The Crab Chronicles

Ten Movies to Teach History

My son and I recently had a lively discussion about history. I kept seeing these videos of twenty-somethings being interviewed on the street and asked really basic history facts like What country did American break away from? and the answers he got were utterly wrong. So disturbing to see young people who couldn't answer the most basic history questions. I was so lucky to grow up with parents who thought it was really important to learn history.

The good news is that streaming services offer so many easy ways to see movies that can really help spark a discussion about the history depicted in the film. Most young people nowadays want their History presented in an entertaining fashion, not as dry lessons from a textbook. So I put together a few suggestions of movies to watch to understand American history. All of these movies should be jumping-off places for more detailed discussions of the events depicted and the actual History.

 

Cinderella Man

This 2005 movie stars Russell Crowe and Renee Zellwegger and it's an excellent depiction of life during the Great Depression. Plot: During the Great Depression, ex-boxer James J. Braddock (Russell Crowe) works as a day laborer until his former manager Joe Gould (Paul Giamatti) offers him a one-time slot against a rising young contender. After he wins a shocking upset, Braddock goes back into the ring full time, against the wishes of his frightened wife, Mae (Renée Zellweger). Dubbed "The Cinderella Man" for his rags-to-riches story, Braddock sets his sights on the defending champion, the fearsome Max Baer (Craig Bierko).

 

In Love and War

This 1996 movie stars Sandra Bullock and Chris O'Donnell and it's set in Italy during World War I. The cinematography is gorgeous and the acting of Sandra Bullock is uncharacteristically understated and subtle. You may also want to discuss the writing career of Ernest Hemingway, one of the giants of modern literature. Plot: This film is largely based on Hemingway's real-life experiences in the First World War as a young ambulance-driver in Italy. He was wounded and sent to a military hospital, where he shared a room with Villard (who later wrote the book the movie is based on) and they were nursed by Agnes von Kurowsky. Hemingway and Kurowsky fell strongly in love, but somehow the relationship didn't work out. 

 

Tolkien

Anyone who knows the Lord of the Rings Books knows their creator was a genius and JRR Tolkien led a remarkable life. It was largely shaped by his experience of losing several close friends during World War I. Full disclosure: I didn't like this movie the first time I saw it but in subsequent viewings I realize the genius of it. Plot: Tolkien explores the formative years of the orphaned author as he finds friendship, love and artistic inspiration among a group of fellow outcasts at school. This takes him into the outbreak of World War I, which threatens to tear the "fellowship" apart. All of these experiences would inspire Tolkien to write his famous Middle-Earth novels.

 

1776

I first saw this movie as a child and I loved the music. Your typical twenty-something may hate the music, but chances are they will remember what the movie is trying to teach us about how the founding fathers shaped the birth of our country. Plot: In the days leading up to July 4, 1776, Continental Congressmen John Adams and Benjamin Franklin coerce Thomas Jefferson into writing the Declaration of Independence as a delaying tactic as they try to persuade the American colonies to support a resolution on independence. As George Washington sends depressing messages describing one military disaster after another, the businessmen, landowners and slave holders in Congress all stand in the way of the Declaration, and a single "nay" vote will forever end the question of independence. Large portions of spoken and sung dialog are taken directly from the letters and memoirs of the actual participants.

 

Iron Jawed Angels

This 2004 TV movie is a powerful depiction of what women went through in order to gain the right to vote. I know a lot about feminist history but this film was a revelation to me. Young women have no idea what their grandmothers and great grandmothers went through. Plot: Alice Paul and the women of the 1917 Women's Suffrage movement fight for future generations right to vote and run for office. Sacrificing their health, marriages and the limited amount of freedom they had, women were imprisoned and force fed after picketing and hunger-striking against war-time president, Woodrow Wilson; but survived to see the results of their efforts.

 

Hidden Figures

I loved this 2016 movie about the brilliant women who were crucial in the space program of the 1950's and 60's. Plot: As the United States raced against Russia to put a man in space, NASA found untapped talent in a group of African-American female mathematicians that served as the brains behind one of the greatest operations in U.S. history. Based on the unbelievably true life stories of three of these women, known as "human computers", we follow these women as they quickly rose the ranks of NASA alongside many of history's greatest minds specifically tasked with calculating the momentous launch of astronaut John Glenn into orbit, and guaranteeing his safe return. Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, and Katherine Gobels Johnson crossed all gender, race, and professional lines while their brilliance and desire to dream big, beyond anything ever accomplished before by the human race, firmly cemented them in U.S. history as true American heroes.

 

Loving

I bet most millennials don't know that in the not-so-distant past it was illegal for people of different races to marry, in many states. This film is such a beautiful and powerful depiction of the landmark court case that changed that, and every young person should see it, IMHO. Plot: Richard Loving, a white construction worker in Caroline County, Virginia, falls in love with a local black woman and family friend, Mildred Jeter. Upon Mildred discovering that she is pregnant, they decide to marry, but knowing that interracial marriage violates Virginia's anti-miscegenation laws, they drive to Washington, D.C. to get married in 1958. Richard makes plans to build a house for Mildred less than a mile from her family home.

 

Pearl Harbor

I was lucky because my parents actually remembered Pearl Harbor and we talked many times about how that event changed their lives and the lives of most Americans who lived in 1941. Plot: Pearl Harbor is a classic tale of romance set during a war that complicates everything. It all starts when childhood friends Rafe and Danny become Army Air Corps pilots and meet Evelyn, a Navy nurse. Rafe falls head over heels and he and Evelyn and Rafe hook up. Then Rafe volunteers to go fight in Britain, and Evelyn and Danny get transferred to Pearl Harbor. While Rafe is off fighting, suddenly one morning comes the air raid we now know as "Pearl Harbor." 

 

Harriett

This is SUCH a powerful film and I've watched it many times now. It should have won a million Oscars, especially for Cynthia Erivo, who magically embodied her character. Plot: Based on the thrilling and inspirational life of an iconic American freedom fighter, Harriet tells the extraordinary tale of Harriet Tubman's escape from slavery and transformation into one of America's greatest heroes. Her courage, ingenuity, and tenacity freed hundreds of slaves and changed the course of history.

 

The Imitation Game

This is the last movie I saw in the theater before life got super hectic and I just quit going to the movies. Very powerful and heartbreaking story about the genius Alan Turing. Plot: It is based on the real life story of legendary cryptanalyst Alan Turing. The film portrays the nail-biting race against time by Turing and his brilliant team of code-breakers at Britain's top-secret Government Code and Cypher School at Bletchley Park, during the darkest days of World War II.

#teachinghistorywithmovies, #learningthroughmovies, #lessonsonfilm

Ten Reasons to Be Grateful

Sometimes it's hard to work up a lot of enthusiasm for Thanksgiving. Since my mother died in 2020, the holiday has shrunk to just me and my son. My brother has to work tomorrow so he didn't want to drive 3.5 hours each way for just one day. I understand. We chatted last night.

My cousins all spend the holiday with their own families, and I understand that. It's a family time. Maybe one day when I have a grandchild or two there will be bigger celebrations for me on this day.

For today, I thought I'd just list a few things I am grateful for, because it's been a tough year, 2022. It's been hard sometimes to think of things to be grateful for, although I know gratitude is important.

1. My son is here with me. Last year he just came over briefly, ate, and left. He was in a very volatile, unhealthy relationship. I'm grateful this year that he is single and a lot happier. When he is happy I am happy.

2. Lola is still here. She is a senior dog now and has some health issues. Recently, an ulcer on her eye. She doesn't fight us when we put drops in her eye, though.

3. My car still runs reliably, even though it's 19 years old.

4. I am writing a new book, and the ability to write a novel is a great joy to me. Writing is my passion, and my joy. I will continue to write regardless of whether or not anyone reads my books. [But okay, it would be nice if people would read them, so check out my Amazon page!]

5. I am not sick! Yay. I had an upper respiratory infection including a bad cough, from mid September to late October. It was miserable. Two rounds of antibiotics didn't eradicate it, nor one round of Prednisone. I have had Covid and this was worse. So happy to be healthy again!

6. I am grateful for music. YouTube has all my fave songs and I try to listen every day because it soothes my soul.

7. I live in a messy apartment but it's warm and cozy and I don't feel any pressure to keep it spotless.

8. I have wonderful friends. They have gotten me through some hard times in the last few years. God has really blessed me with friends.

9. Memories bring me great comfort these days. I was so fortunate to be born into a wonderful family, and to have great friends.

10. I am proud and grateful to live in America. We have flaws but I believe we are still an amazing and awesome country.

#gratefultobealive, #gratitudeisimportant, #gratefulforfamilyandfriends

 

What are YOU grateful for?!

 

left, me as a child

right, my dad as a child

 

Mayonnaise Recipes

My mother had a very strong faith in God and she passed that along to me, thanks be to God. She also had a strong faith in the power of mayonnaise to make whatever one is eating more tasty and it's that belief that I want to explain today.

She had a great influence on her grandson. The other day my son was fixing a beautiful steak for himself, and he mixed up mayo and horseradish to form a tasty sauce for the steak. He works in a restaurant. He is fearless in the kitchen, far more adventurous than me, which I applaud.

My son loves a good fried egg sandwich with Duke's mayo.

Duke's Mayonnaise is the only type of mayo allowed in my home. It's simply the best -- not just my opinion, but in the opinion of most southerners. 

When I was eight years old and we moved to Knoxville TN my mother discovered, much to her horror, that Duke's was not sold in K-town. Much sadness and gnashing of teeth and wailing... She bought Hellman's and it was okay. Not good. Not Duke's. It was better than nothing, though, put it that way.

Duke's is so superior to most mayo that one must simply feel pity for those without access to it.

Below are some ways to use mayo [it's quicker to type out "mayo" than "Duke's" or "Hellman's"] that you might not have thought about..

 

POTATOES

Butter, salt, and sour cream are the standard potato additions, but Mom used to peel and boil potatoes and toss them with some mayo, onion powder, and garlic salt. You can also add a dollop of mayo to mashed potatoes.

There is a trend now of making potato salad without mayo. I tasted some once. Then I had to go brush my tongue to get the taste out of my mouth.

 

SAUCES

Take mayo and add real parmesan cheese and onion powder or whatever seasoning you like, and it makes a great topping for potatoes, and/or a great dipping sauce.

 

FISH

1) Baked Fish: slather mayo on your fish, then sprinkle on dill weed, and top with slices of lemon or lime and bake

2) Sauce: mix up mayo, fresh lime juice, lots of dill weed, onion powder, and stir vigorously. We also add a sprinkle of Lawrey's seasoned salt. This works great slathered on most any kind of cooked fish or used as a dipping sauce.

 

CHICKEN

Unlike my mother, grandmother, and generations of fine cooks before me, I stink at fixing fried chicken. However, I have figured out a way to fry chicken tenders that is super easy and tasty.

Take your chicken pieces and salt and pepper both sides and let them sit in a pan or on paper towels on the kitchen counter for at least 30 minutes. Put 2-4 tablespoons of mayo in a dish, and add your chicken, and let it sit in there a few minutes. Pull out eat piece and roll it in seasoned breadcrumbs. The mayo helps the breadcrumbs stick to the meat. Saute in olive oil.

If you don't have seasoned breadcrumbs you can take Ritz crackers and crush them and add in Italian seasoning, and garlic and onion powders.

 

CORNBREAD

Don't laugh. Lewis Grizzard's mama added mayo to the cornbread and it makes it more moist and delicious.

For all cornbread, hoecakes, and corn muffins, we use Lewis Grizzard's mama's recipe:

1 1/2 cups White Lily self-rising cornmeal

1 egg

1 cup buttermilk

2 heaping spoonfulls of Duke's mayonnaise

pinch salt [no sugar!]

I would put this in a pan and bake it at 350 for about 20-40 minutes, depending on the size of the pan. I would also fix this like pancakes and add syrup or honey. Yum.

left, my mom in the kitchen of our lake house in Knoxville

 

right, me and some of my Hasty cousins in the kitchen of our Leslie Drive house

 

 

 

 

 

#mayorecipes, #mayochickenandfish, #dukesmayoisthebest, #mayodippingsauces

Tips for Caretakers of Elderly People

I spent 7 years taking care of my elderly mother, and I learned a few things from that experience -- the hard way. Nobody told me much. I just had to figure things out. I never trained as a nurse or CNA. Taking care of her as she slowly declined taught me a lot -- particularly about kindness, dignity, and compassion.

So here in no particular order are some things I learned.

1) Take away the car keys sooner rather than later. You can reassure your senior they will get rides to where they need to be. It's SO important.Mom had an elderly friend who nearly killed a car full of kids because her reaction time was too slow and she stubbornly refused to stop driving. You can call an Uber for someone else, if you cannot take them where they need to go.

2) Don't try to exclude your kids from helping. Any child over 10 can help with caretaking for a senior and its a good thing, trust me. It teaches them patience and kindness. My son was a doll when it came to taking care of his granny, even when he was struggling with substance abuse issues. He adored her. They were very close. He could lift her in and out of her wheelchair when I couldn't manage. He could pick up prescriptions so I didn't have to leave her. He could just sit with her for an hour so I could have a break. He fixed her computer and Kindle countless times when her shaking hands messed up something. She called him her "knight in shining armor."

3) For years I carried around two things in my purse: a list of Mom's medications including name, dosage information, and prescribing doctor. I also carried a copy of her durable healthcare power of attorney [aka "living will"]. More than once I had to hand those to EMTs or nurses to copy. A typed page of her medical history was also helpful. When I called an ambulance for her the last time I just ran and copied everything and handed the packet of papers to the EMT. He was impressed. I couldn't go to the hospital with her because of Covid. She died four days later.

4) Most seniors have incontinence issues. My mom slept on an incontinence pad for a couple of years before she passed. Sometimes they were hard to find. A "puppy training pad" is the exact same thing and most bigger grocery stores carry them.

5) My room was upstairs and my mom's room was downstairs. Sometimes in the night she needed me. We tried lots of different ways for her to call me -- yelling, walkie talkies, bells, whistles. Finally, we got a baby monitor. It worked best, but she got up several times a night so I had to learn to sleep through that noise.

6) Eventually, food didn't taste good to her. I found that a carton of Greek yogurt was easy on her tummy and her teeth and she started eating it daily for breakfast.

7) Sometimes at night she would wake up screaming and/or crying from the pain of leg cramps. Her potassium would be depleted due to diarrhea because she had IBS. What helped was to let her drink a glass of tonic water and eat good old salty Lay's potato chips. Potatoes are a great source of potassium, better than bananas. It also helps to gently massage the place that's cramping. Those things work much quicker than taking a potassium pill, trust me. We tried both.

8) She stayed at home and seldom went out the last few years because of a host of physical issues. It was important for her to connect with friends and family, though. She didn't see her older brother for years before she died because he was in a nursing home in NC and neither one of them could travel during their last few years. We would do phone calls, though, and those really helped her. Also, calls to old friends were vital to her emotional well-being. Her hands got so bad she needed help dialing the phone. A couple of times my cousins and I were able to set up video calls, and those were a true blessing.

9) The last few years of her life, Mom was plagued with UTIs [urinary tract infections] and I had no idea that those could cause dementia-like symptoms and even hallucinations, plus general weakness. The issues lingered for a while after each UTI, and weakened her. She wore heavy pads due to incontinence and those were the problem. Women can have surgery to repair leakage and we should have urged her to do that. Hindsight.

10) After Mom died, I realized with deep regret that I didn't have but two tiny 5 minute videos of her telling stories. I should have taken more! We talked every day and she was a wonderful storyteller. I just wish I had recorded more audio and videos, just to feel like I could visit with her after her passing. I really cherish those videos now, of course. You may think there is time but don't wait, act! Trust me, when your mom or dad or grandma die, you will really regret not having more of them on video.

11) Drinking straws that bend are a godsend. Her hands were weak and shaky the last few years, and we put straws even into hot coffee.

12) Computers are a blessing. Mom loved her computer. She sent out funny emails, spent time on Facebook daily, and even learned to Google. She googled everyone she knew. Yes, as her hands got worse she would "mess up" the computer a lot, but it helped her feel connected to the world and kept her brain more agile than if she had just been staring at a TV.

I am very blessed that she liked to write blogs, and she wrote a blog for years, with my help. After she passed, I collected her best blogs into an anthology and it's available on Amazon, Singing to the Cows.

I still miss her every day.

#caretakingforasenior, #caringforaparent, #tipsforcaretakers, #elderlyissues, #learningtobeacaretaker

Thanksgiving Dinner for People Who Don't Cook

If you don't like to cook but you don't want to eat out on Thanksgiving, here are some tips.

 

1) Honeybaked Ham sells sliced turkey, and it's delicious

 

2) Stovetop Stuffing: replace the water with bought chicken broth and use twice as much as the box says, and throw on the butter

 

3) Bob Evans makes pre-made mashed potatoes and you add lots of butter and cheese and nobody cares that they are bought

 

4) Skip the green bean casserole. Take canned green beans and drain them, then throw them in a skillet with lots of balsamic vinegar, onion powder and garlic powder, or fresh garlic if you want to go to the trouble. Cook ten minutes.

 

5) Skip the cranberries. Most people don't like them. My mom bought canned sauce every year, ate a few bites, and then we threw it out.

 

6) Buy a frozen pie. Edwards pies are awesome, ditto for Mrs. Smith's pies.

It will just be me and Michael this year so frankly, this is likely what we will do. Happy Thanksgiving!

 

Now, if you want to make a pie that is super easy and takes 5 minutes, here you go:

 

Myrtle’s Pecan Pie

3 eggs                         1 cup Karo syrup

¾ cup sugar              1 cup pecans

Dash salt                    ½ teaspoon vanilla

Beat eggs with a whisk but don’t get them foamy. Add all other ingredients. You can use light or dark Karo syrup.

Many people use whole pecan halves but we usually give them a rough chop.

Pour into a 9 inch pie crust and start in a cold oven. Turn oven to 350 and bake 1 hour.

 

#thanksgivingeasydinner, #easypecanpie, #dinnerfornoncooks, #nostressthanksgivingideas, #noncookingthanksgivingideas, #easystuffing, #supereasythanksgivingdinner

Dee Thompson Author

I don't go around touting my skills as a writer or pushing my books probably as much as I should because I am more interested in writing than blowing my own horn, but I thought of a way to stir up interest in my books so you can decide if you'd like to read one of them. All four of my novels are on Amazon and I will discuss them here. If you'd like, though, you can see What's for Dinner, Mom? [my cookbook], and you can check out my collection of my mom's writings Singing to the Cows [I just edited that one].

So here are some fun facts about each of my novels.

 

Two facts to know about all of them:

Amazon lets you read the first few chapters of a book before you buy it, so you can decide if you want to read more!

If you read on a Kindle, I urge you to subscribe to Kindle Unlimited because for $10/month you can download a LOT of books, for nothing, including mine!

 

Return to Marietta  women's fiction, historical fiction, mystery

1. This book was inspired by a true story. In 1923 my grandfather, Bob Hasty, was accused of a crime he didn't commit and the resulting scandal cost him his major league baseball career.
2. This is basically a love story, because my grandmother drove all the way from Marietta, Georgia to New York City in November 1933 when she was big pregnant with my mom, to reclaim my grandfather, who had seemingly deserted her. She was incredibly gutsy.
3. I wrote this story as fiction because it was impossible to find out why my grandfather was accused, the motivation of the accuser.
4. My mother said my grandfather tried to get sportswriter interested in writing a book about the scandal, but nobody wanted to take it on probably because Connie Mack was a powerful man and he's the reason my grandfather lost his major league career.
5. I spent many hours researching in order to write the most compelling story I could.

Heart of My Own Heart: An Epic Story of Time, History, Magic and Love  fantasy, historical fiction, time travel, magical realism

1. This is the only novel I have written that involves fantasy elements like witches and time travel.
2. I was inspired to try to write an epic book combining historical figures [Queen Elizabeth I, Dr. John Dee] and fantasy by the wonderful books of Michael Scott. He combines historical figures and magical elements. My son and I read all of his books in the Nicholas Flamel series and really enjoyed them.
3. The title is from the hymn Be Thou My Vision -- a traditional Irish hymn and one of my very favorites
4. I have auburn hair and I have always been fascinated with how/why people inherit the genes for red hair -- and so my main character, Sarah, has red hair and passes it on to her descendants who are witches.
5. I learned a lot about how "witches" were persecuted in England and here in the colonies while I was doing research for this book. There actually was a notorious witch hunter in England named Matthew Hopkins. In my book he is an important character.
   

Leaf Season  mystery, romance, magical realism

1. This book is set in the North Georgia mountains, a place I love to visit.
2. I was inspired to write this because I worked for a plaintiff's attorney in 2014 who loves the outdoors and wanted to retire early to have time to hike and camp.
3. I don't know anything about hiking and camping so I made my main character [Wyatt] an avid fisherman, which I know about because I grew up going fishing with my dad.
4. One of the main characters in this, Hugh, is a ghost, and it was so much fun writing his sections. He is the comic relief.
5. My Basset Hound, Lola, inspired the Basset Hound in the book, Blanche DuBois.

Ghosts in the Garden City romance, magical realism, mystery, women's fiction

1. I was born in Augusta, Georgia and lived there until I was 8 years old, which is why this book is partially set in Augusta -- known as The Garden City. [Oh, and some people know it because of a golf tournament, The Masters]
2. I was inspired to write this because I got the genetic testing on 23andMe and found out I am 1% black.
3. I set the book in 1996, which was a pivotal year for me, the year I lost my dad to cancer. Unfortunately, I remember the year vividly.
4. The incident that starts off the book, two small children getting locked out of their house, is based on a real incident that happened to me and my brother.
5. I started writing the character of the mother as an unrepentant baddie, but I got so intrigued with her that I made her more central to the story and less awful.

left, my grandfather with Connie Mack and Slim Hariss

right, my book that Memaw and Papa inspired

 

 

 

 

 

 

#booksbydeethompson, #bookssetingeorgia, #magicalrealismnovels, #bobhastybasballplayer, #bookssetinnorthgeorgia, #booksaboutaugustageorgia, #bookssetinmarietta

Feel Good About Aging, Ladies

I used to have an argument with my mother all the time that went something like this:

Elva: "Dee you need to wear some makeup and fix your hair."

Dee: "I hate makeup and I'm not going to wear any."

Elva: "At least wear some lipstick, then."

In my mother's opinion, no woman should leave her house with natural looking lips. She wore a bright red lipstick called Love That Red and I could always tell when she didn't feel well because she would fail to put on lipstick and eyebrow color.

My mother felt like she truly was unattractive without makeup. She colored her hair for years, but then got tired of it, cut her hair short and let it go gray. I liked her gray hair a lot better because it looked natural.

She didn't budge on the makeup question, though. She felt like wearing makeup made a woman feel better about herself. It certainly worked for her. 

I spent years carefully planning what I would wear to work each day, fixing my long hair, and carefully applying my makeup. I was trying to catch a husband. I had to bait the hook, if I wanted to catch one. [above, a photo of me next to Mom, in full hunting gear]

When I adopted my daughter, though, I was 41 years old and I decided the Great Husband Hunt was OVER. My family was almost complete. I didn't feel the need to impress anyone. I started wearing stretchy pants, big comfy tops, and Crocs. I quit wearing makeup.

My mother lived with me and was appalled.

I could never get her to understand that for me, giving up all the fuss was a HUGE relief.

I tried to explain to Mom once that in her life, she had been conditioned to feel that if she looked natural -- without makeup, without a hair "DO" and wearing comfortable clothes [not a girdle and stockings/pantyhose] -- that she looked BAD. Furthermore, she was taught that once she had caught a man she still had to keep him. She kept a little basket of makeup, including a comb and perfume, right near the front door. When she saw Dad's car turn in the driveway she would run comb her hair and freshen her makeup so she could greet him at the door with a smile.

Maybe she had the right idea. She was married 40 years. Most of the women of her generation didn't get divorced. Books and magazine articles in the 1950's advised women that if they let a man come home to a messy house and a wife without makeup they would probably wind up divorced.

What sparked this blog was this article about how wonderful Cher looked at a recent event. She is 76. She has always had her own individual style and always flown in the face of critics and anyone who thought she should look conventional. I've always admired her outspokenness and independence. I remember watching her variety show when I was a kid. However, seeing her clearly trying to look much younger, with the long dyed hair and the face that has clearly had every plastic surgery procedure one can have, makes me feel sorry for her. She is trying so hard to fight natural aging. She looks very unnatural and fake. She's also dating a guy 40 years her junior -- so technically young enough to be her grandson, which is super creepy. [I would say that about a man dating someone 40 years younger, too.]

Now, before you compose your hateful comment, know this: I fully support women doing whatever they want to do in terms of makeup, hair, who they date, etc. We still live in a free country and everyone should look whatever way they want to look. Wouldn't it be great if all women were happy to look their age, though?

I just feel like the media is constantly glorifying women who "defy" age and as a result, women spend a huge amount of time and money to look younger. How often do you see the media celebrate the beauty of an older woman who has gray hair and wrinkles and doesn't turn herself inside out trying to look a lot younger? Not too often.

At left, Jamie Lee Curtis. She is 63, so more than ten years younger than Cher. Jamie looks normal, though. She is still attractive but you don't see her dressing like a biker chick and hanging all over a man young enough to be her grandson. Of course, Cher is still trying to attract lovers and Jamie has been happily married for more than twenty years. If she were divorced, would she be trying to "defy" aging? I don't know. Hopefully not.

I also feel like women in Hollywood get celebrated for looking younger, and held up as examples all women should follow, and that's completely unfair. I cannot afford multiple plastic surgeries. I don't want to inject poison in my face (aka Botox). I cannot afford fashionable clothes. I cannot afford a cook, or a personal trainer, or to eat seafood every night. So there's literally no possibility that I can hope to look like Halle Berry or Jennifer Anniston.

That's okay. I'm not crying about that. I am happily single and likely to remain that way. I have always been very independent.

As a society, we need to un-do all the media pressure to look younger. The emphasis should be on looking and feeling healthy.

Celebs like Demi Moore, who say there's nothing wrong with aging, also say things I find quite disturbing. Moore has designed a new line of swimsuits that no normal woman over 50 will look good in! It "...includes bikinis, one-pieces with deep V-necklines, and high-waisted two-pieces inspired by vintage designs. "We don't want to look matronly or not feel sexy." She says her own grandmother at 60 "seemed resigned to being old." Uh, that's called accepting reality. What's wrong with looking matronly, Demi? You're reinforcing the idea that women have to starve themselves, dye their hair, and try to compete with younger women for male attention. Shame on you. The next thing you will see is Demi dating some guy 10, 20, 30 years younger. In Hollyweird that is celebrated. And they wonder why so many of us in the flyover states do not admire them.

In researching this blog I found a lot of articles quoting celebs like Demi and Gwyneth Paltrow and Andi McDowell, etc. saying how wonderful it is that women can look their age, and yet every one of them looks carefully sculpted and groomed to look younger. They clearly don't understand the hypocrisy inherent in their bizarre mixed messages.

The bottom line here, as I see it, is this: I cared way too much about looks when I was younger. Now my only real concern is being clean and wearing clean clothes. No amount of makeup or hair dye will make me look ten or twenty years younger and that's fine. I'm comfortable in my own skin. I'm not worried about catching a man. I want to feel well and one day have enough energy to play with my [future] grandchildren.

I am so much less concerned with what anybody thinks of me, now. I don't let minor stuff upset me. I get a lot of pleasure out of simple things like a nice meal, a wonderful song, a great movie. I tell people I love how I feel, without fear. I cherish my friends. I like me.

I hope and pray future generations of women will stop feeling so much pressure to "defy aging." It's inevitable and we should embrace it.

#womenshouldembraceaging, #wrinklesarebeutiful, #celebsshouldshutupaboutaging, #agingisnormal, #embraceoldage, #loveyourselfatanyage, #grayhairisbeautiful, #stoptryingtolookyoung

Naming the Next Generation

I am fascinated by sociological history, particularly by genealogy and I was Googling some of the family folks yesterday and thinking about how different the world is today, and yet not, in some ways. 

Names go through cycles, clearly.

On both sides of my family I have ancestors born in the late 19th century named "Nannie."

I have an ancestor on the Henderson side who was named Pleasant Thurmond, and his wife was named Mary Magdalen Thurmond.

My great grandfather was named Alexander Hamilton Thompson, and his wife's name was Annie Lou Lewis, on the marriage license. I found out recently she was of French descent and her name was actually Augustine Lougene Lewis. I wonder if that had any influence on the names she chose to give her children?

My grandfather Algernon was born in 1888 and he died before I was born. I was never around him or any of his siblings. If I had been, their names would have fascinated me: Roy, Chillie, Algernon, Olean, Glenn (female), Nannie Lou, Woodfin (Uncle Wood)

On my Hasty side, my grandfather Bob had siblings named normal names like Charles, Gordon, Arthur, and Frank. He also had sisters named Effie and Eulemma, known as simple "Lemma."

My grandmother Cordelia went by her middle name. Her first name was Eula. She hated it. Her sister was named Cephier Rowena (known as "Ceph"). Grandmother Cordelia had an uncle named Joshaway Beall, who was a doctor and who served in the Georgia state legislature. Cordelia had an aunt named Mary Beall Traylor who had 5 children, two of whom were named Alonza and Alpha. Alonza named one of his children Artemecia.

Celebrities nowadays like to give their kids odd names.

Nick Cannon, whose main claim to fame was once being married to Mariah Carey, has 11 living children by 6 different women. His children's names are Monroe, Moroccan, Golden, Powerful, Zion, Zillion, Zen, Legendary Love, Onyx, Rise and Beautiful Zeppelin. He had a son named "Zen" who died last year.

Alicia Keys is married to a man named Swiss Beatz, and she has two sons named Egypt and Genesis.

The Kardashian gals have named their kids some interesting ones too: North, Saint, Chicago, Psalm, Reign, True, Dream, Stormi, Wolf [which is being changed to something else, probably Lynx, or something equally boring]

One nice thing about being born to mega wealthy parents is they will likely go to school with kids who have equally bizarre names, and their security guards will prevent any bullying.

My own name, Dee, has always been a source of annoyance to me. I wanted something normal, something I could find on a keychain at Stuckeys, like Susan or Linda. I was named (in spirit) for my grandmother Cordelia. If I had a dollar for every time some has asked me "What's Dee short for?" or "What's your real name?" I would be rich.

I am a tail end Baby Boomer. In the period from 1945-1962 -- the Baby Boom years after WWII -- we were mostly given names like William, Thomas, Stephen, Karen, Michelle, Lisa, etc. -- all solid, conventional names. I never encountered a child named Powerful Queen or a boy named Psalm. If such a child had appeared in my class they would have been unmercifully teased.

In my very amateur poking around into family histories, though, I have encountered some really weird names that my ancestors thought were just fabulous. Like my Hasty cousin who was named Queen Victoria Hasty.

Here are some other Hasty gems: Lula Vada, Conna Belle, Lucy Odessa, Anice Ophelia, Arizona [who went by "Zonia"], Roney Claude, Ora Belle, Viola Kell

In Summary: Giving kids weird names has been going on for centuries and likely will continue!

left, Aunt Oline

 

right, Uncle Wood

The Great War

In England it's referred to as The Great War, but we call it World War I. Most of the generations younger than me have literally no idea what WWI was about or why it's important to study it. It had a profound impact on my life even though it ended 44 years before I was born.

Both of my grandfathers were in WWI, but only one of them actually went overseas.

My grandfather Bob Hasty was in the army for less than a year and never went overseas. (I was actually able to get a copy of his service record a year ago when I was researching my novel Return to Marietta.) He spent the entire time playing baseball on the Camp Gordon team. A scout for the Atlanta Crackers saw him and signed him, and he went on to play 5 years in the major leagues.

A few interesting facts:

Camp Gordon was located in Chamblee, Georgia, and I know exactly where it was, just a few miles from where I live today. Today it's the Peachtree DeKalb Airport, PDK.

During World War II, Naval Aviators trained at the site, according to this article.

When it was built, Camp Gordon was the largest construction project in Atlanta up to that time. According to the Georgia Historical Society: "The site’s 1,635 buildings contained barracks for 46, 000 men, as well as accommodations for over 7,000 horses and mules."

The legendary 82nd Airborne Division got its start at Camp Gordon.

Sports were very big at Camp Gordon -- they had a winning football team as well as a baseball team.

My grandfather was promoted to sergeant so he would have more time to practice.

After WWI, the camp was moved to a different location, just outside Augusta, Georgia, and is now known as Fort Gordon. My father's older brother Bobby was a civilian employee at Ft. Gordon for many years.

My other grandfather, Algernon Thompson, had been a professional soldier for years before America entered into WWI, and he had fought Pancho Villa in 1916. He came back alive -- many men who fought in World War I didn't -- and appeared unharmed but years later he died at 67 from emphysema. I have always wondered if that had begun when he was in the war because poisoned gas was used so readily in that war, and Grandaddy didn't smoke.

World War I was about alliances and borders. There were treaties in place that made it inevitable that the assassination of Franz Ferdinand had to be avenged. There was no clear and worthy enemy, like Hitler or Mussolini, or even Communism.

                                                                        According to Encyclopedia Brittanica:

Four imperial dynasties—the Habsburgs of Austria-Hungary, the Hohenzollerns of Germany, the sultanate of the Ottoman Empire, and the Romanovs of Russia—collapsed as a direct result of the war, and the map of Europe was changed forever. The United States emerged as a world power, and new technology made warfare deadlier than ever before.

One direct result was that Germany was so devastated by the war that the ensuing years of dire poverty and economic ruin paved the way for the rise of Hitler and WWII.

My dad was fascinated by all things military, for his entire life.

When Dad's brothers went off to fight in World War II, he was a little boy and he stayed home, of course. One summer, Grandaddy told Dad and his friends they should dig a trench so they could play army more realistically. He showed them where and how to dig, and encouraged their efforts. At the end of that summer. a septic tank was installed in the "trench" and the outhouse was replaced by a real working bathroom.

Grandaddy was not educated but he was very smart.

 

On this Veteran's Day let us give thanks for the men and women in our military who understand all too well that freedom has to be fought for, and the price is very dear.

 

#worldwarIfacts, #campgordon, #bobhastybaseballcareer, #tributetoveterans