Sunday, April 15, 2012
How Visiting Dallas Has More Benefits Than Just IKEA Bookcases
I remember not being able to properly relate to Fried Green Tomatoes, neither the book nor the movie. Couldn't get all the way through them - they just confused me. Well after only one year in Tulsa, I am going to try again. Yes, I know that Tulsa isn't actually considered "The South", but it has given me a much wider perspective. I am amazed at the diverse populations that work together to make the USA. Don't get me started on Texas. That state is a whole other country. Which brings me to my point, and I do have one - I now am ready to read GCB (Good Christian Bitches. or Belles) (not to be confused with Good Catholic Girls - one of my favorite subjects, I'm sure you know). GCB is the basis for a Sunday night show on ABC that is my new guilty pleasure. It's set in Texas and I know I wouldn't have enjoyed it as much without the frequent trips John and I take to Dallas.
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Oh, I need to track down GCB, the book. I have always enjoyed Flannery O'Connor's take on the south and she is fairly merciless to the Protestants, being a good Catholic girl herself.
ReplyDeleteOh, this is a new one on me. GCB sounds like a hoot! I think Oklahoma is part Southern and part Western (and not in the SW way of AR, NM). Though the territory wasn't directly involved in the Civil War that I know, some Native Americans did own slaves and so I figure they would have been on the side of the Confederacy had anyone asked. On the other hand, I learned that my ancestors in Alabama fought on the side of the Union: they weren't rich and they didn't own slaves and they had nothing to gain by supporting that cause. They later moved to Effingham, IL. Much of the culture in Oklahoma is Southern, only without the antebellum homes and the slave walls.
ReplyDeleteBefore I got so sidetracked, however, I was going to say that the Holocaust Museum in Dallas is well worth a visit. My first visit to a Hardrock Cafe was also in Dallas. It's an old church and the three stained glass windows depict Chuck Berry and Jerry Lee Lewis either side of the 'King': Elvis.
I think I would enjoy that GCB, what a pity we don't get a lot of your intriguing sounding shows!
ReplyDeleteI lived in the US for a year, and it fascinated me how Americans believed their one country was like a whole world.
Oh I hope you can get through it this time. I've actually read it twice which I never do. I also own the movie and have watched it several times. Ummmm, fried green tomatoes!
ReplyDeleteWoah. I want me some of that. :) Actually, the reality TV on Dallas was one of the first things people here told me about--now, I just need a TV. Hmmmmm.
ReplyDeleteHi Terri - The show last night had a couple of rival pastors trying to outdo each other with their church pageants. Everything's bigger in Texas!
ReplyDeleteShelley, that is pretty interesting about your ancestors. I was very surprised when I learned that the Oklahoma tribes owned lots of slaves whose decendents were being denied their tribal benefits.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the Dallas info. Those stained glasses sound like a hoot.
Hi Carolyn - I do remember that you said you'd lived here, maybe Penn? (I might just have Penn on the brain, since my daughter was thinking of turning down Berkeley and taking the job at Pitt this week.) In the days of video taping, my friends would trade tapes with people in England to get the latest shows and all get together and watch them. Only one guy had a player for the British format and we had to wait for him to get around to transferring the shows to our format. Father Ted, Black Adder, French and Saunders, Sherlock Holmes, etc.
ReplyDeleteHi Jill - I will let you know when I get to Fried Green Toamtoes - either reading it or eating them!
ReplyDeleteHi Catherine - As much as I like TV, reality isn't my favorite. But I might have to look around for reality Dallas! My favorite TV is the kind I can schedule myself - DVD's, on demand, and DVR'ed shows. If you ever do get a TV, a DVR is essential.
ReplyDeleteBeryl, if you end up enjoying Fried Green Tomatoes, you must seek out other books by Fanny Flagg. She is a hoot; love her books! She has published quite a few.
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