Book Club in February 20, 2013

Book: The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver

The Royal Book Club (from Royal, Alabama) meets once a month at one of the members’ home from 7 to 9 pm; February was my turn and it was interesting that the same day the pond was being dug I was to host our meeting, along with our yoga class! Needless to say it was busy between getting food prepared and being outside helping Alden when he asked me to - while Gregg was digging the pond, Alden was keeping up with him by removing roots, raking organic material, etc and I was occasionally asked to go outside and help in the process. My schedule for the day was yoga at 5, followed by potluck and the book discussion to wrap everything up. Yet I truly enjoyed the process of getting ready, hosting, taking part in the conversation and why not, cleaning up after the gathering. I guess I was present and grateful through the whole process.

While a potluck is not typical for a book club meeting, I invited the yoga team to prepare a dish to share with the group; once a month we seem to eat in a rush between yoga and book club, we have less than 30 minutes to eat, change clothes and drive to the hosting home; not enough time to chat or eat in calm, might as well share the privilege of dining together with all, and enjoy the meal instead of having to rush just after we spent an hour and half getting relaxed! I also feel for Martha and Jan driving from Birmingham to get here on time; I imagine them having to stop somewhere to eat a quick bite, fill up on snacks or end up eating late at home. I've been there when I was working as an executive, life seemed busy and many times to get from there to somewhere else there was not much time to have a decent meal. And the of course I very much enjoy dining with friends, lively conversations thrive around a bountiful table.

That afternoon I kept the wood stove going and started to prepare the evening meal around 1 pm. As I chopped onions, and carrots, added spices and water to make the carrot soup I was delighted noticing the intense orange color of the carrots, the smell of onions and spices; filled with gratitude for this opportunity to cook for friends I was holding Keitha in my thoughts trying not to spice too much the soup or guacamole; in doing so I tried to recall Keitha’s voice in my inner ear, I guess I won’t hear it again in the real world; I had taken it for granted that a person will speak to the end of her life. I have seen people lose the ability to walk, move, hear, etc but Keitha is the first person I know well that can’t speak anymore while she is still so lively, her eyes sparkling when she smiles; she is a walking encyclopedia, she knows much about the outer world and also about the inner one – she meditates and practices Baha’i; she has a computer called Alex that allows her to write her messages and it can even speak. I admire Keitha!

It was easy to put the salad together with fresh lettuce and parsley, black olives, chopped onions and lacto-fermented cucumbers soaking in lime juice and oregano. Guacamole, tea and lemonade are just plain easy to prepare.

By 4 pm everything was pretty much ready, I also washed some Jerusalem artichokes and sweet potatoes and left them ready to be cooked in the wood stove.

Nancy arrived with her delicious corn bread, Lisa with an original stir fry with grilled beets, green leaves and onion, yummy! I made carrot soup, guacamole, salad, hot pepper jam, and babaganush plus tea and lemonade; Pat brought pickled okra and chips (she is in the midst of remodeling her kitchen, at present it has no walls, cabinets or floor). I forgot to email Emily asking for a potluck dish.

We had a nice quiet session, I went deeply into each pose, and fully relaxed at the end of our session. Inspired to reclaim consciousness from thinking it is interesting to become so aware of the inner aliveness in my body, the rhythm of my breath and the space around us while being aware of everyone’s presence.

Right before yoga Lisa announced she had placed a big log in the wood stove, it was quite chilly outside … uoops the stove got too hot to place the sweet potatoes inside… and the water of the Jerusalem artichokes, steaming on top of the stove, evaporated so they turned black. Oh well these two entries were not available for dinner, yet there was plenty to eat!

Susan, Linda, and Keitha arrived a bit after 6:30; Keitha brought a truffle dark chocolate bar, perfect for desert; Jan came in around 7:15; Pat left after yoga; still recuperating from a cold and busy with the kitchen remodeling. Sara, Martha and Sharon could not be here. Debra is on vacation in Baja California. I must mention that it was the first time Linda E came to book club, she was to take part in the group when it was founded in 2007 (?) but at the time she was still working full time at the Botanical Gardens in Birmingham; she is funny and has a great sense of humor!

 

We all enjoyed dinner, it was nice to eat and not to rush; such a pleasant atmosphere as everyone caught up, recalled songs, traded humor and talked about the book with lots of laughter during the lively conversation.

 

 Book: The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver, American novelist, essayist and poet; she was raised in rural Kentucky and lived briefly in the former Republic of Congo in her early childhood. Born April 8, 1955 (age 57), Annapolis, married to Joseph Hoffman, education: University of Arizona, DePsuw University.

Awards: New York Times 10 Best Books of the Year, Book Sense Book of the Year Award for Adult Nonfiction, Book Sense Book of the Year Award for Adult Fiction.

The Bean Trees, first published in 1988, is the first book written by Barbara Kingsolver.  The protagonist of the novel, Taylor Greer, a native of Kentucky, finds herself in Oklahoma near Cherokee territory. The novel begins with a woman leaving an American Indian infant with Taylor. The remainder of the novel traces the experiences of Taylor and the child, whom Taylor has named Turtle. Covering Turtle's early childhood, the story includes a colorful cast of characters: Lou Ann, her roommate; Esperanza and Estevan, a Guatemalan couple; and Mattie, the owner of "Jesus Is Lord Used Tires". The novel also makes reference to the issue of Native American parental rights.

Interesting reflections we had regarding the book:

• ·       How we learn to love adopted babies, and new people that come into our lives.
• ·      The contrast between the mothers of Taylor and Lou Anne; Taylor’s mom was encouraging, trusting, giving her lots of attention and smiles;  Lou Anne’s mom was critical, which made her daughter feel awkward, too cautious, scared of many situations, and not being good enough.
• ·       The main character is not involved in a romantic relationship, a different take since Taylor doesn't try to pursue a romantic relationship with Estevan a married man that she is attracted to. 
• ·       How each one of us would respond if a baby was literally dropped in the co-pilot’s seat of our car.

We then talked about next month and since there was no book we agreed to meet at Lisa’s to watch the film Life of Pi. Thirty minutes later, after Lisa had just left, we realized Jan had brought the box of books for next month, hohoho are we light headed or what! As Linda's mother used to say: CRAFT - can't remember a fucking thing! Change of plans, we will meet again at my house March 20 to talk about the book Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand and in April we will reconvene at Lisa’s.

 

Then we got to listen to Emily’s poems, That Diesel Tractor Smell, Hesitant II and Wild… she is sooo good it was a joy to listen to her poems, a peek into a young woman's delightful life!

 

While we were all chatting Alden arrived from teaching at prison, he too had a nice dinner and after everyone left we talked and finished cleaning up before going to bed.

 

What a nice day, grateful for such wonderful friends, for Gregg finally coming to dig the pond, and for Alden -  a marvelous conscious man.