Greetings, First Friday Book Club Members:
Well, our first virtual meeting was a triumph over technical glitches, rain, cold and the general state of things on our planet. Despite everything, we managed to sit down, voice opinions and escape into some literary social anti-distancing. Cheers to you all for attending! (Details about our May 1 meeting are at the end of this email.)
Our title this month was "Grandma Gatewood's Walk" by Ben Montgomery. The consensus was admiration for Emma but disappointment in the biographer's approach. The intriguing details of Emma's life and her accomplishments felt sometimes overshadowed by the biographer's personal story. Although the research seemed strong and many of the details were carefully recorded, there was not enough of Emma in the book and perhaps too much of the interviewing journalist.
That said, there were enjoyable aspects of this story.
“She introduced people to the A.T., and at the same made the thru-hike achievable.
It didn’t take fancy equipment, guidebooks, training, or youthfulness.
It took putting one foot in front of the other—five million times.”
A few highlights from Emma's life - after she raised eleven children and survived brutally violent domestic abuse:
At 67, she became the first woman to hike the 2,168-mile Appalachian Trail solo, in one season.
She wore Keds and carried an army blanket, a raincoat, and a plastic shower curtain in a homemade denim bag slung over one shoulder.
She hiked the AT again when she was 73, and then again at 75, making her the first person to hike the trail three times.
She was credited with being the oldest female thru-hiker.
She also walked 2,000 miles of the Oregon Trail, averaging 22 miles a day.
She traveled to every state of the continental United States.
Some quotes from Emma, which are perhaps not as straightforward as they seem at first:
I went to see what’s on the other side of the hill.
People just can't believe an old woman is hiking. No one would do a thing like that unless she was getting paid for it. But, that's a funny thing. I work like a horse around the farm. But when I say I'm taking a hike, they say I shouldn't because I'm too old. I got up on the roof awhile back and sawed off a tree limb. No one said anything about an old lady doing that.
I feel like taking off to the woods. But I don't know when I'll get back.
I went because I wanted to go.
If I'd been afraid, I never would have started out in the first place.
I get faster as I get older.
Interview video with Emma's daughter and granddaughter: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLJ2ZnMfNL8
May 2020 meeting
And now - on to next month!
Our book for May is "Less" by Andrew Sean Greer:
Interview with the author is here: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/less-author-andrew-sean-greer-answers-your-questions NYT review is here: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/24/books/review/less-andrew-sean-greer.html I will send around more information on this book in another week or two - so stand by. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Now - how shall we do this on May 1? So far as we know, the Center will be closed for "the foreseeable future." McKinney city services update is at https://www.mckinneytexas.org/2268/Online-City-Services-Closures-and-Change Test run on April 25? Some members were not able to access the Zoom meeting room on April 3. Do we want to schedule a "test run" before our next meeting? If you would be interested in trying to access our Zoom meeting room again, before our next meeting, let me know and I will schedule a weekend "test" session. That will give us a chance to log in, turn on cameras, and get comfortable with Zoom - before we get together again on May 1. If you would like to attend a 15-minute "test" Zoom meeting on the afternoon of Saturday, April 25, email me to confirm. We can set up a specific time once we know how many want to try this. (It's free to use Zoom.)
Again, remember: our online meetings are NOT affiliated with the Center, the City of McKinney or anybody else - just a bunch of us getting together to talk about books.
A few of you asked about security issues with Zoom. (There has been some news about problems with "free" accounts)
We will be using a secured corporate account (NOT a "free" account) and there will a password required.
Read all about it here: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/201362193
2021? We will vote on our 2021 reading list during the August meeting, so be accumulating titles to suggest! We will try to discuss 2021 ideas during our regular meetings in May and June as time permits. (Bet you didn't think we could make the selection process MORE complex, did you ???) FYI: Our remaining 2020 reading list is here: http://www.tamisutcliffe.com/First_Friday_Book_Club/2020.pdf Until later this month - thanks for keeping our book club alive and vital! Oh, and if you feel the urge to turn on the news, remember what Groucho said: “I find television very educating. Every time somebody turns on the set, I go into the other room and read a book.” – Groucho Marx Tami Book club web page = First Friday Book Club Book club Facebook = https://www.facebook.com/FirstFridayBookClub
