Betty Zane

This is the iconic drawing showing Elizabeth Zane performing her great deed of fetching the powder for the besieged men Fort Henry in Wheeling, West Virginia, in 1782. The fort was under attack by Indians friendly to the British.

  

Born as Elizabeth "Betty" Zane McLaughlin Clark, on July 19, 1759 , she was part of a large family, originally established on what was then the frontier, by three brothers; Ebenezer, Silas and Jonathan, who came from Hardy County, in what was then just Virginia, in 1769. In addition to her parents she had a sister and 4 brothers.

The story goes that when the men in the fort were low on powder, they sent Betty to get some which they had buried nearby. She was allowed to pass solely because she was a woman. Due to this bravery on September 11, 1782 she is considered a hero of the American Revolution, but I have to wonder why?

Now don’t get mad; just listen to me for a second. This woman supposedly is a hero of a war which ended in October of 1781 at Yorktown, almost a full year prior to this incident. And although the Indians had been allies of the British during the war, this battle was clearly just between the settlers and the Indians, who were no doubt angry about their new neighbors arriving uninvited, as well as bringing a Revolution with them.

Then there is the whole part about the battle ceasing while a woman passed. If that was the case, then she did nothing more than run for powder, a task she was allowed to perform simply because she was of no value to either side, so if the Indians did break their word, there would still be men left in the fort to make a last effort to save themselves.

Ms. Zane is a precedent of the famed author Zane Grey, and lived until 1823 when she passed away at the age of 64. In addition to the scores of Westerns Mr. Grey is famous for, he also wrote an historical biography based on the life of his great grandparents and Betty’s heroic deed in the story.

She has become the stuff of legends, and like all legends, some salt is undoubtedly coating this shaft.  Still, it’s an inspiring story of courage in the days of the old frontier, when Virginia was considered to be the west.

"Detroit" by Charlie LeDuff (2013)

What killed Detroit? The saying used to be “As goes GM, so goes the nation.” If that expression is true, then we are all in trouble. Journalist Charlie LeDuff, formerly of the New York Times, returns home to the city where he grew up to work for the local newspaper, a far cry from the job he held in New York. He hopes to cover what may be the biggest story in America; the death a of a once great city; a place where Henry Ford began the $5 work day, and ended with the loss of the auto industry to the foreign market, before falling victim to the recession of 2008.

Looking back through some of Detroit’s history paints a picture of the city which became home to hundreds of thousands of workers during the great migration from the south. These people arrived seeking a better life, only to find themselves living in the worst end of town, while relegated to a life of factory work. For several generations that was the expected “norm”, but once the Unions got involved, with their demands for high pay and good benefits; even for the unskilled; the industry fell to the complacency which often accompanies the assumption that things will always remain the same.

Why go to college when you can sweep the factory floor for $18 an hour? Why prepare for any other work when you have a virtual guarantee of lifelong employment, and a retirement which meets all your needs? This is the thinking which allowed the people of Detroit to be taken down by crooked politicians, corrupt labor leaders, and the apathy of the people themselves as they watched their world literally crumble about them.

When the city went broke many of the municipal services we take for granted fell by the wayside. Garbage went uncollected, and fires raged out of control as people; unemployed and without hope; set fire to the vacant houses around them. The firefighters have no equipment which hasn't been damaged, or stolen to be sold as scrap, and even the federal bailout money which was supposed to help save the dying city, was pilfered by a cast of characters who rival those in Jimmy Breslin’s “The Gang Who Couldn't Shoot Straight.” The saying in Detroit is that sometimes when there is a crime, the people call the police. And as if to return the favor, sometimes the Police show up.

The authors brother Billie had a job as a writer of sub-prime mortgages, part of what brought the whole nation to its knees, just as the easy credit extended by GMAC in order to make cars affordable to all, did back in the 1920’s. The car was the precursor to the mindset that begat the housing bubble of the early 2000’s. Billie ends up working at a screw factory for $8 per hour, even as he loses the home he, himself, once wrote the sub-prime mortgage on.

Detroit itself, once home to an ambitious and upwardly mobile workforce has become the emblem of what went wrong with America in the heady years after World War Two had come to a close. Lacking any real competition from abroad, we became fat and lazy, allowing crooked politicians to lead us down the path to our own destruction.

With the bailout of Detroit’s “Big Three” comes a great lesson in greed and corruption. Arriving in Washington aboard their corporate jets to beg for a Federal bailout, they return home empty handed, seemingly at a loss as to what went wrong. They had arrived in style, but with no concrete plan to present to Congress. They were shocked when they were turned down for the bailout money, returning to Detroit to regroup. Only after returning to Washington; in hybrid automobiles; would they receive any attention at all.

Detroit’s “hip-hop” Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, presided over much of the city’s decay. And when he was caught and sentenced to prison, he served 99 days and when released returned to live with his mother, Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, a United States Congresswoman and a member of the Congressional Black Caucus.

As the factories and plants closed, the properties remained vacant, becoming a place for the homeless and drug addicted to seek shelter. The description of men playing ice hockey in the basement of one of these vacant buildings is incredulous, especially when they discover a body at the bottom of an elevator shaft frozen in ice. He was there for months before anyone reported him. His name was Johnnie Lewis Redding, second cousin to the great singer Otis.

And, as the city burns, there is no money left for schools, leaving the children to bring their own toilet paper to class. Books are a rarity, and the ones in use are hopelessly outdated. What kind of future awaits these children, who are daily accosted by drug dealers and cannot even play safely outdoors anymore?

Mr. LeDuff has done an extraordinary job at chronicling the demise of a once great metropolis. The scariest part of the book however, is that this is the blueprint of what is happening to America all over, as we watch our jobs; and futures; being shipped all over the world, leaving nothing behind for the average working class person.

When the authors brother Billie moves to a rented property, after losing his home, he packs his belongings in boxes stamped “Made in China” as he wonders aloud, “Don’t we make anything here anymore?” This is a book which will astonish you as it paints a picture of what our national future may look like under the leadership of the incompetent. The real pity is that we are the ones who choose them.

Not only has the author written a book about the fiscal failure of one of the nation's former leading cities, he has also given us a glimpse of what made Detroit the great metropolis she once was. And along the way, he makes some startling discoveries about his own family. Sometimes, while confronting the communal present, we find a mirror image of our individual pasts. A very revealing, and well written book.

The Grand Old Opry - April 28, 1956

Whenever I walk along the streets in Mooresville, N.C., which is about 18 minutes from my house, I think of what the town must have been like before Interstate 77 came through several miles to the west of town, in the early 1960’s, when Duke Power created Lake Norman to serve it’s dam on the Catawba River, which in turn would become part of the nuclear power plant that sits adjacent to it. That dam is located about 11 miles to the South, in Huntersville.

Mooresville has had a renaissance in the past decade or so, with new boutiques and shops opening on Main Street, revitalizing the area. Mooresville was primarily an agricultural town, growing corn, cotton and other crops which were shipped by the railroad which bisects the town from North to South. So, naturally, when I think of Mooresville in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s, I see a vibrant town with dances on Saturday nights, and train whistles cutting through the sound of the music and laughter.

Sundays were mainly “church” days, with some picnics thrown in and a lot of visiting friends and relatives. Contrasted with Brooklyn, New York where I was raised, I find myself often wishing I could go back for just one night to those years and experience the flavor of the town as it once was.

But, for better or for worse, my memories are all based in the city, so I can only imagine what I missed. They say “even a fool can despise what he cannot get”, but I don’t despise what I missed at all. I hunger for it. And that hunger; as it often does; takes me to You Tube where I can get a glimpse of what life was like outside of New York City and the Ed Sullivan Show.

The Grand Old Opry is still alive and kicking today, pumping out so called country music, which is really just a blend of 1960’s rock/pop music. The acts you see here from the Grand Old Opry in April, 1956, represent the real American entertainment of the time. This show, and others like it, were what the rest of the country were watching while we were watching the more “sophisticated” variety shows which aired from New York and even the stuff coming out of Los Angeles at the time. They are also emblematic of all the good things I missed. Chet Atkins and June Carter both perform, and the commercials are live, touting the benefits of farm products rather than aftershave lotions. Man, I wish I could back for just one night...

"The Dixie Fryer" - Foghorn Leghorn (1960)

When I was a kid Foghorn Leghorn was my favorite Merrie Melodies character. Well, actually, they all had their good points, but perhaps it was because Foghorn seemed emblematic of what was happening in America at the time in regards to Civil Rights. It was also the 100th anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War. So, to me, Foghorn Leghorn “was” the Southern Dixiecrat; and although in reality his ilk would repulse me; as a cartoon there was an attraction borne of having seen this guy on the evening news.

In this 6 minute cartoon I’m not really sure who gets lampooned the most; the Southerners or the “Hillbillies” who are represented by chicken hawks, but are probably supposed to be African-Americans. But, at the same time, they bear all of the trappings of the stereotypical “Hillbilly.” 

So, if you are offended by this type of humor, remember that this cartoon came out just 2 years BEFORE “The Beverly Hillbillies” appeared on CBS, and which would run for 7 more years after. The Andy Griffith Show had already begun its classic run, and “Green Acres” wasn't even on the drawing board yet. At the same time, most television shows were white, and shows like “Julia” were still almost a decade in the future. And, it would be a full 10 years before Archie Bunker made a fool of himself each week in your living room.

The voices in this cartoon are, of course, Mel Blanc. Foghorn is hitchhiking south; presumably from D.C.; to spend the winter, being pulled by a flock of birds. When he catches scent of the magnolias, he knows he is back down South. Unfortunately for him, just as he is finished setting up camp for the winter, “Elvis” and “Pappy”; the aforementioned chicken hawks; catch his scent, and the race is on to see just who will be having who for dinner.

Forget the political correctness, and enjoy this cartoon for what it really represents. What is that? I’m not sure, but it looks an awful lot like most of us to me.

"Take Me Home" with Amber and Sam Jaeger (2011)

Claire Barrow’s husband is cheating on her; and would be photographer Thom Colvin can’t sell his work. The illegal cab he owns is not making enough money to even keep a roof over his head when these two mismatched people find themselves together on a cross country trip to scatter Claire’s recently deceased father’s ashes to the wind.

Claire has everything, a successful life and husband, while Thom can’t get off the ground. His past relationships have failed and his parents have no idea what he really does for a living. When Claire finds her husband with a co-worker in a compromising state, she decides to chuck it all and grabs the first cab she sees; which belongs to Thom. Instructing him to drive in no particular direction, the two begin a series of misadventures which take them to Las Vegas and ultimately on to the West Coast, where Claire is re-united with her sisters and their father’s ashes are scattered.

But what happens when Claire’s husband arrives, whisking her back to New York, leaving Thom alone and a bit broken from the journey? Deciding that he must continue on his own, he remains in California. But Claire has trouble relinquishing the new freedoms she has found with Thom, and is faced with a very big decision. Will she remain in her present circumstances, or take a chance on Thom? This is a quirky, off beat film which will leave you smiling about what I label the “human condition.” 

  

"Hey, Boo: Harper Lee and To Kill a Mockingbird" (2011)

If you have never read “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee then skip this film. It will not be as meaningful if you have not read the book which spawned this wonderful documentary look behind one of the most powerful books ever filmed, and the remarkable woman who penned it.

Through archival footage of New York City in the late 1950”s, and also photos of the small Alabama town where Ms. Harper grew up, the film tells the story of how the book came to be written, and the two remarkable people who made it possible.

It was Christmastime 1956 when Ms. Lee arrived in New York City to visit her friends Joy and Michael Brown. She had been working as an airline reservation clerk and writing sketches of the people she knew back home. These sketches tremendously impressed both Joy and Michael who were fellow transplants form the South. Believing in the integrity of her work they proposed to her that she should remain in New York with them for one year in order to write the book they knew she had within her. That was their Christmas present to her. She accepted the offer and “Atticus” was born.

The initial printing was 5,000 copies, which scared everyone except the publisher. By 1960 the book was released and the awards began to flow in. The book garnered the Pulitzer Prize in 1961 and was made into the classic film starring Gregory Peck in 1962. The film, just as the book, was an instant hit and is considered one of the finest contemporary American classics ever written.

With commentary about the book from such luminaries as Andrew Young, Richard Russo, Roseanne Cash and Oprah Winfrey, the film tells of the impact this book had on the Civil Rights Movement from the perspective of the people who lived through the Jim Crow years down South. When she wrote the book, Ms. Lee had no idea of the impact, and change, that her book would engender.

Sometimes, when explored through the eyes of a child, the image of what we see around us becomes clearer. That is what happened with “To Kill a Mockingbird”. When the nation looked at the plight of Tom Robinson, and then walked around in his skin; as Atticus would say; it became harder and harder to look in the mirror. Though Ms. Lee never wrote another book, “To Kill a Mockingbird” will stand the test of time for the gem that it is.

"Home Grown Tomatoes" - Guy Clark (1983)

Here's a really great song by Guy Clark about one of nature's most delectable delights- the home grown tomato. We all have neighbors and co-workers who grow; and even share; their bumper crop during the summer months. There really is nothing sweeter than a home grown tomato, lightly salted, eaten in the field where it was just picked.

Guy Clark was one of the original members of the group of musicians who can be found in "Heartworn Highways", an indie music film from 1975. Rodney Crowell, Guy Clark, Townes Van Zandt and Steve Earle; all of whom would become legendary songwriters in their own right; really give the viewer an inside peek on what it's like to live and work outside the "norm" as they create some of the best music in decades, launching the independent country movement which would help return the genre back towards it's original roots. If you have never seen the film, you're missing out.