January: The Story of Edgar Sawtelle

Here's the best shot we got with the timer last month. I'll post more of the outtakes below--most were blurry because I hate using my flash even in low light.

I joked that my mom recommended The Story of Edgar Sawtelle as "uplifting"--it was many things, but not that. My impression is that Catherine enjoyed it the most (our native Wisconsin girl!). Mindy gave us all more insights into the Hamlet parallels (still can't believe I hadn't connected the names Trudie and Gertrude). Most of us were devastated by the end. I really appreciated Marva's insight that even dark stories can be uplifting when you feel they've revealed some truth.They don't necessarily have to provide answers, just push us to see the questions in new, more revealing ways.

Once I made the Hamlet connect, I knew things weren't going to end well, but even with all those dead bodies on stage, I've always found Hamlet to be a hopeful play, a story of facing your demons and finding the will to live in an imperfect world. At the end of Edgar though, we're left wondering how Trudie will go on, and for what purpose did Edgar save all those records if the dogs are heading to the woods...with less hope and a sense of the futility of attempts at connection and communication.

And yet we all had a fun time attempting both at our gathering. In honor of the rural Wisconsin setting, we had lots of cheese and wine. Catherine brought yummy cookies and Natalie brought some Pinot that we didn't get to open---I'll be bringing it along to Tara's next week!

In the top photo you can see the little red book of inspiration, photos, quotes and notes of goodbye we made for Jenny. During the evening, everyone took turns adding their contributions to the book, which was stashed in our guest bathroom. The funniest line of the evening came after we presented it to Jenny and she said, "I wondered why every one needed to use the bathroom and was staying in there so long!"

Thanks again to all who came and see ya next week!