Hi
Everyone,
Although Jodi is somewhere navigating a
canoe through the jungles of the Amazon and Becky is sipping margaritas on a secluded
tropical beach, our Women of Wisdom Book Club had a nice showing of members at
January’s meeting. Along with myself, in attendance were Barb K., Cheryl,
Ginnie, Lori, Sharon, and we welcomed back Barb Direnzo! Remember, once a book
club member, always a book club member, we embrace all prodigal book clubbers!
Come when you can and read the book, or not!
January’s book was Fannie Flagg’s Redbird Christmas. Although, our club
didn’t really agree with the title - the book has very little to do with
Christmas. Okay, maybe the story did involve a redbird named Jack, and a
miracle with redbirds that happened to take place on the day “after” Christmas.
Redbird
Christmas is more about Oswald Campbell, a chronically
ill alcoholic, who moves to a remote town called Lost River in Alabama. There the
warm air and sunshine, his doctor recommends, might comfort Oswald’s fatal
condition. Waiting to die, however, doesn’t go as Oswald expects. Instead,
Oswald starts a new life when he is unwittingly thrown into the center of Lost
River’s eclectic community of people. Francine and the single ladies of the Polka
Dot Club; Roy, one of the few bachelors in town and the owner of the only local
store; and Patsy, a neglected and crippled orphan girl become part of Oswald’s,
formerly nonexistent, group of friends. Oswald is surprisingly inspired by life
in Lost River. He learns a new hobby, bird watching, and rediscovers his lost
talent for art. Naturally, he starts sketching the many birds he observes in
Lost River including Roy’s redbird Jack. When Oswald paints young Patsy and her
best bird friend Jack together, Oswald wins the heart of Lost River’s youngest
member. Day by day as their relationship grows, Oswald’s death becomes less
likely as his health becomes stronger. In contrast, however, day by day Patsy’s
crippled condition becomes more life threatening. As the plot thickens, everyone
in Lost River rallies around Patsy in the fight to protect her from her abusive
“care-less” takers and get her the love and support she needs to survive. Oswald,
Jack, Francine, Roy, and all the others in Lost River join forces to help Patsy.
Flagg’s book had some great comedic
elements, as expected. We all enjoyed the passage in which Oswald, desperate to
find an AA meeting before giving in to temptation, asks his new friend Butch
the mailman where he might find one. Butch misinterprets AA as another
organization and misinforms Oswald. Later that evening, Oswald finds himself
sitting in a room at the Knights of Columbus hall with a half a dozen men all
holding accordions. After listening to a few polkas, Oswald quietly steps out. “On
the way back home, he thought about it, and wondered which was worse, being an
accordion player or being an alcoholic. He figured it was a toss-up.”
Oswald realizes the wackiness of his
strange new home. As he watches the birds, he notices that they, like everyone
else in Lost River, are also watching him. He checks his bird guide to see how
a bird might identify him, if indeed he was a bird. Looking under “LOCATION” he
finds the term “ACCIDENTALS: Birds not expected in a particular region and,
therefore, are surprise visitors.” According to the book, Oswald identified
himself as a “medium sized, redheaded, nonbreeding accidental… he was a rare
bird, after all.” This passage also entertained us. After all, aren’t we all
rare birds?
Redbird Christmas, we discussed, is perfect fodder for
a Hallmark Christmas movie. It has the PG 13 rating, the homeless child, the
unattached bachelor, the self-proclaimed single lady, the small-town set, and a
miracle! We all enjoy those movies and snuggling in from mid-October to early
January sopping up weak plots and characters in the mindless Christmas movies made
for Hallmark channel fans. We admit, our husbands are included in the Nielson
ratings for those before bedtime at 8 PM dramas, that’s the real kicker! (Whatever
happened to the after 9 late night sex flicks of lore? And who really misses
them? Just sayin.) We are a target market for Hallmark movies, very much like
the products advertised during their commercial breaks: cell phones with the
big letter keys, fiber induced products, hearing aids, face-lifts, every manner
of health care product, medication, and surgical procedure. Oh, and how about
those assisted living communities. They are looking more and more enticing, and
wouldn’t you just die to have one of those cool tubs where the door opens so
you don’t have to lift your leg to step out?
All kidding
aside, Redbird Christmas is a fun ride from beginning to end. I wouldn’t be afraid to recommend this book as
a heartwarming easy read, no strain on the brain. It’s inspiring to discover
how a redbird miracle ultimately saves Patsy.
I am looking forward to this week’s
book club on Wednesday night at 6 PM! We will be discussing The Walk by Richard Paul Evans. See you
at Natilie’s Pizzeria! Also, on a personal note, I am looking forward to a much-needed
long weekend after a wild past week at school! I’m just glad I’m not the
clueless teacher who ate the sour patch gummies he accepted from tenth graders
who rubbed them all over the floor and under their shoes first before making
the generous offer. That’s the kind of week it was at old KCHS, and probably
will be again as students are experiencing the inevitable mid-winter cabin
fever. A full moon just waxed on Friday, so as it ebbs, adolescent tensions this
week should, I hope, subside.
See you Wednesday,
Tammy
