Tonight's picture was taken in August of 2007. Mattie was standing in front of one of the tar pits outside of the George Page La Brea Tar Pits Museum in Los Angeles. This had to be Mattie's all time favorite museum. Mattie loved hearing how prehistoric animals got trapped in tar pits and how their bones are still excavated today by researched on site. As you can see Mattie did not care for the smell of tar and was making a face for the camera and starting to cover his nose! The smell of the tar behind him was indeed sickening and yet the stories and the history captured in this spot are memorable and noteworthy and kept Mattie coming back each year.
Quote of the day: Few things can help an individual more than to place responsibility on him, and to let him know that you trust him. ~ Booker T. Washington
This afternoon, I had the opportunity to see a wonderfully performed community play with my parents. They took me to see Jane Austin's Pride and Prejudice. I have to admit I have never read the novel, seen the movie, or the play before. So I was a blank slate. Yet I am familiar with the intelligent interpersonal dialogue, the complexities of human dynamics, and humor that Jane Austin so eloquently captured in all of her works. Pride and Prejudice is a novel first published in 1813. The story follows the main character, Elizabeth
Bennet, as she deals with issues of manners, upbringing, morality, education,
and marriage in the society of the landed gentry of the British Regency.
Elizabeth is the second of three daughters of a country gentleman living near
the fictional town of Meryton in Hertfordshire, near London.
Set in England in the early 19th century, Pride and
Prejudice tells the story of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet's three unmarried daughters
after the rich and eligible Mr. Bingley and his status-conscious friend, Mr.
Darcy, have moved into their neighborhood. Bingley takes an immediate
liking to Jane, the eldest Bennet daughter, while Darcy has difficulty adapting to
local society and repeatedly clashes with the second-eldest Bennet daughter,
Elizabeth.
While there is sweetness to this romantic tale, the story
does pose serious questions about the impact that pridefulness and prejudice
can have in the relationships we have with one another and how a judgmental
mind can cause us to willfully misunderstand the intentions of those around us.
A major theme in much of Austen's work is the importance of environment and upbringing on the development of young people's character and morality. Social standing and wealth are not necessarily advantages in her world, and a further theme common is the role and consequences of ineffectual parents. A wonderful quote about Anna Quindlen....... "Pride and Prejudice is also about that thing that all great novels consider, the search for self. And it is the first great novel that teaches us this search is as surely undertaken in the drawing room making small talk as in the pursuit of a great white whale or the public punishment of adultery."
This was a large 18 person cast, but each person was incredibly well suited for his or her part. They truly made Austen's work come alive in a very unforgettable manner. Since the story was written in 1813, it is almost funny by today's standards to see the differences in manners and morals. For example, in the play, Jane is kissed by a potential suitor and by 1813 standards that was scandalous. There was an expectation that she was then going to marry this person. Because women just did not go around kissing men! Despite the fact that this novel was written in a completely different century, yet the dialogue and issues presented in pride and prejudice are still alive and well today and are very timely. Issues that can cause havoc, disagreements, and misunderstandings between people. Which is why Pride and Prejudice retains a fascination for modern readers, continuing near the top of lists of "most loved books." It has become one of the most popular novels in English literature, selling over 20 million copies, and receives considerable attention from literary scholars. Modern interest in the book has resulted in a number of dramatic adaptations and an abundance of novels and stories imitating Austen's memorable characters or themes.
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