Give Thanks....

Sorry I waited so long; I was waiting for most of Thanksgiving to be over to inspire my thankfulness. I figure that nothing can bring out some good ideas more than a holiday and lots of brain food. LOTS! Of course there are the simple things I take for granted that I am so thankful for but considering the circumstances of the past few months, something particular sticks out. There are people that have come and gone from my life that have given me so much inspiration and hope that they deserve my attention and thanks most of all. This fall I have lost both my private saxophone teacher, Mr. Felsen and my uncle, Robert Cupo. Although this has been extremely hard for me when I look back at what they both have done for me I am so thankful they were involved in my life for as long as they were. Mr. Felsen was my band director in middle school; he basically guided me from sixth grade to my junior year. I remember in sixth grade, it was the first time I would have to audition for a chair in the band and I was scared out of my mind. I went into Mr. Felsen’s office and started to play the “Battle Hymn of the Republic” and as I approached the chorus of the song Mr. Felsen started signing along, and I ended up with first chair. He made me so comfortable with playing and he was the one who instilled the passion for music that I still live for today. He started a jazz band when I was in eighth grade just for me and made sure I was the first one to sign up when he posted the sheet. He also sold me my most prized possession, a Selmer Mark VI alto saxophone. It is beautiful and it personally belonged to him, he sold me this amazing saxophone for significantly less than its real value. I can’t even express the sacrifices he made for me. After I graduated middle school he allowed me to be assistant director of the jazz band and I started taking private lessons with him on the side. I never met a more encouraging person. Even in his final days, I would bring him gifts and send him cards when he was in the hospital and he would pretend he was doing much better so I wouldn’t worry. He was one on the strongest men I have ever met who fought to the end and would do anything for me and my pursuits. He worked with me and helped me achieve my goals and his sense of humor was so inspiring. I will never forget one of the most important things he ever said to me “I will gladly pay you Tuesday, for a hamburger today.” We had a lot of inside jokes; I was the only one who seemed to get his references. He was truly a class act who loved what he did and never gave up on me. He had no doubt I would succeed in life and now everything I do in the music world, I do for Mr. Felsen, I won’t let him down. In this world I feel like few people really believe in me, he made sure I knew he had faith in me and I couldn’t be more thankful for the time we shared, I only wish I could have had a little more.

My Uncle Bob is another person I wish I could have more time with because he was a truly compassionate uncle who cared so much about me and my sister while my other uncles never seemed interested. We never saw him often after my grandma died because of family issues with my aunt but that’s not really important right now. Anyway we saw him maybe a few times a year, but he always called us at least twice a month just to talk. He never called to just talk to my dad, even when we weren’t home and he left a message it would be “Hi John, Jill, Sandy, and Stephie” Yeah, my family calls my Stephie, every single one of them! We mattered to my uncle. We I got on the phone he would ask me about everything: band, driving, girl scouts, vacation, summer homework, projects, etc… He would tell me stories about when he was a kid and about my dad. We would talk about anything and everything and if I ever seemed negative or unsure, like when I was going for my license, he was always there to tell a funny story and encourage me. Then when we would start to wrap things up on the phone he would always makes sure, even if he called from work, to say “I love you” and not just with a mumbled “let-me-say-this-because-I–have-to” tone. I could always hear the emotion in the way he talked and it made me feel important when he was actually interested in my life. For his funeral I made a poster of all the pictures we took together since my sister was a baby and I realized that he, more than any of my other relatives, was always there for me. He wasn’t my god-father, but I always think he is because he went above and beyond the call of “uncle” to make me and Sandy happy no matter what age. He also believed in me and cared about me. He was the ideal uncle, he is not just that guy you say hi to and then never talk to because he’s too busy. He makes the time. I know this seems like a depressing topic and of course I miss both of them so much, but looking back on what they added to my life make me so thankful that I wish gifted enough to have them around. I haven’t been too cheerful in a while because I felt like my life was falling apart and I almost thought, I have nothing to be thankful for this year, but it all depends on how you look at a situation. Given the option, I’m glad I had Mr. Felsen and my Uncle Bob in my life for as long as they were, rather than not at all. I will always live my life thinking of them and trying to make them proud, their eternal faith in me is the ultimate gift that surely deserves me thanks! Thank you Uncle Bob and Mr. Felsen…..for everything!

Racism

Racism is the prejudice that members of one race are intrinsically superior to members of other races and the discriminatory or abusive behavior towards members of another race. It is unfortunately part of our history and although the civil rights movement has ended, these feeling of hate, even if the individual fails to recognize it, are still existent in the world. Racism is presented in The Glass Castle from the perspective of a Southern setting in the 1960s. Racism is an ever growing issue that is fed by people such as Erma. Although this issue does not seem as relevant as those of poverty and alcoholism, it is important to understand how these unwarranted feeling of hatred toward the black race dominated some individuals lives while some could rise above the apparent differences to bond on an higher level. Obviously, we still have this division today.


Although Jeanette Walls was not coddled as a child or protected, her parents did instill some moral values that made her a better person than most upon their arrival in Welch, West Virginia. She, unlike the others, would help a person of any race and try to make friends with anyone who would accept her; she was one of the few who looked beyond appearance. When Dinitia invites her to go swimming with "us", meaning other black people, Jeanette feels like she's violating some unspoken code but goes along anyway. Dinitia tells her that the black people don't mind, it’s the white people who would have a problem with it as Jeanette finds out when the white clerk at the pool stares her down in shock. The pool was not segregated; the people segregated themselves to make their lives easier. With their own race, each group was more comfortable and avoided any form of confrontation. Each race lived their lives in fear of the other and would try to avoid impending problems. Although black people were only afraid because they knew the white people were afraid of them and would use any means necessary to keep themselves separated.


The most powerful proof of hatred this book can supply is the use of language. The raw uncensored vocabulary, even in front of children, that both Erma and Stanley use is full of anger and disrespect. They refer to the area of town were most black people live as "Niggerville" and that foul term is repeated to express their extreme abhorrence. Stanley refuses to let his friend drive Jeanette to that area of town for his reputation's sake. He would not want to be viewed as someone compassionate toward black people so he forced his young niece to walk there herself because she, even at such as young age, was a better person than he could ever hope to be. Yet even worse than Stanley's feelings are Erma's, the "poster woman" for white supremacy; she goes above and beyond to isolate herself from a world that allows the black race to exist. She does not leave her house for fifteen years. She keeps the blinds drawn as the black neighborhood creeps closer and closer to her house. She would sooner die than see or be seen by a black person. She blames them for everything and claims they are the reason for the downfall of the "once respectable" Welch area. She blames all her problems in life on the black community and we as readers are able to see the difference in opinion each family possesses based on their morals and the area from which they came.


In times like this when Martin Luther King Jr. was fighting for black equality and the response from the white community was full of hatred with KKK, it was surprising to see a little white girl not swayed by the violent feelings that surrounded her. She never lied to make her life easier, she never said no to going to pool because of what others might think, she knew the difference between right and wrong, and she let everyone know that. When Dinitia first asks "You think you're better than us?" (139) Jeanette replies "No...I think we're all equal" (139). When Erma offensively uses the "N" word over and over while lecturing Jeanette on the dangers of being a "nigger lover" Jeanette has the courage to tell her grandmother that she's not supposed use such offensive language. “Mom says they’re just like us...except they have different complexions.”(143). Jeanette's alone in the world of Welch and very few people believed her, listened to her, and took her seriously. There was so much unnecessary hatred in that town that all the citizens, of both races, just accepted. They each went their separate ways and tried to live normal lives along unspoken schedules to avoid each other. All that hard work to desegregate schools, bathrooms, water fountains, and all public areas had been done for nothing because white people still felt superior and the races still found way to separate themselves no matter what the law. Racism was and is a huge issue. Our government can establish as many laws and amendments as if deems necessary but racism will still exist because there are still Erma's in the world but hopefully there are more Jeanette’s that can break the chain.

Linda.......why not?

From the very first pages of the novel the plot seems to revolve around Vietnam, the idea of war, and the burdens each man must carry. Through these examples O’ Brien explores the craft of storytelling. Yet, when the novel reaches its end, the plot scenario seems to change to a little girl named Linda. At first glance, one can't help but think, "huh?” Then proceed to look at the cover to make sure it’s the same book and check that no chapters were skipped. So why throw her in? Why not? The point of the novel is not to be a factual assessment of war, rather an emotional journey in storytelling.

Linda would come into the novel, in the beginning, at various times, without any explanation as to her significance. It wasn't until O' Brien recounted Rat Kiley and the other men shaking hands with the corpse that Linda's story unraveled. Seeing death as something real, yet at the same time very distant spurred memories if Linda. She possibly came up because her death was also acknowledged by Tim at a young age. However, it never fully registered because he never allowed Linda's spirit to die. He says clearly that "...as a writer now, I want to save Linda's life. Not her body - her life" (O'Brien 236). This is how the stories all come together, his need to preserve Linda's life parallels his feeling about the men he lost in Vietnam. Linda then fits in perfectly, to save her life she does not have to be a soldier. She is an important life to Tim and worthy of remembrance to pass on to his readers and evoke real emotion, even though it is only a work of fiction.

In essence, Linda, to O' Brien, is just like Tim Lavender or Kiowa. She is a person, whose memory and story live on through Tim's “memories”, fact or fiction. Each person has a story, whether it be "story truth" or “happening truth”, they all made and equal impact on his memory to be worthy of his writing. At night he dreams of himself with Linda, but they are not alone; they are accompanied by Kiowa, Ted Lavender, and Curt Lemon. They are all there in his mind, equally important to keep alive in his eyes, and all a story to be told. This is Tim's way of preserving his life and the lives of those lost. Through the stories he tells, he allows the dead to live on.

I personally was one of the many who, at first, didn't quite get the flow of the story when Linda was thrown into the mix. Then, after a few class discussions and looking back at the book, I started to put the pieces together, at least in my mind. I could be totally off and people may easily disagree with me. I saw the quote O’Brien inserts about Linda’s life and thought is was crucial in understanding the purpose of her story in the novel. Its purpose is to save her life, to keep her alive in memory through the gift of storytelling (which we all know O'Brien has a true knack for because none of this could be true, but it's pretty convincing!) I know I could be completely inaccurate in my assessment of the purpose of Linda, but to me it makes sense and any other way I look at the situation it doesn't seem to fit. O' Brien has the liberty to write about what he wants, especially when it is a book of fiction, and the lives he chose to remember are those important to him and ones he feels deserve eternal life. Stories are how the memories of times and lives long forgotten can once again be brought to the spotlight and live on forever.