Friday Finds - Should Be Reading

I so much enjoyed Nancy Horan's novel about Frank Lloyd Wright (Loving Frank) and T. C. Boyle's fictional novel The Women sounds very interesting. This is definitely on my To Read List.

New York Times Book Review:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/01/books/review/Scott-t.html

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/bn-review/gallery.asp

Allergies!

When we first moved to Seguin and visited Ranft Appliances to purchase a refrigerator, Mr. Ranft told us that Seguin was the Allergy Capital of the Nation. Well, I don't know about that distinction - but this dry season does seem to produce a lot of sneezing, itchy eyes, sore throats - pollen everywhere!

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Forecast for SEGUIN, TX (on a scale of 1-12):
Today's allergy levels: Friday - 9.9/High
Today's predominant pollen:Ash, Mulberry and Cedar/Juniper.
Tomorrow's allergy levels:Saturday - 9.9/High

Click! Click! Click!

Judge Mike Wiggins - State of the County

At the Chamber of Commerce General Membership meeting, County Judge Mike Wiggins reported that the 'state of Guadalupe County' is good, which was heartening to hear in this time of financial hard times and insecurity.

Judge Wiggins told the membership that growth WILL come to Guadalupe County and preparations for that growth should begin now.

An outstanding officer from Randolph Brooks Air Force Base is honored each month at the Chamber's general membership meeting. These dedicated young men and women who serve our country are the Very Best. http://www.randolph.af.mil/

Horton Foote - Farewell

Horton Foote writes

I was born Tuesday, March 14, 1916, in a rented room in the town of Wharton, Texas. The Wharton Spectator, founded by two of my great-uncles, printed the following item on Friday, March 18, 1916:

Mr. and Mrs. Horton Foote were the proud parents of a son born Tuesday.

Horton Foote Dies

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/thedailymirror/2009/03/voices----horto.html
http://popwatch.ew.com/popwatch/2009/03/remembering-hor.html
http://daily.greencine.com/archives/007368.html
http://www.cunepress.com/cunepress/booksonline/essays/etg/etg-pages/e-q/foote.htm
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/f/horton_foote/index.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/05/theater/05foote.html?_r=1
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"But I don't really write to honor the past. I write to investigate, to try to figure out what happened and why it happened, knowing I'll never really know. I think all the writers that I admire have this same desire, the desire to bring order out of chaos." -- Horton Foote

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I cannot remember who told me (years ago) about meeting Horton Foote and what a Gentleman he was. Of course, I know what a great playwright/writer he was and so loved his works. But there was something about the man that typified Dignity as well as talent. So, although I did not know him personally, I knew his writing and felt as though I knew him - and I will miss him. Most certainly we will all miss his talent.

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Extract from New York Times article (URL above):

...Mr. Foote spent most of his life writing about such people. In more than 60 plays and films, most set in the fictive town of Harrison, Tex., he charted their struggle through the century by recording their familial conflicts.
He often seemed to resemble a character from one of his plays. Always courteous and courtly, he spoke with a Texas drawl. He enjoyed good food and wine, but he usually opted for barbecue and iced tea or fried chicken with a Coca-Cola when he was home in Texas. He was jovial with a wry humor, and his white hair and robust frame gave him the appearance of a Southern senator or the favorite uncle who always had a story. Harper Lee, a lifelong friend since Mr. Foote adapted her novel “To Kill a Mockingbird,” once said that Mr. Foote “looked like God, only cleanshaven.”