Novel shines light on Christina’s world

So…I found myself on an art tour at the library in celebration of the building’s 25th anniversary. In the spirit of the moment, I decided to search for a book on Andrew Wyeth and found the compelling novel, “A Piece of the World,” by Christina Baker Kline. I learned Wyeth spent many summers painting scenes in the small coastal town of Cushing, Maine, and it helped him gain a name for himself as an artist.

The book delves into the role Christina Olsen plays as a muse in Wyeth’s work, including in his most famous painting, “Christina’s World,” one of the most well known paintings in the art world. It’s Christina that’s the novel’s subject or heroine, and she’s the one telling her story. As a reader, I was amazed to learn the meaning of their time-worn home to the lives of Christina and her brother, Alvaro, and their family’s storied history, from ties to the Salem Witch Trials and also to adventurous stories of the sea.

As a reader, I found it hard to put this book down. This fictional account made Christina Olsen accessible as a character for me. Christina had a hereditary degenerative nerve disorder (thought to be Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease) that made it hard for her to walk, but she refused to use a wheel chair preferring to move on her own. She was very well read, an avid learner and an asset on the family farm.

Even as we’re learning more about Christina, a second story emerges, and that is the one that shows a growing bond between Christina and Wyeth. Though Wyeth is married to Christina’s close friend, Betsy, the reader could sense the impression the two have on each other. With time, Christina is able to see herself in a new light, and as a result of his visits, the reader senses how Wyeth has grown as an artist.

This story brings together the strong ties of family, place and tradition that bring an artist and its subject together in such a mesmerizing way. For me, this historical fiction novel was a nice introduction to Christina Baker Kline, an author I look to read more of in the new year! I think this book’s beautifully written, and I highly recommend it!

Short Stories at a Glance with Shaelin Bishop

In my most recent critique group submission, I submitted a short story without realizing all it involved. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve written many before, but I decided to explore it some more. Short stories focus on an event in the character’s life. Whereas a novel looks at a character’s journey and his / her transformation, a short story is centered around an event that changes or reveals the character. In terms of plot, it should be simple and compact in a short story, rather than complex. In a short story, there’s typically one conflict, or problem, that drives the plot. Fiction Writer and You Tuber Shaelin Bishop, in some of her engaging short story videos, talks about “finding the crux” of a short story, or what the character wants and why.  

Unlike the novel that generally has a certain structure or shape, there is much more room for experimentation in a short story. Though it has key features like the inciting incident near the beginning and the climax near the end, the short story does not follow any type of structure like Save the Cat. In a short story, the pacing generally is steady throughout, and the tension should escalate with each scene. All of the various elements in each scene (POV, setting, language, character, plot, dialogue) should all work together to enhance the impact of the story on the reader and should contribute to the short story’s cohesion, Bishop says.  

So, where do you start? In her writing a short story video, Bishop gives viewers the opportunity to develop material to use in a short story. She starts with setting and its usefulness in creating the mood or the atmosphere. Next, she does a similar exercise with character. In the final exercise, she has the viewers pick a setting, a character or both and put them in a situation. Bishop says there should be three sources of conflict present in a short story: internal (flaw), interpersonal (with another character) and societal (think Hunger Games). It’s widely thought a short story should try to get to a theme that makes a singular statement, such as in works by Anton Chekhov, recognized as the master of the modern short story.

The Florida Manatee, Challenges it Faces and Conservation Efforts

I was surprised to learn an adoptee in the Save the Manatee Club’s Adopt-A-Manatee program was named Philip and how much we seem to have in common. He’s described as ‘playful,’ ‘active’ and ‘curious,’ all of which I can say I am. In contrast, I cannot say I have scars from boat propeller strikes like he does. During the manatee winter migration season, Philip can  be found enjoying Florida’s warm Blue Spring waters.

The Florida manatee, a subspecies of the West Indian manatee, is a large, gray aquatic mammal that is believed to have evolved from a wading plant-eating animal. Nicknamed “sea cows,” when manatees feed on seagrasses, they keep the vegetation in check and the ecosystem in balance. They are a keystone species because their behaviors can signal changes to their environments.

When Algal blooms occur, sunlight is blocked from reaching the seagrasses, and this causes the loss of the underwater vegetation that is vital to the survival of manatees. These events spurred on by the excess of nutrients in the water can be harmful to manatees and their ecosystems. If manatees find their way into water that drops to below 68 degrees in the winter, they could suffer from cold stress syndrome, and it could be fatal. 

The Save the Manatee Club, in conjunction with the Manatee Rescue & Rehabilitation Partnership, supports the rescue and rehabilitation of manatees. Some do’s and don’ts to help protect manatees include: wearing polarized sunglasses, refraining from touching or feeding manatees, stashing trash, obeying boat speed zones and not entering manatee sanctuaries. Manatees are protected under the Endangered Species Act of 1973.

Nature: The Serengeti Rules

Nature: The Serengeti Rules episode on PBS tells the story of a pioneering band of scientists and their discoveries on how ecosystems work. Instead of starting at the bottom with the plants, they look at the impact the top predators are having on ecosystems.

It starts with the late Bob Paine’s discovery involving starfish in Washington’s tide pools, and he learns, if he manipulates these environments and removes the top predator, the starfish, the mussels eventually take over the once diverse ecosystem. When he realizes this, he calls the starfish a keystone species to describe a species critical for the overall survival of an ecosystem. Paine quotes George Orwell’s Animal Farm: “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others,” as to say not all species have the same impact on their ecosystems. 

Not long after, Jim Estes, determines otters are a keystone species in the Aleutian Island chain off of Alaska. In such marine environments, without otters, sea urchins take over leading to loss of diversity in the system. The sea urchins eat the kelp, an important home and source of food to a variety of species. Estes says kelp is an important foundation for the coastal ecosystem, as redwoods are to a redwood forest. Mary E. Power learns bass are a keystone species, and they instill a fear in the minnows to keep them from overgrazing plants in Oklahoma rivers and streams. 

It isn’t long before scientists explore this idea on terrestrial systems. In the forests of Guri, Venezuela, John Terborgh notices plant-eaters, such as leaf cutter ants, are devouring the foliage of trees where there are no predators. Tony Sinclair’s work with wildebeests of Serengeti in Tanzania shows an instance where a keystone species can be both predator and prey, and have a dramatic impact on the growth of tree populations that provide an abundance of food for various species in the park. The reintroduction of predator wolves in Yellowstone National Park drives an increase in vegetation and helps preserve the homes of various species there.

I was amazed to learn this role these scientists have played, and that humanity can play, to adhere to a certain set of rules and help maintain balance in our ecosystems. For further exploration, award-winning Biologist Sean B. Carroll wrote a book, The Serengeti Rules: The Quest to Discover How Life Works and Why it Matters.

Turning Over a New Leaf

Shortly after the 2020 High Holy Days, possibly, inspired by Rabbi Bloom’s words, I became a founding member of an online writing community, called HappyWriter, and continued pursuing my creative writing dreams. I found the information shared in the various engaging presentations with Tiffany Yates Martin on plotting refreshing. My experience with HappyWriter, so far, has helped me develop more of a writing routine, provided insights from authors and others in the industry, and given me the opportunity to participate in monthly workshops to share my work with and provide feedback to other writers.

In 2021, my sister and I will be celebrating Passover from our new apartment in Bluffton Park. I’m sure I’ ll take something important away from the CBY Passover experience that will prove useful on my continued life’s journey. During this time, we will keep near memories of Seders with our mother and stepfather, and also the kindness of people like the Sables, who we have visited with on special occasions throughout this pandemic. As I move forward, I will look to continue building on the positive steps I’ve taken in my creative writing development and sharing my reflections with you all.

Nature Trail

Quarantine Reads: ‘Blindness’

Here I will share some of my thoughts about Nobel Prize of Literature award-winner Jose Saramago’s  Blindness:

Q: What is ‘Blindness’ about? 

A: It’s about a mysterious fantastical epidemic of “white blindness.” As per the government in a country without a name, the blind are placed in quarantine at an asylum, in the worst of living conditions.

Q: Who is the hero / heroine? 

A: The heroine is the doctor’s wife who pretends to be blind, and bears the heavy burden of leading a small band of blind people to salvation in the darkest of times.

Q: What does ‘the dog of tears’ represent?

A: ‘The dog of tears’ later on in the novel represents the bond the doctor’s wife forms when she needs a shoulder to lean on the most. The dog’s name seems to be a harbinger for some of the horrific images yet to come.

Q: What is the novel’s theme?

A: Blindness brings out the purest of natures in us, of both good and evil that we might not otherwise see. 

Q: What is Jose Saramago’s writing style in Blindness?

A: Saramago’s unconventional style uses long free-flowing sentences, lacks quotation marks for dialogue and uses descriptions, instead of character names. The style works well, particularly in Blindness, because it gives a sense of immediacy to the writing and the necessity to get the words on the page quickly.

Q: What is a key takeaway you took out of this novel?

A: Much like in the last scene of the novel, I see the potential for better times ahead, and in our times, I’m encouraged we will reach the other side of this by banding together and come out of this changed for the better.

Fall Reflections

I fondly remember being with my mother, stepfather and sister, and watching the vibrant fall foliage reach their peak colors in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, back in October 2015. In the Jewish religion, fall represents a time when we look inward, reflect and carve out our paths forward.

On the eve of Halloween, my good friend, Matt Landau, and I, went on one of our virtual novel diving expeditions, where we uncovered the eerie short story collection Cabinet of Curiosities: Tales of Oddities, Gadgets and Trinkets. In this anthology, fascinating objects, such as a pendant with six pomegranate seeds around it and a vintage bauble, are essential to the main characters and their compelling stories.

As my sister and I continue going through some of my mother and stepfather’s treasured objects this Thanksgiving season, I can’t help but wonder what stories they might tell and what journeys they might take us on. During this time, we’ll once again keep our mother and stepfather close to our hearts, and continue to be grateful to those who have helped us through our times of painful loss, the uncertainties of a pandemic and other challenges in our lives this past year and a half.

Remembering 75 Years Ago

On the day my mother was born 75 years ago, the atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki – the second of two such horrific events, which ultimately led to Japan’s surrender in World War II. At a young age, I developed an interest in this part of history. In high school, one of the most powerful books I read was John Hersey’s Hiroshima, which captured stunning images depicting the first atomic bomb’s devastating aftermath.

Another book I read as an adult was Moe Berg: Athlete, Scholar & Spy, the first biography written about the Baseball catcher, Renaissance man and yes, World War II spy. And it piqued my interest to dig deeper on related topics, such as reading up more on the top-secret U.S. government-run Manhattan Project that developed the first nuclear weapons.

More recently, while in quarantine, I tuned into Fox News Anchor Chris Wallace’s documentary Countdown 1945 that gives a glimpse into his recently published book of the same title. It masterfully captures the moments in our country’s history leading up to the two nuclear bomb attacks on the two Japanese cities and tells a survivor’s poignant story.

My mother talked about the historical significance of her birthday several times. This was not lost when my sister and I celebrated what would have been her 75th birthday, and visited her grave at the cemetery to fondly remember our time together in this world, to let her know we love and miss her very much, and to share the recent developments in these unusual times. As with many instances in nature, when there is destruction, there is also new life, and my mother came into this world during such a time and truly made a positive difference.

Time to Take More Chances

My sister, Hope, and I, had a nice, quiet Memorial Day second-half of the weekend (when I didn’t have to work). It was different from ones past, where my folks would make burgers on the grill, but I put forth my best effort to make burgers on the stove, but like the beet burgers I talked about in an earlier posting, they did not come out the way I would’ve liked. But, still, the burgers were tasty, as I put a lot interesting flavors together in the meat batter: ketchup, an herb mustard and garlic. I miss being able to spend times like this with my mother and stepfather, but I still have my sister, and we played a fun game of Scrabble, just like my mom and I did, often, on special occasions – I didn’t win (through no fault of my own), but it was still fun.

I did talk to Gidon, my music teacher friend. We’ve kept in touch through Facebook and Instagram over the years, but we hadn’t talked to each other in almost 25 years, since we graduated from Cheltenham High School, in 1996. We had a nice chat, and talked about our journeys up to this point. He also played some Billy Joel music on the piano. It’s funny how such crises like the one we live in can be so powerful in bringing people together. In my conversation with Gidon, I talked about the need to take more chances, as he never thought his business would take off, as it has, and continue to be successful in the pandemic through virtual distance lessons. Much like the passion he has in his music, I think I found that through creative writing, as I aspire to put a short story collection together.

Handmade Puppet Dreams & some of its inventive worlds

Handmade Puppet Dreams adapts stories into memorable short films. These films are produced by Ibex Puppetry, founded by Heather Henson. I watched many of these films, during my time off from work, due to my interest in puppets, and they did not disappoint. Handmade Puppet Dreams showcases some of the most inventive puppet worlds. Here are some of my favorites:

Amaterasu,” directed by Christine Papalexis, is the story of the Japanese Sun Goddess and the fractured relationship with her brother, the Sea God, Susanowo, that uses puppets made from found objects, or everyday items, in a strikingly beautiful landscape.  “Yamasong,” directed by Sam Koji Hale, uses a blend of brilliant rod and marionette puppets, and animation to bring meaning to every movement. This story follows a patchwork girl and a tortoise fisherman on a magical adventure that is sure to keep you in awe. Another film, “Lessons Learned,” directed by Toby Froud, uses expressive hand puppets to tell the story of a boy who gets a birthday present from his grandfather, and his curiosity pulls him on a journey to a world that will take the imagination for a ride.

The Handmade Puppet Dreams Filmmaking Symposium is a must-see for anyone with a passion for puppets, as it goes in-depth about various innovations and techniques the artists have used in their films to tell a story using puppets. The three stellar short films discussed here and many others in the Handmade Puppet Dreams collection can be viewed on Amazon Prime.