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Monday, March 23, 2015

A TO Z THEME REVEAL: WHAT REMAINS



“Stories you read when you're the right age never quite leave you.

You may forget who wrote them or what the story was called.

Sometimes you'll forget precisely what happened,

but if a story touches you,

it will stay with you, haunting the places in your mind that you rarely ever visit.”

- Neil Gaiman


Rather vague you say.  All right.  I will narrow it down somewhat.



TV SHOWS THAT STAYED WITH ME FOR GOOD OR ILL

AN EXAMPLE:

SPENSER FOR HIRE
 

If you loved the Parker detective series upon which it was based, the show was ... disappointing. 

But if, like me, you had never read those novels enough of them lived in the shows to draw you to the books.

And that is why SPENSER FOR HIRE is important to me. 

That and I fell in love with the actress who played Susan Silverman. 

Sue me, it's a guy thing.
 
A quote from THE PROMISED LAND the book upon which the above episode was derived.


 "I try to be honorable. I know that's embarrassing to hear. It's embarrassing to say.

But I believe most of the nonsense that Thoreau was preaching. 
 
And I have spent a long time working on getting myself to where I could do it.

Where I could live life largely on my own terms."

-- The Promised Land

I LEARNED A GREAT DEAL
OF HOW TO WRITE WELL
FROM ROBERT B. PARKER


There are hints of an author's life in his novels.  As Spenser loved Susan so Parker loved his wife, Joan.

 Until his death, in 2010, they lived in separate, private areas, dated each week, and pursued individual endeavors.

 In 1996, when they were 63, Mr. Parker explained their separate-floors living arrangement by telling the Globe:

“I never want to sleep with my wife again, but I hope to continue making love to her forever.”

As Mr. Parker's books continued, the portrayal of women grew darker and pessimistic. 

In two Spenser novels, POTSHOT and HUGGER MUGGER, 

the femme fatale got away with murder, their male pawns taking the fall.

There was a quartet of novels I call the "Wounded Spenser Saga"

where Susan leaves Spenser to find herself and nearly destroys her life as well as Spenser's.

Parker's Jesse Stone novels and his Western novels both feature a protagonist chained by their love for an inappropriate woman.

Still, Mr. Parker and his wife, Joan,  fed each other lines without meaning to and were great, great fun in public outings. 

Joan, a great philanthropist and author of a book on her first struggle with cancer, died in 2013 and was greatly mourned by all who knew her.

I will let Joan reading her poem to Bob and his to her fill in the blanks of their love:
 

23 comments:

  1. Hi Roland .. good that you're joining us .. you'll open up plenty of ideas for us .. books, movies etc .. cheers Hilary

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  2. Hi, Hilary!
    I hope to be able to stay with it! Thanks for visiting and staying to make me feel heard and appreciated!!

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  3. I am in love with your theme. It's brilliant and I am hooked. I will be by often. I have quite a few television shows and movies that have stayed with me forever. There is even one I cannot remember the name of. I only remember the plot and I've googled and searched and can't find it. It drives me nuts.
    See you in April

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  4. An interesting theme. Televison really doesn't do it for me, but I am intrigued to learn which programs do it for you.

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  5. Television shows! I like it. It will be a trip down memory lane, as I spent most of my youth in front of the television set. Plus reading and playing video games, of course!

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  6. Digging the the THEME, right up my alley...

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  7. Fun Theme. I spent about 10 years not watching TV, so I wonder how much I will know. I revealed mine today, but it's travel and photo orientated :)

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  8. Melissa:
    I'm so very happy that you like my theme. The best lessons afforded us these days come from what we choose to read and watch -- Logo Therapy it is called. What we program into our minds shape them. And what we are drawn to reflects who we truly are.

    Elephant's Child:
    As a child I was drawn to certain TV shows - BRANDED where an Old West Army officer accepted a false courtmarshal as part of an undercover assignment -- but with the death of the only officer who about it, he was branded for cowardice for the rest of his life.

    Alex:
    Certain TV shows shape and sharpen us, the rest, as Elephant's Child remarks, blunt us. I was never one for video games -- my parents frowned on them for their expense. Ouch!!

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  9. Jeremy:
    Your theme of Disney sparked it so I have you to thank for it. :-)

    Rhonda:
    I love the idea of travel (though I doubt I ever will) so I will use your posts to travel vicariously! :-)

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  10. I'm a big TV person. I watch TV shows more than film, so your theme is going to be a lot of fun. :)

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  11. Chrys:
    I hope so -- many of them spring from my watching of re-runs on cable channels. Best of luck with your own posts!! :-)

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  12. Fun theme indeed! There are all kinds of shows I miss; I'll have to ponder the question to answer it.

    What a fascinating couple the Parkers were--and I like that they figured out living arrangements that worked for them. Why conform to rules that don't fit you?

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  13. I used to be a big TV watcher growing up and have fond memories... for example ... Spencer for Hire ... I discovered it as you did... How much fun is this theme!? Love it!

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  14. Helena:
    I'm glad you think it a fun theme, too. :-) The Parkers were a unique couple. Both their sons were gay, one an actor, the other a dancer. The charities that Joan fought for were gay, theater, and dance oriented to help smooth the path for others like her sons. Always a story behind the story in life.

    Ivy:
    A fellow SPENCER FOR HIRE fan, Great to know you are one!!

    The world of our imaginations is varied but connected to one another in our dreams. :-)

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  15. Oh, I like the "stuck with you" theme.

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  16. Lovely dollop of nostalgia and fun in your theme idea. Your posts are always illuminating. Absolutely loved that quote about not sleeping with the wife but making love to her forever. How sublimely romantic is that?!

    Best wishes for April,
    Nilanjana.
    Madly-in-Verse

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  17. Oh, I like the "stuck with you" theme.

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  18. Hart:
    Yes, it is strange what sticks with us in our unconscious mind with our entertainments, isn't it? I hope to do a good job of entertaining my friends!

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  19. TV shows paint indelible images in my head. Looking forward to see what you paint.

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  20. Susan:
    Thanks. I hope to entertain or at least illuminate how quaint I am!! :-)

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  21. I can already tell this is going to be a great theme with some fascinating stories. Good luck!

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  22. Cute theme! I know in my younger days there were shows that really impacted me like "Thirty Something" (because I was close to that age with similar circumstances) and then other TV shows like LOST that I wondered why I wasted the time I did trying to analyze it. So I can see why this could be a good theme to do for A/Z! Have fun with it!

    betty

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  23. This theme ought to have everyone running to tune in all the TV Channels that offer all the oldies! Life & Faith in Caneyhead
    I am Ensign B ~ One of Tremp's Troops with the
    A to Z Challenge

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