who divorced his wife and married Gardner.  They lived for a short time here in the Orlando area.  But Helen soon tired of him and went to Jacksonville where she formed her own film company.  In 1912 she produced and starred in "Cleopatra."  (And then a few decades later Elizabeth Taylor repeated this whole process.)


***

Brother Anthony of the Cross

Several of you have asked me about my friend, Jim McWhinnie, whom I've quoted a few times in this blog.  Jim is a brilliant retired United Methodist minister who has Alzheimer's disease.  He's also seeped in Benedictine spirituality and sometimes refers to himself as Brother Anthony of the Cross. 

To those of you asking if he still posts on Facebook, the answer is yes.  He's prolific.  And, yes, he's still being open about his declining health.  His writing deals openly with fear, sadness and anger as well as joy and thankfulness.  

Even as Jim's Alzheimer's progresses, he's still in ministry to other patients - as well as to me through his writing.  Following is one of his postings from a few days ago.  It moved me deeply.    

I can only hope that, when I'm old and frail and no longer able to care for myself, there will be someone in my life who will love me just like I am - and that God will be present in my room. 

MY ALZHEIMER'S JOURNAL ... July 6, 2015

One of my Hospice patients who has lingered beyond the projection for his departure is a man I shall call "Bill". Bill is in his late eighties, overcame cancer three times since his retirement, but now it appears the fourth bout will prove to be too much for his body. He also is in the late stages of Alzheimer's, though on good days he can still communicate a few words gives me a smile when I visit. He is a good and sweet man, all around him are photographs of his life. In one he is standing beside the fighter plane he once flew. In another, he is in his firefighters' dress blues receiving an award for heroism. I have learned much of Bill's life - not from Bill's lips but from another gentleman in his late eighties, a fellow I shall call "Hal". He sits with Bill every day, morning to night and at night, the staff brings him a cot when he chooses to spend the night. "Hal" has known "Bill" for sixty-five years. And they have shared the same living space for sixty of those years.

When I pray with "Bill", "Hal" prays with me ... and sometimes "Hal" cries and "Bill"touches his hand.

And no matter what many might say or what many might think ... I have found God to be so very present in that room.

Brother Jim McWhinnie

Again, thank you Jim. 


***

Old Florida

Dave and I have signed up for a course at Rollins College.  Our first session is this afternoon.  It's part of Rollins Lifelong Learning program.  Our class is titled "Florida Goes to the Movies" and will be taught by Florida historian, Joy Dickinson.  Joy writes a Florida history column for the Sunday paper.

Almost two decades ago I wrote a book about old
Central Florida, called "Florida, A Love Story."  It featured Cole, a Florida cowboy and Catherine, a transplanted Northerner, living in Central Florida about 150 years ago.

The book didn't get published because it was a bad book.  But am I sorry I wrote it?  No.  Doing the research about what life was like right where I live was exciting.  I learned a lot.  Long before oranges, celery, beaches and early movies; cattle, cowboys, rustlers and Native Americans ruled.  Maybe I'll look up the book and share a few of its' exciting stories with you some time soon.

In the meantime, we've done our homework and are ready for our first class.  What was the homework?  We watched the 1954 scary movie "Creature from the Black Lagoon,"  filmed in Wakulla Springs in Ocala, Florida.

It was hysterical!


***

First Dates

Psalm 86:5  "You, Lord, are forgiving and good, abounding in love to all who call on you."

Welcome!  David Miller

At my church, First United Methodist Church of Winter Park, Florida, we have a new senior minister.   Our previous senior minister, Dr. Bob Bushong, was with us for 15 years.  Bob was, and is, a very kind, caring person with a doctorate from Princeton and a special gift for counseling, as well as being a futurist (and a boat load of other gifts.)

All this to say....Hard act to follow!

Yesterday was the first Sunday for our new senior minister, David Miller.  We've had a fantastic two month transition period  (what I like to call "the greatest, most well orchestrated transition in the history of Methodism") because that's the way we do things here.

In the United Methodist Church we have what's called an "itinerant" ministry, i.e., ministers come and go - and not only that - they are not hired by the church.  They are appointed by the bishop.  This seems pretty cut and dried and usually it is, so I know we are very fortunate to have this transition be so smooth.

For instance, in the vast majority of "moves" the old minister and family move out of the parsonage (house) on a Thursday morning and the new minister and family move in that same house on that same Thursday afternoon.  Good times!!  Once, when my husband, Ken and I and our four kids and my daughter's boyfriend arrived at our new parsonage we discovered that the old minister had left his wife.  Not only that - he had left her in the parsonage!

Several years ago in my brother's small church in Indiana, the bishop replaced their folksy, "good old country boy,' retiring minister whom everybody loved with a young, African American woman with a PhD.  To the credit of the church leaders and the new minister they made it work but it was a long struggle.  And it was a pretty startling "first date" when she made her debut in the pulpit.

So!  Our new minister, David, started his sermon yesterday talking about "Bad First Dates."  Like when a person is all nervous and sweating or when your date can't remember your name - and doesn't care that he or she can't remember your name.  And so on.  And then, of course, he applied all of this to himself and his situation - and our situation.  And, even with "the greatest, most well orchestrated  transition in the history of Methodism" it's still a delicate "first date" experience.

David then went on to preach an excellent, challenging sermon - including asking the entire congregation to memorize the scripture above.   I hope you'll memorize it too because, if you're feeling low, it can save you at least a couple of visits at the psychiatrist's office.


***

Me, Earl and the Dying Girl

Yesterday Dave and I went to our little jewel of an art theater, the Enzian to see the Sundance Film Festival award winning film,  "Me, Earl and the Dying Girl."

I loved this smart, funny, sad, real movie about families.

My biggest take-away was the reminder that we can't protect our kids from pain.  Why would we even try?  It's part of life.  It's part of loving each other.  I loved that the boy's mom, who seemed pretty clueless in some ways, pushed her son into a painful situation.  It was the right thing to do.

By the way, the adults in this film were not portrayed as total doofuses.  They were loving, flawed and complex.  I loved that the teens were ordinary (make that normal) looking.  The only actors in the movie I recognized were the moms, played by Connie Britton and Molly Shannon.

The Dying Girl, played by Olivia Cook, Me, played by
Thomas Mann, and Earl, played by RJ Cyler.

To me, movies, when they're done well,  are story-telling at its best.


***

Pope Francis Affirms My Lifestyle

There has been an avalanche of negative stuff on social media recently, what with the Supreme Court decisions and other events.  In the midst of it all some sane voices have prevailed.  My bishop, Ken Carter, sent out a fantastic list of ways to handle the current onslaught, but my favorite list is from Pope Francis.  Here it is, straight from the Catholic News Service.  The points are his.  The comments are mine.

The Pope’s 10 Tips for a Happier Life

1. “Live and let live.” Yes, I find trying to monitor everybody's behavior to be exhausting.  

2. “Be giving of yourself to others.” I like when Clark Howard, the radio guy, says "How may I serve you today?"  I like saying that to Dave. 

3. “Proceed calmly” in life. I'm totally into this.  I have a big jigsaw puzzle going on the dining room table.  Why?  Because it calms me.  I like turning chaos into order. 

4. A healthy sense of leisure.  I like to call this "The ministry of being."  (Rather than always doing.)

5. Sundays should be holidays. I get that some people have to work on Sunday but I'm totally into the concept of Sabbath.  Everything works better when we lay low on a regular basis. 

6. Find innovative ways to create dignified jobs for young people.  I'm all for people of all ages working (except me, of course, I'm retired.)  I think toddlers to old folks need meaning and purpose.  I think there is dignity in almost all work.  I used to tell me kids that I really missed them when they were away at camp because I had to do their chores.  They knew they were an important part of keeping our ship afloat. 

7. Respect and take care of nature. Yes, every day in every little and big way we can. 

8. Stop being negative.   Pope Francis says, “Needing to talk badly about others indicates low self-esteem.  I agree.  And I think it extends to talking badly about other countries, other cultures other races as well as our next door neighbor.  And being negative makes me unhappy. 

9. Don’t proselytize; respect others’ beliefs.   Yes!  

10. Work for peace. 

I am working on this 3 feet long puzzle on the dining
room table because the Pope wants me to. 

***