Social Distancing, Masks, Quarantines...Continued

Here we are on Zoom, December 9, 2020, hearing Diana talk about Bailey White.

Top, left to right: Linda, Fran, Louisa, Sharon

2nd row: Laura, Lori, Mary, Joanna

3rd row: Carol, Barbara, Gita, Diana

Bottom: Christine, Jacquie

Diana Presents Bailey White

Jacquie's Email 

 

Jan 9, 2021 Hello Literary Ladies! How truly apt this cartoon is will become more apparent this Wednesday at 1pm when Diana presents on Baily White in her own dulcet tones. Diana will be sharing her screen for readings, so no need to let her know if you will be attending, but if you are unable to join us, please let Fran know so that she can start the meeting once we are all assembled. Until Wednesday! Jacquie

Barbara's Minutes

After our Zoom chat that included Christine Lehner’s challenges devising a unicorn horn to fasten to a tiger’s head for her granddaughter, and a recommendation for dark chocolate to alleviate depression, members of the Literature Club settled in for the minutes (accepted as read), the treasurer’s report ($181.52), and to discuss some library business. We voted to contribute $125 to the Hastings Library. Jacquie Weitzman volunteered to speak with librarian Debbie Quinn both about a book to be given in memory of May Kanfer (perhaps a children’s book of fables or fairy tales), and books, ebooks or other, that the library might like to add to its collection with our $125 gift.

Presenter Diana Jaeger began by commenting that she read her author, Bailey White, last summer when she was down in Mississippi – her Mama had a couple of Bailey White books from the library. They would constantly laugh out loud while reading. Diana noted that Bailey White is a Southern writer who does a very good job of capturing some of the eccentric characters who live in rural parts of the South; at the same time, she captures universal themes.

She may be best known as a commentator on NPR’s “All Things Considered.” She read one of her short stories on NPR every Thanksgiving for 20 years: from 1991 – 2011. Bailey White ended up getting more mail from listeners than any other NPR commentator. Most of the mail came from Southerners who said she reminded them of their Grandma. And her voice does sound old on the radio:

"Something about a microphone makes me sound 93 years old," she wrote in an NPR publication. “I get nervous when a microphone is aimed at me. My vocal cords clamp up, my breath comes in gasps and spit rattles behind my molars. When I meet NPR listeners face to face, they fall back, drop their mouths open with horror, and shriek, 'You're not old and wise!'''

Among the stories we read aloud and laughed over were “What Would They Say in Birmingham?” (one of White’s Thanksgiving stories from the collection Nothing With Strings) and stories from Mama Makes Up Her Mind.

Respectfully submitted, Barbara Morrow, Recording Secretary

Lori Presents Political Satire

Jacquie's Email Notice 

Nov 15: Hello Literary Ladies! How prescient of Lori to choose such a relevant topic for her upcoming presentation: Political Satire: Catch-22, Brave New World, and Slaughterhouse 5. We will be meeting this Wednesday, November 18th at 1pm on Zoom. Lori will be sharing the readings on the screen, so no need to let her know if you will be attending. Until then, enjoy the GOOD news! Jacquie

Barbara's Minutes 

Before Fran Greenberg rang us to order with her president’s bell, Literature Club members on Zoom on November 18 chatted eagerly of their relief at Biden’s election, recommended books, among them John Berger’s To the Wedding and Alex Ross’s Wagnerism, and shared personal news. We welcomed as guest Sharon DeLevie, who later helped us out of a technical glitch. At our business meeting Jacquie Weitzman’s insightful minutes were accepted as read, and the treasury reported at $181.52. We asked Connie Stewart to choose a book from her list of science books for kids to give to the Hastings Library in memory of Susan Korsten, and we deferred to a later meeting choosing a book in memory of May Kanfer. We also need to decide on an amount to contribute to the Hastings Library.

In her sweeping presentation on political satire, Lori Walsh ranged from influential cartoons by Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Nash to Stephen Colbert’s eerily prescient 2012 book America Again: Re-becoming the Greatness We Never Weren’t and Christopher Buckley’s 1995 novel The White House Mess, and then moved on to classics of the genre like Joseph Heller’s Catch-22 and Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse 5.

Lori defined political satire as a critique of social conditions that makes us laugh.  Its main ingredients are ridicule, sarcasm, and exaggeration. The Onion has reported that this is why it’s been hard to satirize Trump – how do you exaggerate what is already far beyond norms? A lot of what has happened over the past four years has been very unfunny, yet humor has thrived.  Shows like “Saturday Night Live,” Steven Colbert, “The Daily Show,” “Full Frontal,” among many others, as well as comedians like Randy Rainbow and Sarah Cooper have helped us to laugh about things while we simultaneously cry, protest, and shout with rage.

Lori commented that back in 1961, Catch-22 tried to warn us about the dangers of unchallenged authority and the tendency of government bureaucracy to obscure the reality right in front of us.  In the 90s and early 2000s, comedy shows like “The Daily Show” and “Colbert Report” warned us about the increasingly partisan Fox News and the more and more extreme views of the conservative movement.  And here we are in 2020, after four years of a president who makes Stephen Colbert’s conservative caricature look––reasonable and who is asking us not to see the reality right in front of our eyes. It hurts, but we might as well laugh. After all, humor is one of our best weapons in the fight for self-preservation.

Respectfully submitted, Barbara Morrow, Recording secretary

Louisa Presents Screwball Comedies of Hollywood (1934 to 1942)

Jacquie's Email Notice

Dear Literary Ladies: With all the crazy that we've been witnessing over the past weeks since last we met, I think an afternoon of hearing Louisa present to us " The Writing Behind Screwball Comedies" is just the remedy we need! 

So, we will be meeting this Wednesday, October 21st on Zoom at 1pm. Christine will be hosting the Zoom, so expect to receive the link from her. Connie will be hosting the meeting virtually, (I'm trying not to think of the delicious poached salmon we will not be eating together at her home this year... sigh...) as Fran is unfortunately unable to be with us that day.

I apologize for the lateness of this email, but members, so Louisa can assign readings, please let Louisa know if you will NOT be able to attend. Associate members, please let Louisa know if you WILL be joining us and would like to read. Louisa will be sending readings to download and print out. Laura has volunteered to deliver printed texts if you are unable to download and/or print them out, so please contact her if you need any assistance with the readings.  Louisa has asked me to "tell our lovely members that I look forward to seeing them Wednesday." As do I! Best, Jacquie

Below: Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell in His Girl Friday

Barbara's Minutes 

First the credits: Jacquie Weitzman illustrated the meeting reminder with a picture from His Gal Friday; Christine Lehner sent out the Zoom invite; Connie Stewart acted as President and led the meeting; Barbara Morrow’s minutes were accepted as read; Associate Member Jennie Goodrich was warmly welcomed back. We decided to give a book to the Hastings Library in memory of May Kanfer, perhaps a volume of Louise Glück’s poetry. We will also make sure a kids’ science book goes to the library in memory of Susan Korsten.

Then the action began, with Louisa Stephens presenting a talk on the writing behind screwball comedies.

Goofy, wacky, zany, effervescent, fun, witty, high jinks, implausible, uninhibited—these were some of the adjectives Louisa used to describe screwball comedies, a film genre that flourished from 1934 to around 1942. She used as examples two of her favorites, Ball of Fire, written by Billy Wilder, and My Man Godfrey, written by Morrie Ryskind. She noted the rapid-fire dialogue, the verbal comedy, and the high energy of these films. Screwball comedies also drew from slapstick and vaudeville, with sight gags and quick timing.

These movies acted like a tonic during years of Depression, Prohibition, and censorship. They were an endorsement of love, but, as Louisa pointed out, they contained subversive subtexts as they revealed social and economic inequities, corruption, and greed. They could be subversive in their view of sexuality as well, and in their realignment of traditional hierarchies.

Louisa focused on three screenwriter/directors, the prankster Ben Hecht, who created the Hollywood we know; Preston Sturges, who knew how to push a story as far as it needed to go; and Billy Wilder, whose films ranged from Double Indemnity to the romantic comedy Ninotchka. We then read excerpts from Pat McGilligan’s Backstory: Interviews with Screenwriters of Hollywood’s Golden Age as well as from other books and articles.

Respectfully submitted, Barbara Morrow, Recording Secretary

Fran Presents E.M.Delafield

Jacquie's Email Notice 

Sept 25 - Hello Literary Ladies! I know this is what I plan on wearing for our Zoom meeting on Wednesday, September 30th at 1pm for Fran's presentation, "Motherhood, Work, Laughter: E.M. Delafield." How about you?

Fran will be sending pre-assigned readings ahead of her presentation, so please let her know if you are NOT able to attend. (This will cut down on the number of emails Fran will receive.) Have a lovely weekend! Jacquie

Barbara's Minutes 

Query: Could a Zoom meeting, like the Literature Club meeting of September 30, be re-created as a comedy of manners? The writer of these minutes wonders how the Provincial Lady, the leading character in the novels in today’s presentation, would have managed it. Perhaps she might have made a note to self about how lovely Diana Jaeger looked wearing a fascinator, but with a rueful acknowledgment that if she got one, the effect might not be the same. Or could she have developed something out of the list of books we recommended during our book chat, which ranged from Anna Karenina to the new collection of stories by Edwidge Danticat? Surely, she would have passed over in silence that the minutes were accepted as read and the treasury was again at $285.67.

Fran Greenberg captured in her presentation the light yet observant touch of the English writer E.M. Delafield, who created in Diary of a Provincial Lady an immensely charming character, whose life was filled with mishaps that she faced with an unfailing sense of the comic. As Fran said, the Provincial Lady confesses to the petty emotions which really drive our lives. She finds her children baffling and sometimes annoying, her husband a silent enigma; she is intimidated both by her cook and by the know-it-all Lady Box; and she struggles to conceal how tiresome she finds many of her neighbors.

The Diary of a Provincial Lady was serialized in the left-leaning, feminist magazine Time and Tide, and published as a collection in 1930. It was an immediate best seller. Delafield followed it up with three more volumes, but Fran commented that the only Provincial Lady that rivals the liveliness of the Diary is The Provincial Lady in Wartime. Delafield influenced other writers who wrote about the domestic front, including Shirley Jackson, whom Laura Rice presented at our previous meeting.

Fran shared details of Delafield’s not always easy life, and of her literary output, which included serious novels and criticism. We then delighted in reading passages from Diary of a Provincial Lady.

Respectfully submitted, Barbara Morrow, Recording Secretary

Laura Presents Betty MacDonald and Shirley Jackson

Jacquie's Email Notice

Sept 9: Hello Literary Ladies! It is with great pleasure that I welcome you all to the first email reminder of the inaugural meeting of the Literature Club of Hastings-on-Hudson's 2020-2021 season. When choosing our theme for this year, "Comedy, Humor, and Satire," we were still in the early days of this annus horribilis, but now I think we can all agree that we are certainly deserving of a few laughs, snickers, and even some guffaws, so let the games begin!

First up is Laura Rice who will be presenting on Wednesday, September 16th at 1pm via Zoom on "Betty MacDonald, Shirley Jackson, Tina Fey: Laughing While Living." One thing to do and one thing to know: Please let Laura know if you will be attending so that she can assign readings. Early next week she will send out the file. You can then choose to print it all out, print just your part, or have the text available on another device. So fasten your seatbelts, it's going to be a bumpy night,* but one I believe we will all enjoy together! See you next week on the big screen, Jacquie 

 

*That came out of nowhere. See Tina Fey meme above.

Barbara's Minutes 

The first Zoom meeting of the Lit Club for this program year began with brief updates from members. Some of us have recently visited our families for the first time during the pandemic, and many of us have children and grandchildren just returning to school, remotely or not. A few find refreshment in birding, and several are engaged in writing postcards to get out the vote. All are anxious about the political situation.

President Fran Greenberg rang the meeting to order and began by thanking VP/Program Chair Connie Stewart for this year’s splendid booklet. She welcomed Isabel (Izzy) Stephens, Louisa Stephens’s daughter, as a guest to our meeting. The minutes were accepted as read and the treasury reported at $285.67. Soon the Club will vote on an amount to donate to the Hastings Public Library.

Presenter Laura Rice revealed to us that the humorous autobiographical tales of the American authors Betty MacDonald and Shirley Jackson were her introduction to adult literature at the age of 11, when she found Jackson’s memoir Life Among the Savages (1953) and MacDonald’s Anybody Can Do Anything (1950) and The Egg and I (1945) among her mother’s books. 

Each in our Zoom bubble we settled down to read selections from these works, beginning with Jackson’s account of her son’s early school days, when he proved himself a spellbinding story teller, and her hilarious trip to a department store with her young daughter and her daughter’s five imaginary friends. Then we turned to MacDonald’s chronicle of all the jobs her sister Mary thought up for her, culminating with Mary triumphantly maneuvering her into writing her first book. We concluded by reading from that book, The Egg and I, her bestselling memoir about her early married life on a chicken ranch in Washington State, where she learned that the hen is the boss.

Laura called her presentation “Laughing While Living,” but how can I capture Laura’s laugh in these minutes? As if she were hearing these stories for the first time, she laughed in hearty, exuberant bursts, and she made us feel for a time that the world was right side up after all.

Respectfully submitted, Barbara Morrow, Recording Secretary

Humor, Comedy and Satire: Program 2020-2021

"...a fear of being trapped by domesticity and baby carriages..."

This year's booklet cover is an illustration by James Montgomery Flagg (1877-1960), from Pelham, New York. He was a contemporary of the Literature Club's founders, who first met more than a century ago and who might have agree with the sentiments expressed in his cartoon.

We chose this year's topic knowing well what a difficult year this was going to be.

This winter, we are foregoing the usual rounds of parties and family get-togethers in the interest of not being COVID spreaders. The days are short, it's cold and we're lonely. We are meeting on Zoom (see photo in post Dec 14 2020: Social Distancing, Masks, Quarantines). We are being consoled by writers of comedy, humor and satire, and by hearing each others' presentations. 

Here's who's doing what, in the program year 2020-2021:

                    Laura: Betty MacDonald, Shirley Jackson, Tina Fey: Laughing While Living (Sept 16)

Frances: E.M. Delafield: Motherhood, Work, Laughter (Sept 30)

Louisa: The Writing Behind Screwball Comedies (Oct 21)

Christine: Samuel Becket plays (Oct 28)

Lori: Political Satire: Catch 22, Brave New World and Slaughterhouse 5 (Nov 18)

Diana: Bailey White (Dec 9)

Barbara: Shakespeare's Fools (Jan 6)

Joanna: Uncommon Writer: Alan Bennett (Jan 20)

Carol: James Thurber (Feb 3) 

Jacqueline: Neil Simon (Feb 24)

Annual Meeting (Mar 10)

Constance: Dawn Powell (Mar 24)

Linda: Roz Chast: Existential Angst (Apr 14)

Gita: Peter Mayle (Apr 28)

Carla: Calvin Trillin (May 12)

 

 

 

 

 

Reading List from 2020 Annual Picnic

We met on July 29, under a large black walnut tree in the field behind Christine's house. Christine warned us that direct hits by falling walnuts was possible. Nothing fell, there were no injuries. The day was hot, the view of the Palisades was spectacular. Christine sent us home with flowers from her garden.

Our tradition at the picnic is to talk about the book we're reading. The upside of the pandemic’s social distancing requirement may be that we have more time to read.  Following, a list of books read and recommended:

 

Connie:

Go Went Gone by Jenny Erpenbeck

House: A Graphic Novel by Josh Simmons

 

Laura

The Visitation by Frank Peretti

March A Graphic Novel by John Lewis

 

Linda

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

Rodham: A Novel by Curtis Sittenfeld

Trace Elements by Donna Leon

…and too many short stories to list

 

Laura

Go Went Gone by Jenny Erpenbeck

Mysteries by Jane Langton, Patricia Cornwall and Deborah Crombie (particularly Crombie’s Duncan Kincaid & Gemma James series)

Presumed Innocent by Scott Turow

 

Fran

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

The Assistant by Robert Walser

The Provincial Lady Goes to America by E. M. Delafield

How Fiction Works by James Webb

 

Carol

mysteries by Donna Leon

Half the Way Home by Adam Hochschild

The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George

 

Joanna

The Plot Against America by Philip Roth

I Married a Communist by Philip Roth

Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce, audiobook read by Colin Farrell

My Favorite Things Are Monsters, A Graphic Novel by Emil Ferris

Deacon King Kong by James McBride

Hastings Library’s webinar, Shadow Show: All-New Stories in Celebration of Ray Bradbury led by Sharon DeLevie

 

Jacquie

An American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld

Rodham: A Novel by Curtis Sittenfeld

You Think It, I’ll Say It stories by Curtis Sittenfeld

Deacon King Kong by James McBride

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

How Much of the Hills Are Gold by C Pam Zhang

Music for Wartime by Rebecca Makkai

The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert

Apeirogon by Colin McCann

 

Lori

The Plague by Albert Camus

Nancy Mitford’s books (all)

White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo

Stamped from the Beginning by Ibram X. Kendi

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

 

Carla

Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man by Mary L. Trump, PhD

The Mirror and the Light by Hilary Mantel

 

Connie

The Overstory by Richard Powers

Girl Woman Other by Bernardine Evaristo

 

Christine

Martin Chuzzlewit by Charles Dickens

Bleak House by Charles Dickens

The Mirror and the Light by Hilary Mantel

Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell

The Graduate by Charles Webb

Shirley Jackson’s short stories

A Children’s Bible: A Novel by Lydia Mollett

The Forty Days Of Musa Dagh by Franz Werfel

Diana (who missed the meeting but let us know what she’s been reading)

Rules of Civility by Amor Towles

The Overstory by Richard Powers

One Fine Day and Good Evening, Mrs. Craven by Mollie Panter-Downes

Quite a Year for Plums by Bailey White 

Our Lending Library

Carol had a great idea for getting new books while the Hastings Public Library is closed during coronavirus lockdown. Or even after the library re-opens. 

We know we can always buy a book, and hopefully not from an unnamed source because it has taken control of our buying. A political aside: the source's owner is insanely rich and doesn't pay his warehouse employees well nor give them benefits.

Even when we can find the rare independent book store, many of us don't want to buy yet one more book. The love we have for books has resulted in overstuffed bookshelves. Not a serious condition, but we must have limits to our indulgences.

We are forming our own lending library. Like good book sellers, we will recommend books to each other, ones that we have in our homes. If you want a book, get in touch with the member who's recommending it; you two will figure out time and place to get it. 

The library is in the form of a Google Document. Please add your recommendations.

We meet on Zoom

This is Jacquie's photo of our second Zoom meeting. 

Louisa had sent out an invitation for an informal gathering by Zoom in early May. At that time, we were still hoping that rules of social distancing would be lifted  and we could resume person-to-person meetings in mid-May. That likelihood was quickly disappearing.

The first Zoom meeting was a success - we loved being able to talk to each other again. We know Zoom is  a substitute for what we really want - to see each other in our full dimensionality -  but that's just not possible right now because of NY State coronavirus restrictions on social gatherings.

We have decided to proceed with Zoom. Connie led the way; she made her presentation on Mollie Panter-Downes on May 13, 2020. She had been circulating Panter-Downes' stories by email as her presentation got postponed from her original date of March 25 several times - all in the hopes that we could be together at hostess Christine's house. Panter-Downes' stories and "Letters from London" (in the New Yorker magazine) during World War II reminded us that there were worse times than a coronavirus lockdown. But the parallels were there - living through a time of fear, of restrictions, of shared experience. The comradery of being all in this together. The courage of Londoners during the first grim years of the war, when they alone were fighting the Axis powers, was inspiring. The good-will of Britain, accepting Jewish children through the Kinder Transport and the depressing refusal of the US to do the same, was a bitter reminder of the ways our government has failed. 

Why do we have this blog?

The blog started as a way to preserve our emails as we reacted and adjusted to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, we're using it as our archive, for minutes and email notices, starting in March 2020. We have continued many of our meetings on Zoom, and several, in person. We met outdoors when the weather permitted. After we were all vaccinated, and before the Omicron variant spiked in Hastings late December 2021, we met indoors, masked. We suspended our tradition of the meeting's hostess serving lunch. It's an inconvenience caused by the pandemic, we acknowledge it, but it's another of the small deprivations we've endured during this difficult time.

Librarian Responds to COVID-19 Pandemic

Below, shared by Jacquie Weitzman, how one librarian used her ability to sort books to respond to our current pandemic

Minutes March 11, 2020

Was it prudence or hysterical overreaction that closed her granddaughter’s nursery school in Brooklyn and prevented Fran Greenberg, nominee for President of the Literature Club, from attending our Annual Meeting on March 11? This was a question that could still be asked, on that March afternoon, as thirteen members of the Club met and shared coronavirus stories. We were going to the movies, eating in restaurants, talking about our theater and opera tickets. Yes, there were some trips we were not going to take, some colleges that might not reopen after spring break. But I think few of us imagined that the Hastings Library would close at the end of the week, or that the following week the Met would cancel the rest of its season and Broadway go dark. Illness was still a metaphor.

President Carol Barkin conducted the business meeting, at which the minutes were accepted as corrected and the treasury reported at $10.67. The slate of candidates was presented and unanimously elected, with Fran Greenberg as President, Connie Stewart as Vice President, and Lori Walsh as Treasurer, filling out the remaining year of Connie’s term. Congratulations and thanks were given to all. They will assume their duties at the next meeting of the Club, when Carol will pass the President’s bell on to Fran, and Lori will collect $15 annual dues.

A discussion followed of the list of Literature Club topics, which seems to grow longer every year, despite our efforts at pruning. Children’s Literature was added to the list, and several members voiced their support for Humor. The Literature of Illness was suggested, but seemed too dark for a full program year.

Finally, members recommended books they have read recently, from classic novels and prize-winning new fiction to memoirs and mysteries. A list of these books was sent to members separately.

Respectfully submitted,
Barbara Morrow
Recording Secretary

Addendum: Shortly after this Literature Club meeting, “stay at home” guidelines were issued at the state and local levels to limit the spread of Covid-19 cases. President Fran Greenberg canceled April meetings and added meetings in May and June. Elections for our topic for next program year will be held by email. Lori Walsh asked members to mail her their dues checks or send dues electronically. Fran started a Literature Club blog and included many of the emails members sent to one another during the first weeks of the “lockdown.”

Art of the Roll

It isn't easy, but there are some things to laugh about even during the COVID-19 pandemic

April 16, 2020 Jacquie 
My sister and her daughter are going a little stir crazy in Chicago, sheltering in place with my niece's 3 kids under the age of 5. Inspired by Wayne Thiebaud, this is what they did before 8:48 this morning. Usually, I'm jealous of my sister's cake plate collection (this is but a fraction). Now I'm just impressed they have this many extra rolls of toilet paper!  Enjoy

Jacquie's sister and niece's "cakes"

Wayne Thiebaud's Cakes

April 16, 2020 Lori 

That’s amazing.  At first I thought they baked all those cakes before 9 am - the simulations look that real!  That’s such a fun project.

April 16, 2020 Joanna 
That’s amazing. Someone sent me a photo of their daughter dressed/made up as Frida Kahlo (with two chicks on her shoulder)- a HHS art assignment to recreate a painting. (Not sure I am permitted to share.). Maybe this would be a good RiverArts online contest. Jacquie, May I share this photo?

April 16, 2020 Elizabeth  (Associate Member living in New Jersery)
This is priceless! By the way, as a hostess gift for a cousin dropping off Easter dinner at her home, my  friend gave the cousin a 12 count pack of Scott toilet paper, the last  one on the shelf at  Stop @ Shop!

April 16, 2020 Christine
Jacquie - That is incredible. I have never heard of anyone collecting cake plates before, so that alone is intriguing. And then the cleverness -- Is everyone in the Weitzman family as talented as the two sisters? xx

April 16, 2020 Barbara
A marvelous array, so elegant, so inventive. What fun to think up something like this

April 16, 2020 Diana
Those are amazing!   this morning I saw a picture of a more graphic cake somebody made.  Apologies in advance for sending picture, but it made me laugh!

Another cake in the genre

April 16, 2020 Lori
Omg!  hysterical.  The zeitgeist is right there in that cake!

April 16, 2020 Fran
Does this mean there is a whole genre of toilet paper art being created now? Will we be seeing the show at MOMA next year? Is this why there's a shortage for those of us who use it in more prosaic ways?

April 16, 2020 Jacquie
I’ve actually been curious about the art and literature that will be coming out of this pandemic. Perhaps that will be a theme for a Literature Club if the future

As the Covid-19 pandemic came to Hastings-on-Hudson

The chain of emails, as the Covid-19 pandemic came to Hastings. The emails stop on March 29, 2020. "Social Distancing" is now our normal life; we'll start meeting again when Governor Cuomo lifts the stay at home rules.


March 10, 2020 Fran

Oh, the closings around the coronavirus have finally entrapped me. My granddaughter's school in Brooklyn has closed; my son & daughter-in-law have no one to take care of Isla tomorrow. I'm going to be baby-sitting tomorrow.

I'm so sorry to miss the meeting.

My motto for this unfolding epidemic is - prudence, not panic. I sure hope all the closings that are taking place are prudent and not coming from hysterical over reaction.

March 12, 2020 Fran

I'm delighted to be president and can't wait until Carol gives me the all-powerful bell. I missed yesterday's meeting for a reason that turned out to be a surprise.

I was all set to head out to Brooklyn to baby sit for my granddaughter when Bob walked in the door announcing he had to self-quarantine for 2 weeks. So, I didn't go to Brooklyn - and with a self-quarantined husband, I didn't want to show up at Lit Club either.

How this happened. On Monday, Bob saw a patient who he suspected might have COVID-19. He suited up following hospital protocols. He recommended testing. The patient tested positive; and the hospital reviewed their protocols. It was decided that the ones in place on Monday should have been at a higher level. On Wednesday Bob was sent home under orders to self-quarantine. He came home shortly before I was set to go to Brooklyn. Upshot: I didn't go.

So he's home following orders to report his temperature twice daily to hospital. He thinks that it is unlikely he was infected. Bob asked the hospital administrators if I should self-quarantine - they said no.

However, I'm practicing social distancing - from him and not going out. Although there's a limit to the amount of social distancing one can keep from one's spouse - neither of us wants to live in the attic or the basement. DeCicco's and Foodtown deliver; so does Rochambeau. We're set.

His quarantine will end March 23. By then we'll both be fine or statistics.

I thought the closings of schools & the cancellation of events were contributing to a lot of panic around this epidemic. They are, but I've read that social distancing slows the rate of transmission. That's important, because it keeps hospitals from being overwhelmed by patients.

The current recommendations are that meetings over 20 (or is it 25?) people should be cancelled. I think we should continue to meet, observe recommendations - stay home if you don't feel well, wash your hands for 20 seconds before you eat or touch your face.

Bob is home & available for phone consultation ; )

March 12, 2020  

Note: The situation rapidly evolved – the schools announced they were closing; social distancing was strongly recommended

March 13, 2020 Jacquie

(Jacquie was running the Used Book Sale at Hillside School)

I was just told that we will not be returning to the used book sale. I’ll let you all know when/if the books are available again.

Stay healthy!

March 13, 2020 Connie

Many of you may know this, I but just popped into the Library, and they are open today, and tomorrow morning, but then closing until at least 3/31. 

Grab your books!

March 13, 2020 Barbara

Dear Literary Friends,

There are all sorts of dull but useful projects I now have time for at home--checking expiration dates on cans of food in the pantry, opening a huge stack of mail from MedicareRx Plans, shredding old bills that contain personal information. But instead I'm going to start reading one of the books recommended at our last meeting. Here's the book list, for those of you who missed the meeting or didn't write everything down. If I've left something out, as I may well have done, please let me know.

First, nonfiction. What You Have Heard Is True: A Memoir of Witness and Resistance (Carolyn Forche) and Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland (Patrick Radden Keefe) take us into the dark stories of the 1970s in El Salvador and the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Sarah M. Broom's memoir, The Yellow House, depicts a house and family central to the history of New Orleans.

Novels. These ranged from classics like Dostoevsky's Brothers Karamazov to Girl, Woman, Other (Bernardine Evaristo), recent winner of half a Booker Prize. Also recommended were Home Fire (Kamila Shamsie), Dear Committee Members (Julie Schumacher), Catch-22 (Joseph Heller), Trace Elements (new Donna Leon mystery), The Unaccustomed Earth (Jhumpa Lahiri), Olive Kitteridge and Abide with Me (Elizabeth Strout), Weather (Jenny Offill), The Dutch House (Ann Patchett), Morality Play (Barry Unsworth).

Curling up now...

March 14, 2020 Fran

Hello, Literary Ladies,

I, too, have been thinking about household projects, but checking expiration dates on cans of food in the pantry hadn't occurred to me - but I will add it to the list.

Thanks so much for the book recommendations. I'm delighted that I figured out how to use Westchester Library System's Overdrive and can borrow Kindle and e-Books.

Trying to figure out the rules for household members of self-quarantined people is pretty interesting. It illustrates the chaos of the response to COVID-19. I keep checking the Department of Health statistics. Is it morbid or comforting? Well, I find it strangely comforting.

As we all feel grumpy, anxious or depressed about social distancing and the curtailing of a lot of activities, I share this chart on the reasoning behind closures.

It's been 5 days since Bob saw his COVID-19 patient. 5 days is the mean time for developing symptoms after exposure. He's symptom free. It would be great if he could be tested. But he's not eligible because he's asymptomatic. A 2 week self-quarantine is a very low tech way of finding out if he's infected. Makes me wonder how our health care system didn't ramp up the production of test kits as soon as COVID-19 was identified. But the orange monster told us that everyone who wanted a test could get one, right?

March 13, 2020 Carol

Wow. Changes everywhere. We are not going to Concord, our grandson's basketball teammate has tested positive (along with his 5th-grade brother and his mom), so Concord schools are closed and old folks are urged not to visit. Sigh. I'm thinking this is going to last quite a while, luckily we have an ample supply of as yet unread books and unwatched films. Gives a new definition to the term stay-cation. Hope everyone stays well, let's keep in touch as the tale unfolds--

March 14, 2020 Linda

I’m trying to look at this as an opportunity to prepare my presentation although I may never present it, but I’m OK with that.  Since it’s impossible to plan for tomorrow, I certainly can’t plan for a month from now. 

I am hoping to join my son and his family at their house in the Catskills in eight or nine days, but there are a number of ifs.  Two teachers in my grandson’s school are infected, so I’m not going to go until it’s been a full fourteen days since he was in school.  If none of the five of us is sick by then, I think I will go. 

Last night I got an email from a neighbor who had set up an email chain so that all of us can keep in touch and help each other out.  He particularly mentioned watching out for me since I was alone (and the unstated - old).  It was very sweet.  He was a student of Robert’s about a million years ago. 

Stay well. 

March 14, 2020 Carol

I too am trying to take advantage of this semi-hiatus in our lives to prepare my presentation--even if we don't meet and I don't present, it will be amazing to have it ready well in advance! And Fran, thank you for the charts and other info in your attachment--I especially loved the singing Italians, seeing them all out on their balconies making music is inspiring. It felt very strange to see the video from Turin--we were there in October.

Linda, I hope your trip to the Catskills goes as scheduled. As some of you know, our visit to David and his family is postponed indefinitely, partly because they are worried about the vulnerability of old folks like us and partly because Ben (age almost 7) is or was on a weekend basketball team with a boy who has tested positive (so have his older brother and his mom). So David and Julie are waiting to see if he gets sick and hoping he does not. Their schools are closed at least for next week and probably longer, because the Boston area is now an epicenter, largely (I gather) because of a Bio-Gen conference (just one of many ironies in our world).

I'm not really sure what an email chain is, but let's try to keep connected by way of these group emails or however else. Friendship and communication seem more important than ever in the face of these uncertainties.

Keep well and smiling,

March 14, 2020 Connie

We were all overly distracted BEFORE the COVID-19.  We are so beyond “too much to process.”

I just got a book (library’s last open minutes, my husband coughed as we were checking out and nearly caused a riot) called “Winner of the National Book Award,” by Jincy Willett— has anyone read?  Supposed to be very funny, will pass it on if so.  Of course I will read it AFTER I finish my presentation. 

March 15, 2020 Christine

(Note: Christine shared a list of books about epidemics, pandemics, illness and other grisly afflicitions written with admirable skill. Some were mentioned in the New York Times Book Review, she adds several, so does Carol).

I think I just listed the books, but here is the list I made for myself:

 Albert Camus’s The Plague

Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s Love in the Time of Cholera

Daniel Defoe, A Journal of the Plague Year

Samuel Pepys---Diaries

V Woolf, On Being Ill

Alphonse Daudet, In the Land of Pain

Susan Sontag – Illness as Metaphor

Canterbury Tales

Decameron

Jose Saramango, Blindness

Vladimir Sorokin’s The Blizzard.

Yuri Herrera’s The Transmigration of Bodies

March 15, 2020 Carol

Thanks so much! And let's not omit Geraldine Brooks' Year of Wonders.

The Times had a list in Friday's arts section, mostly more recent. It included The Andromeda Strain as well as several that involve living dead infected folks, which for me is a line I can't cross. The Times says there has been a rush to buy these books--reveling in shared misfortunes or reassurance that it won't last forever? Or maybe both?

March 15, 2020 Diana

To go along with Christine's reading list of books about illness and maladies, I saw a Covid 19 Quarantine Playlist on Spotify......here are some of the top tunes.   A bit grim -- but the songs are good. 

"You Sound Like You're Sick" - The Ramones

"Fever" - Peggy Lee

"Harder to Breathe" - Maroon 5

"The Kids Don't Stand a Chance" - Vampire Weekend

"Staying Alive" - Bee Gees

"Don't Stand So Close to Me" - The Police

"Rather Die Young" - Beyonce

"Can't Feel My Face" - The Weekend

Stay well!

March 16, 2020 Fran

Linda told me that the hardest part of being president was deciding when to call a snow day. Sigh.

I told Carol I wasn't president yet because I didn't have the bell. She could call my bluff by leaving it on my doorstep ; )

We thought, at this point, the best thing to do would be to cancel the Mar 25 and April 15 meeting. The plan is to meet outdoors for the rest of our meetings, and everyone to brown bag lunch.

We'll add May 27 (presenter Connie) and June 3 (presenter Linda) to our calendar.

If you can host outdoors let me know. If you can host outdoors AND if it rains - let me know that too!

Plans can easily be upended by events, so let's consider that this what we'll do at this moment. The next 6 weeks will be more interesting than any of us would like.

I just loved the reading list (thanks Christine & Carol) and the play list (thanks Diana). Really important to laugh. Too bad we don't all have balconies we can sing from like the Italians. If you haven't seen those videos, I'll send them.

Bob is symptom free, he's busy during self-quarantine consulting with relatives & colleagues. I've been binge watching French videos on YouTube - did you know Louis XIV didn't take baths? Or maybe I misunderstood the full extent of his aversion to water.

Opinions most welcome.

Stay well, stay in touch

March 16, 2020 Christine

Fran,

I know it's a terrible job -- but I think you managed it splendidly, and dare I say, with more executive elegance than another President I can think of.

I am happy to host outdoors whenever it seems like a good idea to do so or indoors whenever we are cleared for that.

I am glad that Bob is symptom free. And I don't have insight into Louis XIV's bathing habits. But since I have that dousing oneself in perfume is called a "french bath" I would guess that he was not the cleanest.

Stay healthy all,

March 17, 2020 Carol

Thanks, Fran! And lucky you, nothing like plunging into your presidency with an ever-changing crisis to cope with. I see that HoH has just declared a state of emergency--I don't know what that entails, presumably more info will be forthcoming.

As we talked about, I can host outdoors, on my porch (though I'm not certain we could all maintain 6 feet of social distance there), or in the backyard (with some borrowed seating). I think this is definitely a play-it-by-ear plan, to be adapted as things unfold.

Thanks for the video, Christine, I just watched it--almost too true to be funny. I will be passing it on to many friends and relations. And thanks, Laura, for the loan of Girl, Woman, Other, I am enjoying it very much, just had a conversation about it with my friend in Canada who loved it too.

I did want to say to you all, since Fran has now taken the reins (or bell) by virtual induction (sounds kind of ominous, doesn't it), that I was delighted and honored to be the Literature Club president these past two years. I am still kind of intimidated by the aggregation of intelligence, learning, creativity, and also, of course, kindness and friendship, among the women of this group. You have all been so supportive and forbearing as I fumbled my way along--thank you so much for a wonderful term in office, and have fun, Fran!

Stay well, all, let's keep in touch, see you (at a distance!) on the Aqueduct...

March 17, 2020 Diana

 It was indeed a pleasure to have you as President, Carol.  And I agree with you that we are so lucky to be in a town that has such a challenging and informative Lit Club, and even luckier to be part of it. 

I wish we could get together and bond through this situation.  I am cooking up a storm, and would love to have you all over for today's fresh mushroom soup and Beer Batter Recipe.  But alas, I can share only the recipes:   https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/mushroom-soup-231145  (very easy!.  The Beer Batter Bread is one of those Trader Joe impulse purchases, but, heck, it is St. Patrick's Day, so I figure anything with beer is appropriate. 

See you on the trails!

March 17, 2020 Barbara

So grateful to you, Fran, and to all members for messages of good cheer and support. I have hosted the Literature Club outdoors, many years ago. I remember oak blossoms falling into everyone's tea. I could do it again if needed, but I have no outdoor shelter from rain. Be well, everyone.

March 18, 2020 Fran

 I'm honored to do my utmost to keep this wonderful Club going. I admire how we rotate leadership - such as it is, with the heavy (hmm, just recently) responsibility of deciding to postpone or cancel meetings. For as long as I've been a member, I've admired the grace with each president (including our most recent ex) has led.

Bob's self-quarantine - and therefore mine - has officially ended. By the same uncertain decision-making process it was first imposed. Rules are evolving with this pandemic. Today was Bob's first day back at the hospital. I asked him what the morale was among the staff - they're not panicked. Doing their jobs. Wearing a lot more gloves & face masks everywhere, for all patient interactions.

For me, self-quarantine spared me what was going on in our village. I went food shopping. DeCicco's had a long line for their senior time when I arrived at 8:20 (8 to 8:30 AM). They were admitting shoppers in small numbers to maintain self-distancing. I went to Foodtown. I felt like I had found myself in a Communist country where consumer goods are in short supply. Shelves empty of toilet paper, paper towels; little soup, pasta and milk.

I began to think of what our foremothers in Literature Club faced. World War I. The Spanish flu. The Depression. World War II. Should I throw in, as bad times, the Korean & Vietnam Wars? And then, 9/11.

Keep sharing the ideas (cooking, thanks Diana), the amusing videos (thanks Christine) and whatever keeps our spirits up.

March 18, 2020 Laura

Dick and I went up to Muscoot Park at 7:30 this morning.  We got there and the gate was still locked!  But the gatekeeper drove up and opened it for us to walk the trails at 8 or so.  We saw beautiful fields limned with frost.  We saw the huge manure pile which is really compost, over in the corner of the hay field.  It was smoking as if it were on fire!! Wow.  Metabolic processes occur even if I can not see them!  Imagine.  And best of all, we saw bluebirds.  Ultimately around four of them, but the first two were the best.  The male was on the perch of a bluebird house, looking in.  The female sat above, on the roof.  He was so blue he glowed!  I keep thinking of that blue.  Cheers, my friends.

March 18, 2020 Mary  (Associate Member living in Connecticut)

I am SO glad I’m still on the Lit Club email list.   Though I have lived alone for fifty years, this is a new kind of loneliness.  I love hearing what you are all doing with this upheaval.  Relatives are not permitted unless the resident is a death’s door.

  There are over 270 people in this old folks home.  We now receive our dinners at the door to the apt. And walking the halls for exercise is lonely.  In 40 minutes, I ran into maybe five souls.  We all backed away from each other.  The pool and gym are closed, the pub has no chairs and only three tables.   Two days ago, two residents were visiting, each seated on their walkers at the proper distance.  There is a marvelous machine there which dispenses coffee and espresso, both hi test and decaf, and hot water for tea and cocoa drinkers.  The tea and cocoa packets were absent and the little half and half containers almost gone.  The management appears to have taken to heart my suggestion to keep that comforting resource well stocked for walker users (maybe a majority of inhabitants).  I plan a visit this p.m., using my sitting stick.

Love to all

March 18, 2020 Linda

This wasn't exactly what I meant when I talked to you about the stress of deciding whether to cancel meetings, but we're all grateful for your wise decision making.  Maybe snow days will seem easy after this. 

As I write, I am baking chocolate chip cookies.  I haven't had much of an appetite, and I thought they might be just the thing. 

I decided not to go to my son Josh's house in the Catskills - too many people and too many germs.  We all felt I'd be safer here.  Plus, my grandchildren will be in e-school, their mother will be teaching it, and my son works all day wherever he is.  Finally, my sister-in-law Marge and I walk for over an hour every day, and that's been really important and special.  I did not want to leave her. 

Last night, however, I did have dinner with Josh and his family - virtually.  He called me on FaceTime, the five of us sat at our respective tables with our respective meals, and talked.  We were at it for almost an hour.  I highly recommend this to those of you who can't see your children and grandchildren.  I plan to have dinner with my daughter and her family in a couple days. 

Be well. 

March 19, 2020 Jacquie

Thank goodness for the internet for keeping in touch! Of course my computer died last week, but I’m amazed by how much I can do on my phone. Louisa, your dancing balls of yarn were just charming, and Christine, “dumbf#%&ery” has become a new favorite and oft repeated word in my house. And FaceTime, WhatsApp and a 4 way conference call with my sisters has been a wonderful way to keep in touch with my far-flung family. I love getting updates on all you all are doing, learning and reading. Won’t the next time we are together feel even more special than it already does???!!!

I sat at the base of the sledding hill at Zinsser yesterday evening, about 10 feet from Joanna and her husband who were sharing a bottle of wine and cheese and crackers, while newlyweds Pascale and Daniel sat on their blanket making up another corner of our giant square with a fourth couple from Irvington. Despite the chilly weather and slight vocal strain from having to shout to one another, it was lovely to be together. And of course a number of friends called down to us from the aqueduct while others joined our ever expanding circle. And as each new person arrived, Daniel had to repeat the same joke, “This is the worst orgy I’ve ever been to.” It got funnier with each re-telling.

Humor is the best medicine for times like these. Humor! What a great possibility for next year’s theme. Have I mentioned that before????!!!

Love to you all!

March 21, 2020 Connie

I am honored and humbled to be in the line of succession behind Carol, Fran and others in the group!

Well, were the world not being horribly transformed for us on a daily basis, I would be madly putting together my presentation on Mollie Panter-Downes for this upcoming Wednesday —  I have not really had the sustained concentration to do much on it in the past few weeks.

BUT, I will share a bit that just was brought home to me by a recent COVID 19 related news item.

Panter-Downes was the London correspondent for the New Yorker during the Second World War.  She published 153 “Letters from London” between 1939 and 1944, but also wrote, during that time, 21 short stories, also published in the New Yorker. 

The short stories are often funny, in a stiff upper lip Brit way, and I was leaning toward presenting those, given the times....But, anyway, 4 of the stories feature a “Mrs. Ramsay,” who has decamped from London to her and her husband’s country cottage in Sussex, where she is joined by several families “billeting” with her, which includes their nannies and maids. 

Anyway, 2 of those stories describe Mrs. Ramsay’s involvement with a local sewing circle, which you can imagine....but as the stories unfold they are making bandages and pajamas, for the war effort, (in one story the woman are shocked by Mrs. Ramsay’s suggestion that today’s efforts be sent to men in Greece:  “...the idea of swathing Grecian torsos in good English winceyette was obviously difficult to digest right away.” 

Anyway, as I sat last night looking at the sewing pattern for face masks, I was reminded of Mrs. Ramsay and her sewing circle.  It is unbelievable that this is where we are now. 

But, in true Mollie Panter-Downes fashion, I am sending screenshots of another story of Mrs. Ramsay, which was published in the New Yorker on Jan. 27, 1940, “Mrs. Ramsay’s War.”  It is only the 3 pages, 49-51— I hope it is clear enough to read.  And enjoy the ads.

I hope everyone, and everyone’s everyone, is well. 

(Note: screenshots of story will be added)

March 21, 2020 Carol

Connie, thanks so much! A wonderful story in many many ways, an unexpected treat!

Now I can't wait to hear your presentation, whenever it can happen.

Hope everyone is doing well as we all shelter in place (sorry, Cuomo, I know it's not

your preferred term). At least I can feel I'm staying more or less fit, walking on the

aqueduct is a great escape.

Stay well and safe, all,

March 23, 2020 Jacquie –

Dear Literary Ladies,

Alas, this is to remind you all that we will not be meeting this Wednesday in Christine's magnificent living room to hear Connie's presentation on The Wartime Writing of Mollie Panter-Downes.

On this first day of PAUSE, the odd wintry weather completely matches my mood of discombobulation. My oldest son, while commandeering the dining room, is virtually waiting outside his thesis advisor's office door awaiting his turn for virtual office hours. My younger son who has taken over the playroom, is digesting the news that all AP exams have been canceled, wondering what that means about not being able to place out of certain requirements once he gets to college - whenever that might actually be! Meanwhile I'm trying to get up the nerve to begin cleaning out my basement. Somehow getting my taxes together sounds more appealing...

I re-read 84, Charing Cross Road in one sitting on Saturday, which was quite a delight. I would recommend it to all.

I hope you are all adjusting to the new normal.  The image below says it all. (to be added)

March 24, 2020 Fran
Our Lit Club emails have been one of the most reassuring part of my life now. I feel connected to all of you; so many of my other connections are diminished, we've all been forced to fold into ourselves. But - here we are, reading our way through this tough time. I loved Mollie Panter-Downes’ Mrs Ramsay story; look forward to finding 84, Charing Cross Road on line (thanks, Jacquie, for recommending it).

March 24, 2020 Carol
Yes, Lit Club emails are welcome and quite cheering, and many thanks to all for reading recommendations. I have just finished Girl, Woman, Other (thanks, Laura!), I found it fascinating, funny, moving, and it gave me new perspectives on the lives of women who are both like and unlike me. I second Laura's recommendation, it is an engrossing read that took me out of the virus-anxiety mode for a bit.

Read on, ladies!

March 24, 2020 Lori
I thoroughly enjoyed it as well!  I’m currently reading East of Eden by Steinbeck.  I’m flying through it even though the casual racism of the times sometimes catches my breath! 

March 24, 2020 Mary
Dear Lit Club ladies,
I’m still consoled by your emails, and want to add that the Stone Ridge Quilters are at work making masks for the indefatigable staff here who are doing everything possible to keep us safe and comfortable.  I wish I still had my sewing machine so I could join them and feel less useless, parasitish.

March 24, 2020 Jacquie
Mary, by staying well you are helping your staff immeasurably!

March 24, 2020 Carol
Vive La France!
Just a little nibble to (I trust) make you all smile.
(Carol sends a fantastic video of cakes decorated to look lie whatever a cake is not – and each is cut into revealing its true nature. Will try to post a link)

March 24, 2020 Diana
Incroyable!!

I think the shoes made me laugh the most.  And I loved the way some of fruit looked bruised for a touch of reality. 
thanks!

Connie sends us a Mollie Panter-Downes story, “Battle of the Greeks,” which appeared March 8, 1941 in The New Yorker. I’ll try to post it. Search for it in The New Yorker archive.

March 25, 2020 Constance
Hello Ladies:

If these were, as Christine said, “Ordinary Times,” I would be presenting right now.  Of course, I still haven’t written my presentation (which isn’t entirely abnormal), but am reading more of Mollie Panter-Downes short stories (I’ve moved on to the post war ones).

Her short stories really show her strength as a journalist— so acutely observed, and realistically told.  What I like about the short stories is that they really look at the women's experience during the War:  what it was like to be home, trying to keep a semblance of normality and purpose in what were anything but normal times.  Hmmm, yes, they do seem very relevant now....

Panter-Downes is criticized for her depiction of social class, which is a fair criticism certainly, but on the other hand she depicts women’s interactions with one another so well....

Anyhow, I was not going to present the stories featuring Mrs. Ramsay, so here’s another. And please, don’t feel obligated to read!  This is just my somewhat public procrastination from writing the thing!

XO
Connie
PS:  that girdle ad....

March 25, 2020 Christine
Connie  ̶  “Battle of the Greeks” was a complete treasure. It is full of such brilliant lines, but this may be my favorite:  "there was....not a heave to choose between the Twistle and Peters bosoms."

I don't when I shall ever see its equal.

And might I just point out how handy chickens can be in soothing over rough conversational patches?

March 25, 2020 Diana
Connie,

I'm enjoying these stories immensely (especially since I figured out how to enlarge the type -- which you've all probably figured out  ̶  hit the + sign at the bottom of the image of the page, and then hold mouse button down to move back up to the top of the page). 

I think my favorite phrase was that Mrs. Ramsay might be "helling around Sussex, probably in the nude" without Mrs. Parmenter as her chaperone. 

I hope someday to describe someone as "helling around," though probably NOT in the nude!

March 26, 2020 Jacquie (referring to Panter-Downes’ “Battle of the Greeks”)
Yes! Laugh out loud! Less subtle, but my other favorite line is, "It'll be a nice change for them to get their limbs into something cozy after those little skirts, poor lads."

March 25, 2020 Lori
I couldn’t figure it out - I still can’t. I enlarged like Diana explained but it still looks blurry to me!  My eyes????

March 26, 2020 Carol
I too went to the archive and found it (it's not easy to figure out how to identify the item you're looking for, but perseverance did its usual), but I couldn't figure out how to print it in a format big enough to read easily. However, I squinted enough to finish it--what an excellent story! I too laughed aloud at the heaving bosoms, but I also loved "the strawberry leaves shuddering with the cold breath of revolution." Beautiful sentences all the way through, thank you so much for this and the earlier one, Connie, and I can’t wait for your presentation, whenever it may be-

March 26, 2020 Lori
I FINALLY got access by going to the archive.  Laura  ̶  I’ll drop off a copy I printed on my way home from work tonight.  Definitely worth the effort! 

Thank you Connie!

March 25, 2020 Laura
Naturally, I am the only person in the universe who did not figure how to enlarge the type, and I have spent the last two days admiring everyone for their sharp eyes!!  Aha, now I know and I will catch up.  What I have been doing with the not so sharp eyes is getting out each day for a look at birds and a walk.  Yesterday we went to Rockefeller and walked on a path we do not usually frequent.  There high in a tree was this massive, rather elongated mess of sticks.  Turned out to be a red tail hawk nest, and yes, there was a creature moving around in it!!  I feel bliss and happiness, not even sure it was a young or older hawk, but just to have found the sanctuary for them.  Today we just returned from Pruyn Sanctuary in Chappaqua, where we heard such a satisfying chorus of cheeps and twirps, but saw only a portion of the feathered friends.  Some wood peckers did oblige, oh, and chickadees.  But the walk and the drive were perfect.  I hope people are bearing up

March 25, 2020 Linda
…you are not the only person in the universe who did not figure out how to enlarge the print.  Today I went on a tour of the orchid show at the Botanical Garden and then played low tech scrabble with my daughter and grandson in Williamstown and the other grandma in Chicago. 

March 26, 2020  Barbara
Linda, how did you go on a tour of the NYBG Orchid Show? I went to the website, but only found a very introductory few (lovely) pictures accompanied by remarks by this year's designer.

March 26, 2020  Fran
I've been thinking of doing a blog for the Lit Club, to replace the disappeared web site. I procrastinated because I had to figure out how to do it. Knew I'd get frustrated and feel stupid. Plus I never can get those damned templates provided to behave the way I want.

But  ̶  it's done. Well, really a work in progress.

I was inspired by our email exchange as the coronavirus started to impact our lives. I didn't want it to disappear into the ether.

Looking for a way to incorporate minutes, constitution etc.

March 26, 2020 Christine
The blog is a brilliant idea. Thanks so much for your technical wizardry and more.

Last night on a birthday Zoom call with all my siblings, I read them the "heaving bosoms" sentence from Mollie Panter-Downes, and even out of context, it was still brilliant and funny. Her stories are the perfect antidote these days. Connie, bring 'em on!

March 26, 2020 Diana
Fran, wonderful idea!  (and, on the technical front, your templates seem to work well).   Thanks for collecting our musings.

Linda, it sounds so scary to hear you say you'll "go" anywhere.......just as last night, my son called and I mentioned that I had just gone to Book Group.  There was silence on the other end of the phone, and then he said, "MOM, how many people were there?"   I told him there were nine of us.  Again, silence.  So I broke the suspense and told him we met via ZOOM.   Thank goodness for the internet in these times!

On the cooking front:  Yesterday I baked the chocolate cake recipe published in the Times https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/24/dining/baking-with-kids.html   Very easy  ̶  not too sweet.  Delicious with a small scoop of vanilla ice cream.  

March 26, 2020 Connie
As I just typed in another email, I was never so thankful for my Lit Club Wednesday  island as I was this week.  I will look at her stories again tonight, but start a day of “telehealth” shortly.  I will recommend this— look at Website for Persephone books out of UK, and their blogs. That is how I decided to do Mollie P-D.  I was going to plug them in my presentation, which is/was, also a tale of publishing, then and now. When Persephone launched, with the goal of re-publishing neglected (primarily British) women writers of the mid 20th century,  MPD was one the first authors they wanted to bring back. 

March 26, 2020 Jacquie
Fran! This is brilliant! I have always thought Barbara's minutes could form the basis of a great book, and IMHO, this email chain could too. But of course now I'm self-conscious of dashing off a quick email! Thanks so much for this. Stay well!

March 29, 2020 Christine
I just started Girl, Woman, Other  ̶ and all I can say so far is WOW. Brilliant.

March 29, 2020 Connie
Did anyone read Emma Smith’s op-ed in NYT today, “What Shakespeare teaches us about living in Pandemics?”

(link sent to a funny parody of "Staying Alive" called "Staying Inside" - will try to link it up)

Worth reading— after the dance party.

March 29, 2020 Christine
BTW - I think my favorite part of that music medley is the guitarist in his pajamas on the bed with his dog!