This Was Our Big Labor Day Excursion, Darlings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                   Yes, girls, September is here, and along with traditions--like do I or do I not do "Frank Mills" in front of the Waverly on the 12th, school reopening in whatever form it takes, (an irrevocable association with this month that remains unbroken since childhood!) and the transition from Summer to Fall, and all that is attendant upon it, along creeps in, with me, an underlying cynicism--what are we in for now, considering all facing David and I this month, regarding medical procedures?

                                    So, when David asked me about doing something special for Labor Day Weekend, with the few options at hand, I said I wanted to visit Three Lives Bookstore.  The timing had been fortuitous--after reading "Hamnet" by Maggie O' Farrell, and "The Parisian," by Isabella Hammad, and being on such a roll of happy reading experiences, I made the mistake of beginning Richard Powers' "The Overstory."  Now, girls, avoid this---even though I liked some of his other books,  by the time I was only thirty pages in, I knew I was not going to want to pick this up again.  It is all about trees and  how humans relate to them.  It is fiction, saga like, but reads more like a botany text.  If you want the same experience, only less cumbersome, read "Walden Two."

                                     I had a copy of "Cutting The Stone," which someday I would like to read, but I discovered my copy, which I had picked up in our lobby, was mutilated--as though a dog had chewed on the end cover.  Forget that!  So, we high tailed it to Three Lives.

                                       I was so happy we went!  Because they had things I was looking for that would not be found anyplace else--like "Angel," by Elizabeth Taylor, as well as some other literary gems I had had my eyes on.  The best thing was, unlike my last visit, all the staff were wearing masks, and everyone was practicing social distancing.  Now, should I have to go into the hospital, I can bring a pile of books with me, and read myself up a storm before I go in!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                         Times being what they are, with no access to Ocean Grove, or Cape May, what better option could there have been than Three Lives????????????

                                       Thank God for Three Lives!  May it remain there forever!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lara Prescott's Novel Also Includes A Travel Light Instruction Kit! Pay Attentiion!

                                   Honestly, girls, I picked up so much information from her novel I could not resist passing it on to you!  Especially since so many of us are girls on the go, and simply have to travel lightly.

                                   Obviously, think pink!  Doubly obvious, one cannot travel without the proper traveling bag, and this one, by Cole Haan, is absolutely perfect!  What a breathtaking effect you will create, whenever you walk into a room, whatever said room may turn out to be.

                                      Of course, no bag is complete without some needed accessories on the road.  Designer underwear is unmentionable, but your decision, as perhaps no one will see it.

                         Personally, I would go with this bra and panties combo, by TCG Designers.  It will look great on all of us, dolls, whether we get to show it off or not.  The important thing is, WE will know we are wearing it, and walk with extra confidence and bravado!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                   The next essential for us girls is a black pencil skirt.  This is an all purpose outfit. guaranteed to suit any occasion.  
                                    And, to go with the pencil skirt, how about this lovely A.L. Carrera pink grapefruit blouse to set it off?  No girl can afford to travel without it, no matter how much it costs.  

                                     Hang on, darlings, we are almost ready!

                          And here we come!  The outfit is completed with these pink heels by Stuart Weitzman.  Just think what a sensation you will create, and how you will feel!  I want to go shopping right away.

                             Meanwhile--

                                                     WHAT ABOUT ACCESSORIES?????????????????????????

                                 Girls, before you don that outfit, you have to start with your face!  After a facial, and a moisturizer, it is time for your pink compact by Olivela, which will complete your own natural glow.  Hell, it will enhance it, darling!  This is a MUST if you want to make an impression.  If you forget everything else, do NOT forget this!  It is your best ally!

                                  And where would any of us be, without our lipstick, girls?  I recommend Revlon Pink!  Of course, I am prejudiced, growing up just miles away from a Revlon headquarters near Edison, New Jersey, where I felt I would someday end up working.  As things turned out, I went to New York, but I still have my loyalty to Revlon.  That is why--

                                            The lips are not complete, without a pink Revlon lipstick liner!  The last detail your face needs to make it  perfect.   Just two more things before you go out the door--

 

                          Make sure your hair has been done by none other than Sally Hershberger!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                          Then, before stepping out the door--

         

                                           Run a Sally Hershberger hair brush through that hair!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                           Now, we are all ready to travel lightly, girls!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                           Bon Voyage, my darlings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!                                          

One Aspect Of The Sixties I Hope Never Returns!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                           I was thirteen years old, when Victor Lundberg came out with this drivel.  It set my teeth on edge.  For, while I sympathized with the anti-Viet Nam war protesters of the day, I did not feel the need to bash those who went to go voluntarily, or in obedience to their country's call.  That was a decision made by each individual, and each had a right to make it.  As did those, who protested.

                             Lundberg's polarizing is perfect for the Trump era, which makes me fearful such sentiments will return.  Set to the background music of "The Battle Hymn Of The Republic," Lundberg, as the father, ostensibly reads a letter written to his presumed teenage son, which is chauvanistic, sexist, misogynistic, and openly disregards the child's right to make a decision apart from what a parent may think.

                                  I can hear the music, and Mr. Lundberg's voice in my head.  But two phrases stand out.  One half-way through, where he says, "And your mother will always love you....because she is a woman."  That pause is there.  Oh, really?  Is this to mean that, being a woman, she is less than?  I believe so.  But the worst is saved for last.  The father ends the letter stating that if his son decides to burn his draft card--which many, at the time were doing; hell, it is a component of the musical, "HAIR"--- he "should burn his birth certificate, at the same time.  From that moment on.....another pause, "I have no son."

                                   Oh, really now; come on!  This set my teeth on edge in 1967, and it does so, now.  To renounce someone you conceived and raised over political expediency?  Or because you are too Right Wing to love a child who is not a carbon copy of yourself?  That's what it sounds like to me; the father's entire relationship to his own son is built on conditional love, so how genuine has it been up till now, anyway?   And it is not like the son is a domestic terrorist or serial killer!  Even some of those have parents or family members who visit them!  Not all; but some.

                                    I have great respect for those serving in our Armed Forces, and applaud them for doing so.  But if this type of drivel re-emerges it will set back not only the good they are doing, but the family structure they are fighting for.

                                        Where love depends not on politicization, but open acceptance!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                          I could put the recorded letter on here, but can't bare to have such heinous crap on here!  Those who are curious--and I don't blame you-- can go on You Tube.

                                           Keep such propaganda far away from us, today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Imagine, Darlings, If Mary McCarthy Had Written This Book!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                        I kept thinking this all through my reading of Lara Prescott's debut novel, because the girls in the typing pool here reminded me of "The Group;" it had that feminine tinge to the story, but unfortunately, Prescott is not as good a stylist as McCarthy.  Which doesn't mean it is not worth reading, because what is lacking in style, she makes up for in narrative.

                          Being named Lara herself, it is not surprising she wanted to write a novel, dealing with the social and political machinations of getting Boris Pasternak's 1957 masterwork, "Doctor Zhivago," out of Russia, into other countries, into the United States, and even, finally, onto the Hollywood screen.

                          This is fiction, but the author obviously researched Pasternak's life, and the history of this novel.  Those who know this story only from the movie will recognize details of it in some of the characters and incidents depicted, surrounding Pasternak's own life.  If it was never clear before, it is now that, while Omar Sharif portrayed Yuri Zhivago on screen, the character is clearly Boris Pasternak himself.  Which is why it is such an emotionally resonant story.

                           I was glad the movie was referenced in this novel as well.  It is an iconic classic, proven by the test of time.  The music...my God!!!!!!!!!!!   Everyone I knew growing up had the Original Soundtrack Album, and went to see the movie because of it!

                            And, girls, how many of us wanted to look, and dress, like Julie Christie, as Lara?  Hell, I still do!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                             What is also fascinating to me is how, in 1957, more diverse segments of the American populace, then, were reading the novel.  Secretaries, office workers, all were talking about it, in much the same way they talked about "Gone With The Wind," 21 years before.

                                Today, only the highly literate and literary among us would read and admire Pasternak's novel.  I first read it in high school; I cannot imagine a reader of that age now being able to handle the novel's scope and breadth.  As for the average adult reader, Pasternak is beyond those nursed on a diet of Danielle Steel, or even David Baldacci.

                                   Prescott's novel is an intriguing blend of literary and social (the issue of lesbianism, and covert homosexuality is also dealt with) commentary, and, while not as literary as it might have been, does merit a reading.

                                     And, possibly, it will inspire others to read, or re-read, "Doctor Zhivago."

                                     Or, at least, see the movie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                   Was there ever a more enigmatic twentieth century literary heroine, than Lara, in "Doctor Zhivago?"  And who, but Julie Christie could have been better to embody her?

                                                     No wonder Miss Prescott had to write this novel!

                                                    Read it, darlings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Who Are These Two Delightful Actors, In This Humira Commercial????????????????????

                    Now, girls, if it is one things us gays cannot stand, it is flagrant heterosexuality.   Not that I am heterophobic; far from it, unless some straight, male or female, makes an issue of my being homosexual.  Which does not happen too often.

                     When this commercial started airing, I was ambivalent about it.  Why can't they show a young man bringing a young man home, to meet the parents?  But, as time went on, I really admired the blouse the actress is wearing in this photo, and I came to see her boy friend, as an open minded Jonathan Safran Foer type.  There are lots of them out there.

                        Now, I find the commercial absolutely charming.  I would love to know who these two are, because the chemistry in the ad is so well acted, they should be given other, more dramatic assignments.  And maybe be teamed.

                         They make a better representation of heterosexuality than the White Trash,  Christian hypocrite portion of the nation's population that would lock us back in the closet or eliminate us altogether.  

                            So, congrats to Humira, the casting department, and the actors.  Give these two lots of credit, for what they are doing, and give them more work.

                               It's not that gays and straights cannot appreciate one another.  Gays just cannot stand those not objective enough to judge us on our own merits.

                                 Which I am sure, does not extend to these two.  If you follow the script, they will marry, he will work for a corporation, because he can, and if one of the kids is gay, they will be fine with it.

                                      It's all in the subtext, darlings.  And acting takes a lot of subtext!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I Am Determined This Blog Will Not Become "The Bell Jar," But, Girls, I Have To Be Honest!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

                                            "And they left behind a legacy, vested in their children, that put the odds against survival ineluctably high."--Brooke Hayward, "Haywire," 1977

                                              Lately, girls, I have to wonder whether Brooke Hayward's statement is equally applicable to me.  While David's working from home has caused me not to be on here so much, the other side of the coin is I am facing some health issues, which are cardiac related.

                                              Apparently, I am prone to arrhythmia, which makes my heart beat irregularly.  Two weeks ago, as reported, it went out of whack to the point of my being hospitalized.  Medication and such has helped, but my cardiologist is pushing for this procedure, to be performed by an electronic physiologist, to put it plainly.  I do not see him until the 9th of September, so whether I have this done, or when, is still to be determined.

                                                  But it explains why I have not been on here lately, as I don't want this blog to be a downer, and I have been grappling with all kinds of fear.  Sometimes I feel euphoric, and feel everything will be all right; other times I am so scared I do not know what decision to make.  Until last night, I just lost the feeling for writing, but it has mysteriously returned, so I feel I must take advantage of it, while I can.  Because I could go into another funk again.

                                                       There was a minor scare this week, when the pulse reader I purchased was giving sky high numbers.  Over time, I am convinced--my reading this morning was 74--that something was wrong about the way I was using it.  I do a reading in the morning and afternoon, so I am accepting 74 as the normal reading.

                                                         The irony is my weight has never been lower in years, the diabetes seems in control.  Everything seemed to be going right--then this.

                                                            So, if I vanish again, there will be an explanation.  Just like I do with the dentist, if I come through the procedure, it will post it on here vigorously.

                                                              What helps is I keep visualizing the look of determination on Vivien Leigh's face in "Gone With The Wind," as she ascends the stairs, about to do something she never expected--deliver someone else's child.

                                                                 I, too feel I am venturing into unchartered territory.

                                                                  Keep your fingers crossed, darlings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                            

                                             

Girls, I Loved It!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

                        It took me long enough to discover Sullivan's "Saints For All Occasions,"  which just warmed the cockles of my Catholic heart.  So, when I saw she had a new novel, "Friends And Strangers," out, I instantly snapped it up.

                         This is a beautifully nuanced character study of two women at different points in their lives.  What is interesting is that Sullivan injects variations into them one would not expect.

                             Sam, the younger, is a senior student at a woman's college, who dreams of a career in an art gallery.  But she is also more traditionally thinking than some of her friends, like Isabella, who comes from a life style and world of wealth Sam cannot begin to imagine.  And when a handsome Britisher, named Clive, enters Sam's life, her world is turned topsy turvy.

                              Elisabeth is sort of what Sam wants to be a decade or so later.   She is married, had a promising writing career with The New York Times, and enjoyed affluent life in Brooklyn.  For her husband, Andrew's, sake, she moves to a suburban enclave, where she does not seem to fit in, despite everyone being as nice as they can be to her.  However, she is more forward thinking, almost Bohemian, than most in her age group.

                                When Elisabeth hires Sam to babysit/nanny for her toddler, Gil, their worlds clash, revealing cracks in Elisabeth's marriage, disparity in she and Andrew's backgrounds, and a tendency to get over involved in Sam's life, which succeeds in driving them apart.

                                   Do things work out?  Are the right decisions made?

                                   Sullivan tackles the issues and answers questions with her compelling gift for character study that made 'Saints' so memorable.

                                     But, if you want to find out more, darlings, you are going to have to read the book.

                                       Which I urge you to do!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!