Hi
Everyone!
Tomorrow is our book club field trip, our June meeting to
discuss the book Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon’s
Journey Into the Afterlife by Eben Alexander III, M.D. We will be starting
our day at 9:30 AM with breakfast at the Country Kitchen on Rt. 8 South. From
there we will route our tour of 5 Butler area gardens and one in Sarver. Stopping
at the Meridian Station in Meridian as we did last year is an option for lunch
or we can also discuss other possibilities.
Last month, we met at Panera Bread in Butler for the May
meeting. The Shoemaker’s Wife by
Adriana Trigiani was the topic of our discussion. Members in attendance were
Barb D., Barb K., Becky, Cheryl, Ginnie, Lori, and myself. The book, a love
story about two Italian immigrants Ciro and Enza who meet in Italy then reunite
in America is full of so many beautiful messages for living a full and
productive life with family and friends. One of my favorites on page 232 is on
being poor and working to make ends meet. When Enza’s friend Laura tries to
convince Enza that hard times will not get them down, she says, “Look at this
as an adventure instead of a chore. All of it. Being poor, looking for work,
being scared, and going hungry as all part of the adventure.” Enza is a
brilliantly talented seamstress who doesn’t fall on hard times for long. With
Laura’s savvy scheming, they both land jobs sewing costumes in an opera house.
Meanwhile, Ciro is only a few blocks away working as an apprentice to a
shoemaker. Enza and Ciro’s paths cross several times before the timing is
finally right for their relationship to begin. Ciro takes Enza away from her
glorious career path (a feat for any woman during the time period of the early
1900’s) and the couple moves to the hinterlands of Minnesota.
In another of my favorite quotes from the book, Enza reminds
us of the necessity to use kindness when dealing with others. Upon arriving in
Minnesota, the librarian Mrs. Selby, a stereotypical educated snob, finds it
hard to believe an immigrant such as Enza could be educated and treats her with
contempt. Enza “decided to bring Mrs. Selby an embroidered handkerchief on her
next visit to the library. Winning a stranger over with kindness was a tactic
Enza had used in Schilpario and was certain it would work…” with Mrs. Selby.
Again, there are so many quotes from this book that deserve
to be remembered. Iggy one of the work hands at the convent where Ciro grew up
was a character well placed for giving advice, the “wise old man” of every
hero’s journey. As a young testosterone driven male, Ciro receives from Iggy
advice that he doesn’t necessarily care to hear. A girl may be pretty on the
outside, Iggy explains, “… but so complicated within. Don’t marry a beautiful
woman, Ciro. It’s too much work… you get the ring on her hand, and the story
changes. Women change… in every way, in manner, in personality, in their desire
for you… They want the garden, the home, the children. And then they weary of
their own dreams and look to you to make them happy… Never enough… Believe me, eventually,
you run out of ways to make a woman happy.” Iggy tries as he might to steer
Ciro away from the pretty girl he has become so taken with at St. Nicola Parish.
Later at the end of the book when Ciro, a sick man and dying
man, revisits the village and nunnery of his youth, he meets up with Iggy
again. Iggy is still as profound as ever, and our book club all laughed at
Iggy’s first words upon meeting Ciro. “Can you believe I’m not dead? … I still
visit my wife… I have not withered,” Iggy promised him, “Besides, she says
doesn’t mind… It’s one of the joys of marriage. I still get as hard as torrone.
Not as often, but enough.” Trigiani used her “wise” character as her comedic
relief for the heartbreaking passages of a fading Ciro.
Even funnier than Iggy’s revelation was Lori’s comment after
watching on Cheryl’s I-pad an interview from the Kathy Lee and Hoda Show with
the author. It was not a comment about our further insight into the writing of
Trigiani’s beautiful love story. No, because Lori did not read the book! It was
only on her astonishment over Kathy Lee, “That bitch, look at how she’s holding
up!” It was one of those Lori-isms for Becky to share with Jim.
As an added bonus to our discussion, we watched a video on
YouTube that related to the book in that it was also a love story but one
created through dance. A theatrical dance group called Shadow Dancers who appeared
on Simon Cowell’s program Britain’s Got
Talent http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8s97NiC2Ys gave the most emotional performance I have
seen in a long time. This young Hungarian group put together the most amazing
performance using their bodies to create shadows of concrete shapes. In a one
room rat and garbage infested setting, they created a true art form with their
movements. The dance is also a true story of love, birth, war, and death which
makes it even more emotional, but the musical accompaniment completes the effect.
They dance to a song called “Read All About It” by a popular artist in Britain
who is the country’s current version of Adele. Her name is Emeli Sande and the
song is from her album Our Version of
Events. Every song on the album is awesome.
Included in this email, I placed the updated list of books
we, Butler Women of Wisdom, have read since our group’s onset in October of
2004. Read through it and remember some of the great titles and all the fun
times we have shared together through the pages of books. Hope to see all of
you tomorrow morning for more warm memories, 9:30 AM at Country Kitchen!
Tammy
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