Pedestal

paused

in the park

to ponder

a perfect sea

of colorful petals

praised

the playful

plucky

imperfect

one

*from the files of very bad poetry by bia

The Book Talk

“We are given these seasons of life, 

and with the passing of these seasons comes the gift of reflection.”

-Maria Novajosky (July 29, 2023)

Although I was at Angevine's to talk about Italy and my Italian Nonna, I started my book talk with an African proverb: When an old person dies, a library burns to the ground.

The proverb, which speaks to the power of a story, was the perfect way to begin my story of how a fountain in some old photos, fifty years of Nonna’s letters, and a painting by Caravaggio inspired me to write a book about my journey as an Italian-American living in the Deep South. It was a journey that came full circle in 2015 when I stood in St. Peter’s Square waiting for Pope Francis to give his Angelus blessing. With me were 23 women who had signed up for the trip, trusting me to get them all the way to Italy and back home again. It turned out to be the first of three trips I would organize.

I am not a natural speaker, preferring instead to hide behind the written word, but in the end I always enjoy giving these talks because I meet the most amazing people. Truly. 

It really is a small world.

Many thanks to my coworkers—Lisa, Mary Jean, and Elizabeth—who hosted the evening, and to Angevine's Fine Silver & Gifts who gave us the most perfect venue, including the Italian souvenir spoons from Rome, Florence, Palermo, and Taormina.

I love ...

I love Lincoln log cabins 

and stacked stone chimneys 

and wintery weathered wood 

and gnarly noble trees.

Have Bread, Will Travel

Two loaves of freshly baked sourdough bread (just out of the oven!) are going with us on vacation. 

Our car will smell heavenly.

Hamburgers and Golf

So, the last few days I have been in a mood.

My guys think it is amusing, especially since I am in a mood about two things for which I am not an expert: the world of business and the world of sports.

It all started Monday night when Joe, Timothy, and I watched The Founder, a movie about brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald, salesman Ray Kroc, and the story of the McDonald’s franchise. If you have seen the movie, then you know what happens; if you have not, here is a synopsis: two nice, honest, earnest brothers meet Ray Kroc, ruthless and egotistical, who bullies, cheats, goes back on his word (both oral and written), breaks contracts, and ultimately steals the brothers’ ideas AND their name.

By the end of the movie, I was incensed at the injustice of it all, especially when I considered that there is probably a business class somewhere extolling the drive, ingenuity, vision, and business plan of Ray Kroc who revolutionized the fast-food concept on a world-wide scale. This class will analyze charts and study growth patterns and place the Almighty Dollar on a pedestal which signifies success.

What happened to honesty and integrity? What about respect? Does the end really justify the means?

As I said to my guys: "The next time I see a plaque honoring Ray Kroc as the founder of McDonald's, I might have to say something."

And then, today, the PGA Tour announced that it was merging with LIV Golf to form “a new collectively owned” entity, and I was in a mood. Again.

Now, I freely admit that I would rather read a book any day of the week than sit through a football game or watch a golf match. But I am surrounded by guys so I do, on occasion, enter their world and so I have been following the PGA Tour and LIV Golf debacle. Heck, I even watched all eight episodes of Full Swing on Netflix.

But today the PGA Tour caved. Oh, I listened to the news and watched interviews, and they tried to sugarcoat things, but the way I see it … they caved. After months of vehemently declaring they wanted nothing to do with LIV, they heard the siren call of money and answered that call. Show me the money! All the golfers who took insane amounts of money to join LIV will now (potentially) be allowed back, while all those who were loyal to the PGA Tour are left standing on their integrity (which, in my opinion, is worth millions, but still).

As I said to my guys: “And they call golf a gentleman’s sport?”

So there you have it. My mood for the week has been influenced by McDonald’s and golf. 

What ... in 7 "beary" quick takes

 1-What I'm (simultaneously) reading ...

-The Language of Flowers (for book club)

-Big Little Lies (audio book)

2-What I'm watching ...

-The Tudors (I learned more British history from this one show, compliments of King Henry VIII)

- A Small Light (very well-made series)

-Wild Mountain Thyme (yet again, that’s how charming it is)

3-What I'm eating ...

-cottage cheese (all my life I have hated it, and now I don’t)

-homemade sourdough bread

-bruschetta w. fresh basil, ripe tomatoes, and my homemade sourdough bread

4-What I'm looking forward to ...

-two family vacations in Tennessee (different parts of the state)

-hiking in the Smoky Mountains National Park

-giving a Book Talk at the end of the month

-a couples wedding shower for Jonathan and Caroline

-a girls’ weekend in Hilton Head

5-What I’m proud of …

-someone who made Presidential Scholar for keeping a 4.0 his freshman year

-someone who just bought his first house in Little Rock

-someone who will be getting married in five months

-one daughter-in-law and one soon-to-be daughter-in-law (FINALLY girls in the family!)

6-What I am hoping for …

 -a bear sighting in Tennessee (I have always wanted to see a bear in the wilderness!) (from a distance, of course)

7-What makes me smile

-my bear poop story from Blowing Rock, North Carolina:

Something I never thought I'd google: "What does bear poop look like?"

Something I never thought I’d do: Take a photo of bear poop.

Something I never thought I’d call and ask my dad: “Dad, what does bear poop look like?”

Both Google and my Dad confirmed that it was in fact bear poop.

Proud Mom Moment (I think)

Once Upon a Time my entire family gathered at my parents' house for lunch. I was discussing summer reading books with my sister-in-law when Timothy chimed in.

"Do you know what my favorite book is?" he asked. "Fahrenheit 451 because all the books get burned."

Huh. Everyone laughed, but it was NOT my proudest mom moment, for sure.

Just take a fork and stab my heart, but the kid is not a fan of reading. Fiction, that is. Give him a book on stats, world records, current events, or "real stuff" (his words, such eloquence!) and he's good to go.

I guess Timothy saw how horrified I was because he softened his statement by mentioning TWO summer books he liked. Mind you, that's TWO books from his ENTIRE life of summer reading.

But all is not lost. Yesterday he came inside after washing his car and said, "Mom. Write this down because I thought of a poem."

Be still my beating heart (which was still beating despite the aforementioned fork). A poem. By my son.

And here's his poem:

two new neighbors
on either side
one really loud car
in between

Now THAT'S a proud mom moment.

I think.

When we discussed Robert Frost's poem "Nothing Gold Can Stay" fromThe Outsiders, 

one of two books from a lifetime of summer reading that he actually liked.