Rainy Days and Reading

This morning was cold and rainy—a good day to stay inside. The cats, who can’t understand why I can’t stop the rain, have begged to go out one door and then appeared at another door and begged to get back in, etc.

This morning might have been the kind of morning that inspired Robert Frost’s poem, “My November Guest”:

My Sorrow, when she's here with me,
Thinks these dark days of autumn rain
Are beautiful as days can be;
She loves the bare, the withered tree;
She walks the sodden pasture lane.

Indeed, the trees are mostly bare now, and the pasture lane is definitely sodden, but I don’t think my “Sorrow” is with me. Actually, I’m pretty upbeart this morning.

I blogged about “My November Guest” two years ago. You can read the post here: http://peevishpen.blogspot.com/2006/11/rainy-november-days.html

Rainy and chilly autumn days are perfect days to stay in and read. I just finished reading a wonderful book, Earl Hamner’s Generous Women—An Appreciation, which I bought when I heard Hamner read from it at Hollins University last month. The book is a delight.


In his dedication, he writes: “With this book, I wish to salute, thank, and celebrate the lives of some ladies who have shaped me into the man I have become.”

In 27 chapters, he does so admirably. Each chapter not only celebrates a lady but also reveals much about Hamner himself. In fact, Generous Women is a wonderful memoir.

I’ve read a chapter or two a night for a couple of weeks. When I read the chapters that I’d heard Hamner read, I could still hear his voice in my mind. If you need a good rainy day book—or a book to read anytime—I highly recommend Generous Women.

While we—at least I— think of Hamner as the creator of The Waltons, his writing career covered much more territory. Long before The Waltons, he wrote some scripts for one of my all-time favorite TV shows, The Twilight Zone.

One of these days, I want to visit his hometown of Schuyler, about 80 miles up Route 29 from where I live. While Hamner is no longer associated with the “Walton’s Mountain Museum,” I figure the museum might be worth a look.

Meanwhile, I’ll stay inside this morning and do housework (which I’ve relegated to days too cold or wet to wander the woods). I need to organize the study and clean the kitchen.

Speaking of the kitchen, if you can provide the correct answer (or maybe the most creative answer, if no one gets the correct answer) to the following question, I’ll send you a free copy of my novel, Patches on the Same Quilt.

Why is the anvil on my kitchen counter?

Contest ends at noon on November 21, 2008. Use the comments section for your answer.

Meanwhile, I’ll enjoy the rain while it lasts. We need it so badly.

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