Classy ladies

Michelle Obama's speech last night was a class act--there's simply no other way to describe it. I heard a commentator on TV this morning say one thing that was striking was the contrast with Michelle four years ago when entering the presidential race, let alone the White House, was a new and scary experience for her, when she worried abut the effect on her daughters and, probably, on her relationship with her husband. She was a professional woman, experienced, but not used to being thrust into the national spotlight, and there she was. Last night she demonstrated that she was used to that spotlight,  used to the White House, and comfortable with all of it. Her passion and sincerity were evident not only in her words but in the way in which she carried herself. I thought she had an inner glow that made her truly charming and beautiful.
It reminded me of Laura Bush, whose ascent to the pubic spotlight I watched more than eight years ago. As the governor's wife, she kept a low profile at first; when she made an appearance once at a dinner I attended she seemed just a bit shy. I met her once, for a handshake, in the foyer of the Governor's Mansion and thought her crisply efficient. Her husband, on the other hand, seemed like a bashful teddy bear who had just pulled that wrinkled shirt out of the dryer.
But because I attended the Texas Book Fair, I got to watch her a bit more than usual. By the time she left the Governor's Mansion, she had gained a great deal of self-confidence and poise, and as the First Lady she continued to grow.  I greatly admired the way she handled herself on television  and in public appearances, although her style is far different, more formal and reserved, than Michelle Obama's.
They say what doesn't kill you helps you grow--and maybe that's true of the public spotlight. Presidential wives have not always fared well--Mrs. Lincoln comes to mind. But then, there's Eleanor Roosevelt, perhaps so independent that she alienated her husband but a woman of great compassion, intellect and good deeds. Want to know more? Read Presidential Wives by Paul Boller, an informative, informal and entertaining book.
This isn't a political statement but one on women. I'm ready and willing to admire women who achieve and grow, no matter their political affiliation, but I don't see in Ann Romney the comfort in the spotlight, even the comfort in her own skin, that Michelle Obama has achieved. Mrs. Romney looks pinched, even angry. The most telling Facebook post I saw was that Ann Romney talked to us; Michelle Obama talked for us.
Then again, there was some discussion on TV this morning (the TODAY show) about the relevance of a politician's wife. Does her character (or charisma or lack thereof) have anything to do with governing the nation? Yes, I think it does. As one person said on the show, who you choose to live with says something about you.
Hats off to Michelle and Laura--ladies with class, ladies who took experience and grew with it.

Self-pity and other things

Still feeling fairly rotten today, though no temperature and I'm better able to control coughing and nose-blowing. But around 5 p.m. I wasn't happy if I was up, and I wasn't happy if I was in bed. Little things that needed doing seemed beyond my energy level. I did pull myself together enough to scramble an egg and eat it with some good dry toast my neighbor brought (pan tostada), began to read a book, and may even work on my novel a bit--I dreamed a scene last night that I really felt good about. And I hope to go to work, however briefly, in the morning.
Talked to Melinda this morning, and she's been out sick all week, so we must have given it to each other--actually I'm making her Typhoid Mary because she stayed with a friend who was sick--on the way home. And Megan reports today that both Austin boys, now over their throw-ups, have fever and colds. As people say, "It's going around." I always hated that phrase. I once dated man who would say, "I'm trying to take a cold," and I always wanted to retort, "Don't try so hard!"
I capped the whole bad day by tripping over a root when I was out cleaning up after Scooby. Fortunately I was near the fence between the two houses, so I threw down the pooper-scooper and grabbed for the fence. Went down landing on my knees and scraped one shin pretty badly. When I righted myself I looked up and Susan and Jay's bird feeder, still filled with Christmas ornaments, was swinging gaily overhead--glad it didn't swing loose and bounce on my head. Scooby looked like he was saying, Is she going to fall on me again? No harm done, except to my pride, and Scooby was the only one who saw me.
I really really like Michelle Obama. I saw her on TV last night put an arm around Her Majesty the Queen, and I though "Uh, oh, you're not supposed to do that." But it was such a spontaneous, warm gesture that Her Majesty assured everyone no offense was taken and it was a mutually affectionate relationship. They both rate tops with me.
I'm reading a book called Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World, by Vicki Myron. It's about a cat that lived in the public library in Spencer, Iowa, for 19 years. But it's also a nostalgic look at Northwest Iowa when it was still the land of small towns and small farms. And its the story of one woman who built a life for herself and her daughter, against some pretty strong odds. Every once in a while, I break away from my addiction to mysteries.

Nadya Suleman, Michelle Obama and Abraham Lincoln

I'm sorry, but I've heard more than enough interviews with Nadya Suleman, the single mother of octuplets plus six other children. NBC and Ann Curry (one of my TV favorites) scored a coup by getting an extensive interview with her and a first look at those tiny babies. but they've stretched it thin. I will not judge Ms. Suleman, though I'm quite sure I'd have made different decisions than she did, and I worry about the future of all 14 children, no matter how much she loves them. I also worry about the cost to taxpayers, especially since she lives in California which is near bankruptcy. But the interviews have almost been an attempt to justify, to explain her, and while I want to sympathize--I understand the love of babies as much as anyone--I'm tired of it.
On the other hand, I'm not at all tired of Michelle Obama. We actually haven't seen much of her on TV since she's become First Lady, but a few clips tonight showed her setting her own path, in an unselfconscious manner, slowly creating a public personna for herself--but oh so slowly. From all reports she's not only well educated and smart, she's charming and most charismatic (a trait she shares with her husband). I'm most impressed, but, hey, she comes from the South Side of Chicago. That of course can't explain it all, but in a broad generalizaton I'd say young black women who grew up there either did nothing with their lives or with great determination rose above the crowd. I'm a fan.
I meant to be rereading my second mystery tonight, but I got distracted by a PBS program called, "Looking for Lincoln." In a sense, it was about deconstructing (a literary term that I hate becuase it always puzzles me a bit) the myth about Lincoln--the Great Emancipator apparently believed strongly that slavery was wrong but he didn't necessarily believe in the equality of the races nor that blacks should vote, serve on juries, etc. It was fascinating to hear Lincoln scholars, mostly men who have devoted their professional lives to the study of Lincoln, talk abut him as a human being, his strengths, his weaknesses, his fight with depression. Doris Kearns Goodwin was prominent on the program and toward the end she talked about the subject of her new book--Lincoln and his team of rivals. It made me think of President Obama, who has appointed a bipartisan cabinet. There's a cartoon that shows the statue of Lincoln with his arms raised in the air, shouting "Yes!" and an attendant telling a tourist, "He's been that way since the election." Tonight's program made me think he might not have reacted that way to the election results, but as one historian pointed out, he was a product of his time. His beliefs about racial equality were shaped by his rural midwestern upbringing and mid-nineteenth-century culture. A truism of history that people too often overlook--you have to judge people according to their time and place in history. Fortunately for the country, he was the right man in the right place--and he hated slavery. So he did indeed change the course of our national history.
Back to rereading "No Neighborhood for Old Women."