Standing Tall
San Francisco Giants pitcher Sam Coonrod was the only player on either side to stand for the National Anthem before the team’s game with the Dodgers. Kudos.
Touche`, from an article at foxnews.com, edited by yours truly: “A group of Republican House members introduced a resolution that would effectively ban the Democratic Party from the House or force a party name change over past slavery ties.”
I’ve finished another of the paperbacks I’ve salvaged while cleaning out the basement of the old house, Willa by Gilbert Terrell, copyright 1961. It’s the story of a college senior, the starting fullback on a nationally ranked team. The fictional school is in Alabama. The novel begins in the final days of a summer hitchhiking sojourn. While passing time in a bus station, the young man engages a male in conversation and soon accepts an invitation to join the stranger and two women. He meets the title character, a morose though attractive teacher ten years his senior who has been fired several times, probably because she is so negative and cannot hold her tongue. An aspiring writer, she often uses literary references to cast aspersions. Somehow she taps into something going on inside the young man, a questioning of life and his strict upbringing. Each loses his/her virginity to the other. He is the more negatively affected, although the woman’s sense of hopelessness increases. The affair continues through the season and climaxes after the Sugar Bowl. It is not an easy read, the prose and dialogue very uneven, in need of another draft, but I credit the author for delving into existential angst. During an argument with his roommate, the young man says: “… I don’t know who the hell I am. Who the hell are you: can you tell me?” He suffers guilt about his sexuality, unlike Joe Willie Namath, who was blithely making his way through coeds during the same time period. Despite all the sex, the novel is not explicit, especially compared to current fare, so those looking for titillation would be disappointed. It shows how much society has changed in terms of sexuality. A lot fewer people these days are likely to have such hangups. I enjoyed this observation from Willa regarding the male member: “It’s a snake, a blind blunt hooded deceptive snake. The original snake in all our Eve Gardens.” Although I was not surprised by the ending, it went in a different direction than I’d expected. In trying to think to whom this work would appeal, I would say only to those curious about the moral climate of pre-sexual revolution America. I was unable to find any biographical info on the author. I assume he played football, as his depiction of it is intelligent. There are two other books listed at Amazon under his name: Missy, which someone has listed for $967, and Lily, $855. The site’s copy of Willa is different than the Dell edition I read. It lists for $9.95. I’ll sell it for a dollar.
The floating book shop opened three hours later than usual due to heavy rain. Since the skies were still threatening, I put out only Russian books. My thanks to the women who combined to buy three.
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