Famous Last Words

 In my book of prompts for writing, today's quoted Oscar Wilde, whose famous last words were sad. As he  lay dying in a cheap hotel room in Paris he wrote:

"This wall paper and I are fighting a duel to the death.  Either it goes or I do."

He died 1905 at age 28.  Wilde was a gifted poet and playwright. He wrote "The Picture of Dorian Gray" and "The importance of Being Ernest."   But he was not a good human.  His lifestyle destroyed him.

Many decades ago I helped with a production of Tennessee Williams "The Glass Menagerie."  I wasn't in the play but I led discussion groups with theater goers who wanted to stay and discuss what they'd seen,  Several times the discussion focused on how writers like Tennessee Williams and others could write great works giving us deep insight into human behavior, but were not able to translate this knowledge into enhancing their own lives.  

Just because we know and can beautifully interpret life's truths, doesn't mean we can automatically appropriate them ourselves.  

I have spent much of my life learning lessons from great writers and speakers, not just about what I do, but, more importantly, who I want to be.  

A few days ago the writing prompt urged me to write a new first sentence to begin updating my bio or resume.  Here's what I wrote:

83 year old woman seeking a meaningful life.  

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The Last Holocaust Survivors

 

Ken and Robert

Robert Clary died this week at age 96.  He was one of the last few remaining holocaust survivors.  These people have been living testimony to how horribly we humans can treat each other.  He and his family were in their apartment in Paris one day and the next they were in a cattle car on their way to hell. 

Robert Clary was a young teenager when he and his parents and 10 siblings were sent to the death camps.  All of them, except Robert, died in the camps.  I heard him speak a few times.  He believed the reason he was spared was because he was an entertainer.  Small for his age, he sang and danced for the Nazis.  He was liberated from the Buchenwald death camp by American troops.

He was best known for his role in Hogan's Heroes but. along with acting, he was a singer, dancer, writer and painter.  He married Natalie Cantor, daughter of Eddie Cantor. 

Like many holocaust survivors he didn't go public about his horrific experience until around 1980 when holocaust deniers began to flourish.  

I met him in the 1980s in West Palm Beach when he spoke at an event organized by my husband Ken, bringing Jews and Christians together to remember this evil event in human history - to never forget.  He was a charming, calm, kind man.

Thank you, Robert Clary, for never letting me forget. 

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She'll Fly Away

 

I have a journal for writers.  Every day it gives me a prompt and I, in turn, write one page of whatever comes to my mind.  It's not meant to share.  It's meant to keep my writing juices flowing.  

But, this morning, I want to share with you what I wrote on October 31st. The prompt is encouraging the writer to delve into some macabre, frightening event. 

But I wrote something else. 

The Prompt:  As morbid as it may sound, the universality if death lends itself to great literature.  To wit, in 2011, all thirteen novels nominated for the Booker Prize shared a death plot line.  Your task today: write a death scene. 

My Response:  She hasn't been well for a while.  Her world has become smaller and smaller.  She's physically confined but, strangely, psychologically fine with it. 

She's tired.  Tired of the task of living and all that's needed to keep her alive.  She is in pain, and in addition, is "sick" and weak.  Her brain is tired. 

One evening she goes to bed and says her nightly prayer, one that she learned as a child.  "...if I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take."  

And this night she's off to a great adventure.

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The Monuments Men

 

For a while now I've been watching old films that I remember loving the first time around.  Surprisingly, I didn't care for some and even found a couple to be unwatchable. 

This week I watched The Monuments Men and I loved every minute of it, just like I did the first time around in 2014. If you cherish historic art and enjoy World War II history, you will like this film.

 

Hitler was making the greatest treasure heist in history.  And what his men couldn't confiscate, they were ordered to destroy... this thousand years of culture. 

President Roosevelt tasked a group of seven middle-aged art experts with rescuing artistic masterpieces from these Nazi thieves and returning them to their rightful owners.  These men, led by Frank Stokes (portrayed by George Clooney who also directed the movie) were museum directors, curators, and art historians.  They had difficulty with the "real" G.I.s  who could not grasp the importance of this endeavor.  

They split up into several European cities to chase down the art.  One item, Michelangelo's Madonna and Child statue in Bruges, Belgium, exchanged hands several times.  Bruges is one of my favorite cities in Europe.

At the end of the film, decades after the war, an elderly Frank Stokes takes his grandson to see the statue in Bruges.  However, this time he is portrayed, not by George Clooney, but by his dad in real life dad, Nick Clooney.  

By the way, another of my favorite movies is In Bruges.  It's about a couple of hit men who are sent to Bruges to kill a guy but, instead, they fall so in love with the city that their lives and changed.  

I might watch it next.  

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I Love Bill Pullman

  

I just finished watching the 4th  season of "The Sinner"  on Netflix. It was such a relief to finish it.  I've suffered through all four seasons, each a totally different story with different actors, except for Detective Harry Ambrose, as portrayed by Bill Pullman. 

Ambrose appears to me to be clinically depressed in every scene.  He's sad, awkward and can barely get his words out.  Each episode of "The Sinner" is painstakingly slow.  The camera lingers on Ambrose as he appears to be struggling to answer even a simple question.  He looks disheveled and very, very sad at all times. 

He seems to me to be a person who is deeply flawed and unhappy but dedicated to unraveling these complicated mysteries.  

I wonder how they've been able to get away with four seasons but "The Sinner" has a strong following. Jessica Beal is the executive producer and was in the first one.  Like all of the seasons, it's very dark and depressing. I doubt that her husband, Justin Timberlake will ever be a character on "The Sinner" because he likes to smile and have fun on stage.  

Bill Pullman has said this is the last season.  I hope he's right because if there are more I'll have to watch them. 

And I don't want to.

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Wire Coat Hangers

 Jobs Partnership is a great program that helps folks who are unemployed or underemployed by providing skills training in various areas.  One service they provide is appropriate clothing for interviews and positions.  

A few weeks ago a friend, who is part of the leadership in this program was asking for wire coat hangers.  She said they're in need because "no one uses wire hangers anymore."

This was big news to me!  I had no idea how I could be so out of step.  

Yes, I'm well aware of the wire hanger's bad reputation for being used for things other than clothing.  Actress Joan Crawford's daughter, in her book, Mommy Dearest, tells a chilling tale of Joan's outrage at her daughter using wire coat hangers while beating her with one. The term "No wire coat hangers ever!" became famous.  

And every person my age knows that coat hangers were used by desperate women to bring about  abortions.  Many of them died and others required hysterectomies. Decades ago the hangers became the symbol of dangerous, illegal abortions.  

But I don't think that the misuse of the hanger is what's causing it's current bad reputation.  I think it's fashion.  

I came home and looked in my closets to find a mishmash of wire, wooden, plastic and combos of all.  I decided to get rid of all the weird, different shaped hangers and keep only the uniform wire hangers with that little cardboard roll on the bottom for hanging pants.  

I donated the others to Jobs Partnerships.

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Restoration

 

Yesterday morning, in church, we finished up a sermon series titled Restoration based on the Old Testament book of Amos.  Wowzers, it was hard.  Amos has almost nothing but bad news for us.  

Some Sundays these last few weeks, I would have been happier to just see videos of puppies and kittens. But I fully understand why we need to study Amos.  Many of his dire warnings apply to our situation here in the US of A.  

Pastor Philip started by saying "We made it through the hurricane and (sigh) we made it through the book of Amos!"  But Pastor Philip reminded us that this did not result in instant restoration .  And he then preached an excellent sermon on restoring our ruined cities and living in them. There were strong leaders of the Israelite community who butted heads on how to go forward. Just like us.  

However, I want to share Amos' words in this last chapter with you.  It's a message I need to hear and I was kind of shocked with how it speaks, right after the devastating Hurricane Ian, to us Floridans at this particular time. 

Amos 9:11 I will restore David's fallen shelter - I will repair its broken walls and restore its ruins - and will rebuild it as it used to be.

Amos 9:15  They will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them.  They will plant vineyards and drink their wine; they will make gardens and eat their fruit. 

Thanks Amos and thanks Pastor Philip.

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