Goodbye, Summer; Hello, Fall

I haven't written anything here since late August, right after the Brandi Carlile show, and that's pretty bad. 

A. and L. arrived here from Germany in the beginning of September, so that has been where most of my attention has been. They will be heading back in a few days, so life will return to mundane normality.

I finished reading Flowers For Algernon on September 15. It was a book I'd wanted to read for decades--having read the original Daniel Keyes short story (or maybe an edited version of the short story?) in 9th or 10th grade. It was much more "PG-13" rated than the rather anodyne version we read in school. When the experimental procedure finally shows results and Charlie Gordon gets smart, he spends a lot of time thinking about sex, eventually having sex, and binge drinking. (Though, in fairness, he also does plenty of "smart person" stuff, like composing a symphony on piano and researching how long his super-intelligence will last). The novel also delves into childhood trauma, the mistreatment of intellectually disabled people, and brings up ethical and philosophical concerns. I am happy I finally read the book. Keeping in mind that Keyes published Algernon in 1966, and the "R-word" gets thrown around a lot, I found the book thoughtful and progressive for its time.

Now, I am muddling my way through Pride and Prejudice, which I was inspired to finally read after watching the Netflix series The Other Bennet Sister. This is the first Austen novel I've read since I wobbled my way through Persuasion in the mid-'90s. I really do appreciate Austen's dry wit, and it does feel like a portal to another time, when people--particularly men and women--spoke to each other in code, never saying directly what they really meant. Also, what a thoroughly terrible time for women. One's entire future and security based on finding the "correct" husband, even if "correct" meant not having any emotional connection and never being able to be one's true self. 

Well, that's all I have for now.

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