More From Writing Women's Lives

As I wrote previously, I found many wonderful passages in this book. 

Mary Antin: 

Silence upon silence is added to the night; only the kitchen clock is the voice of my brooding thoughts,--ticking, ticking, ticking.

I'd like to read more of her work.

Madeleine L'Engle:

If we are not willing to risk to fail, we will never accomplish anything. All creative acts involve the risk of failure. Marriage is a terrible risk. So is having children. So is giving a performance in the theater, or the writing of a book. Whenever something is completed successfully, then we must move on, and that is again to risk failure. 

Lucille Clifton:

Things don't fall apart. Things hold. Lines connect in thin ways that last and last and lives become generations made out of pictures and words just kept. 

Diane Glancy: 

Do you have something bothering you? Get into it. That will save the problem of writing boring poems...

    

I think it's also important to know why you write. When I go into a bookstore & see shelves full of books, I think why do I do this? Hasn't it been done better than I can do it? That's when I have to be able to look at myself & decide, I have something to say too--These other books can move over & make room for mine. 

Latest Films

 It's been a while since I wrote about movies I've watched, so here goes. 

Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey: I'm not familiar with the comics and didn't see Suicide Squad. This was kind of fun, but I absolutely hated Margo Robbie's (Harley Quinn's) voice. Unfortunately, she's the narrator. 

JoJo Rabbit: We enjoyed this movie and its quirky mixture of comedy and drama. Example: Adolph Hitler as JoJo's imaginary friend. 

Kind Lady: I watched this for Basil Rathbone who starred as a conman posing as a poor artist in an attempt to fleece a generous art collector. He recruited a fake wife, doctor, friends and borrowed a baby for his scheme. I caught a problem early in the film when Rathbone's character went to get a doctor. Of course he brings his crony. How would a homeless artist know a neighborhood doctor? Fun Fact: the doctor was played by Murray Kinnell who was memeorably killed by Jimmy Cagney in The Public Enemy. Kinnell also recommended Bette Davis to George Arliss for a role in The Man Who Played God. That was Bette's big break.

Miller's Crossing: This is a Coen Brothers film that I've wanted to see for a long time. We watched it tonight, and I want to see it again. On the surface, it's a battle between Irish and Italian gangsters. But, there's a lot more going on than that.

Eyes in the Night and The Hidden Eye: I've seen these movies before and wrote about the first here. I liked these films and wished the series had been longer. I did miss Allan Jenkins and yes, Mantan Moreland, who were in the first, but not the second film. Moreland was funny in his talks with the German Shepard Friday. Friday is the best character in the film. 

The Husky Puppy

After brunch, we walked Lola around the neighborhood. We were coming up the hill by the hospital when Jeff said, I think there's a dog in there. 

I'm not sure how Jeff saw her, but I'm glad he did. We sat down and talked to her. She didn't respond except she drew back when Lola got too close. We were afraid that if we tried to grab her, she would panic and take off, possibly into the street. 

I called Animal Control, but it's closed until tomorrow. Next I called the police. In the meantime, two hospital workers stopped by. One had water and the other found a cup and poured some water for the puppy. She wasn't interested in the water, but seemed comfortable enough to sleep even with us nearby. A police officer came by about 20 minutes after I called. The husky was very docile. The officer just pulled her from the bushes to take her to Animal Control. She didn't have a collar.

We wish we could have brought her home with us for the night, but Lola wouldn't have been welcoming to her (to say the least.) I hope she finds someone to love her as much as we love Lola. 

Bonus cuteness: Lola sleeping on Jeff's lap.

RIP Ruth Bader Ginsburg

I was washing dishes when Jeff came into the kitchen and told me he had bad news: Ruth Bader Ginsburg died. I'm sorry to admit that the first thing I said was couldn't she have held on for a few months. Trump and McConnell will try to force a replacement through the Senate. I am afraid of the result.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg deserves more than the fear of who could replace her. Yet I can't help but be fearful. 

32

Today is Jeff's and my 32nd wedding anniversary. We might have taken a mini vacation somewhere, but with Covid-19 lurking about, it's not worth the risk. 

It will be a low-key day. We'll take Lola out for a long walk on the NRVT in Wilton. We have early dinner reservations at 5:30. We took our time deciding where to go: we still aren't comfortable eating indoors and checked several menus. Luckily, the weather will support outdoor dining.

We ultimately decided on Basso. We've eaten there several times before; the food is always good. I just checked out its most recent menu updated Tuesday. It looks good. 

I'd also like to do some writing today. 

Happy Anniversary to us. 

New Fall Classes

Yesterday I started another fiction writing class offered by the Norwalk Library--the third consecutive class via Zoom. 

Our teacher Kim Kovach talked about a French literary techinique called Oulipo, using constraints or structures to create works. This class is larger than the last class, so Kim has extended the class time from 1.5 to 2 hours so we can all read. 

We did an in-class exercise using dialogue only to write a one-page story. The set-up is: the doorbell rings; a character answers the door and says, "Oh, it's you again."

Homework for next week: write a two-page story about a character who finds a note on his/her car windshield. I'm finding it challenging to get an idea. Wow, I just got one and wrote a few lines.

Today I started a class at Rowayton Arts Center: Mixed Media and Collage. It's one of two in-person classes this fall, limited to six students (we have five.) The other four students have more art experience than I have, but I'm not intimidated by that. They are open and friendly, and the class was a lot of fun. Our instructor Mari Gyorgyey encouraged us to bring in older artworks which we can re-purpose. I'm excited to try some new techniques. 

More Egret Photos

The local fowl finally seem to be cooperating with my photography. I just wish I could get closer.