James Earl Jones

 

James Earl Jones, the beloved actor whose career spanned 70 years, from the mid-50's until this decade, has died at the age of 93. 

He was and will always be remembered as the iconic voice of Darth Vader, but his career was much more than that; his roles on stage and film are too many and varied to list here. Jones, a fellow Catholic, was the winner of three Tony Awards, a Grammy, a Golden Globe, and a Lifetime Achievement Oscar. 

When I think of him Darth Vader comes first to mind, followed quickly by Field of Dreams, and The UFO Incident, in which he played Barney Hill, an alleged victim of alien abduction. 

RIP

A Book from my Past

In the late '80's I bought The Complete Films of John Wayne, by Mark Ricci and Boris and Steve Zmijewsky. It's a reference guide to each of the 169 feature films Wayne made in his lifetime, and I purchased it not only because I was a fan of the Duke, but because at the time I was heavily invested in watching classic movies on AMC (back when that was American Movie Classics). 

It's rather a no-frills guide, with a summary of each movie and relevant production data, but very few, if any, behind the scenes snippets and only  black and white photographs.. 

Still, having gotten rid of the book decades ago, I was very happy when my new (to me) copy arrived in the mail recently. Welcome home Mr. Wayne. 

I Think About This Far More Often Than Is Neccessary

The Big Sky by A.B. Guthrie

 I'm all for troubled heroes, but I don't like troubling ones. And Boone Caudill, the main character in this epic tale of the American West, is about as troubling as a hero can get. 

That's how a review of The Big Sky, the classic Western masterpiece by Pulitzer Prize winner A.B. Guthrie, begins on Goodreads, setand a sad testament it is to the state of the reading public. So enamored are we now of "representation" that we are incapable of immersing oursleves in a novel unless the character looks like us, thinks like us, acts like us - or, to be more precise, acts like the saint we imagine ourselves to be. 

Boone Caudill is not, by the way, the "hero" of the novel, as there is no hero to be found. He is the main character, but only if you ignore the American West itself, the true and only pure character to be found. The novel opens with Boone the victim of parental abuse, and in short order he is chased, betrayed, framed, tortured by a lawman, and made a fugitive. Caudill, a man of many internal flaws, came by them the hard way. 

Set in the 1830's, there is a narrative thread connecting the characters from start to finish, but a thread is all it is. The Big Sky is not concerned about plot or structure. It's more a tale of barely related,  self contained episodes of Caudill's life. 

Be forewarned that life can be dark.  I've already mentioned how the book begins; before it ends there will be murder,  mutilation,  rape, starvation, spousal abuse,  cannibalism, and betrayal.  No one is immune,  not the white characters, not the natives, and it occurs without judgement, just another part of the wild land the characters inhabit.

There is beauty too,  in Guthrie's pen and his insights into the world he so thoroughly and lovingly creates. 

I did NOT have difficulty reading about a troubled lead,  but I did have issues with the frequent use of the N word.  I know,  different era,  different people,  and I'm sure it's accurate to 1837. It was still jarring to read in 2024, especially as it was hard to put my finger on just how it was being used.  I could be wrong,  but I think it was only used once in reference to a black man, was more often than not to describe themselves (white), and in all its uses it seemed rarely to be an insult. Again,  jarring and confusing. 

It is a great novel,  but don't expect sunshine and lollipops.

Grade: B

Junie's Big Birthday Surprise

While Junie was gone at her birthday party, Lulu replaced her twin bed and trundle with a new full sized set. 

Like I said it was LuLu's project. Smiley contributed with some help picking up the mattress, which was donated by YaYa, I played a big role in finagling the box spring up the narrow stairs, and my sister came to help with the setup. Still, 97% LuLu's effort 

                                                                          She loved it!!!

                                                   

The (Rained Out) Noah Kahan Concert at Alpine Valley

 Ok, so somehow, despite taking after me in many respects, Junie has abandoned that standard when it comes to concert going. I'm still not a big concert guy - and Lordy, there better be chairs! - but as a high schooler I saw ZERO shows. I was waaayy too anxiety ridden to go to one. Meanwhile, thirty years later, if you've so much as hummed a tune and she's heard it on Spotify, there goes Junie to see you in concert. 

The latest, back on July 13th, was songwriter/performer Noah Kahan at Alpine Valley. 

The cost of tickets was an issue for a long time, but eventually she and a friend purchased good, (expensive) seats on a payment plan and got ready for the show. 

She borrowed my car for the trip to Alpine Valley, a venue about 45 minutes to the southwest of Milwaukee, and while I had concerns with both the traffic and the parking situation there she did fine. 

Like I said, she had good seats, under the awning - that would come in handy later. 

Meanwhile Lisa and I were at home watching as a major storm rolled into that area. A co-worker of mine was at the concert (but only *lawn* seats, hmph. What do you expect from a lawyer? It's not like he has the resources of a teenage girl!). Soon he reported that the lawn seats were being ordered to evacuate, but that most people weren't budging from their hard earned spots. 

Junie texted to say that she was being ordered to shelfter in place, as was everyone under the canopy. She was scared, and I daresay with reason. The threat of a tornado was on a lot of minds. 

I should mention by the way, that Alpine Valley had pathetic cell and wifi reception, leaving many concert goers without accurate information or means of contacting loved ones. I mean, it wasn't a national tragedy, but yikes. 

I think we got word at home - via Instagram - of the concerts postponement at pretty much the same time anyone at the venue did; maybe even sooner. 

The thought of Junie getting out of that parking lot in under four hours, and doing it in the middle of a storm, just didn't compute. They ran to the car, and as luck would have it, because they got there quite late (relatively speaking) the car was near the exit and so they got out before most poeple even started rolling. 

They got home safe, which is what matters, and the concert was rescheduled, albeit for September 11th, which is little more of a jinx if you ask me. In the meantime, she had some fun with all the memes and posts about the mess. 

Junie's 17th Birthday Party

As her 17th birthday dawned back on August 7th we had Junie read our card and open our gift, a pair of Taylor Swift pajamas. 

And that was about it for her birthday celebration . . . 

Ha. 

I couldn't get off work, but between Lisa and Junie, and two of our cars, a whole bunch of Junie's friends headed up to Green Bay to celebrate her birthday at a Air BnB we rented. Aside from Lisa, no other family member could get out of work for those two days, a fact that dissapointed Junie. I'm not kidding. She's perhaps the only teenager on record who actually WANTED family at her birthday party. 

First tho they stopped at Bay Beach, an amusement park in Green Bay where Junie celebrated a birthday many moons ago. 

Then it was on to the AirBnb, which had room to sleep the whole group with plenty of space to spare, a hot tub, and a view of the lake. It was pretty reasonably priced too, and well worth every penny!

I ordered the cake from a local supermarket well in advance, but when Junie arrived they'd lost the order, so she had to buy one off the shelf, which SUCKS. Lisa then added the custom made edible image topper that I designed and ordered off Amazon. It included her beloved Finn Wolfhard once again, but also the first official use of her monogram!

                                 

I joined in from Milwaukee over a video call to sing happy birthday and do the Polish blessing. 

The next day, after checkout, they returned to Bay Beach, only arriving back in Milwaukee early in the evening. 

(Lisa's friend Jolene joined the party with her grandaughter)

From all accounts, she and her friends had a blast. I'm genuinely sad I couldn't clear my calendar and join them, but I'm super happy she was pleased. 

Sto lot my Junie!