I'm Reading a Book (Julian Smith)

Very few days of my life go by in which I do not read.  I learned at a very young age; even when it was just memorization in the early stages, I understood the power of words and that all one had to do was turn the page to continue the adventure, the escape, the inward musing.

Retirement + pandemic = lots of leisure time, not to mention that for me (although there were moments of lack of focus and loss of concentration), it has become one of my primary coping mechanisms during this self-imposed Shelter in Place the past 9 1/2 months.

For years, I have opted in to the Goodreads Challenge, choosing a-book-a-week (52-a-year) as my goal.  Some years I've gotten close, a few years I've achieved, and this year I will have almost doubled!

When I realized last week that I was at 95 I decided that, if there was ever a time to get into the triple-digits, this was it.  So I am pushing, not cheating, to make that happen.  I confess that the last five books were 200 pages or less, but still legitimate books that were on my Want to Read list/pile anyway.  This is where My Year in Books (2020) currently stands (hoping that, even if you are not on Goodreads, you can see this).  Here's/cheers to 100 books... 💖

I consciously decided to make World of Wonders: In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and Other Astonishments by Aimee Nezhukumatathil, Fumi Nakamura (Illustrator) (a Christmas present from my dear friend Michele), my last book of 2020 (starting it tomorrow morning).

Day One all over again on January 1, with my first book of 2021, A Promised Land by Barack Obama, which I am very much looking forward to.  I carefully curate how I wish to spend my time with the written word, and already have many potential novels as well as works of non-fiction earmarked for my ongoing journey.  I am setting my goal as per my usual book-a-week, thinking positive that I will one day have a social life again, and therefore less time for reading (but I've loved every hour/minute/second of page-turning... 😍 )

NR:  She Come By It Natural: Dolly Parton and the Women Who Lived Her Songs by Sarah Smarsh

SONG:  I'm Reading a Book by Julian Smith (ignore the annoying bagpipes in the last 15 seconds!)

BOOK:  Bibliophile: An Illustrated Miscellany by Jane Mount (Illustrator)

POEM:  The Nobel Prize for Reading by Nicanor Parra

The Nobel Prize for Reading

should be awarded to me

I am the ideal reader,

I read everything I get my hands on:

I read street names

and neon signs

bathroom walls

and new price-lists

the police news,

projections for the Derby

and license plates

for a person like me

the word is something holy

members of the jury

what would I gain by lying

as a reader, I'm relentless

I read everything - I don't even skip

the classifieds

of course these days I don't read much

I simply don't have the time

But - oh man - what I have read

that's why I'm asking you to give me

the Nobel Prize for Reading

as soon as impossible

(antitranslated by Lis Werner)

QUOTE:  "My personal hobbies are reading, listening to music, and silence." ~ Edith Sitwell

Red Shoes (Dolly Parton)

[Yes, this is my very own collection of ruby-red footwear:  Converse, flip-flops, clogs, and (thanks to Melanie!) slippers...  :-) ]

Dolly Parton has been showing up on my radar quite regularly these days, funny in that I used to buy into the caricature she herself put out into the world, and am now worshipping at the altar of Dolly for her authenticity, intelligence, and generosity.  Thanks and love to a special person in my life for helping me see the light...  💖

Shine On, Reese Witherspoon's talk show series, excerpts of her Dolly Parton interview (see the full episode on Netflix)

Push Play (magazine article):  It is now mostly unclear why I thought it was a good idea to bring Dolly Parton’s Greatest Hits to school with me by Chris Dennis

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is a book gifting program that mails free books to children from birth to age five in participating communities within the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and Republic of Ireland.

Dumplin' (Netflix original movie):  Willowdean ('Dumplin'), the plus-size teenage daughter of a former beauty queen, signs up for her mom's Miss Teen Bluebonnet pageant as a protest that escalates when other contestants follow her footsteps, revolutionizing the pageant and their small Texas town.

'Dream It On Through': Dolly Parton On Her New Album, Inspiring Young People And More

Brandi Carlile is a soulful American singer/songwriter. She released her self-titled album in 2005 followed by “The Story” in 2007. As a well-respected songwriter, Brandi is dedicated to lending her talents and connections to a cause much greater than herself. The album, “Cover Stories” features 14 artists, all sharing in Brandi’s passion for children impacted by world conflicts.
“The Story” – Dolly Parton (track 2)



SONG:  Red Shoes by Dolly Parton

BOOK:  Pocket Dolly Wisdom: Witty Quotes and Wise Words From Dolly Parton Hardcover by Hardie Grant Books

POEM:  How Do I Hate Thee, Quarantine? by Dolly Parton

This too shall pass
As all things will
If the virus don’t kill us
The staying home will
The kids are bored and restless
They scream and yell and squawk
And the teens and tweens
They’re just plain mean
They bite your bleeping head off
And all those loving couples
That were once so sweet and cozy
Now they fight like cats and dogs
Like Donald and Pelosi
Lord, get us back to school
And get us back to work
And get us out of this dadgum house
Before someone gets hurt
And Lord, please find a vaccination
In the form of a shot or a pill
Because if the virus don’t kill us
The staying home will

QUOTE(S):  "Go big or go home but, either way, do it in a pair of red shoes." ~ Dolly Parton

"Find out who you are, and do it on purpose." ~ Dolly Parton

Just Because I'm a Woman (Dolly Parton)

I had meant to record the Ken Burns Country Music documentary series when it aired on PBS a while back, but then totally forgot.  Linda mentioned it when we were in Pensacola, so I came home and searched OnDemand.  Two episodes were available for free, and the remainder to buy ($2.99 each).  I viewed one and am now thinking seriously about purchasing some of them.  That's how good it is!

The one I saw was: “The Sons and Daughters of America” (1964 – 1968)
Episode 5 | See how country music reflects a changing America, with Loretta Lynn speaking to women everywhere, Merle Haggard becoming “The Poet of the Common Man” and audiences looking beyond race to embrace Charley Pride.

[ Actually, now that I'm researching, it looks like I can watch it on my laptop for free, so I will give that a try over the weekend. ]

So, the time frame of the above episode is 1964-1968.  I was 10-14 years old, and my father was a country fan when country was most definitely *not* cool.  I vividly recall his love of Merle, his admiration for Cash, his pride in Charley (see what I did there?) in breaking the race barrier.  He introduced me to the Carter Family, Loretta, and Tammy.  Twang was spoken in our house (although it drove my mom crazy).  I purported to dislike it as well, yet I knew all the words to all the songs (I still do).  When I began, in my late teens and early 20s, to appreciate the music of Gram Parsons, Emmylou Harris, and Townes Van Zandt, I realized it was a full-circle moment.

Now I'm just as likely to listen to John Prine, Mary Chapin Carpenter, and The Avett Brothers.  Thanks, Dad (albeit belatedly!).



SONG:  Just Because I'm a Woman by Dolly Parton

BOOK:  Woman Walk the Line: How the Women in Country Music Changed Our Lives by Holly Gleason

POEM:  A Wife Explains Why She Likes Country by Barbara Ras

Because those cows in the bottomland are black and white, colors
anyone can understand, even against the green
of the grass, where they glide like yes and no, nothing in between,
because in the country, heartache has nowhere to hide,
it's the Church of Abundant Life, the Alamo,
the hubbub of the hoi polloi, the parallel lines of rail fences,
because I like rodeos more than I like golf,
because there's something about the sound of mealworms and
leeches and the dream of a double-wide
that reminds me this is America, because of the simple pleasure
of a last chance, because sometimes whiskey
tastes better than wine, because hauling hogs on the road
is as good as it gets when the big bodies are layered like pigs in a cake,
not one layer but two,
because only country has a gun with a full choke and a slide guitar
that melts playing it cool into sweaty surrender in one note,
because in country you can smoke forever and it'll never kill you,
because roadbeds, flatbeds, your bed or mine,
because the package store is right across from the chicken plant
and it sells boiled peanuts, because I'm fixin' to wear boots to the dance
and make my hair bigger, because no smarty-pants, just easy rhymes,
perfect love, because I'm lost deep within myself and the sad songs call me out,
because even you with your superior aesthetic cried
when Tammy Wynette died,
because my people
come from dirt.

QUOTE:  "Of emotions, of love, of breakup, of love and hate and death and dying, mama, apple pie, and the whole thing. It covers a lot of territory, country music does." ~ Johnny Cash

I Believe in Santa Claus (Dolly Parton)

There aren't enough synonyms for crazy to describe the kind of week I've had... and the next one promises more of the same - hoping to write a bit more personally over the weekend but, in the meantime, enjoy these selections (past, present and future) from the many holiday resources out there... :-)

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Eight-year-old Virginia O'Hanlon wrote a letter to the editor of New York's Sun, and the quick response was printed as an unsigned editorial Sept. 21, 1897. The work of veteran newsman Francis Pharcellus Church has since become history's most reprinted newspaper editorial, appearing in part or whole in dozens of languages in books, movies, and other editorials, and on posters and stamps.

Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus
The New York Sun – 1897

Dear Editor

I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says, "If you see it in The Sun, it's so." Please tell me the truth, is there a Santa Claus?
- Virginia O'Hanlon

Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men's or children's, are little. In this great universe of ours, man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus! It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The external light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.

Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies. You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if you did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that's no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.

You tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived, could tear apart. Only faith, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, Virginia, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.

No Santa Claus! Thank God! he lives and lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay 10 times 10,000 years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.

SONG: I Believe in Santa Claus by Dolly Parton

BOOK: Santa Lives! Five Conclusive Arguments for the Existence of Santa Claus by Ellis Weiner

POEM: The Death of Santa Claus by Charles Webb

He's had the chest pains for weeks,

but doctors don't make house

calls to the North Pole,

he's let his Blue Cross lapse,

blood tests make him faint,

hospital gown always flap

open, waiting rooms upset

his stomach, and it's only

indigestion anyway, he thinks,

until, feeding the reindeer,

he feels as if a monster fist

has grabbed his heart and won't

stop squeezing. He can't

breathe, and the beautiful white

world he loves goes black,

and he drops on his jelly belly

in the snow and Mrs. Claus

tears out of the toy factory

wailing, and the elves wring

their little hands, and Rudolph's

nose blinks like a sad ambulance

light, and in a tract house

in Houston, Texas, I'm 8,

telling my mom that stupid

kids at school say Santa's a big

fake, and she sits with me

on our purple-flowered couch,

and takes my hand, tears

in her throat, the terrible

news rising in her eyes.

QUOTE: "Christmas renews our youth by stirring our wonder. The capacity for wonder has been called our most pregnant human faculty, for in it are born our art, our science, our religion." ~ Ralph Sockman