Fall is here and it has been a long time since we have had a book club meeting road trip - but here we are today, traveling to St. Mary's, GA (1 mile from the Duval County line) to be hosted by Dianne at the Green Room Restaurant, on the Golf Course of Osprey Cove Country Club to discuss, "Don't Cry for Me" by Dr. Daniel Black.
As we gathered into the private space on the 2nd floor of the restaurant, we were overwhelmed (once again) at the generosity of our book club and guests. Dianne asked members to bring donations of pants for boys and girls, in various sizes for Glyndale Elementary students. Glyndale Elementary is a Title I School, located in Brunswick, GA, where Dianne is a teacher. Also in attendance were School Vice Principal, Megan and employee, Sally who also read the book selection. We will discuss more about our "Pants for a Purpose" imitative later.
We began with a prayer, led by Karen after which, Dianne welcomed everyone and elaborated about our parting gifts and the significance of our green gift bags and handkerchiefs that decorated the tables. This is the 3rd Daniel Black book that U.S. G.I.R.L.S. have read and some of the similar character traits were not lost on us. Dianne asked us about the difficult topics in the book and wondered if some of them could have been deleted or added. We noted several "scenes" that could have been removed as they added no value or merit to the storyline, (i.e. the visit by the young man, who obviously had AIDS). Jacob's relationship with is brother Esau had a different interpretation for several readers. Some of us felt it went further than a brotherly admiration and possibly into a lover's adoration. Other's felt, as the oldest, Esau may have transcended into more of a fatherly role, since their father appeared to lack the ability to show love. Jacob's own lack of affection towards his son was "implied" to be a result of his own difficult childhood relationship with his father.
Dianne asked about our favorite quotes and Celeste had one prepared to read. I mentioned a scene, but not necessarily a quote, when Jacob and Isaac traveled to the cemetery and Isaac felt a Prescence. I discussed how I enjoy my visits to the cemeteries in Florida and Georgia where my ancestors are laid to rest, how they make me feel, and how my visits felt similar to Issac's. Sharron also reminisced about her cemetery experiences to her hometown in Alabama.
Rachel's approach to parenting was called into question with regards to Jacob and Issac's relationship. This was slightly difficult for everyone to answer because it was almost as if Rachel was a single parent. Jacob felt he could not bond with Isaac because he did not like to participate in activities that little boys tend to enjoy, such as sports. The scene where Isaac was in the school play, (although very sensitive) made several members "chuckle" because the visualization was "snicker" worthy. We also wondered, why Rachel was so surprised to learn that Isaac was "Gay"? Karen noted that many parents are in denial because they do not want to face the reality of the struggles their child will have adapting to society's perception of what is normal or not normal.
Everyone agreed that Daniel Black can "Sho' Nu" write; however, we felt this book offering may have been "partially" a personal confession about his life and what he endured growing up gay and/or misunderstood. We all wanted to have read more about the successes of Isaac's life once he moved to California, but maybe this was left to our imagination intentionally.
Near the end of the discussion, we had several "Teachable Moments" where hard reality paid us a visit, and some of the topics of the day were laid on the table. It was a brief, but powerful moment of enlightenment and awareness. Although the title, "Don't Cry For Me" is metaphoric, I believe we all cried, if not physically, internally at some point of our reading this novel...We cried for our Ancestors as we relived the harsh realities of racism, we cried for little boys who do not get to experience the genuine love of a father, we cried for women who longed to go back in time to receive the education they yearned for, we cried for anyone who lies on their deathbed with a feeling of lack of redemption or forgiveness, and finally, we cried for men or women (because of society) who are not free to love who they love.
Before adjourning, Megan and Sally told us about the needs of Glyndale Elementary School and how appreciative they were for our donations. They expounded upon the fact that students of Glyndale had access to a "closet" where they stock extra clothing for those students who become ill or have unfortunate accidents at school and soil their clothes. It was heartwarming to hear how our donation of over 50 pairs of pants would benefit the students.
Thank you, Dianne, for bringing us to the Georgia State Line on a lovely day to discuss Dr. Daniel Black's most recent novel, "Don't Cry for Me" - it was truly an unforgettable experience.