I have a delightful granddaughter, who is named Violet. This week's venture into the confused and often curious mind of The Poppa Jeff has nothing to do with her. It has everything to do with the coming of spring and the appearance of said flower in our back yard.
These flowers always remind me of one of my earliest memories. When I was a preschooler, my family lived on a residential street in Minneapolis. Across the street from our house was a park. In that park were a wild growth of violets. My sister, Marie and I would often harvest a few for my mother, Mary Jane and, when she visiting, my Grandmother Molly.
I can't honestly say that I was picking flowers for my mom on August 14, 1945, but I do remember some events of that day. I remember my mother coming out the front door and calling for me home. When I crossed the street, she picked me up and hugged me. I remember other women coming out of their houses and calling to each other. We could look out of the back of our house and look down on a busy street, which was a major streetcar route. Traffic was stopped. People got out of their cars and yelled with joy. On that day, the Japanese, after our bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima, surrendered ending WWII.
If it's not too late and you haven't seen the production of Jane Eyre at the Rep Theater in Milwaukee, do so. It was a delight. Enough said.
A Couple of Reasons Why You Should Watch 13 Reasons Why
Recently, Maria and I finished watching, what I would have called a teen drama before we got hooked on it. The Netflix-produced "13 Reasons Why" is about a high school girl, who commits suicide. She leaves a box full of tapes she recorded explaining why she is killing herself.
This mini-series is beautifully shot, wonderfully acted and masterfully written and directed. Most critics agree with my assessment of the production. The controversy comes with the content. Should we let teens watch this story? It depicts not only suicide but rape, cyber-bullying, harassment, drinking, drugs, casual sex and well..you name it when it comes to the life of many teens in our country.
Some criticism came from the viewpoint that by watching this show, some "vulnerable" teens would copy cat the Heroine. While I understand this concern, it ends up going into the let's not concern ourselves with the other issues here because as long as we avoid admitting this might be happening, we don't have to deal with it.
I really suggest you watch this show. Some parts are difficult to watch. I could not bring myself to watch the suicide itself, which was presented in its entirety. Some of it is maddening as you experience the adults try to deal with problems and run into a brick wall of "cover my ass" actions by officials. If you have high school or middle school children, you'd be wise to watch it with them and talk about it.
Here is one article I found that seems to get to the heart of the matter.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/may/08/13-reasons-why-devoured-teenagers-understand-why
These flowers always remind me of one of my earliest memories. When I was a preschooler, my family lived on a residential street in Minneapolis. Across the street from our house was a park. In that park were a wild growth of violets. My sister, Marie and I would often harvest a few for my mother, Mary Jane and, when she visiting, my Grandmother Molly.
Flowers Bloom on the Plain of Poop
If it's not too late and you haven't seen the production of Jane Eyre at the Rep Theater in Milwaukee, do so. It was a delight. Enough said.
A Couple of Reasons Why You Should Watch 13 Reasons Why
Recently, Maria and I finished watching, what I would have called a teen drama before we got hooked on it. The Netflix-produced "13 Reasons Why" is about a high school girl, who commits suicide. She leaves a box full of tapes she recorded explaining why she is killing herself.
This mini-series is beautifully shot, wonderfully acted and masterfully written and directed. Most critics agree with my assessment of the production. The controversy comes with the content. Should we let teens watch this story? It depicts not only suicide but rape, cyber-bullying, harassment, drinking, drugs, casual sex and well..you name it when it comes to the life of many teens in our country.
Some criticism came from the viewpoint that by watching this show, some "vulnerable" teens would copy cat the Heroine. While I understand this concern, it ends up going into the let's not concern ourselves with the other issues here because as long as we avoid admitting this might be happening, we don't have to deal with it.
I really suggest you watch this show. Some parts are difficult to watch. I could not bring myself to watch the suicide itself, which was presented in its entirety. Some of it is maddening as you experience the adults try to deal with problems and run into a brick wall of "cover my ass" actions by officials. If you have high school or middle school children, you'd be wise to watch it with them and talk about it.
Here is one article I found that seems to get to the heart of the matter.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/may/08/13-reasons-why-devoured-teenagers-understand-why
Comments
Post a Comment