The Yanks Are Coming!

Household buzzing today. Only a few hours left to spiff 'n' polish before some Yankee friends invade.

Assuming travel from last night's stop in West Memphis, AR came off okay, the Mom 'n' Daughter pair from Pennsylvania are well on their way. Should be here in time for mid-afternoon tea and supper by 7.

"Gosh!" said Mom Lucy. "The Mississippi River looked like an ocean when we crossed it yesterday."

"All I know is I hope you have flowers blooming," Daughter Linda said. "Our spirits need lifting. We've been rained on every day since we left Pennsylvania."

No promises, Ladies. Mississippi weather--like weather everywhere this time of year--is a contrast of joy and disappointment almost daily. Morning sun gives way to afternoon clouds, and thunderstorms develop.

But not to worry. The Natchez Pilgrimage--daytime tour of antebellum mansions, and nighttime costumed pageantry--is what we've planned for our friends' stay. Even though Ol' Man River is expected to crest at 54' the day we're there, we'll be high enough over the water ("Natchez on the Hill") to enjoy the spectacle.

Spectacle? Yes. Not only the Natchez homes, but also the grounds to look forward to. The camellias, azaleas and other reliable bloomers will make every bit of it worthwhile for our cherished Yankee invaders.

Bold, Bad and Beautiful Bette Davis

Thanks to Terrence Rafferty in today's New York Times, I'm reminded that April 5, 2008, marks the 100th birthday of the indominatable queen of 1930's-1940's Hollywood: Bette Davis. It's tempting to think of her as The Best Actress Ever.

Thanks to Ms. Davis, I have a favorite film that won't leave me: "All About Eve." I count it the best written script of any movie I've ever seen. "Godfather II" isn't far behind, but for my money, "Eve" supersedes it, thanks to the way Bette Davis lives, breathes and speaks those unforgettable lines in the character of Margo Channing.

So what makes Bette a legend? First, last and always, her "Bette Davis" eyes. And yes, the mouth, the hair, the figure, and the face with a thousand shades that mesmerize. Even her shoulders and hands were expressive beyond compare.

Yet the Real Prize in the woman was character--HER character. Because she was more insightful than anyone else about her own psyche, she was able to draw from every aspect of "self" to apply the proper moment, deed or gesture to any scene or character she ever was assigned.

For full-out genius, watch her in "All About Eve," "Jezebel," "Of Human Bondage," "Now, Voyager" and "The Letter." Half a dozen others we could name won't dim once you see them, either, but the ones cited are sure to make you light a hundred candles for bold, bad and beautiful Bette next Saturday.

Ole Miss Headed to Big Apple for NIT

OLE MISS WIN OVER NEBRASKA PAVES WAY FOR WIN AT VIRGINIA TECH

Go Rebels! Last night's win over Virgina Tech--at Blacksburg, no less--was impressive. The Hokie fans were shut out early by virtue of Ole Miss team and coaching strategy. That is, the Rebs kept Hokie fans preoccupied with punishing scoring and rebounding, leaving the Tech crowd with little to cheer about.

In short, Ole Miss took over and never looked back. Although the margin was close at times, the 81-72 final score means Ole Miss is headed to the Big Apple. Watch for them to compete in a tight match against Ohio State at Madison Square Garden next Tuesday night.

The Chelsea Flap

Several Sundays ago, a friend and I attended a pro-Hillary gathering at a restaurant in Jackson. Chelsea Clinton was there on behalf of her mom's campaign for president. The way Chelsea dealt with the questions and handled the questioners was impressive.

Afterward, my pal and I agreed at what a superbly intelligent, gracious, lovely young woman Chelsea is--super sharp, super informed and super articulate.

So how did she wind up in trouble with the press this week? Because she snapped back when a college news reporter asked about her mother's handling of her dad's affair with Monica Lewinsky. "It's none of your business," she said, after telling the fellow he was the first on 70 or so campuses to ask the question.

Judging from their joint appearance on CBS TV today, the young man and his editor have opposite views of the appropriateness of the question. The reporter said as a Hillary supporter, he was giving Chelsea a chance to dismiss charges of some that her mom had shown weakness in how she handled her husband's extra-marital affair. The editor said the question had strayed from the subjects at hand and had caused a distraction.

I'd say Chelsea, the reporter and the editor are ALL correct in their views of the matter. So where does that leave us?

My answer is it leaves us with yet another story of no consequence where The Real Issues are concerned. Instead, we continue to be drawn into the vortex of All Entertainment, All the Time. I fear we're stuck there for a while--certainly until November brings us a new president.

Apropos of Auntie Mame's desire for Christmas: please, God, we need a little November right now!

Laughter the Best Medicine

Consider this from a "staying young" book given to me by a friend this past Christmas:

"Laughing lowers blood pressure, increases oxygen in the blood with deeper respirations, and helps address the effects of mental stress on the arteries. And you can't beat the price."

Having grown up in a family that prized jokes and laughter, I have always aspired to more and more of it, not less. But the last decade or so in the Washington, D.C. area made laughing seem out of place somehow. Thus, when I retired to Mississippi, I looked forward to friends and family whose LQ (Laughter Quotient) was at least as high and as hungry as mine. I'm happy to say I have not been disappointed.

Today at Easter dinner, for example, the eight adults at the table had tales to tease, tickle and tell that invariably led all of us to laughter. Never mind that at least two of the stories had been twice-told a hundred times, we all still roared at the punch line--not for politeness, but for jolly good fun and shared memory of youth and of happier times.

So, now I ask you: did you hear the one about...? Pass it on. It'll bring your blood pressure down!

Judas? I Doubt It

Call me cynical, but I see Gov. Bill Richardson's endorsement of Sen. Barack Obama as less about supporting him or about betraying longtime friend Sen. Hillary Clinton than it is about gambling on his own future after the New Mexico governorship.

Face it: the genial, talented Mr. Richardson aspires to higher office--most recently, to the presidency, which he had to admit in January was not within his reach right now. Key phrase: "right now." For most politicians, "right now" is a passing barrier. "Tomorrow" with all its hopes and hypes and high powers is what they're really after.

Thus, the Governor waited until the way was clearer on who he thought would win the Demo nomination and would be in place to offer him a post of international stature or a high profile domestic position. It's an easy bet that he left his meeting with Sen. Obama feeling relatively assured of a top job in any Obama cabinet or White House.

For those who value political loyalty over political pragmatism and have called Richardson a "Judas" for leaving Hillary, I'd say it's wiser to think of the ancient Chinese General Lao Tzu's advice about politics and war: "No permanent enemies, no permanent allies." I'd say Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico has figured that out. Of course, if he's wrong and Hillary wins the nomination, he WILL be out. Like his beloved New Mexico, he'll be far, Far, FAR out.

Lap(top) Dancing

Granted, I'm late to the dance. Or rather, to two dances.

The Slow Dance: I have just now seen Marion Cotillard's stunning, 2007 Oscar-winning performance in "La Vie En Rose," the celebrated biopic of French cabaret singer Edith Piaf. It's hard to imagine that the Cotillard of this film is the same young actress who played opposite Russell Crowe in a recent lackluster movie about Peter Mayle's widely noted "year in Provence." I've forgotten the title of that movie, and it's just as well, as nothing there would have suggested the brilliant Cotillard I watched on my laptop last night.

The Lap(top)Dance: Yes...laptop. Netflix subscribers (which I am by way of a retirement gift last fall), are now able to click on "Browse Instant DVD's," download a title, and watch away. While I can't claim a laptop screen is as rewarding to watch as the big screen is in a local theater, I can tell you it's more efficient.

Example: I took a long telephone call from a friend just as the Netfilx film got under way. Failing to hit "stop" or "pause" on the computer, I had missed nearly an hour of the film by the time I returned to it. As is so with any DVD, all I had to do was to replay what I had missed--in this case, everything from the opening titles. Within moments, I was as immersed and wide-eyed at Ms. Cotillard's "Little Sparrow" as if I had never permitted the interrupting phone call.

So...if you haven't yet, do see this film. And if you aren't in a mood to see it in the concrete bunker at the mall or downtown, give your computer a chance.

Revisiting the Question

Do you find that your brain takes a vacation at times? Mine does. I offer as a recent example the confusion I created in my March 11 blog ("Sex or Money--Which More Corrupting?"). It was less clear in intent and meaning than I like. So let me try again:

First, you should know I come to any high-profile political/sexual scandal with one question more than any other: who wants this person mortally wounded and why? As an admitted "conspiracy" buff, I nonetheless usually find the answer lies somewhere in the nexus between "self" and "the other guy."

In the Spitzer case, "self" had much to prove, apparently. Otherwise, all the marks of accomplishment were there: big career, nice family, plenty of cash. So what's lacking? A guy's belief in his own sexual prowess? It's tempting to think that must be it when the admitted-to facts are examined.

But wait...there's more.

Who's "the other guy" who would mortally wound an Eliot Spitzer type? To my mind, the answer is whoever doesn't like what he's done to big businesses and those who support them, i.e., corporate wrongdoers, their investors, and public officials who side with the company against government in just about any matter.

So what of the earlier blog? In a way, I was silently harking to a book I read in the 1970's. It purported to explain the differences between Republicans and Democrats. I've forgotten all but this key, sounds-about-right description: Democrats hate Republicans for sins involving money, and Republicans hate Democrats for sins involving sex. Seems to me both parties continue to behave in that fashion.

Sex or Money--Which More Corrupting?

Here we go again. Another talented, high-profile, reform-minded politician--this time Governor Elliot Spitzer of New York--gets himself caught in his own pants zipper.

Upsetting? You bet. One, for how willingly a brilliant, powerful, anti-corruption reformer risks everything in order to have intense, fleeting, personally and professionallly costly sexual encounters; and two, for how deeply motivated his rivals are to decry sex, claim hypocrisy and defeat another successful Big Enemy of Big Corporations. (See earlier blog on "The Appeal" by John Grisham.)

Come on, people. The motive behind going after Spitzer has to do with money, not sex. The party of Big Business will NOT permit a populist business reformer to go without being shamed and disgraced in his personal life. Is it because they see sex as a more corrupting political influence than money? No. It's because they see sex as the quickest liability of an anti-profiteering, anti-Big Business, pro-regulatory reformer--especially one who's a Big Democrat.

Likewise, the Party of The People sees the purposeful curtailing of public services and the reckless amassing of staggering profits as the likeliest liabilty of a tax-hating, anti-government-services zealot--especially if he or she IS or is favored by Big Republicans.

In point, both sides are vulnerable.

So where do YOU fall? Wherever it is, just make sure no one from the government is reading your blogs and emails or listening in on wiretaps!

The Doctor from Olympus

When I was a youngster, I loved watching American ice skater Tinley Albright compete and win gold in the 1952 and 1956 Olympics on black and white television. As a basketball player nearly 6' tall back then, I was in awe of tiny little Tinley as she leapt and spun on the ice in her glamourous, sequined outfits.

By now the brilliant young skater is 72, a career-long pediatrician and spokesperson for a national traveling exhibit celebrating the history and careers of outstanding American women physicians. I had the pleasure of meeting and briefly visiting with Dr. Albright at the Medical Mall exhibition opening in Jackson Friday night.

When we shook hands, I spoke of having enjoyed watching her on b/w TV in the 1950's.

"It's so embarrassing now to see those tapes," she said, lowering her head and covering her eyes as 9-year-old granddaughter Twyla looked on, holding Grandma's hand and smiling. "Even worse, all those awful MovieTone newsreels!" She didn't say it, but we both knew what she meant: say MovieTone, and you say ancient history.

For me, it was a history worth revisiting, even for a minute. Fact is I remain a fan of the tiny Olympian, who--guessing from appearances--still could fit into every one of those amazing little outfits. I'm even more confident that she was a dazzling physician. She comports herself as a champion to this day.

Hillary's Big Bounce

I am happy to see Hillary bounce back. After flirting with Edwards and Obama, I'm now committed to being a Hillary delegate at next week's county Democratic convention. She won't win our state, but she'll win this delegate.

For sure, I fit the profile of her key supporters: white, female, over 65. However, I figure when a middle-aged, white, Mississippi Republican I just met who owns his own business says HE will vote for Hillary, then Sen. McCain and Sen. Obama had better watch out. Likely on our way to having the first woman president to occupy the White House.

To friends who support Sen. Obama, though, I say great. I am a fan. I would like to see him gain more experience, however. How about this: Hillary as president, Obama as vice president. Sounds like a Dream Team to me!

A Familiar Voice--Yours or Mine?

Are you a writer? If so, does your own voice sound so-o-o familiar at times that you stop and wonder if you've heard those same words from, say, another writer? And if so, do you further ask what would happen if he or she found out?

With me it happens often. I'll write a paragraph and it will sound so familiar that I'm convinced the words aren't mine. And who knows? Maybe they aren't. If not, whose are they? Where did they come from? I have a theory about it:

For those of us who rely on strong memory and love of language to inform our writing, we risk copying somebody without meaning to. I think of historians Doris Kearns Goodwin and Stephen Ambrose, both of whom suffered lawsuits and near-disgrace for writing passages that sounded like other passages by other writers in earlier books. It is hard for me to believe either of the accused was a plagiarist. But I didn't follow the courtroom facts of either case, so I can't claim knowledge of them.

I do know this: the intentional lifting of others' work is real and occurs in dishonorable people. Ask Will, one of my former students. Nearly the entire manuscript of some brilliant historical research he did in high school was stolen and put between hard covers by a couple of pikers who sold the work as their own. The case was charitably settled, thanks to Will's charitable nature, but the lesson for me is this: pay attention or risk paying big bucks. I confess to running on "scared of it" at least half the time I'm writing.

The Currency of Othello

"Othello" is front and center lately. Friends and I saw a local college production of the play Friday night. When I got home, I found an email from pals in Portland, Oregon telling of plans for their annual trip to the Shakespeare Festival downstate in Ashland. "Othello" is one of this year's offerings.

So why is "Othello" coming up strong? Theory: the candidacy of Barack Obama. Every thoughtful person with whom I speak is considering Obama's run for the presidency and wondering what kind of leader he would be in the White House. Race invariably arises as a point in the discussion.

While I do not equate the fictional life of Othello to the real life of Obama, I do see why people are turning once again to Shakespeare in view of questions about race and its impact on people.

If you haven't read or seen the play about the Moor lately, you might give it another try. It's good for at least some familiar insights into race as a motivating factor in individuals, whether at home, at work or abroad in society.

P.S. Thanks to pal Ann in Arlington VA for catching the typo in "Barack." He now has his "c" back. Thanks, too, to former student Will in San Francisco for reminding me that Missoula is in MISSOULA Valley--not the Bitterroot Valley as misstated in an earlier blog entry/photo caption.