I sign up for all the Life Enrichment lectures at the senior
hall. This month’s lecture was given by a local woman, Sandra Warren, who wrote a book about
her high school’s junior and senior classmates who bought a B-17 Bomber during
WWII by selling $375,000 worth of War Bonds and they won the right to name and christen
the airplane. It even flew into town for the ceremony and when “The Spirit of South
High” flew off, it was never heard from again. Fast forward seven decades later
when the alumni from the high school decided to research what happened to the
bomber and the research lead them to another project: getting a marker placed in
a field near the Meadows of Dan, Virginia, where the bomber crashed on a foggy
night during a training exercise---two years after it was built. The bomber
never made it to the war.
And I never made it to the lecture. I got up that morning, eager to go because it had been too long since I’d talked to another human being and I promised myself this winter I wouldn’t let the weather wimp me out from going places. I took a shower and told the dog to be a good boy as I walked out the door. I got two minutes from home on a trip that should have only taken another seven to get to the senior hall if I hadn’t been behind seven drivers going 20 in a 55 mile an hour zone. It was 23 degrees and everything was covered by a thin layer of ice. I had visions of someone getting impatient, and spinning out trying to pass, causing a chain reaction accident. Finding a safe place to turn off and head back home, I did just that. The icy landscape came with flash-backs to the days when I used to help my husband salt parking lots and we'd pass by lots of cars in ditches on black ice nights. Small cars like I drive now.
And I never made it to the lecture. I got up that morning, eager to go because it had been too long since I’d talked to another human being and I promised myself this winter I wouldn’t let the weather wimp me out from going places. I took a shower and told the dog to be a good boy as I walked out the door. I got two minutes from home on a trip that should have only taken another seven to get to the senior hall if I hadn’t been behind seven drivers going 20 in a 55 mile an hour zone. It was 23 degrees and everything was covered by a thin layer of ice. I had visions of someone getting impatient, and spinning out trying to pass, causing a chain reaction accident. Finding a safe place to turn off and head back home, I did just that. The icy landscape came with flash-backs to the days when I used to help my husband salt parking lots and we'd pass by lots of cars in ditches on black ice nights. Small cars like I drive now.
Long nights of plowing snow would often have me thinking about Doctor Zhivago. I had a cassette tape of the sound track from the movie that I played in the truck. Wikipedia says this about the storyline: “It is set in Russia between the years prior to World War I and the Russian Civil War of 1917-1922, and is based on the 1957 Boris Pasternak novel by the same name.” It stared Omar Sharif and Julie Christie and I was in love with that movie back in the ‘60s. There are many snowy scenes in the three hour film but there is one in particular showing the interior of a house covered in white, icy snow. I had romanticized that scene to be the most beautiful winter-scape I’d ever seen.
I had a chance to see Dr. Zhivago on television last week and
was reminded of why I don’t like watching old movies. The interior scene I
loved for so many years was not the sparkling crystal, romantic wonderland my mind’s eye had
built it up to be. And Julie Christie’s acting was almost laughable, the director
seemingly depending on close-ups of her pretty face to carry the story forward.
And the Russian revolt, the fighting, the way people starved and fought to get
enough fuel to heat their rooms in the unforgiving Russian winters was depressing
and strangely seemed like a forecast of what could be coming to us if we don’t start doing a better job of protecting the earth's Breadbaskets from bio-terrorists and climate change deniers. I couldn’t believe the 1965 edition of myself could have loved
that movie so much. I know I was naive back then when all I knew about the
Russian Civil War came from Dr. Zhivago.
Could I have believed that war and all the hardships that come with it would be worth it if only the “right side” wins? Or maybe I
just had the hots for Omar Sharif.
I’ve had Dr. Zhivago
loaded on my Kindle for a couple of years, unread. It’s 700 pages long and
after seeing the movie again, I doubt I’ll ever read it. The We Bought a Bomber book is 157 pages and
I don’t have an interest in reading that either. From the reviews on Amazon,
the bomber book sounds like it romanticizes the war effort on the home front
which I suppose is to be expected---it was a uniquely all-in, all-for-one
period of American history. It’s to be expected because it’s true what they say
about the spoils of war going to the winners and that includes the winners get
to tell the stories of glory and courage, of shared sacrifices and pride. ©
A post about Dr. Zhivago tickled me this morning. It's not snowy here, of course, but the tail end of that whomper of a front blew through last night, and now there are standing waves on the marina fairways. It must be blowing well over 30 mph, because my computer screen is vibrating the way it does when the wind's strong enough to set the building a-quiver.
ReplyDeleteI loved that film, too. You reaction to seeing it again reminded me of my response to an adult viewing of "Gone With the Wind." My little friends and I saw it six times in sixth grade, and I suspect it was Clark Gable who made it such must-see viewing. Still, I do love David Lean films ("Bridge on the River Kwai," "Lawrence of Arabia," "A Passage to India"). Re-watching them all might be a nice late January project. I think the frost still would sparkle for me in "Zhivago," but my ability to suspend disbelief has stayed remarkably intact through the years.
The story of the bomber's interesting. Of course I know about war bonds, but a war bomber? That's new. The fact that it crashed is a little sad, but not really. The value of their effort was the same, regardless of the outcome.
The alumni had a hard time tracking down what happened to the bomber until they contacted Gerald Ford. The president had gone to the same high school. It really is an interesting tidbit of history. The reviews of the book have been all over our local news.
DeleteI loved all the movies you mentioned. I've seen "Gone With the Wind" as an adult but would love to see "The Bridge on the River Kwai" again. I just read my review of the movie in my 1957 or 8 diary.
Some movies don't age well, or maybe we grow up. I have a hard time watching White Christmas now without cringing, and that movie used to be a beloved staple when I was growing up. Now I can't stand the not-so-subtle racist overtones...the only black people are briefly seen and servile, and that hideous minstrel show number...
ReplyDeleteGlad you got back home safe and in one piece, Jean.
I was a fan of White Christmas too but haven't seen it probably in twenty-five years. I loved all the old musicals from that era. Racist over-tunes are probably in a lot of old movies now that you bring it up. Changing values of society do show up in things like the song, "Baby it's Cold Outside" where the line "What's in this drink?" takes on a whole new meaning in the post Bill Crosby era.
DeleteWhat an accomplishment for high school kids! Forward thinking.
ReplyDeleteI used to watch old movies on Super Bowl Sunday! Mr Ralph always had some friends over. I’d take my snacks to a different TV!
I can't remember how long it took them but it wasn't very long. The government gave them just a few months to prove they could do it. And it all started when a civics teacher read an article to the class about an organization that also raised enough money to buy buy a piece of military equipment for the war and someone in class raised his hand and asked, "Why can't we do that?"
DeleteI watch the Puppy and Kitten Bowls on Superbowl Sunday. LOL
Dr. Zhivago is my favorite movie and that interior scene, ice, snow covered, has always been my favorite memory of that movie. I haven't watched it in years. I wonder if my visual memory has changed too.
ReplyDeleteMe too, Judy. I loved, LOVED that movie until last week. It's still a good film/story but I couldn't stand Julie's acting and I couldn't believe I could be in love with Omar's character who was two-timing his wife and children. I've got to start watching Turner Classics more often which is where I saw this one.
DeleteI actually prefer Holiday Inn to White Christmas. It's unfortunate but we have a double wide driveway and just a one car garage andthe runoff from the house goes right in front of my car-which means ice until it melts completely. So while I am a goer, goer, when it's icy I am a stayer, stayer at least for a couple days. But then yesterdays snow is almost melted here in Denver.
ReplyDeleteThat's a good movie, too.
DeleteI'm usually surprised when I get out from my neighborhood and learn that my cul-de-sac and driveway are the worst conditions of all. I have a run-off issue too. Denver is known for having snow melt off quickly, isn't it.
That was a lot of bonds for kids to sell. Impressive task. Think we just grow up and are no longer pulled in by a bit of romance and need more depth. The think I remember about that movie was the crunching of the snow. It seemed so loud. Also I had treated my grandmother to the movie and she kept falling asleep and that dear woman could snore.
ReplyDeleteThat's funny about your grandmother. I'm still impressed by the crunching sound of new snow when the temperatures are low. It's one of my favorite sounds. I used to call it Cracker Jack snow.
DeleteYou're right about the pull of romance when we were younger...
I live only 10 miles from the Meadows of Dan and have never heard that story, so thank you. I agree that as we get older we see things so much differently from the innocents we were back in our youth and thank God for that. I have been a long-time lurker and love you blog posts...……….Thank You!
DeleteIt's always a Red Letter Day for me when I get a comment from a lurker So thank you for that!! And we're even---I've never heard of the Meadows of Dan before this story came to my attention.
DeleteYouth is definitely wasted on the young. LOL
P.S. to JBen: Here's a link to the exact placement of the marker. https://www.wdbj7.com/content/news/Historical-marker-memorializes-WWII-plane-crash-in-Patrick-County-494848691.html
Delete"Breakfast at Tiffany's" was always my most favorite movie. I loved Audrey Hepburn (still do) and cried every time at the end when she pushes her cat out of the taxi and then desperately tries to find him in the rain. Now, I cringe at Mickey Rooney's "Mr. Yunioshi", with the stereotypical teeth, etc. Also, I read Truman Capote's book and it's a lot different. "Fred" is gay and Holly Golightly is more obviously a hooker. I read where they originally wanted Marilyn Monroe for the part. I saw the movie for the first time when I was in high school and it all seemed so glamorous! Funny how life and time can change our outlooks.
ReplyDeleteI was/still am a fan of Audrey Hepburn, too. My favorite movie of her's is 'Two for the Road.' So much has changed in the world since we were young that it's no wonder that some of the old movies have the ability to make us cringe.
DeleteOld movies really were terrible for the most part. The acting was so over-the-top and stilted. That's just the way that it was. But I'll still watch Brando and Leigh in "A Streetcar Named Desire" any old time. It's perfection.
ReplyDeleteWe have a million miles of snow here in NEO and lake effect is generating more. It will be here til July. Sigh.
One thing I like about old movies that is hard to find in today's offerings is they don't overpower you with lots of visual flashings of light and color. My old eyes can't keep up. And the old movies do have better story lines but movies were longer and they could take the time to develop them.
DeleteI'd rather have snow than ice, which we've been getting a lot of this winter. We finally got some snow but it's too cold to go outside and shovel...five degrees up from sub-zero when I first got up.
I've read it. It takes a long time. As long as crossing the tundra. Probably longer. I loved the film when first seen but when it came on again I didn't want to commit the time to it. Is that what happens when we age? We have less time on this earth and there are other things we can do in that three hour time period? I do think I'd still be enchanted by Varykino (I had it on in the background but every time I passed by they were in some dark place being revolutionary.) Having just seen the musical "Anastasia" about the same time and watching Lucy Worsley's wonderful "Empire of the Tsars" I wasn't much feeling like the dark revolution that day. Some days a revolution is just more than I can handle.
ReplyDeleteYour last sentence expresses how I feel about the current state of our government. LOL
DeleteI think one of the problems with watching long movies now is the industry has trained us not to watch movies that are long enough to need intermissions in the middle. In addition to that, all of us are busier---women working, more kids in sports that need to be carted around, more men doing work around the house in addition to their jobs. We just have more things to divide our time between.
I'd forgotten about "Anastasia." I liked that one too.
It's so disappointing when you revisit an old movie you just loved and it's not how you remember it.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you decided to head back home Jean. That kind of weather is scary and not worth going out for.
I always feel like such a wimp when I don't get out on days when some of my friends will chance the roads. BUT I have to remind myself that they all have kids and grand-kids who can come bail them out of trouble or run them around body shops and doctors offices if they get in an accident. I don't have that kind of backup nearby.
DeleteI was another Dr. Zhivago lover, especially those snowy sleigh ride scenes. But child of the labor movement and Catholic school liberation theology that I was, I remember thinking that it was only right that the Zhivago family's big house was broken up into smaller units to provide housing for the poor.
ReplyDeleteI could have thought the same thing back when I first saw the movie. This time around I kind of felt sorry for the Zhivago's. LOL
DeleteWe’ve just evolved in our thinking as a consequence of our life experiences and the world events changingbaround us, I think. Your reaction re-viewing or re-reading books years later has pretty much been my experience, too. Part of it may be there’s a reaction to the first time exposure to something that is not likely to recreate.
ReplyDeleteThat makes perfect sense. I suppose it could go the other way around, too, that as we age we can appreciate certain things better and could find movies or books we like even better.
DeleteI'm so often disappointed in old movies. And I've had the same experience as you, re-watching faves only to wonder what I ever saw in them. Sort of like reunions where you see old boyfriends...a recent occurrence. LOL
ReplyDeleteThat's the best outcome for running into an old boyfriend when you have a hot, supportive husband like you do. LOL
DeleteTrue!!!!
DeleteDear Jean, old movies really can bring back to us not only the plot of a film but who we were at the time we saw the movie. Who we were with; what was happening in our lives; maybe even what we word when we sat in the darkened theater.
ReplyDeleteAs a child in the forties, I used to go to the Saturday matinees with my brother to watch Westerns with stars like Gene Autry, Roy Rodgers, and the Lone Ranger. Recently, I decided to watch some of those old movies and got two Gene Autry DVDs from the library. I so enjoyed them, laughing now at things I wouldn't have seen as funny at the time! Peace.
My brother and I also went to the Saturday matinees for the double features...Gene Autry and the Lone Ranger were my favorites. I'm still disappointed I didn't grow up to marry Gene. I've seen some of these old classics and had the same reaction you did. Worth watching again just for the laughs.
DeleteThanks for the walk down Memory Lane, Dee.