Drive-by photos of a closed Flannery O'Connor Childhood Home

 

Photos of the Flannery O'Connor Childhood Home Museum in Savannah (building in center). It was closed to visitors on the day we were there. Built like a brick fort, sturdy and tall. Savannah's early residents built tall so they could fire down on their enemies, whoever they might be: warriors from local tribes, the King of England's soldiers, Yankees, The Misfit, or any rabble who might storm the gates. This makes it almost impossible for this fallen-away Catholic to access the place in my e-scooter. The backyard garden might be accessible but it was closed tight on Wednesday but open Friday-Sunday. It's the meeting place for the Peacock Guild writing group. Members are critiquing and polishing their work for a June reading. As the story goes, the young O'Connor taught her chicken to walk backward in the garden. Read my 2023 blog: "In Flannery O'Connor's Garden of Life, chickens walk backward"

"Lula Dean's Little Library of Banned Books" brings comic relief to the book-banning hubbub

In several Wyoming communities, including Casper, Gillette, Lander and Sheridan, some members of the public have turned typically staid school board meetings into chaos by clamoring to have all LGBTQ-themed or sex-related books -- even textbooks -- pulled from shelves.--Kerry Drake, WyoFile, May 21, 2024

Add Cheyenne to the list.

Author Kirsten Miller's new novel takes its cue from the recent book-banning tide by Moms for Liberty and other right-wing groups. While whiney complainers go ballistic over books in schools and libraries that feature minority and LBGTQ characters, Miller's book provides us with some welcome comic relief.

“Lula Dean’s Little Library of Banned Books” is a rollicking novel about this most timely of subjects. I cared for the characters – even the bad guys -- and I ploughed ahead to find out what happens to book banner Lula Dean and Little Library saboteur whose name I won’t reveal here because it was so nice to shout “Ah ha!” when that character is revealed. One of the pleasures of reading is anticipating what happens on the next page. Our protagonist finds a way to use Lula Dean’s library to get banned books into the hands of everyday people in the town.

If you have ever come across a Little Library in your neighborhood, it’s like finding a treasure. A Little Library is as quirky as the people who install these distinctive structures in their front yard and stock it with books. It might feature one topic, say astronomy or gardening or children’s literature. A little librarian who is a fiction fan might stock mysteries or cowboy romances or just a hodgepodge of novels set in 18^th century France, Mars of the future, or modern-day Manhattan.

In a county library, books are arranged just so by trained librarians. You want “Beloved” by Toni Morrison, you stroll to the fiction section and find it under M. If confused, you can look up the location on the library’s bank of computers. And, this may seem quaint and outdated, but you also can ask a librarian. They are very helpful.

In Lula Dean’s case, she is so outraged by some of the “filth” foisted on unsuspecting teen readers. ] Lula Dean stocks her library with hardcover books on wholesome subjects. Titles include “The Art of Crochet,” “Contract with America,” “Manhood: The Masculine Virtues America Needs,” and “Buffy Halliday Goes to Europe.” It won’t be long before a bored teen turns into a dedicated saboteur who will muck up Lula Dean’s efforts to invoke the tenets spelled out in Project 2025.

Crystal Moore is a textbook housewife until she sees her husband cheating on her with a cashier at the local Piggly Wiggly. Desperate, she goes to Lula’s library to find a way to win back her husband. She picks “The Rules: Time-tested Secrets for Capturing the Heart of Mr. Right.” Once she starts reading she discovers the book is “All Women are Witches: Find Your Power and Put it to Use.” The preacher’s daughter is shocked, at first, but starts reading and finds some helpful advice that might “keep Janelle Hopkins’ giant boobs away from my husband.” 

Well, first she wanders into the woods to pick up items for a love potion from the "Witches" book. She gets lost in the woods and unleashes a string of obscenities that might not win her Mother of the Year honors. She finds a pond, strips, and goes swimming. She dries off by the pond and is absorbed by nature. She’s still there when the sun sets and the moon rises. Next thing she knows, it’s morning and a search party is calling out her name. She returns home but life is never going to be the same for her husband and family or the town of Troy. Its residents find secret texts in Lula’s library and put them to good use.

The author, who grew up in North Carolina, sets the novel in a small community in  Georgia. Why not some little town in the Carolinas or possibly even Wyoming? Why not, indeed (see the intro quote). Georgia has featured heavily in the Christian Right’s effort to take away books from our kids and eventually (we know it’s coming) from adult readers and even crotchety old guy readers such as myself. Georgia is not all MAGA hats and smoke-belching pickups. It’s also home to liberal Atlanta with its thousands of curious readers as well as Tyler Perry’s groundbreaking movie studio. Georgia is also home to Athens which enlivened the independent music scene with R.E.M., the B-52s, and Widespread Panic. Georgia-based Jimmy Carter and Habitat for Humanity practice the “woke” Bible with good deeds for communities across the globe.

We are reminded daily that not every burg wants to ban books. But there are too many that are. Ignoramuses with Bible in hand and a seething resentment they can’t explain serve on too many local school boards in every Wyoming county.  

This hubbub may eventually die down and readers decades from now may wonder what the fuss was about. I’m reminded of Carl Hiaasen’s book “Squeeze Me” and its predatory humans and Burmese pythons. The book’s only four years old and man what a fun ride it was. We had hoped that by this time the book’s main character, a certain human predator in South Florida, would be gone from the political stage. But he’s not. Someone should write a book about it.

Miller was inspired, finished the book in record time, and Harper Collins wasted little time in getting it into our hands. The publishing process is agonizingly slow so credit goes to Miller, her agent, proofreaders, and HC.

The big question: Do satires ever do any good? “Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb” is now 60 years old and me and everyone else in Wyoming’s Capital City are surrounded by nuclear missiles that could wipe out humankind at the punch of a button. Know-it-alls who want to tell the rest of us what to do and what to read have always been with us. The pungent film “Idiocracy” is now seen as a documentary. The brilliant “Catch-22” and “Slaughterhouse Five” did little to stop warfare. What’s the point?

The point is that fine books such as “Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl,” “Fahrenheit 451,” and “The Handmaid’s Tale” have something important to tell us. People who read are more informed and more engaged citizens. Maybe that’s what Lula Dean and her crowd are afraid of.

That’s exactly what they are afraid of.

 

 

In Flannery O'Connor's Garden of Life, chickens walk backward

A few weeks ago, I wrote about the intersection of writers and gardening. I mentioned that Flannery O'Connor's Andalusia in Milledgeville, Georgia, had gardens and peacocks. Yesterday, as I looked up writers with Savannah ties, I came across the fact that O'Connor was born and mostly raised in Savannah. Her childhood home is now site of a museum and gardens. Now I have two O'Connor-related gardens to visit next time I'm in Georgia. One of the more interesting facts on the museum's web site, was a snippet about a 6-year-old O'Connor and her trained chicken. She trained a chicken to walk backward. This apparently caught the attention of Pathe News Service and they came to Savannah to see for themselves. They filmed O'Connor and her talented chicken and it ended up in a 1931 newsreel that theater patrons would see before the cartoon and double feature. The writer sarcastically noted later that this was quite an event for her and everything that followed was an "anticlimax." The writer died of lupus at 39. Her anticlimax included some fine writing. She's influenced thousands of us with her spare style featuring "grotesques" (her term) of the South. Plenty of humor too. Not sure if any story or novel featured a backward-walking chicken. Who would believe that? The Misfit?

Cheyenne Vineyard Church's "Cotton Patch Gospel" has roots in Christian social justice

My former work colleague Randy Oestman left state employment to serve as a minister for the Cheyenne Vineyard Church, 1506 Thomes Ave. Vineyard services are very musical, I am told, which is not surprising, considering Randy's theatre background. Randy and his Vineyard colleagues take the New Testament's social justice message seriously. They minister to Cheyenne's homeless and collect leftover foodstuffs from farmers' markets to distribute to needy families. I buy my eggs from Randy, whose chickens lay the darndest-colored eggs. Randy even practices his theatrical skills in the chicken coop.

In October, the Vineyard Church is producing the "Cotton Patch Gospel," based on a book by Tom Key and Russell Treyz, with music by Harry Chapin, written just before he died in a 1981 traffic accident. Anything with music by Harry Chapin has to be good.

Here is a description of the play from Wikipedia:

Cotton Patch Gospel is a musical by Tom Key and Russell Treyz with music and lyrics written by Harry Chapin just before his death in 1981. Based on the book The Cotton Patch Version of Matthew and John by Clarence Jordan, the story retells the life of Jesus as if in modern day, rural Georgia.

Using a southern reinterpretation of the gospel story, the musical is often performed in a one-man show format with an accompanying quartet of bluegrass musicians, although a larger cast can also be used. A video recording of the play was released in 1988 with Tom Key as the leading actor.

Interesting to note that Clarence Jordan was the founder of the Koinonia Farm,  a ground-breaking Christian social justice community that infuriated its white Georgia neighbors by practicing and preaching equality for all, including African-Americans. During the Civil Rights struggles of the 1950s and '60s, Koinonia was the target of a local economic boycott and several bombings. It was able to survive by shipping all of its goods through the U.S. Postal Service because, as we all know, "the mail must go through." Jordan also was instrumental in the founding of Habitat for Humanity, another revolutionary Georgia organization. Koinonia and Habitat had a big influence on one of its neighbors, Jimmy Carter of Plains. Clarence Jordan's nephew, Hamilton, was President Carter's chief of staff.

"Cotton Patch Gospel" will be performed at the Cheyenne Vineyard Church Oct. 5-6. 12-13 and 19-20 at 7 p.m. Admission is free but please bring grocery gift cards or non-perishable food for the needy. Call for tickets: 307-638-8700.

We're number three! -- on the list of most corrupt states

At least we're not number one: States with the most lax anti-corruption laws

Brother Duane said "eat a peach for peace," so I did

Eat a peach, ya'll

Eat a peach for peace.

That's what Duane Allman did. In an interview shortly before his death by motorcycle in October 1971, Duane was asked in an interview what he was doing for the revolution. Replied Duane:

"There ain't no revolution, it's evolution, but every time I'm in Georgia I eat a peach for peace."

Eat a peach. Let the juice run down your chin.

That's what I did this morning. It was a Colorado peach from Palisade, where they grow ones almost as good as the Georgia variety. Peach State. Peachtree Street, where Margaret Mitchell stepped off a curb and was killed by a car.

When I eat a peach I think of the Allman Brothers namesake album, the last one recorded with the full original band makeup, before Duane and Barry Oakley discovered the joys of driving motorcycles in Macon, Georgia.

Eat a peach for peace.

I did a little farmers' market shopping, as I said in my previous post. The Depot Plaza was crowded with vendors and shoppers. Miller Farms out of Platteville had some good deals. I was intrigued by Miller Farms flyers announcing its fall harvest festival. From Labor Day weekend through mid-November, Miller Farms opens the gates for "harvest-your-own" days. In October, the farm has pumpkin harvesting and a haunted adventure, including a corn maze. Interesting how Front Range farms, at least those that have survived the housing development boom of the past 30 years, have gone in big for the local foods movement. Miller Farms has a big Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program. It's not officially a state historic site but it does advertise that it's been around since 1949 and is "a true Colorado treasure."

In September, I am going down to Miller Farms to pick my own.

I wonder if people can shop at farmers' markets and avoid grocery stories. Some of us are having a tough time making ends meet. Grocery prices have climbed with transportation costs. Unemployment is low in Wyoming, but it's not exactly a hot market for those looking for work. Hiring is hot in the energy industry, especially in the Niobrara oil shale country of northern Colorado and southeast Wyoming. The service industry is always hiring, although jobs are barely minimum wage. The job market for professionals is static, although that's better than "awful."

I spent $30.70 at today's market and probably got enough food for the weekend. Here's what I bought:

Goat chops from Wag's Livestock in Laramie, $9.70
New potatoes from Destine Hoover's Laramie County farm, $3
15 ears of corn from LaSalle, Colo., $5
Container of Palisade peaches from Dick's Place, Cheyenne, $10
Slice of strawberry/rhubarb coffee cake from Robin's Treats, Laramie, $3

I probably should have bought steaks from Wag's but Jim Waggoner talked me into goat. I told him I'd never tried it and he replied that this was enough of a good reason to buy some. I had to agree. Jim and Sue spend their Friday afternoons and evenings at the Laramie market and then drive over the pass to Cheyenne for Saturday.

At the farmers' market work, I would have had to spend at least $100 to get through the week. Even then, I'd have to go to Albertson's for milk and other food items. I still think it's great that Community Action of Laramie County now takes credit, debit and EPT cards. And this is only second weekend for the Saturday market.

But, as the Miller Farms flyer said, "eat nutritiously, buy locally and be healthy."

Eat a peach for taste. Eat a peach for "local." Eat a peach for health.

Eat a peach for peace.

Happy birthday to a writing mentor

Happy birthday to Harry Crews. He was one of my writing mentors during my time in Hogtown. He helped me look at fiction in new ways, and introduced me to many of the Southern writers I had overlooked in my youth (or those that the nuns in high school overlooked for me). Harry said that he learned to write by copying those stories and novel passages that he especially liked. Not sure how many of those he did. I tried it and it helped me get to the bottom of phraseology and rhythms. Also a great way to grok a story's dialogue. He wrote, as he tells it, a "roomful of stories," but most weren't published at the time. He did publish a slew of books.

Harry's novels (Feast of Snakes, Car, Karate is a Thing of the Spirit) explore the wild side of life in the South. He also wrote fine pieces for big mags such as Playboy and Esquire. His Esquire column, Grits, was a must-read for me every month. He wrote about encountering some rough customers while hiking the Appalachian Trail, a part of the trail that passes through the place where they hanged the circus elephant. I guess you can "see the elephant" down South, too. His most chilling piece (for Playboy, if I remember correctly) was "The Button-Down Terror of David Duke." It was a chilling piece because KKK Grand Wizard David Duke had learned what his forebears had not, that late-20th-century marketing required a smile, a suit and speaking in complete sentences. The message was the same but the messenger had grown slicker and more menacing.

Crews could talk to people like Duke because he grew up in southern Georgia swamp country. He knew these people. They were family. He imagined people like them and put them in his books. They were sometimes large and startling figures. No surprise that Harry has this quote from another Georgia native on his web site:

"When you can assume that your audience holds the same beliefs as you do, you can relax a little and use more normal means of talking to it; when you have to assume that it does not, then you have to make your vision apparent by shock—to the hard of hearing you shout, and for the almost-blind, you draw large and startling figures." — Flannery O'Connor, "The Fiction Writer & His Country" 

Happy birthday, Harry. Thanks for everything.

Wyoming Women's Foundation wants stories by women struggling to reach economic self-sufficiency

I was talking to a part-time coworker a few days before Christmas. Her full-time job is as a waitress at a restaurant that we shall call ApplebeesPerkinsChilisTexasRoadhouseOutback, etc. She makes $2.13 an hour and looks to make more -- much more -- in tips. On the last day she worked during the “Season of Giving,” she made a buck in tips during the entire shift. For her eight hours, she made $17. This will pay for a half tank of gas, if current prices hold steady..

Tipped workers have their work cut out for them. Sure, on good nights they make more than the $7.25/hour federal minimum wage. If they don’t, their employer is supposed to make up the difference. Most don’t, because there is no enforcement.

Wyoming's legislatively-mandated minimum wage is $5.15/hour. We are tied with Georgia as the state with the lowest minimum wage. Good to see that Wyoming is trying to keep up with the Georgians. Or vice versa. At least Wyorgia has a minimum wage requirement. Five Southern states have none. They include Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, South Carolina and Louisiana. The Feds can’t mandate that states adhere to a minimum wage. They would be told “it’s none of your cotton-pickin’ business what we pay our slaves employees.”

Such good company we keep.

The Wyoming Women’s Foundation is looking for stories from women struggling to make ends meet. Here’s the announcement:

The Wyoming Women’s Foundation announces the launch of a new project designed to help raise awareness of the barriers women face in achieving economic self-sufficiency in Wyoming.

We are seeking to learn about the life of workers who earn minimum wage in Wyoming. Are you earning minimum wage? (The current federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour).What kind of job do you have? Are you able to make ends meet with that wage? How? We will be asking how your wage impacts you life and that of your family.

We will also specifically be looking for information from Wyomingites who rely on tipped wages. Are your tipped wages enough to get you by and are you aware of the tipped offset? We encourage you to check the WYWF facebook page to share your story. If you would prefer your information remains anonymous and not posted publically, please email us at sarah@wywf.org or call 307-250-0479. Your information will be kept confidential, unless you agree to let us share your story.

Please join the conversation! We want to hear from you so that we can maximize the number of women in Wyoming that have achieved economic self-sufficiency!

Art blossoms all over Georgia -- and in airports all over U.S.

"Dogwood," a sculpture by John Portman in downtown Atlanta. I think this a dogwood blossom in bronze I(although I couldn't determine the medium). These blossoms light up the Georgia spring which usually occurs in late March. In Wyoming, the calendar may say spring but the landscape cries snow and cold. The Atlanta airport has a fantastic public art program. Walking the concourse like walking the corridors of a museum. Art, history and science displays.

Here's another airport that really values art:

What hath Coke wrought?

Ol' Doc Pemberton offers up a serving of CoCola (Southern pronunciation) at the World of Coca Cola in Atlanta. I was taking a walk in the sun during a break in the Federation of Families for Children's Mental Health conference. One of the discussion topics has been the high incidence of drug and alcohol abuse among youth with mental health issues. Way back when, patent medicine was laced with coca and laudanum. Parents gave it too their kids for all kinds of reasons. Our heritage of abuse? My understanding is that the coke in Coke was replaced early on with caffeine, which is the drug of choice for most of us now.

In U.S., opportunity is not universal

Wes Moore, author of "The Other Wes Moore," today at the Federation of Families for Children's Mental Health conference in Atlanta: "In the U.S., potential is universal but opportunity is not."

Looking forward to reading the book.

More Atlanta public art

"The Rites of Spring" by Eliot Weinberg. Cold day in Atlanta. It is warmer (I hear) back in Cheyenne. Wes Moore speaking at Mental Health conference luncheon.

Big statues, big themes, big vision

"Ballet Olympia" (1991-92), conceived and designed by John Portman from Paul Manship's "Maenad" (1953), a three-foot bronze figurine. Created in the run-up to the 1994 Olympics.

Harvey Deselms talking about a bronze on every Cheyenne corner. How about this one in Atlanta across from my downtown convention hotel? Within a block of the hotel are at least seven original sculptures. I don't like them all but none are horses or cowboys, which is a vast improvement.