She Always Loved Us

No one was prepared to hear the news about Dolly Parton this week.🦋

She reluctantly postponed plans for a Las Vegas residency last year

She eventually canceled them in May. 

She was heeding doctors' advice to stay close to home in Nashville.

She was being treated at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. 

She was "still healin', still workin'."

Death came for her much too soon.

This one stings the soul.

Reading the bottomless cache of tributes flooding the internet is cathartic. 

What's the opposite of doom-scrolling? Love-scrolling.

My emotional thirst feels quenchless. The remembrances are the metaphorical band-aids that we fruitlessly try to stick onto our hearts, yet they slip off because our hearts weep.

I will bend toward the joy, laughter, and humor (especially the self-deprecating kind) that Dolly projected into the world. This was the intangible currency she lavishly spent on us. 

Up until ten years ago, I was neutral (at best) about Dolly Parton. I locked her talent and music into the country music vault and rarely opened it.

Aside from the obvious glory of her duet with Kenny Rogers covering the Bee Gees tune, Islands in the Stream, her movie debut as Doralee in 9 to 5 with that bouncy, feminist earworm of a title song, the 'leave my man be' warning of Jolene, and her pop crossover tune Here You Come Again, there was little room in my music-loving mind for country.

That all changed when my friend, Susan, who, knowing my fervor for music and concerts, casually asked if I would like to see Dolly perform at the Mann Music Center in 2016. 

I scrunched up my nose, replying, "I'm not really into country music." Poor Susan. Her apparent slam-dunk invitation received a surprisingly glum response. 

She persisted, asserting with urgent disbelief, "But it's DOLLY!"

As a child growing up in Missouri, where the sound of Dolly and Elvis music reliably filled her home, Susan now faced a curious, misinformed roadblock to her fun outing idea. Undaunted, she eventually won me over. 

I am ever grateful for Susan's wise tenacity. She is a college professor who immediately spotted a teachable moment. I also think she felt a little sorry for me and my wayward music limits.

Dolly Parton, Mann Music Center, 2016

Susan and I, 2016, Mann Music Center

                             

The concert was held three days after the horrific shootings at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, where 49 innocents died, with many others injured. It was, at the time, the worst mass shooting in the US. (That dubious marker has long been surpassed in this gun-obsessed country.) 

Enter the salve of Dolly.

The Pure and Simple tour was titled after her 2016 album. Dolly delivered just that - a pure and simple night of songs (28!) from her then five-decade career. She filled that perfect June evening with her infectious warmth, candor, and laughter when our psyches needed it most.

Her spirit not only sparkled, but her instruments (nine to be exact) and costumes exploded with glitter. Her stage patter about growing up poor in Tennessee, how love ruled her life, how leading with kindness was the only way to lead, and how her inclusive faith-driven beliefs welcomed everyone into the Dolly-sphere, entranced us.

Inclusion.

Every. Single. Person.

Her audience defied singular description because it was a diverse cross-section of race, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and age. There we all were - drinking in Dolly in collective gulps.

I remember feeling Dolly's warm embrace all evening. She repeatedly assured us of her love while cracking jokes and sharing stories with the ease of a pro. Her humanity informed her performance style.

It is embarrassing to think I tried to blow off this chance to see Dolly.

It is equally embarrassing that I didn't recognize her prolific songwriting history, especially with I Will Always Love You. She assured the audience that when asked how she felt about Whitney Houston's success with the remarkable 1992 cover, Dolly would say, "I thank Whitney every time I look at my bank statement!" 

The songwriting royalties, estimated at $10 million in the 1990s, were partially used to invest in an office complex and strip mall in a historically black Nashville neighborhood. Dolly called it "the house that Whitney built."

Dolly-related items, such as a cup of ambition wine glass, and a Dolly Parton cookbook, have been lovingly gifted to me by Susan because "it's Dolly!" Susan traveled to Nashville in 2025 to see Dolly Parton: A True Original Musical; in January, I'll join her and another devotee to see it on Broadway. 

Dolly surprised the Newport Folk Festival audience in 2019, appearing (incredibly for the first time) alongside The Highwomen (Brandi Carlile, Maren Morris, Natalie Hemby, and Amanda Shires.) I didn't attend that year but read/heard that the female mega-group closed out the festival with silken harmonies and musicianship excellence, 

Things were always better with the Dolly dazzle.   

A few years ago, my husband and I visited the Tennessee side of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park as one stop on a wider Fall road trip through the South. Seeing a chance to possibly visit the iconic Dollywood, we arrived in Pigeon Forge late Monday evening only to find that Tuesdays were the sole days the park was closed in October. Sigh.

As a strange and somewhat anemic consolation prize, that Tuesday we drove around the empty parking lot to lay eyes on something Dollywood. Leaving the area, an exit sign sparkled in Dolly's handwriting, reminding visitors one final time I will always love you!

Another hug. 

In a recent episode of Glennon Doyle's podcast, We Can Do Hard Things, Glennon hosted singer/songwriter Sara Bareilles. Promoting her Good Grief album, due next month, Sara said it grew from her experiences mourning loved ones she had lost in recent years. 

Their conversation challenged writer Jamie Anderson's widely quoted claim that grief is love with nowhere to go.

Glennon offered that instead of burying the dead with our grief, we give grief someplace to go. 

Sara replied, "What if we just carried the dead?" 

Let's be the spiritual pallbearers who carry Dolly forward every day. Let's start with books, just like Dolly. https://imaginationlibrary.com/the-dollywood-foundation/

Let's lead with kindness - just like Dolly.

...and we rely on each other - ah ah. 🦋

9 to 5 cup of ambition from Susan

        

Dollywood, October 2023

Light painting artist Darius Pearson (love his work) created this Instagram post to honor Dolly.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DcgjAMvzBJc/

Link to Philadelphia Magazine's brief 2016 review of Dolly's June 15 concert at the Mann Music Center in Philly. https://www.phillymag.com/things-to-do/2016/06/16/dolly-parton-review/ 

Link to a 2016 WHYY review of Dolly's June 15 concert at the Mann Music Center in Philly

https://whyy.org/articles/hope-and-a-flash-of-unity-at-a-dolly-parton-concert/

Link to a 2026 Boston.com article re: Dolly. https://www.boston.com/culture/celebs/2026/08/26/a-saint-and-a-unicorn-new-englanders-remember-dolly-parton/

For The Love of Cooking

Julia Child's kitchen in the
National Museum of
American History 

I love to cook.  As for cooking shows, well, there has been a lot to love and hate.

Years ago, the enormously likable (and a little wacky) Graham Kerr, "The Galloping Gourmet," and Jeff Smith, "The Frugal Gourmet," entertained and informed my culinary interests thanks to public television.  Both men stood on the shoulders of Julia Child. 

Julia's early television efforts not only demystified French cuisine for American cooks but highlighted her lovable, self-effacing approach to making mistakes while cooking.  She educated without being stuffy. 

All three chefs portrayed a stress-free, lighthearted kitchen where goof ups happened as a matter of course.  They offered sweet relief for home cooks charged with the everyday chore of meal planning and prep.  

Graham Kerr would cook in front of a live audience and invite one of them to feast with him on the freshly prepared meal at the show's conclusion.  He would sometimes include footage of a visit to the country where a recipe originated.  And of course, the British accent made it better.  At 84, he continues to instruct in small gatherings near his Seattle home.  

Some critics noted Jeff Smith had a haughty way about him, but I never found it so. I enjoyed his show until charges of sexual abuse ended his television career. He died the same year as Julia - 2004.

While my mother, grandmother and aunt - my Italian Kitchen Trinity - inspired me to cook, the welcomed ease of these early television chefs gave me confidence.  Inspiration and confidence: what more could a neophyte home cook ask for?

I can tell you what I did not ask for - the hyped up, competition based, tense music, and dramatic lights of many 21st century cooking shows.  The explosion of offerings such as Top Chef, Chopped, Iron Chef, Final Table and most anything with Gordon Ramsay as host has created a culinary hysteria that kills my cooking buzz.  I understand mania runs the day in many restaurant kitchens. Replicating that tension for television feeds an audience that is hungry for more.  But for more of what? 

Life outside my kitchen bombards my overworked senses enough each day.  Cooking is my respite - a creative and delicious outlet.  Seeing chefs and chef wannabes tensely rushing around a kitchen fearing failure under a militaristic barking (I hear you Gordon Ramsay) or being given a surprise "mystery ingredient" all under the sound of harsh music and stark spotlights ultimately leaves me uninspired.  

It's the difference between "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" and "Jeopardy" - both are fun quiz shows but one injects dramatic hype (again with the lights and music!) while the other showcases each contestant's intellect and strategy (wagering before final Jeopardy answers are revealed - brilliant!) Plus "Jeopardy" gives the home viewer so many more opportunities to answer questions from a wide category spectrum, making us feel smarter or perhaps less smart.  Within the walls of my kitchen, I choose instructional over intensity. 

With an appreciative nod to Rachael Ray, Martha Stewart, Ina Garten, Nigella Lawson, Giada DeLaurentis, Carla Hall, Alton Brown, Lidia Bastianich, and Mollie Katzen as well as chefs with no television show i.e. Yotam Ottolenghi, Sami Tamimi, Michael Solomonov, Steven Cook, Marc Vetri, here are some of my favorite food shows: 

Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat with Samin Nosrat on Netflix:  Four episodes so beautifully filmed and executed that I floated along inhaling every visual morsel.   Samin  has the culinary chops from her work at Chez Panisse and understands how the four elements of food prep in her show (and cookbook) title are foundational to flavorful, satisfying meals. Also, she mostly chooses local female chefs as her culinary partners. I must become Samin's friend. I must cook with her.  (Hear that Universe?!?)  My daughter gifted me Samin's cookbook and had it personalized after attending a Brooklyn book signing, so this clearly puts me three degrees closer to meeting her. Amen. 

The Great British Baking Show (all the varieties): Bloody brilliant. Peacefully delicious.  Even when the baked goods fall apart, Mary Bell, Prue Leith, and Paul Hollywood keep perspective and support the contestants. They seek quality results always with a kind approach.  The show's persistent civility shocks my American senses.  The Welford Park setting creates an insulated, pastoral oasis framing the irresistible gentility taking place under the big white tent.  And, yes, I am sucker for the contestants' British, Scottish, Irish accents and colloquialisms.  I have cried because the heartfelt tone comes through each episode.   Stunning bake!

Chef's Table: I initially avoided this show solely based on its title thinking it was another intense cooking competition. How wrong I was.  The first episode of Season 5 with Christina Martinez contained everything appealing to my sensibilities: a compelling personal personal story, cuisine birthed from culture and tradition, glorious filming.  It is instructional in both culinary choices and life lessons.  We are immersed in the country of origin and each chef's specific journey while glorious visuals celebrate the food.  If "smell-avision" ever becomes real, shows like Chef's Table will be perfect.  I am now binge watching all previous seasons. 

Anthony Bourdain's Parts Unknown: More travelogue than cooking show, every episode is an immersion because of Bourdain. He seeks cultural experiences born of genuine curiosity. He is the perfect visitor because, for all his bravado, he listens. Bourdain absorbs the setting and locals all the while persistently searching for authenticity in food.  His love of language is a bonus. From West Virginia to Manila, he instructs through experience. Of course he is intense, but it is not gratuitous.  I checked out my library's audio book of Kitchen Confidential last year and found the best time to listen was while I prepared dinner.  Bourdain's high velocity chatter and bottomless restaurant tales were often head spinning, yet I listened because this chef offered himself 100%.  I also listened because I wanted to hear that voice once more. Sigh. 

Doorknock Dinners with Gordon Elliott: In 1999, these little PBS shows were my favorites. Elliott would select a neighborhood and, with a film crew and chef in tow, knock on doors to ask if he and his merry band of food folk could prepare a meal in the owners home using only what was in their refrigerator/freezer.  He hit on the day to day conundrum of most home cooks: what do I have to make dinner?  Elliott's humor disarmed the homeowners while the chef liberated them with easy meal prep and delicious results. This was one of the smartest shows for anyone who makes meals. 

If you enjoy cooking, who inspires you? 

The Book Lady

The front license plate on my car reads "Peace  Love  Books."  The order of importance often changes but the trilogy's intrinsic value remains steady:  I wish for peace, I insist on love, and I cherish books.

License plate

When I read that Dolly Parton was recently at the Library of Congress to celebrate the delivery of her Imagination Library's 100th million book, I felt all three of these imperatives. Her program has put children ages birth to 5 and books together since 1995. This amazing milestone shows how Dolly leads with love.  

Dolly's impact was minimal in my world until a few years ago when my friend Susan asked if I would join her to see a concert at the Mann Center in Philadelphia.  Such an invitation would usually have a 99% acceptance rate by me.  But, I had to pause when she noted who was performing: Dolly Parton.  

Hmmmm.  Country music was not atop my list of preferred music genres.  I knew only two of Dolly's songs:  "Jolene" and "9 to 5." (And yes, I knew she wrote/sang "I Will Always Love You" but it is the more infamous Whitney Houston version I kept on my playlist.) I tried to let Susan down gently.  

As a lifelong Dolly fan, Susan would not back down.  She grew up in Missouri listening to Dolly's albums at home.  The music not only helped her navigate the pain of a challenging childhood, its message offered motivation for what one can achieve through persistence regardless of your life's circumstances.  She was not going to be pushed aside by my glib indifference. 

Susan persisted.  I am forever grateful that she did.

The evening held so many satisfying moments:  Dolly's pitch perfect voice, her self-aware humor, her musicianship (she played at least 8 different instruments) her deep catalog of songs, her homespun sincerity, her laughter  - oh the list is long.  The wide age range of her audience also reinforced her vast, enduring appeal.  

Scenes from Dolly Parton in concert at the Mann Center
.Philadelphia, PA June 2016

But what slowly, endearingly drew me in was the overwhelming warmth and kindness this petite bedazzled country girl sent out across the audience from the  moment her stiletto heels walked into the spotlight until she waved her final goodnight y'all.  

Dolly's glamorous exterior makes it hard turn away. I realized it is an intentional ploy to catch our attention.  Once she has it, she is masterful in keeping it with her profound talent and unbridled love.  In that large concert venue, she managed to spread her love to each of us (even skeptical me.)  I cried at the sheer tonnage of its impact. 

This month, Dolly did it again when she sat in front of pre-schoolers and read to them in our nation's library.  She made headlines for her impressive non-musical efforts to ensure young children have consistent access to books.  She continues to lead with love. 

What began as a county wide effort in her rural Tennessee home has grown into this magnificent national outreach where she is called The Book Lady.  Dolly affirms her role by working with local libraries, government agencies, and other non-profits to put the world into children's hands to help set them up to become lifelong readers.  "I think that if you read it can give you wings to fly,"  Dolly noted to reporters at the DC event.    

It was much too easy for me to dismiss Dolly as some glittery country singer before I saw her in concert.   I sadly believed her overdone look made her unimportant. Her Imagination Library's amazing multi-million book moment reinforced what a fool my pre-concert self had been to judge this amazing book by her cover. 

On this International Women's Day, it is a joy to celebrate Dolly.  

Link to the 100th million book event at the Library of Congress:
https://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2018/03/01/589912466/dolly-parton-gives-the-gift-of-literacy-a-library-of-100-million-books

The Signature of All Things

I am a barefaced Elizabeth Gilbert fan.

Her writing pleases me.  However, it is her articulate, endearing, and engaging manner that pulls me in close and keeps me interested.  She is an unvarnished connector.  When I recently explained to someone the basis for her appeal, I stated plainly, "I just really like her way."

She became wildly famous for her 2006 memoir, "Eat, Pray, Love."  That work was my introduction to this funny, searching, facile writer even though she had authored three novels and multiple magazine articles prior to EPL.  


Elizabeth Gilbert taking questions at St. Joseph's
College in Brooklyn, NY

Understandably, the non-fiction work provided a exhaustive dose of oversharing for some readers (followed by the film version starring Julia Roberts in August, 2010.) I nonetheless became an admirer as she unraveled her early adult life in humorous, metaphorical prose. 

Appropriately, her command of analogies was one of many questions tossed her way at a book signing event in Brooklyn this week. The author unblinkingly answered the query with a metaphor and then burst out laughing at her own unintended joke.  This undisguised manner placed us at her conversational table.  

For 90 minutes, Liz candidly answered questions from moderator/author Rebecca Mead of New Yorker Magazine as well as from the intimate audience.  She also read an excerpt from her latest novel, "The Signature of All Things," marking its paperback publication debut on that first night of a mini-book tour.  

When asked about a statement Liz has repeatedly made about how fiction writing reveals more about the author than non-fiction writing, her reply rustled with truth, and, of course, an analogy.  "Non-fiction writing is still very curated," she explained.  "There is nothing in "Eat, Pray, Love" that I didn't want revealed; it's like a crime scene with everything swabbed and wiped clean so you receive only what I want to send out."  In her current 19th century fiction, Liz said with hand motions, "my hair and fingerprints are all over it!"  

One question about story ideas triggered Liz to take a quick breath and lean into her thoughts. She queried, "we're all friends here, right?"  before launching into firmly rooted belief.  Liz sees ideas as things that float around all of us all the time, somewhat like the innumerable stars in space. Ideas present themselves and challenge us to take them on. 

 If we don't take them on, they move on to other possible takers, always making themselves available to a willing receptor.  If we accept and begin to formulate too many ideas, we are left with may starts and few finishes.  Her choice is to take on one or two ideas, deeply attend to them, and let all others float away. 

This "magical thinking" (her words) theory is one she is pursuing for a future novel, along with another story idea about Broadway showgirls from the 1940s.

The mostly female, multi-generational audience well represented the author's readership demographic.  My twenty-something year old daughter (and transplanted Brooklyn-ite) joined me at the event making for a rich conversation afterward.  I loved hearing what did and did not resonate over the ages, but most especially appreciated how it triggered thoughtful connection. 

The same was true last Fall when the author kicked off her novel's hardcover publication at the Philadelphia Library.  My friend Rosalie and I attended that event, appreciating Liz's candor, love of language, and dedication to research. 

She is also a generous Facebook and Twitter participant with posts/tweets that entertain and challenge readers.  My favorite, so far, is about her love of bawdy language and a well chosen expletive.

In the ever changing game of musical chairs at my fantasy dinner table of past/present guests, there's a place card with Liz Gilbert's name on it. 

Here is the link to the NYTimes review of "The Signature of All Things" in September, 2013.  http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/30/books/elizabeth-gilberts-novel-the-signature-of-all-things.html?module=Search&mabReward=relbias%3Ar%2C%5B%22RI%3A5%22%2C%22RI%3A17%22%5D

Greenlight Bookstore (http://greenlightbookstore.com/) partnered with St. Joseph's College (http://www.sjcny.edu/Giving/Press-Release/520) to bring in authors as part of the school's Brooklyn Voices series.

Why I Love "Breaking Bad"

In a drug-laced world of hardcore bad guys (and some ruthless women) Walter White aka Heisenberg (actor Bryan Cranston) is a car wreck, and I cannot stop rubbernecking.

I am addicted to the AMC series "Breaking Bad" and know that I will experience some serious withdrawal when the series finale airs this Fall.  For now, however, I wait along with millions of other rubberneckers for Season 8 to begin on August 11th.

Why do I love this show? Ten reasons:

 1. Whether he is running for his life or negotiating his share in the meth cooking business, Jesse Pinkman (actor Aaron Paul) defers to his days as a high school student and always addresses his former chemistry teacher and current business partner as "Mr. White."

2.  The Albuquerque desert is a major character.

3.  The writers manage to inject humor into every episode regardless of how dark the storyline.

4.  These infamous lines: "You clearly don't know who you're talking to, so let me clue you in.  I am not in danger, Skyler; I AM the danger.  A guy opens his door and gets shot, and you think that of me. No, I am the one who knocks."  

Walter White

5. While drug use is part of the show,  the primary focus is the drug production/distribution world's underbelly.  Viewers have a front row seat to the deadly compelling business. 

6. Another beauty: "Just because you shot Jesse James, don't make you Jesse James."  

Mike Ehrmantraut (actor Jonathan Banks)

7  Brilliant, unexpected music choices.

8.  Each character grabs viewers by the lapels - there is no rest.

9. Bryan Cranston's range of characters from "Malcolm in the Middle's" clueless father, Hal, to the ingenious, delusional meth cook, Heisenberg - priceless.

10.  Saul "Better Call Saul" Goodman (actor Bob Odenkirk) and his endless supply of legal sleaze.
Here is a YouTube video link showcasing his better lines: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBeQO1nBThQ

How will it all end?  I'd love to see the desperate video Walt takes of himself in the pilot episode somehow woven into the conclusion, and for Jesse to wind up with a better life.  What is certain is the conflicted relief I'll feel when Sunday nights simmer down to a lordly gentility as "Downton Abbey" returns in 2014.

This YouTube link is of Vince Gilligan (show creator/writer/director/producer) and the cast in a panel discussion at the 2013 Comic Con in San Diego, CA.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EXZPJwfuTY

Paula, Paula, Paula

As sponsors drop/suspend relations with Paula Deen like a steaming hot hush puppy, I wonder why she keeps making missteps.

My favorite recent Deen-ism summed it up when she spoke on the Today Show:  "I is what I is."  This 'regular folk' talk sure sells a ton of products but this time it just seems to add more cement to the coffin that is her vision of herself. 

Whoever Paula is, it is currently not working on her chosen medium - television. 

A mea culpa that does not address the possibility that she may hold/have held a smidge of racism in her heart is a butter-less dessert.  I would have liked to hear her express a newfound understanding  that her deposition answers were objectionable.  And that using offensive language, no matter how long ago, is still offensive. If she could have spoken only about how the backlash has raised her awareness, I would have listened more.

But she insisted on using the utensils that brought her success: the sassy, sweet, unprejudiced, "Ginnie" (her grandma name pronounced with a hard G) loved by all.  She thought by pouring more molasses over her explanation it would make her more beloved.  And why not?  This is the recipe she has used to formulate an impressive culinary empire. 

Paula the chef did not confer with Paula the business woman (as she did when she announced in 2012 she had type 2 diabetes and simultaneously became the spokesperson for a diabetes drug.)

I don't care about how she was raised, how she raised her kids, who her African American friends are or how she comforts them. I don't care what offensive language she has witnessed in her kitchens if she stayed silent until now.  Her silence showed tolerance.  It was the playground defense: "I said it but they said it too!"

I do care that she show up like an adult and simply say "I am sorry."  Period.

Pleading with a biblical reference to "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone" makes no sense.  In trying to say she is just like everyone else, she separates herself from her apology.  The Southern celebrity thought sweet would trump sensible. 

Sensible isn't sexy but it is easier to swallow than a five pound bag of sugary words.

Sports Talk

The title alone tells me this will be a very short post.

I am a sports appreciator.  Team stats, season tickets, pieces of sports trivia have no traction in my daily life.  As I've mentioned in a previous post, I do love attending most sporting events and am truly in the moment.  And when the game ends, well, that's it.

There's no ethics code or high water mark that I'm following about athlete millionaires, billionaire owners, and $5 ballpark sodas.  I am simply unmoved by the minutiae of sports.

I am, however, curious about what gets sports folk riled and the current NFL draft is a doozie.  It seems like a gladiator movie without the blood.  The only things injured are athletes' egos if they are left out of the selection process in Round 1.  But fear not!  Rounds 2 and 3 etc. are just around the bend.

I feel for some of these young men who have been pumped up by coaches, agents, and scouts supposedly 'in the know' to believe they will be a first round pick.  And then they are not.  It's a return to the schoolyard complete with angst; 'coaches' pick who they want on their teams one by one - and inevitably the cheese stands alone (Manti T'eo). 

The late night talk show hosts all mentioned the impending draft in their monologues.  Jay Leno hit the mark noting, "It's gotta be a tricky night for Manti T'eo, huh? When that phone rings is he really being drafted or is it just another scam?"

The fact that the draft is held at Radio City Music Hall (for 8 years!) and is televised really gets my attention.  What's the draw? There's no game. No points are scored.  Players are merely being chosen by professional teams and this warrants prime time attention?  I understand that it is a very, very big deal to the athletes and their families.  How is it a big deal to everyone else?

The local FoxNews station did a funny bit by placing reporters with fans outside the venue asking them how they felt about certain athletes up for grabs - only they used fake names and stats.  Well, what sports fan can resist commenting on any athlete, real or bogus? Apparently not many.  Like fireflies drawn to the light fans gave strong opinions about why these phantom players had a chance.  Some even included stats! 

I say Round 1 of the draft goes to the reporters.

Well, at least admission is free.  That makes everyone a winner.

Here's the link to my last dip into the sports pool: http://asubjectforconsideration.blogspot.com/2011/11/nature-of-sports-dreams.html

Quilting Artistry

Take a few yards of various fabrics, cut them into measured shapes, and sew them back together.

Bare Bones Quilting 101.

While this is an over-simplification of a treasured and ancient art form, it is at the very least a starting point for even the most elaborate quilts. I recently viewed a collection of contemporary quilts which blew the traditional idea of a colorful bedspread wide open and introduced another creative slant to this art form. So, Quilters, before you slice me and my Quilting 101 definition into measured shapes, put down your rotary cutters and visit the Wayne Art Center’s current exhibition titled “ArtQuilt Elements 2012” which runs until May13, 2012. http://www.wayneart.org/exhibition/artquilt-elements-2012

The exhibit is a juried collection 48 works selected from a pool of 660 entries that vary in every way except for the basic requirement that they contain a layer of batting sandwiched by a quilt top and backing. Once that sole parameter is met, the pieces explode with unique interpretations.

I was grateful to peruse the exhibit with my very accomplished friend and neighbor, Lisa O'Neill, who quilts with such creativity and ambition, she leaves me breathless. Her book Sliver Quilts: 11 Projects *Easy Technique for Dynamic Results introduces a clever quilting technique and is due out this May. (Pre-orders are available on Amazon.) http://www.amazon.com/Sliver-Quilts-Projects-Technique-Dynamic/dp/1607054299/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1334350760&sr=1-3 

I was struck by the diverse artistry as we slowly gazed upon each piece – abstract designs, meditative faces, even a pair of colorful skeletons breathed vibrant life into quilting. These are not your grandma’s quilts. Quilting serves as a metaphor for making sense out of chaos – and, in some of the exhibit entries, sometimes creating chaos from the sensible, as depicted in this entry by Kristin LaFlamme titled War Sucks.

Taking the traditional and turning it on its ear really opened up possibilities not only in design, but in some of the smallest details, such as the intricate stitching in Thousands of Words by Mary Ruth Smith.

(A closer look at the stitching in "Thousands of Words".)

The contemporary exhibit forced me to thoughtfully consider the message in each entry - whether or not the quilter succeeded in communicating a specific idea.  I found several of the written inspirations offered by some quilt makers overpowered the works in a rambling way. I truly believe the work itself should tell the story and a brief explanatory note should suffice. The works with concise notations were consistently the ones that touched me the most - they opened up space for appreciation, instead of telling me what to feel.  As each entry prodded me to understand its maker's intention, I delighted in many of them. Here are a few more personal favorites.  Enjoy!

"Twisted" by Dianne Nunez

"Down Pat" by Pat Budge (My favorite entry)

"Chinmoku:Silence" by Shin-hee Chin

"Forever Yours" by Susan Else (Yes, it is quilted!)

If you are a quilter or are curious about quilting, check out Lisa O'Neill’s blog and website aptly titled “A Thread From the Edge.” http://www.athreadfromtheedge.blogspot.com/

Eclipsed: Women & War

Wife #1.  Wife #2.  Wife #3.  Wife #4.

When people call each other by number, not by name, humanity is seemingly extinguished.

Four women known only numerically to each other embody this loss of humanity as they exist in war torn Liberia during its 1999-2003 civil war.  Their plight was depicted in Monday evening's reading of Danai Gurira's play Eclipsed at People's Light and Theatre Company (PLTC). 

The war takes a sledgehammer to humanity in the play, yet each woman's story challenges audience members to consider what they would do in similar circumstances. How each woman adapts to brutal, inhumane circumstances is the play's foundation.  The many faces of survival are shown in stark dialogue throughout the play, directed by Jade King Carroll.

Each wife is enslaved to an unseen, unnamed rebel commanding  officer. Learning to endure the CO's endless sexual needs along with their loss of identity pits the women in a strange hierarchy of forced respect for each other.  Wife #1 (played by Erika Hicks) reigns high in a twisted status.  Wife #2 (played by Taysha Canales) is pregnant with the CO's child and keeps close track of those 'beneath' her.  Wife # 3 (played by Miriam Hyman) has chosen the life of a soldier over that of a concubine.

Wife #4 (played by Lupita Nyong'o) enters the group early in the performance and is the catalyst for change as she mourns the loss of her youth and her parents while weighing which wife she most wants to emulate.  The strange, unthinkable choices available to these women is captured in a scene where Wife #3 and #4 stand stage right dissecting the reasons to be soldiers, while Wife #1 and Rita stand stage left talking about the possibility that there is a way out.

It is clear that none of the choices offer any real escape, so the women navigate this perilous world in desperate measure.  The arrival of Rita (played by Melanye Finister) as one of many Liberian peacemakers who negotiate with rebel commanders creates inroads in giving the women hope.  Her job is hard fought and frustrating to its core, but she persists.  It offers a glimmer of hope. 

Forcing the women to snap out of a uneasy acceptance of their lot, Rita yells, "They treat us like beasts!," and searches for a next step for these women.  She explains, "You have to see what your life can be beyond this bondage."  Wife #1 flatly replies, "I no know who I is out of war."  The soldier Wife #3 barks out her mantra, "At best you work with the system and now the system is war."

Throughout the reading, the powerful performances tread deliberately on the physical and emotional ravages of war and a world turned on its head.  Desperation breeds choices that cannot be judged.  The playwright offers a robust view of humanity at its worst and then, at the war's end, of humanity hoping to find itself. 

Rita notes toward the conclusion of the play, "The war over. Get back to who you was."  This haunting suggestion only confirms confusion about identity.  Who are these women post-war? They share their real names as they take baby steps into a world seemingly unknown.  Going back may not be the answer, but rather, going forward and finding who they will become starts with how they answer the question, Who am I?

All five performances projected depth and power. The precise dialogue and convincing  portrayals heavily weighted in Liberian dialect kept the audience on edge as we took the bare knuckled journey through a country at war with itself. A brief question and answer period followed the reading. So authentic were the actresses depictions over a two hour stretch, I found it a little jarring to hear them resume their everyday voices and become soft in their comments while answering audience questions.

PLTC's efforts to reach out to the community and spark discussion using theatrical performance as a catalyst speaks to how it sees its wider role.  I was honored to feel the interpretation of this unforgettable work and to think outside my suburban life.  I would have liked more time spent on the question and answer portion of the evening.  When I attended the first reading of the Community Matters series in February, titled Dispatches from (A)mended America, the discussion portion was longer, allowing for some shared decompression. 

 In a fitting footnote, Liberia elected a female President, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, in 2005.  She was reelected in 2009 to a second term. After years of male driven civil strife, Liberia decided to turn to its women for leadership. It seems more than just.   
 
The reading of Eclipsed was part of PLTC's "Community Matters" series of presentations offered as "an experiment in community engagement."   For information on upcoming free performances in this series check out the PLTC site:  www.peopleslight.org

Gone Fishin'- in the Yemen

The movie, "Salmon Fishing In the Yemen" opens today in theaters and I (along with many other lucky Bryn Mawr Film Institute members) attended a sneak preview in late February.  Not only were we treated to the film, but actress Emily Blunt, who stars in it, was on hand to answer audience questions following the screening. 

Here is the post I wrote for the BMFI blog. Just click on the link at the end to read it in its entirety!

Three things made BMFI’s screening of Salmon Fishing in the Yemen very special:
1. It was a sneak preview;
2. It was free to members;
3. Actress Emily Blunt answered questions after the screening.

It appeared to be an act of movie magic to see the British actress walk down the theater aisle at the film’s end and take a seat next to BMFI President Juliet Goodfriend, ready to field questions. The full house applauded heartily not only for the actress, but for the film in which she stars opposite Ewan McGregor and Kristin Scott Thomas. Ms. Blunt’s visit was a very sweet digestif to the charming comedy.

Filmed in Morocco, Salmon Fishing pairs a visionary sheik (Amr Waked) and Dr. Alfred Jones (Mr. McGregor), a government fisheries wonk, to introduce salmon spawning in the Middle Eastern country. As the sheik’s PR consultant, Harriet Chetwode Talbot (Ms. Blunt) helps both men as the unlikely project becomes a reality. The film shows what the sheik’s seemingly bottomless wallet and the fishing expert’s understated knowledge can produce when they collaborate on the same dream.
http://www.brynmawrfilm.blogspot.com/2012/03/actress-emily-blunt-visits-bmfi.html

Actress Emily Blunt signing posters promoting her new film, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, at BMFI.

Downton Abbey

I am a Johnny-Come-Lately to Downton Abbey.  So American.

The program's buzz had been humming like a hornet's nest and yet, I waited until the final show of Season 2 to watch my first episode.  It was definitely like starting with dessert, and who really can complain about that?  I am hooked!

I quickly reserved Season 1 from my local library and thought I would savor watching each of the seven episodes, sipping on them like a tawny port after a sumptuous meal. 

So dignified. So reserved. So British.

Alas, there was no sipping.

I was gulping show after show, unable to satisfy my hunger for what was to happen next.  Would Mary allow Matthew into her heart? Would Mrs. Patmore ever get off Daisy's back? Would O'Brien grow a conscience?  I needed answers!

While some answers were revealed, more questions arose, continually piquing my interest.
The majestic setting, the detailed period costumes and the highbrow soap opera storylines are tightly woven, leaving little chance to look away.  But, I think the cleverest aspect which keeps me watching is the clipped timing of each scene.  The writing is bright and concise leaving every scene as its own perfect vignette.  Just enough morsels of information are offered, and then it is onto another part of the grand castle.

Dame Maggie Smith as the
Dowager Countess

Not surprising, Dame Maggie Smith brings an estate-sized pedigree to her role as the Dowager Countess, "the irrefutable authority on everything."  It is her unexpected comedic delivery of some of the show's most memorable lines that really keeps things off balance.  When she and her American daughter-in-law, Cora, make an unlikely alliance to find a quick suitor overseas for her eldest granddaughter, Mary, the Dowager Countess goes to what she knows to be true when she flatly states, "In these moments, you can normally find an Italian who isn't too picky."

Or when she enters a brightly lit room recently wired with electricity, she flips open her fan to shield her eyes, and says disdainfully, “Oh dear, such a glare. I feel as if I were on stage at the Gaiety.” Her son, the Earl of Grantham, offers to electrify rooms in her home, to which she snips, “No, I couldn’t have electricity in the house. I wouldn’t sleep a wink; all those vapors seeping about.”  For a look at the top ten Dowager Countess lines, watch this humorous video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVMtffzbAwk

Just as the storyline crosses into the early 20th century, the Dowager Countess represents the pivotal bridge to more stayed times.  She fields change with a stiff sensibility for what is proper and bristles as it seeps in anyway – like an electrical current.

Even though the setting and period are far out of reach, the human themes of love, rejection, equality, class, fear, loathing and secret pasts fuel storylines that travel throughout the stayed upstairs life and the hectic servants’ world below.  The class system is in full flower in this world where servants bow and curtsy to the manor family.  There are, however, even more delineated lines among the servants. When Mr. Carson, the house butler (and highest ranked servant), enters the kitchen while the servants eat, all stand upon his arrival.  A lady’s maid is above a housemaid and poor Daisy, is the lowest of the low, a kitchen maid.  

Siobhan Finneran as Mrs.
Sarah O'Brien

Every one of the 16 principle characters is in some sort of battle to keep their status or to either push through into the next job or gasp! out into the village to work.  All the while, the truth is a commodity for both those with scruples and the unscrupulous.  Where the characters fall on that line of truth changes from show to show- much to my dismay! For example, the hard edged Mrs. O'Brien, lady's maid to the Countess of Grantham, mistakenly thinks she is being replaced at Downton.  In a moment of revenge, she pushes soap where her newly pregnant Lady's foot will land when she steps out of the bath, causing her to fall and miscarry.  Moments before this happens, O'Brien glimpses at the mirror and realizes she does not recognize her scheming self.  But, too late, because seconds later her Lady falls.  Curses! O'Brien!

A quiet but formidable character is the home itself.  The show’s writer/creator, Julian Fellowes, aptly describes the house as a “trumpet blast” and in real life is known as Highclere Castle, a 50-room manor about 1 ½ hours west of London.  Interestingly, the castle was an abbey in its earlier days.  Another example of art imitating life.

The Dowager Countess Paper doll

As for merchandise, there’s plenty.  Mugs and pillows sporting favorite show quotes such as the Dowager’s question “What is a weekend?” or “She is not entitled to opinions until she is married. Then her husband will tell her what her opinions are.”  My favorites are paper doll character cutouts done with a tongue in cheek attitude. http://www.vulture.com/2012/02/print-out-vultures-downton-abbey-paper-dolls.html

So, I now patiently hold my place on the library waiting list for Season 2 to come my way. I shall dig deep, channeling a British sensibility and keep a stiff upper lip. 

In the meantime here are some more favorite quotes from the show.

“First electricity, now the telephone, I sometimes feel I am living in an HG Wells novel.” The Dowager Countess

"It sounds like the cry of the Banshee.”
Mrs. Patmore  (upon hearing the newly installed telephone ring in Downton Abbey.)

"Is there anything worse than losing one’s maid?”
The Dowager Countess

“What we want doesn’t matter. At least that’s not all that matters.”
The Earl of Grantham

“We thought the assassination of an Archduke was a surprise.”
Mrs. O’Brien (her response upon hearing Mrs. Patmore being summoned upstairs to the library. )

“If she’s got a boyfriend, I’m a giraffe.”
Mrs. O’Brien (her response to hearing Mrs. Hughes has a beau.)

“Oh good-let’s talk about money.” 
The Dowager Countess

Link to the PBS website: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/downtonabbey/
Link to a video tour of Highclere Castle: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQy-k1Pd290