FRANKLIN FRIDAY: MY BUDDY

Hi Every Buddy. It's me, Franklin the Bordernese.

I don't have funny stories or snicker snorts today. My best friend, Harper, has gone to Heaven to be with Faulkner, The Original Dog.

I will miss him lots.

Faulkner taught Harper to walk on stairs, and Harper taught me how to walk on stairs. None of us lived in a house until Mom made us part of her family.

I told Harper all my secrets.

He didn't feel so good yesterday. He hardly moved. He stayed on a doggy bed next to Mom while she worked on her laptop.

She says she'll miss him even more than she does now when the weather gets chilly at night. He slept with her and would put his back up right against her back, really close. It made her broken back feel better. She said he was like a big furry heating pad.

Last week he couldn't get in the bed anymore. His legs were too weak and shaky.

Mom asked me to tell you this quotation from a poem by W.H. Auden: He was my North, my South, my East, and West, / My working week and my Sunday rest. 

Harper, Mom and I will miss you so much.


Okay. I love you. Bye-bye.

MOVIE WEEKEND: HAPPY VALLEY

Gentle Readers . . . and Maxwell,

This week's show isn't a movie. It's a BBC series that has six episodes and is also called a Netflix Original Series. It's Happy Valley (2014, Available on DVD and Netflix Streaming).

I noticed this advertisement on Netflix Streaming and thought it looked interesting because the actress is on Last Tango In Halifax, another BBC six-episode per season series that I've seen on PBS. Two seasons of Last Tango are available, and a third is in the works. Willy Dunne Wooters and I are smitten with Last Tango. WDW says it is about us (the love story with the older couple).

Then Rita of SoulComfort's Corner mentioned Happy Valley to me. Rita and I tend to like the same movies and TV shows. I rely on her opinion. She said she had watched Happy Valley on Netflix Streaming and gotten so caught up in it that she stayed up till two a.m. to finish the series.

I told Willy Dunne Wooters about it. He agreed we should give it a try. The weekend before last we watched the first two episodes. After the second one, WDW said, If I didn't have to go to work in the morning I'd stay up till two to watch the rest of this show.

This past weekend we viewed the rest of the series--four episodes. Heavens to Betsy! We couldn't believe how compelling and frightening and poignant this show is. We felt as if we were watching real life.

The actress from Last Tango is named Sarah Lancashire, and she's now the top of the pops with me. She's good in Tango, but in Happy Valley she's nothing short of amazing. She plays a police sergeant named Catherine Cawood who lives with her eight-year-old grandson, whose mother (Sarah's daughter) committed suicide; and her sister, a former heroin addict. Catherine's husband left her because he couldn't bear to be around Ryan, the grandson, who exists because their daughter was raped by a man named Tommy Lee Royce (James Norton, who is just about as creepy as it gets).

One day Cawood thinks she sees Royce, and she's right. He's been released from prison. Nothing good will come of that. Royce's presence, Ryan and Catherine's problems at home, Catherine's problems at work, and the kidnapping of a local girl had us spellbound. I cried a few tears three or four times because the show is so intense. It also features some comic relief sarcastic asides. I don't think WDW cried, but he loves the show, too.

Happy Valley is brilliantly written, and I'll go so far as to call it a show about female empowerment. The women demonstrate great emotional strength most of the time; they have the occasional breakdown or fit of temper--only human, they aren't hysterical females. Moreover, Catherine Cawood is quite the kick ass cop. She holds her own against some very tough men and shows no fear. She's a great role model. She does whatever it takes to perform her duties.

This show is not for children, and I'd think twice about allowing teens to watch it. In fact, if you're of the sensitive variety and prone to nightmares, it might not be for you.

Here's a piece of trivia about the series that's not so trivial: The show is set in Yorkshire, as is Last Tango. Catherine says she's going to Heptonstall to visit her daughter's grave. I thought, That sounds familiar. I believe that's where Sylvia Plath is buried (Plath is one of my two favorite poets; the other is Emily Dickinson).

Catherine kneels at her daughter's grave. Nearby, I see a grave that looks familiar. It has a great number of tulips on it. Could that be Sylvia Plath's grave? I wondered. Her devotees often leave tulips on her grave. I've never been there, but I've seen photos of it. It's a rather distinct grave. I checked in with my friend Google and learned that yes, the scenes with the daughter's grave were filmed very close to Plath's grave. Ryan mentions pens on the grave, too. I learned online that Plath's fans also leave pens on her grave.

At first, I thought, What an interesting coincidence! They were near Sylvia Plath's grave, and I recognized it.

Then I gave it more thought. Catherine's daughter killed herself; Sylvia Plath killed herself. Catherine's daughter had a young son; Plath had two young children. Catherine's daughter had been treated horrifically by a man; Plath was treated horrifically by her husband, who left her and their two young children to have an affair with another woman. Catherine's husband has "replaced" her with a new wife; Plath's husband, Ted Hughes, replaced Plath with the other woman, although he did not marry her. Eventually, the other woman killed herself.

I can't imagine these connections are mere coincidence. I believe that shooting near Plath's grave was a deliberate decision. Plath has become a feminist icon as a great poet and as a woman who tried to have it all (poet, writer, wife, mother, homemaker, promoter of her husband's career--Ted Hughes eventually became the poet laureate of England), only to have her husband destroy their family. Plath had long been subject to deep depressions, yet her husband left her to fend for herself and their two young children. I'm not saying he didn't provide her with money for their care. He withdrew his emotional support and abandoned her.

Shooting scenes where Plath's grave can be seen seems to me to be an announcement that this series is a feminist show. It's about women who are remarkably brave. It's also about women who can be brought low because they are female, who are trampled on by men. The feminist struggle continues.

Happy Valley, created and written by Sally Wainwright--also the creator and writer of Last Tango In Halifax--earns The Janie Junebug & Willy Dunne Wooters Seal of Highest, Exceptional Love and Approval. It's as good as watching an excellent feature film. Better than most.

A second season of Happy Valley is scheduled to appear in 2015.


Infinities of love,

Janie Junebug

NOT TODAY

QUIET, PLEASE.

I'M EDITING.

CAN'T A MAN GET ANY PRIVACY?

Fischducky passed this work of art on to me because Willy Dunne Wooters has the same problem.

A FINAL EVENING ON LAKE JUNEBUG

Gentle Readers . .  and Maxwell,

Many of you have written posts about the arrival of autumn. It's still warm here in Northern Florida, but it's pleasant. The humidity is tolerable. While the weather is nice, I recommend you take one last vacation for the year. You need an evening on Lake Junebug.

My prices are low (however much I owe the IRS so about $4,000 and that can be a group rate if you want to bring some pals or the whole family). It's rained a great deal lately so the lake is full. Notice the trees reflected in the beautiful clear water:

Architecture buffs will enjoy attractions such as the steps that lead down to the lake:

Look at the beautiful vegetation right next to the lake:

You'll feel as if you're visiting the Galapagos. Wildlife surrounds Lake Junebug:

Monsieur Malinois, I presume? You meet the elite when you vacation on Lake Junebug:

The dining area, where our chef prepares gourmet meals on the grill:

Another lovely view of the deluxe amenities:

The fence guarantees privacy should you want to indulge in a little skinny dipping:

I haven't set up the hammock yet, but it's a hammock for two. Romance guaranteed. If you bring the kids, they can sleep on the deck itself. They'll be thrilled by this outdoor adventure.

Be sure to book your trip soon. If you wait too long, the party will be over.


Infinities of love,

Janie Junebug, proprietor

BOOK NOOK: WHEN I WAS A SLAVE

Gentle Readers . . . and Maxwell,

I have quite an unusual group of interviews for you today. During The Great Depression (not the one now--the one during the 1930s), the government founded the Works Project Administration as a way of providing employment for a number of people. One aspect of the WPA was the Federal Writers' Project.

Yes, the government actually gave jobs to writers, and one of the most important and interesting outcomes of the project turned out to be two thousand+ transcripts of interviews by the writers with former slaves, who were quite elderly. What a treasure trove of information: slavery in the United States as described by the people who lived it. It's known as the Slave Narrative Collection.

The Collection represents people who worked on large plantations, small plantations, were house slaves, were field slaves, were babies when they were liberated, or were fifty years old and didn't know what to do after emancipation. The finished interviews ended up in The Rare Book Room of The Library of Congress, where they were inaccessible to most people and their very existence was almost unknown.

The interviews were first used as source material in 1945, and then gradually, during the 1970s, were published in their entirety. Information about the collection is available online at http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/snhtml/snhome.html, and pages from the collection can even be viewed.

Selections from the collection that feature a wide range of memories can be found in a paperback book called When I Was A Slave: Memoirs from the Slave Narrative Collection, edited by Norman R. Yetman. When I purchased the book, I didn't know the collection was available online, but perhaps it's just as well because reading more than two thousand memoirs online seems a rather daunting task. I bought my book on Amazon at http://goo.gl/QZgKkt.

 The former slaves' stories are sadly fascinating. Some describe being treated well and staying with the families who enslaved them after they were free. Many endured appalling conditions. Their stories are told in the vernacular, with corrections for readability.

But for every former slave who says, We had enough to eat; we had clothes; we were treated well––we have to keep in mind that this human being was enslaved. Having a life that's not as bad as another slave's life . . . it's still slavery, and we must beware of becoming "slavery deniers," who think that Marster treated his slaves well because slaves were expensive and necessary.

For every person who was relatively happy as a slave, I wager you'll find far more who abode in misery.

Mary Anderson, age 86 when she was interviewed, describes Marster as having four overseers, but the overseers were not allowed to whip the slaves. If a slave was unruly, then he was sent away and sold, and others would arrive to take the place of the departed. Mary Anderson says nothing about the way this action must have separated families.

Then we have Mary Armstrong, interviewed at age 91. She recalls the mistress who "whipped my little sister what was only nine months old, and just a baby, to death. She come and took the diaper offen my little sister and whipped till the blood just ran––just 'cause she cry like all babies do, and it kilt my sister." This story is not the only one that's horrifying.

These stories are part of our history; they are part of human history; they are part of a world that continues today with modern slavery.

I urge you to familiarize yourself with at least some of these memoirs, whether you buy the book or do so online.

I ask God to help us keep from repeating our mistakes.


Infinities of love,

Janie Junebug

MOVIE WEEKEND: DISCONNECT

Gentle Readers . . . and Maxwell,

I have a powerful movie for you this week. It's Disconnect (2012, Rated R, Available On DVD).

I'm always a bit disappointed when I find a movie such as this and it's been around for a while, but I've never heard of it. And the majority of you, Dear Readers, say that you haven't heard of these movies. What keeps a movie this good from being watched by a bazillion people and getting nominated for some awards?

In Disconnect we have a family (parents and two teens), a married couple trying to recover from the death of a child, a TV journalist investigating online porn sessions involving minors, and a father and son on their own because the boy's mother died. What do they have in common? A disconnect. A disconnect from the people they need the most, while they need to disconnect from their computers and smart phones and other tech time-and-attention sucks.

Every character's story is compelling, but I want to focus on the parents with two kids. The father is a lawyer who pays little attention to his family, especially his son. Jason Bateman plays the father. I never thought of Jason Bateman as a strong actor until I saw him in Juno. I've seen him in quite a few films since then. Sometimes he plays a silly character (he is funny), but he's much better with serious, dramatic roles, such as this father. When he finally learns that his son has been cyber-bullied and who is to blame, the film reaches its climax with some great acting from Bateman and some excellent cinematography that includes slow motion and stop-action shots.

I find this film very moving. Disconnect earns The Janie Junebug Seal of Highest Approval.

I would not show this R-rated movie to children, but maybe teens starting with 13 or 14? It's up to you. You might not want them to hear the profanity and see a very graphic scene of self-violence, but if anything would make a kid lose the desire to cyber-bully, it could be this movie. Or would it teach a kid with a propensity toward bullying how to go about doing it successfully?

'Tis a conundrum, as is most of life.

You'll also learn a lot about identity theft from this movie and that, ultimately, you can't hide what you do on your computer.

I hope you have a beautiful weekend, and be sure to connect with your loved ones.


Infinities of love,

Janie Junebug

Mike Dixon: Everything you do, someone out there can see.