Butler Women of Wisdom met on Wednesday, April 27, at Mama Rosa’s Ristorante. We started the meeting at 6:30 P.M. with Becky, Cheryl, Jody, Mary Beth, Lori, Sharon and me in attendance and The Book of Bright Ideas by Sandra Krung as the topic of our discussion.
From the start of Krung’s book, honesty and innocence resonate through the voice of her narrator, a young girl named Button. As early as page 3, Button’s honesty is evident in her description of her Aunt Verdella, “Her body reminded me of a snowman made with two balls instead of three. The littlest ball was her head, sitting right on top of one big, fat ball.” Instantly amused from these lines, I found Button an approachable child and quickly nestled into a comfortable reader/narrator relationship.
In her innocence Button never questions her mom’s fastidious obsession with outward and inward cleanliness or her father’s disinterest in her, his only daughter. Button had acquired coping mechanisms to deal with the daily psychosis and mistreatment she receives from her parents. She mutters odd noises from her throat and bites her lips till they’re chapped. Through Button, we revisit our childhoods and admit to having acquired habits to cope with our own home lives. From biting finger nails or furniture to twisting the hair out of our heads, if we think hard enough, we have to admit that we all developed behaviors to cope with growing up.
Escape is another means of coping, and Button is lucky to have a daily escape. Every work day, Button stays at her sweet Aunt Verdella’s while her mother is at work. It is with Aunt Verdella that Button met her friend Winnalee and her sister Freeda Malone. While renting a house from Aunt Verdella, Freeda and Winnalee become part of the family. A free spirited little girl, Winnalee teaches Button her own coping mechanisms. Winnalee finds her escape from the pain of losing her mother by carrying her mother’s urn and by escaping into the fantasy world of fairies. Who hasn’t escaped their fears without the aid of blankies, stuffed animals, or dolls; or who hasn’t escaped from reality without the help of imaginary friends or make-believe places?
Winnalee also shares another means of escape with Button, The Book of Bright Ideas. It is a journal where Winnalee records valuable thoughts on how to live and adapt. In a gesture of friendship, Winnalee invites Button to join her in filling the journal with important ideas. I can identify with escaping via journal as many of you I’m sure have also found. As far back as fifth grade, I have kept journals, and I still find a journal one of the most satisfying centers for retreat. Button and Winnalee’s Book of Bright Ideas reveal their honesty and innocence. One of their bright ideas I find worthy of remembering is “When the weather’s bad and your lights go out, have a pajama party. Eat till you feel sick, hula hoop, paint your faces, catch fireflies, and dance naked in the rain.” In this innocent thought, Button and her friend Winnalee are reminding us to find our inner child and lighten up.
We learn from Button’s alter egos to avoid extremes, like the extreme nature of Freeda, Winnalee’s wild and fornicating sister, and the extreme nature of Button’s priggish and frigid mom. The hero figure of Button’s memoir is Aunt Verdella. She represents the best of both alter egos: the loving mother, the devoted lover, and the dependable friend. Verdella loves everyone and reminds us “You can’t judge a person by what they’re doing, till you know why they’re doing it.”
Button’s mom shows us that it is possible to make changes in our lives. When Freeda warns on page 282, “Crissakes, our kids are only nine years old, and already we’ve got regrets. How damn bad is it gonna be by the time they’re grown?” We think about our own lives, and I don’t know how bad I’ve messed up my own kids (and I certainly don’t’ want to know), but I do know that every new day is an opportunity for change. Krung’s characters, and many of the multitude of characters we have read in the last six years of book club, have shared their words of wisdom and have been part of our own personal journeys of change. Like Krung, it is the willingness of these authors to spill their guts, through the thoughts, words, and actions of their characters, of all the good and evil they’ve endured and by divulging their most sincere and liberating lessons on life that they offer us opportunities to change.
Our next book club meeting is scheduled for 6:30 P.M.,Tuesday, May 31, at Mama Rosa’s Ristorante. We will be discussing another very insightful book that is sure to invoke us to more change, especially in the way we think about the elderly and that final, imminent stage of life. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen is our title. As the movie version of the book is now playing in the theaters, we are planning a field trip as a book extension activity. A date will be set for the girl’s night out at the next meeting. Just to let you know, however, we will probably have to see it at the Clearview Mall Cinema, because I doubt that it will still be showing in the major theaters by the time we make our plans. I called South Pike and they said that it could be pulled any day, all depending on the movie’s popularity.
A presto at Mama Rosa’s Ristorante,
Tammy
