A short while ago, I read a lovely book called The Map of Love.

It seems I am a sucker for a good love story, but I hate romance novels.  So, to fulfill by romantic nature, I try to find good books that have wonderful writing, strong characters and men and women who fall in love.  The bigger the odds, the better the story.  The Map of Love, about an English woman who meets and falls in love with an Egyptian man in the early 1900's, put me in the mood for a similar book. You know the ones I mean.  Pride and Prejudice... Oh Mr. Darcy!  Jane Eyre, Hi Mr. Rochester!  Gone With the Wind... Frankly Rhett, I really do give a damn!

I just started to read Anna and the King of Siam, written by Margaret Landon. I got this book at an estate sale, copyrighted in 1944.   It starts out in India, under British occupation or annexation, and Anna finds her country-men's disregard for the native Indians distasteful.  Anna meets and marries a young English officer and he tragically dies, leaving her in need of making a living for herself and her two children.  Anna unbelievably takes the job as a governess for the King's many wives and children and sails to Siam.  I am just getting to the part where she meets and starts to get to know the King.

The role of the King of Siam was played by the very handsome Yul Brynner in the movie.  I fell in love with Yul Brynner as a little girl and it was my delightful pleasure to see him play the King of Siam, on Broad Street in Philadelphia, during one of his last performances there.  His face had aged considerably, but let me tell you... the man was in good shape for his age.  When he took his shirt off to whip someone, there was a collective gasp from the women in the audience... or maybe that was just me.

I'm only on page 66, so I can't tell how closely the movie followed the book yet.  The scene in the movie where Anna teaches the King how to waltz is really very sexy.  You can feel the chemistry as she at first, keeps him at arms length, and he insists that she dance with him, as she danced with the Englishmen that were there earlier.  Again, I am a sucker for a love story.  I cried my eyes out at the end of that movie, every time I saw it! 

What are you reading?

Josh Barker at the Chester County Historical Society does a great job getting the word out about all the great things that go on at The Cultural Center at the Chester County Historical Society.  With his permission, here is what is going on tomorrow:

The Brandywine Singers will present a concert of a cappella carols and anthems on December 19th, 2008 at The Chester County Historical Society at 7:30pm.  This concert will feature favorite secular and sacred carols presented by Chester County's premier chamber vocal ensemble in an intimate, festive setting.  Tickets are provided through the Historical Society and are $10 and $8 for CCHS members.  Ticket reservations are strongly recommended and can be made by calling 610-692-4800.
 
About The Brandywine Singers:
The Brandywine Singers are a 501c3 chamber choral ensemble in their 16th season of existence. The ensemble was founded by West Chester University professor Lois Williams in 1993 and has a long-standing history of providing Chester County with fine choral concerts of outstanding choral repertoire. Past concerts have included performances of Handel's Messiah, Vivaldi's Gloria, Britten's Hymn to St. Cecilia and Ceremony of Carols, Durufle's Requiem, Pinkham's Christmas Cantata, Rutter's Gloria, and Mozart's Requiem and Regina Coeli.
 
 Visit www.thebrandywinesingers.org for more information


Date:  Friday, December 19, 2008 
Time:  7:30 pm
Admission:  Members $8.00 Non-members $10.00

Check out the website at:  http://www.cchs-pa.org/

I read Richard Weisser's post, "The Missing gift of holiday acceptance or so I thought at the time"  this morning and it put me in a retrospective mood.  Looking back at past Christmases had me thinking of friends and loved ones that are no longer with us.  My apologies for the length, no worries if you move on.

Regardless of the pall my dad could sometimes put over birthdays and holidays, I have many happy memories of Christmases past.  As a kid, I worshipped my mom's brothers.  Michael the oldest, a school principal, was married 3 times, intensely intelligent and hilarious.  He was quite the ladies man, or so I'm told, and I guess the 3 wives count toward that as well!  My most vivid memory of him was one Christmas Eve in our row house in South Philly.  To fit everyone at the traditional Christmas Eve dinner, my mom would have to set up a table in the living room, right at the bottom of the stairs.  I remember looking up when my Uncle Mike was coming down and he smiled at me and said.... "don't I look just like an angel descending from heaven"?  Well, I guess you had to be there, but he always cracked me up.  He did not approve of my mom's choice of husband and for a few years at the beginning of their marriage, my mom and her oldest brother didn't speak.  He came around, not because he was wrong, but because he loved my mom, and in turn loved us.  He died when I was 22 years old, on the operating table, during open heart surgery.  I named my first son Michael after him.

Being Italian, naturally means that we do not grow small noses in our family.  So, every Christmas Eve, my dad would get out a tape measure and measure everyone's nose.  Yes, it's sad but it is true!  He had a running bet with my mom's brothers that their noses were bigger than his.  He did not have a small nose, but he did have a good looking Roman nose.  Really, a classic nose. 

He had a wicked sense of humor that if you weren't careful, could cut you like a knife.  It was really best not to be too sensitive when my dad was on a roll.  My dad passed away when I was about 27.  He was a troubled and difficult man but I miss him still today.  My dad was a slightly built man and my mom is a little round Italian lady.  If my dad took us to get the tree, we got a skinny Charlie Brown tree.   If it was my mom's turn, we got a short round tree.  My dad was also very big on tinsel, but not a patient man, he used to throw it at the tree in clumps! 

My mom's mom, my grandmother was a stitch.  She died when Max was about 5, although she had developed Alzheimer's when I was pregnant with Max and didn't know me by the time he was born.  She was extremely hard of hearing and would naturally assume everyone else was.  If she had something to say about someone, because she couldn't hear, she would shout it out to you while the people were standing nearby.  "Did you see how fat that woman is"?  She was also an avid gin rummy player and would cheat her own grandchildren to win a few nickles!  I'm sorry she didn't get to meet Max, because she would have enjoyed his ornery personality. 

She also played favorites among her children and grandchildren and I went through my entire life being told I was number 2!  Once again, being a sensitive child was not an easy fit with this cast of characters, but in my heart I always knew that my grandmother got a kick our of my sense of humor.  She used to tell me I must have a feather somewhere personal (paraphrasing.. .she was not a delicate woman) because I laughed so much as a kid.  I still do! 

My dad's dad, my grandfather was a proud, stern Italian patriarch who spoke broken English and would not allow a single word of Italian to be spoken in his home.  If he heard someone trying to teach us something in Italian, he would shout "speaka English".   Being an immigrant must have been very hard for him and he was actually ashamed rather than proud to be Italian.  Sad, but that beautiful language is lost to our entire family.  We visited almost every Sunday and every Christmas day, where the 10 siblings and their various offspring were required to kiss every single person hello and every single person goodbye. 

He always had ginger ale and push-up ice cream for the kids.  He was a handsome man, but distant and I remember vividly running to him to hug him.  He would put his arms forward and hold me away from him and give me a kiss on my forehead.  He died on the day I graduated high school.  He was 85 and decided he was done.  He had never been sick a day in his life, but at the end, he had emphysema.  He stopped eating and chose his own time.  He called his daughter Annie up and told her to take care of herself, went to sleep and that was that. 

My sister was married to a lovely man named Carlo, who adored my niece Lizzie.  He passed away much too young, in his early 40's, on my nieces 8th birthday.  He worked at the Philadelphia Navy Yard and we still smile and say hi to him when we drive past there 14 years later.  He would pile his plate every holiday meal and make a real masterpiece out of it.  I mean Richard Weisser would have taken a picture of his plate. that's how artfully his food was arranged.  We were always finished eating before poor Carlo had even taken his first bite!

My mom married a man who was possibly the sweetest human being I have ever met.  Pop Pop Johnny used to laugh and giggle all of the time and was the silliest person I have ever known.  Every Christmas Eve after they got married, he would come to a table that was laden with Italian fishes and pronounce that there was something fishy going on here!  I laughed every time.  And ever single Christmas Eve that I knew him, he would play a song called Susie Snowflake and drive us all crazy.

Last and certainly not least of my good ghosts of Christmases past is a woman named Jackie Stanke.  I was in my mid 20's and Jackie was in her early 60's.  That didn't affect the closeness we developed.  She called me Susie, like all of my family members do.  She came from a privileged background and I did not.  That didn't affect the affection that grew between us.  Jackie could swear like a truck driver and drink me under the table.  She was a living doll who developed ALS when I was pregnant with Michael and passed away when he was about 1.  I think of her everyday. 

I hope someday, that my friends and loved ones can look back at life today and remember me with a chuckle and fondness.  I look forward to making memories in the Christmases yet to come.

Merry Christmas!

With Paul Slaybaugh's permission, I am reblogging this post. I love everything Paul writes, he makes me laugh out loud, a lot, and he makes me think, he makes it real  This post stands out and really showcases his quick and intelligent mind.  Thank you Paul, for entertaining and enlightening us. 

I sit on the board of the Chester County Women's Commission and I have arranged a fundraiser at the local Applebee's.  Applebee's will donate 10% of the days sales to the Commission who in turn will send it to

Phoenixville Area Community Services (PACS)
257 Church Street
Phoenixville, PA  19460
610-933-1105
www.pacsphx.org

You're invited to a Dining to Donate special event at Applebee's, West Goshen restaurant, located on West Chester Pike, just east of 202!

Please come out and show your support! Just PRINT OUT THIS INVITATION and present it to your server on Wednesday, December 17, 2008 at Applebee's located at 1107 West Chester Pike ~ West Chester, PA Applebee's will donate 10% of your food and beverage purchase* to: CHESTER COUNTY WOMEN'S COMMISSION Chester County Women's Commission Dine-out food drive. All proceeds to be donated to local food pantries.
Is your organization interested in fundraising activities? Contact your local Rose Group Applebee's for more details.
*Tax and tip not included. Not valid with any other discounts or promotions. Must present flyer at time of visit. Flyers are not to be distributed in the restaurant or within the perimeter of the parking lot. Dining to Donate nights are limited to Sunday through Wednesday, and subject to availability. Applebee's reserve the right to accept or reject organizations at its own discretion.

If you can make it, please click the link and print the flyer.  Bring with you and we will be able to get 10% of the proceeds for the food drive.

http://www.rosegroupdining.com/community/DiningtoDonateView.asp?DiningtoDonateID=1359

If you've read my "What are you Reading meme", you know that I was reading the impossibly romantic "The Map of Love".  The story goes from the late 1900's, and looks back at a love story between an English woman, who visits Egypt, and an Egyptian man in the early 1900s.  It lagged a little in modern day, but the love story between these two impossibly suited people was beautiful.

After that, I decided to go for a quick John Sanford romp. 

I love Lucas Davenport, and even though these books are somewhat predictable, they are a quick and entertaining read.

Next up was J.A. Jance's Damage Control.     Joanna Brady is the Sheriff in Cochise County.  Very predictable and kind of unbelievable, but they get you through the day.

I'd love to know what you are reading!