"Sons and Lovers" - (1960) Trevor Howard, Wendy Hiller, Dean Stockwell

 

Use this link. https://youtu.be/qVtPAVtucjY?si=ZwAwNceh19ZGKa3Q

Written in 1912 by D.H. Lawrence,  "Sons and Lovers" was controversial when first published. It explores the conflict which exists between the relationships of mothers and sons. One clings, while the other seeks a new love of its own.

I remember vaguely the controversy the film elicited when it was released in 1960. I recall discussions between my parents and their friends about it, though I had no idea what they were talking about. As a teenager I tried to read it, but I was too young to really understand the book to its full extent.

The film has never been remade. I don't think it ever will be. It could never, in my mind, equal the stark reality created here. And though our views of morality and desire have changed drastically in the 65 years since its release, there are still some truths which are eternal. The film is as relevant now as it was then.

Trevor Howard and Dean Stockwell are riveting in their performances as father and son, and both are equalled by their counterparts, Wendy Hiller as the mother, and Mary Ure, as the married woman with whom Dean Stockwell has an affair, and Heather Sears as the girl he once loved.

April Fool - "The Hangover" (Painting by Peter Baumgartner)

He'd been the life of the party,
everyone had said he was cool.
But when the party came to an end;
he was only an April Fool......

"The Hangover"
Painting by by Peter Baumgartner

Verse by me. 

"A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" - An Eternal Gift

 I just finished re-readin "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" for, well, I really can't hazard a quess as to what number of times. Safe to say, probably the hundreth. And, what have I gotten out it? Quite a bit, actually.

The beauty of it is that none of the following can be found in the book. They are merely referred to. Yet the characters are so firmly etched in your heart, that you want to know them on a deeper level. And, knowing what they are referring to is an  obvious way of doing that. 

I was ahead of the curve on "The Little Flower" because of my Grandmother. She'd already told me the stories of the Saints.

"Annie Laurie" was easy because I'd heard it somewhere before. It's a Scottish song, based on a poem by William Douglas, about his romance with Annie Laurie, with the tune added and words modified by Lady John Douglas Scott in 1834/5. I like to think it was a romantic collaboration. 

And during my early teens I had to look up the two verses by Shakespeare shown below. Although I didn't understand them as fully then, as I do now at the age of 70. 

At any rate; know your Bible, know your Darwin, Melville, Dickens, Poe, Hugo, Twain and Dostoyevsky, just to name a few of my favorite authors. But don't ever discount Betty Smith and "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn." It was a gateway to greater literaure in my life. 

............

In the Catholic Church, "The Little Flower" is Saint Therese of Lisieux, a Discalced  (Catholic friars or nuns who go barefoot or wear only sandals) Carmelite nun known for her simple message of holiness through everyday actions and her "Little Way" of spiritual childhood.

Marie Francoise-Therese Martin, known as Therese of the Child Jesus,  lived from 1873 to 1897.  Her life was short, but her impact enormous. Her Nickname is "The Little Flower".

Her spiritual teaching, known as "The Little Way," emphasizes that anyone can achieve holiness by performing ordinary actions with great love and trust in God, even in the smallest ways. Deed over Doctrine.

Her autobiography, "The Story of a Soul," is a testament to her simple yet profound spirituality.
Canonized by Pope Pius XI in 1925, her feast day is celebrated on October 1st. She is the patron saint of missions, florists, the sick, and those who are homeless.

............

Annie Laurie
William Douglas | Lady John Scott

Maxwellton braes are bonnie
Where early fa’s the dew
And it’s there that Annie Laurie
Gied me her promise true
Gied me her promise true
Which ne’er forgot will be
And for bonnie Annie Laurie
I’d lay me doon and dee

Her brow is like the snowdrift
Her neck it’s like the swan
Her face it is the fairest
That e’er the sun shone on
That e’er the sun shone on
And dark blue is her e’e
And for bonnie Annie Laurie
I’d lay me doon and dee

Maxwellton braes are bonnie
Where early fa’s the dew
And it’s there that Annie Laurie
Gied me her promise true
Gied me her promise true
Which ne’er forgot will be
And for bonnie Annie Laurie
I’d lay me doon and dee

Like dew on the gowan lying
Is the fa’ of her fairy feet
And like wind in summer sighing
Her voice is low and sweet
Her voice is low and sweet
She’s a’ the world to me
And for bonnie Annie Laurie
I’d lay me doon and dee

Maxwellton braes are bonnie
Where early fa’s the dew
And it’s there that Annie Laurie
Gied me her promise true
Gied me her promise true
Which ne’er forgot will be
And for bonnie Annie Laurie
I’d lay me doon and dee
............

Macbeth

She should have died hereafter;
There would have been a time for such a word.
Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury
Signifying nothing.

William Shakespeare
............

The Merchant of Venice (Portia's soliloquy.)

The quality of mercy is not strain'd.
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath. It is twice blest:
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.
'Tis mightiest in the mightiest; it becomes
The throned monarch better than his crown.
His sceptre shows the force of temporal power,
The attribute to awe and majesty
Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings;
But mercy is above this sceptered sway.
It is enthronèd in the hearts of kings;
It is an attribute to God Himself;
And earthly power doth then show likest God's
When mercy seasons justice. Therefore, Jew,
Though justice be thy plea, consider this:
That in the course of justice none of us
Should see salvation. We do pray for mercy,
And that same prayer doth teach us all to render
The deeds of mercy. I have spoke thus much
To mitigate the justice of thy plea,
Which, if thou follow, this strict court of Venice
Must needs give sentence 'gainst the merchant there.

William Shakespeare

Joe Barnes - Foreman for Life

I had worked at DeSantis Coatings in Willoughby, Ohio, making traffic paint under the supervision of the factory’s “Foreman for Life”, Joe Barnes. No kidding, that was his actual title- Foreman for Life. I was very curious about this position and especially the title. So one day I saw Joe Barnes at the pump station as he was bottling up some tuelol (the active ingredient in airplane glue) for a 3 day weekend. Tuelol is addictive and Joe had the “monkey on his back” when it came to inhaling the stuff.

Joe was a friendly sort and always telling stories. He was the most senior of employees- he had been on the job for about 18 years and as I said, he was “Foreman for Life.” This particular day he was jabbering away when he asked me , “Do you know how I got be Foreman for Life?” I replied , “No, but I am curious about it.” And that was all it took for him to recount the following;

“Well, you see, it was a Friday and Old Man DeSantis (the founder/owner of DeSantis Coatings) was drawing off some thinner to do some painting at home over the weekend. Stupid bastard owns the factory but he don’t know one damn thing about making paint. So he’s over here at the pumps and he’s got a metal bucket and holding it under the spigot- presses the pump button without grounding and zap- a spark ignites the bucket which spooks the old man and he falls with the pump running and now he’s soaked with thinner and on fire and he’s really burning. Now I hated Old Man DeSantis and so I looked around and I realized we were alone. So I go over to him and getting as close as I can I kick him in the ribs- hard. And he rolls over on his side. So I kick him again and he rolls some more. By now I’m really into it so I keep kicking and kicking and he keeps rolling and rolling. Just then his son, Vince Jr comes in looking for his old man and sees me kicking him. So I figure- well I’m done here and so I give him a couple of more kicks for the hell of it and he rolls some more and now the fire’s out. Vince Jr is hailing me as a quick thinking hero for saving his dad’s life and they give me a raise and make me Foreman for Life. And that was about 15 years ago.” 

( Note: The patch at the top is actually from my work shirt at the factory. The map below shows Timberlake, a village of 300 people, where I lived in late 1973. You can just about see the lake in the upper left corner. I lived in the last house right on Lake Erie. Follow the blue line Southeast and that is where Willoughby Coatings was. Still is but someone bought the business out. I used to ride my bicycle to work until it got too cold and then I bought my first car, a 1964 Ford Galaxy 500 with dual exhaust.)

  

"Tunes of Glory" (1960) Alec Guiness and John Mills

One of Alec Guiness' finest films is perhaps one of the least understood. He plays Major Jock Sinclair, a highly decorated officer, who is the acting Colonel of a Scottish Highland regiment after World War II. When he is replaced by Lieutenant Colonel Basil Barrow, played by John Mills, his behavoir becomes increasingly erratic, culminating in his assaulting another member of the regiment in full uniform in public. This is a  Court Martial Offense. The outcome of this is the crux of the film's message.

Where does a soldier's duty belong? To a book of rules, or something higher? It all boils down, and over, to the age old question of Doctrine versus Deed. In this case the result of following the Book of Rules would publicly tarnish the reputation of centuries of hard won glory, paid for in lives. And so it goes that this decision between Doctrine and Deed may cost one man his life by verdict of a Court Martial. With masterful performances by both Alec Guiness and John Mills, this film may not be for everone. But the question is one we all face at sometime in our lives. Do we follow Convention, or do we follow our hearts?

What a Wonderful World (Spoken Intro) - Louis Armstrong (1967)

In these troubled times it's often helpful, and hopeful, to look on the brighter side and think of what could be. Back in 1967 Louis Armstrong recorded his version of this wonderful song. And now, when the leaves have all fallen, and the calendar is about to change once again, I always think of this song......

Wishing you all a Happy, and hopefully a safer, New Year in 2025! Withgood health to all!