Walking on Air (copy)

Willie Morris once said, “He must always be a stranger to the place he loves, and its people.” I met one such stranger last night in my reading who shaped civil aviation in our country and lived just west of Como back in the 1950s. Yet, today, her name is virtually unknown and her love, lost. 

Phoebe Fairgrave began her aviation career after watching – in awe – President Woodrow Wilson’s plane fly over Cleveland during a campaign stop. Rushing back to Mechanical Arts High School, she could not wait to tell classmates she was going to be a pilot. 

After school and on weekends, Phoebe could be seen staring at the Orioles and Jennies through the chain linked fence at Curtiss Northwest Flying Field. Although, she felt sure someone would offer her a ride it never happened.

Finally, she slipped through the fence and told one of the men near a Jenny that she was interested in buying it. Again Phoebe was thwart. The man let her look around even allowing her to sit in the Jenny’s seat, but said she would have to purchase the plane if she wanted a ride. 

She needed $3,500 to buy the WWI refurbished airplane. Unfortunately, her odd jobs after graduation in 1920 were not enough. Being a fan of The Perils of Pauline series, she visited the Fox Film Corporation that had a branch in Cleveland. Pauline did lots of outrageous stunts and Phoebe convinced them into allowing her to parachute from an airplane dressed as the character. 

With money saved and a loan based on the parachute contract, Phoebe finally had enough to purchase her “big beautiful Jenny!” The salesman not only gave her the first ride, but threw her around in the cockpit with a “quick, violet shake” that resulted in a stall and spin. What was meant to scare her away only thrilled her more. 

Ironically, Phoebe now owned a plane that no one would teach her to fly. Her first and seemed like last flight was that cold day in January. It was late spring before she finally found a “25-year-old veteran of the Great War,” Capt. Vernon Omlie. He stood tall and handsome next to the Jenny as she told him all about the “contract.” That day, she listened as he explained the art of wing walking. 

Walking on Air: The Aerial Adventures of Phoebe Omlie by University of Memphis professor, Janann Sherman is a thrilling then sad ride. Although, the new Memphis Air Traffic Control Tower at Memphis International Airport bears her name, she still remains a stranger.

Walking on Air (copy)

https://maggiereads.blogspot.com/2014/10/walking-on-air-copy.html?m=0

My Cat Spit McGee (copy)

My husband has a favorite quote he loves to spout after seeing a cat’s eyes glow unworldly. “Who has not seen Satan in their sly faces?” The quote is from True Grit by Charles Portis and describes how his main character, Mattie Ross, distrusts cats when compared to the innocence of ponies.

Please, do not get me wrong. My husband loves cats. It wasn’t an overnight change, though. It took time before he learned the benefits. Our first cat, Lucy, was also his first attempt at getting to know the smarter pet. The discerning pet that picks its owners very carefully, our Lucy was slow to love but loyal to the core.

Hubby thought it incredible that I could get Lucy to play fetch with a bread twister or hide-n-seek in the monkey grass. She came when she was called and greeted us when we came home. She even flicked her tail when excited, reminding us of a dog’s wag. Yet, when her eyes shifted, Bam! He would utter it without even knowing, “Who has not seen Satan in their sly faces?” 

Willie Morris was the same way. He grew up with all manners of dogs and loved them with delight, but he was about to marry a cat lover! He didn’t just dislike cats, he loathed them. How in the world would he be able to function with a cat in the house?

The dreaded day happened on what was supposed to be a joyous and calm Christmas. The cat came from under the tree with a little red bow around its neck. A gift from his grown son David to Willie’s new bride, the kitten was found cold and starving on the side of Highway 51 in the Delta. I picture Willie lifting his feet off the floor in disgust.

She was named Rivers Applewhite after one of Morris’ childhood friends who is also featured in his book, My Dog Skip. He was allowed to name her since he was obviously left out of the gift giving loop and his bride was smitten.

Rivers grew to be a smart cat, but she was no dog. She did not play fetch. She did not come when called. Instead, she took to hiding. Once she was found nestled between The Brothers Karamazov and Down and Out in London and Paris.

Willie was also unable to get her affections. “When I picked her up, she would not stay with me. Why could she not at least show even the most modest indications that she was happy to see me and to greet me when I was gone for several days? This puzzled and angered me. ‘Cats ain’t dogs,’ I would shout accusingly at the Cat Woman.”

Rivers soon gave birth to a cat that forever changed Willie’s mind about pets. My Cat Spit McGee is a mature look at a man’s struggle to accept the cold, hard fact that he was becoming a dreaded cat lover.

My Cat Spit McGee (copy)

https://maggiereads.blogspot.com/2014/08/my-cat-spit-mcgee-copy.html?m=0

North Toward Home (copy)

The more I read Willie Morris, the more I like him. I am alternating between North Toward Home and My Dog Skip. What tickles me is that he is an early recycler. He took stories from his 1967 memoir, North Toward Home, and repackaged them into the commercially successful 1995, My Dog Skip.

Morris received Skip while in the third grade. The dog was a distraction since Morris seemed confused over the loss of his aunt Sue. He writes that he stood in front of her casket trying his hardest to memorize her face. There was a mole under her eye that he had never noticed in conversation. He stood long after the family moved to the cars and she was wheeled out.

Some of Morris’ happiest memories dealt with his grand aunts, Mag and Sue. Both were “old maid” sisters living with his grandmother, Marion, in Jackson, Miss. For Morris, Mag and Sue were endless entertainment.

When Morris was eight he sent off for an “ultra-mike” for two dollars. It looked like a regular radio mike and when hooked into an electrical outlet would allow the user to broadcast their voice from the family radio.

“I would hook up this instrument in the back room while Mag and Sue sat listening to the radio in the parlor. Then I would say, ‘We interrupt this program to bring you a special announcement. The Yankees are coming! They are ten minutes away from Raymond! I repeat: the Yankee soldiers are on their way!’ Then Mag and Sue, holding their dresses above their knees for better running, would leap out of their chairs and dash to my grandmother: ‘Marion, Marion, did you hear? They’re comin’! They’re on their way!’”

Marion calmed their spirits and told them it was just the boy playing around. Morris said they would go back to their chairs in the parlor and listen again to their show. After a wait of 2-3 hours, he could do the same thing again and the aunts produced the same reaction.

It was Percy, Marion’s trusted house servant that recognized Morris’ sadness. After the casket was shut and the burial in the old family plot through, Percy consoled him with, “Now don’t you be sad.” He took little Morris’ hand and led him through the doors of Woolworth to reward him with a toy.

“That day I remember I promised myself that if Percy ever died, I would shoot myself, with the pistol my father kept under his mattress at home. But I knew that Percy would never die.”

Skip joined the family two weeks later.

North Toward Home (copy)

https://maggiereads.blogspot.com/2014/07/north-toward-home-copy.html?m=0

Author Rodeo Round-Up! (copy)

Excitement builds as our first ever Author Rodeo Round-up at Northwest nears. We have a great group of panelists and an eager collection of local authors rounded-up. One panelist in the group is key because of her ability to tackle tough issues making her work very accessible to readers.

We first met Julie Cantrell at a Reading Roundtable event sponsored by Sycamore Bank in 2013. Members read her book, Into the Free, and were impressed with her main character, Millie. Millie is the product of an alcoholic father, suicidal mother, and an unethical preacher.

Cantrell explained, “Sometimes, readers ask me why I choose to write about dark topics such as domestic violence, sexual abuse, addiction, betrayal, and hypocrisy. My answer is simple. I don’t know anyone who hasn’t been touched by struggle in some significant way. So my goal as an author is to explore these human journeys and to remind each reader that we are never alone in our suffering.

I also hope to show readers that recovery is possible, and that faith is the key to healing. I’ve been thinking a lot lately about life, love, and the redemptive power of forgiveness. I realize, as Millie points out in “Into the Free” that forgiveness is a heavy word. To forgive someone is never easy, especially when we seem to have been hurt beyond repair. And let’s be honest…who hasn’t?

I know too many people who have been violently attacked, verbally abused, emotionally destroyed, or sexually victimized. I know soldiers who have sacrificed limb and life, left their families, entered the battlefield, and returned with wounded body, mind, and spirit.

I also know parents who have lost their children to addiction, wives who have been betrayed by their adulterous husbands, men who have sold their souls to the fantasy of porn, and children whose parents have hurt them in ways too horrific for our imaginations.

Best friends and coworkers betray one another, fractured families carve deep ravines between loved ones, and the race for wealth, fame, or power lead many well-intentioned individuals to corrupt and selfish paths.

But despite all the hurt in this world, here’s what I believe. Honest people trust others. Joyful people love others. Secure people see only the good in others. Selfless people take great risks in order to help others. Genuine people never turn their back on others. Grateful people do not envy others. Kind people do not intentionally hurt others. Humble people celebrate the success of others.”

Cantrell will discuss her latest, When Mountains Move, Mar. 29 at 2 p.m. in the R.C. Pugh Library at Northwest Mississippi Community College as part of the Author Rodeo Round-up.

Author Rodeo Round-Up! (copy)

https://maggiereads.blogspot.com/2014/03/author-rodeo-round-up-copy.html?m=0

Si-cology 101 (copy)

Read Si-cology 101: Tales & Wisdom from Duck Dynasty’s Favorite Uncle by Si Robertson this weekend and had a hoot. Before I even picked it up, I had rave reviews from instructors and librarians alike.

Just who is Si Robertson? He is a family member of the Duck Commander Company and appears on Duck Dynasty, an A&E reality show, that follows his brother’s family who make millions on a reed duck call retailing at $60.

I have yet to see the show myself, but I cannot get through one aisle at Wal-Mart without bumping into a camo-wearing, bearded caller ad. Two weeks ago I was in Roanoke, VA, visiting a high school that happened to be celebrating homecoming and that particular Friday was Duck Dynasty Day. All the students were wearing camouflage in some form or fashion along with their school colors. One can easily guess the favorite Halloween outfit this year.

Uncle Si did not join the company until his retirement from the military. He really did not sign up for the reality show, either. His cameos were secretly taped and some of his sayings and stories were so memorable they had to include him in more of the show.

Si-cology 101 begins with Si explaining that he has only told a handful of lies in his life. He can count them on one hand and he still feels bad about a couple told as a child.

He states, “I believe lying is a learned skill. Some people are good at it, while others aren’t. I’ve always been a lousy liar. The key to being a good liar is to know when you can get away with it and when you can’t. You have to keep a straight face if you’re going to lie, and I could never stop smiling when I tried. My palms would get sweaty, and I’d lose my composure and start to stutter. Hey, I even grew a long beard so people couldn’t call me a bald –faced liar.”

So, Si claims that 95% of his stories are truthful, at least what he can remember of the original events, and this is how he became popular on the show. His stories about growing up in southern Louisiana and his Vietnam days have been perfected in the many hours sitting in cold duck blinds with Willie and Jase.

This book will start you at his beginnings, naked as a jaybird, and end with letters from his family addressed to him. Along the way, one will learn why he is forever carrying his Tupperware cup of iced-tea and why his face is so hairy. All stories you do not want to miss, and that’s the fact, Jack.

Si-cology 101 (copy)

https://maggiereads.blogspot.com/2013/10/si-cology-101-copy.html?m=0

Promises I Made My Mother (copy)

It was a delight to hear Sam Haskell speak at the Senatobia Lunch with Books yesterday. He flew in special from New York to promote his excellent new book, "Promises I Made My Mother." I was late but after listening to him for just a minute I was struck by his gentle mannerisms and charming good looks. No wonder he won the hearts of finicky people like Bette Davis and David Frost.

Sam Haskell was born in Alabama but he soon moved to Mississippi and considers Amory his hometown. As a child he believed anything was possible and he continued to have faith when others began to doubt. In the prologue he uses the Cheer Man as his example.

In 1964 Amory had all of three television channels from which to choose and nine-year-old Sam was a scholar of all. The Cheer Man was a commercial airing that year to promote the washing detergent. The spokesman dressed in bright orange and sporting a detergent box hat was seen walking through a neighborhood asking, "Do you use Cheer?" Finally he gets an answer when one lucky housewife shows off her box. The spokesman then hands her a ten dollar bill and all is right with the world.

This commercial, this image, this event was going to happen to young Sam. His mother used Cheer and he knew it was only a matter of time before the Cheer Man came down the street and stopped at his front door. He jumped into action – so as to be ready for the blessed day – by making a poster declaring his undying love for the product. With money saved he purchased all the paint and mini rocks to place on his poster which became a garish three by four foot sign that he proudly displayed above his bedroom headboard.

Soon his artwork became the butt of his father's jokes. "Son, show the guys what you plan to do when the Cheer Man comes?" Sam would eagerly display his masterpiece only to be met with snickers and guffaws from the crowd.

It was his mother who kept the dream alive although time passed and the Cheer Man commercial cycled off the air. Eventually, the poster came off the wall to reside under the bed and then moved to the closet. His mother never once pointed out the impossibility, but told him it was a beautiful dream.

Readers will find the Cheer Man cometh and directly to the Haskell's front door thus proving all things are possible. Sam returned to Mississippi yesterday after a successful career in Hollywood culminating as Worldwide Head of Television. Yes, all things are possible.

Promises I Made My Mother (copy)

https://maggiereads.blogspot.com/2010/02/promises-i-made-my-mother-copy.html?m=0