Book Club Field Trip

Saturday, Gene and Lou Christian took Arnora, Barb, Diana, Carla A., Denise, Lis and me to the secure juvenile facility (COJC) in Tecumseh, Oklahoma. Gene is the Director and had asked Lou to arrange for our book club to conduct a joint discussion with a group of the girls there. The book, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, was the suggested book for our discussion. We had read and discussed this book and thought the subjects written about would be ones the girls could relate to. Gene had informed us that the girls would be talkative and engaging but none of us really knew what to expect.

The facility itself is quite impressive. It's clean and well maintained with lots of opportunities for education and physical activity. Superintendent James Johnson was a complete delight. A man whose passion for his work and devotion to his charges was obvious from the first moment. He has a deep sense of pride in the processes and I developed an immense respect for him in just the couple of hours we had to share. James explained that the system they used is based on rewards rather than punishment as much as possible. He and the other staff work to form a community of support that these young women have never had in their lives. Even though they are incarcerated for a variety of offenses the staff do their best to make it a positive experience.

On arrival, we were ushered in to a very nice conference room where the staff provided a snack bar of punch, cold bottled water, cookies and candy bars. We were encouraged to sit apart leaving room for the girls to sit between us. They were very gracious and polite and walked around the room and shook our hands and introduced themselves. Diana started off the discussion by explaining how we conduct book club and pick our books. She had the questions from our original discussion and we proceeded as usual. The girls, indeed, were very engaging. Though none of them had finished the book they were able to relate to the topics the story brought up. They interjected with questions and sometimes a bit of their personal history that resonated with the story. Gene and James did a great job of asking questions of the girls that further involved them in the discussion. Even though the girls had not read or finished the book, I think most decided it would be worth the effort and based on our discussion would rate the book a 3.

The girls really seemed to enjoy themselves and asked if we could come back. Gene said he is delighted to get with Volunteer Coordinator Jamie to arrange another group and will let us know. Next time, the girls will pick the book for discussion. After the discussion, James gave us a tour and some history of the grounds and then surprised us with a "thank you" gift on our departure.

One of the girls gave Diana a note about her favorite books. I was unable to link to the PDF file but her favorites are "Dream Land" about a hard life & how a woman gets out of abusive relationships; "Last Summer" about how a woman went on a summer trip and the new things she saw; and the last one had "moon" in the title about a girl's life. She says, "These are really good and I've only read 3 but I love them all and I'm not even a reader." Another young lady pointed out that her favorite author was Dean Koontz.

I was humbled by this experience because on some level many of us have suffered some of the same conditions these girls have survived. Often, it is simply a matter of degrees. I could honestly say that "except for the Grace of God..." Had I chosen a different way to deal with the circumstances in my life I only hope that I would have had people like Gene, James and their staff who are so compassionate and caring and do the best they can with what they have to give these kids hope for a better future.

This was a completely positive experience from my perspective and I think I can speak for the other ladies as well. We look forward to another opportunity to interact with the girls and I would highly encourage anyone who was not able to attend to do so at some point.

A very special thanks to Gene and Lou for suggesting this outing and for all their efforts to coordinate it.

June Book Club - The Help

Thanks to Barb for hosting the June Book Club. What a great evening. Several of us had taken a road trip to Chicago and two of us had taken a European Tour so there was a lot to catch up on while we dined on Barb's Mojito's and Rotisserie chicken, Pam's spicy beans and rice and her lemon & thyme cornbread, Darby's black-eyed peas, Lis' strawberry salad, and Carla A's fruit tray. Denise brought us wine and chocolate from Napa Valley, Lou made peach pie and Diana brought chocolate pie and that well went exceptionally well with coffee after dinner.

This month's book was "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett. Loosely based on the author's life growing up in Jackson, Mississippi at the height of the Civil Rights movement. The story is told through the eyes of Skeeter Phelan, recent college graduate and at least a 2nd generation Jackson Jr. League member and two of the black maids working for other wealthy white families. In Skeeter's attempts to become a journalist she comes up with the idea to interview the maids of her friends to find out what it is like for a black woman to be working for these white women. In the beginning Skeeter is aware that there is some danger in these women speaking out about their lives so she decides to write the stories anonymously and change the name of the town and all the people. However, she is somewhat naive about the gravity of the consequences. The woman could face much more than the loss of their jobs. The story is told in the first person but the chapters switch back and forth between Skeeter and two of the maids, Aibilene and Minnie.

The story starts out gently and builds gradually. You see these women in their work environment and what it is like for them to work for wealthy families and raise their children and what it is like for them to go home to their own families. Though Skeeter is a product of her environment and social conditioning she sees things differently and hopes that her stories will affect some change. And it does but not in exactly the way she had envisioned. The writing to me was deceptive as the story seems simple on the surface but subtle undercurrents of power and control, the obvious inequalities of the races, and overt violence against people of color at the time add tension and suspense. It is really a deeper look at what it was to be a black woman living in the south during the 1960's a full 100 years after the Civil War. To me the book is a testament to the sheer strength of will that these women had to muster up every day. Not only did many of them endure the condescension and contempt of their employers who were paying them a pittance to run their households and raise their children, but they also endured the continued oppression of their race, and often domestic abuse in their own homes. It's true that some fared better than others, some enjoyed the respect of their owners and the love of the children they raised. But every day was a test of their courage, their faith and their persistence as they managed to survive the times. For me, it's also a story about the choices we make to be involved in loving and supportive relationships versus harmful and destructive ones. The book rated eight 5's, one 4.75 and two "I loved it's!"

Happy Birthday to Janie! And also a big thanks to both Janie and Terry who brought us a version of the "traveling pants". Rather than wear the pants, however, the idea is to fill them up with badges, pins and other memorabilia from our trips together. Awesome idea ladies!