Stayin' Alive....

At a past post from blogfriend, Charles, we were invited to help him name his latest book. He gave us a few to choose from and then considered our opinions in his final choice. "Midnight in Rosary" is the name that He settled on, and I like it.

So when we were asked to consider how important the name of a book can be, I had to admit that I have many times bought a book based just on the catchy or clever name and/or a beautiful cover pic. Sometimes the font of the print alone will catch my eye. I usually take off the paper jacket on the book--and defiantly remove it when I am embarrassed at a cheesy title that I am indulging in.

So, when browsing at a local book sale, one book jumped out at me and practically landed in my hands. The cover showed 3 raggedy looking children in an old black and white photo and the title of the story was, "The Hypocrisy of Disco". I could not resist. And it was a memoir set in San Francisco about a child growing up during the 'summer of love' by your usual, run of the mill hippie parents. It is author Clane Hayward's first foray into writing. Claude and H'Lane proved to be forerunners in the strange baby name trend and that poor child is still probably explaining that handle.

The story is told of 3 children with different fathers being raised by their mother and various men. They were dirt poor and ate only rice sometimes, while living in shacks without plumbing and electricity. Mostly filthy and lice ridden, somehow their Mom thought this a pure and honorable way to grow up. It never dawned on her that this form of living was akin to abuse, as the kids were scorned everywhere they went. Sending them to school, filthy and barefoot, with a bag of tofu sandwiches for lunch made the children natural targets. Clane develops a heightend sense of her surrounding from all of this though, and treats us to descriptions of smells, sights, and textures in ways that made me feel like I was standing next to her. After being shuffled around from commune to tent to ranch and finally with her true father, and then her grandmother proves to be more of an adventure than I could imagine.

The story is an easy read--sometimes dark, but always with the honesty and trust of a child. Clane persevered and ended up in the armed service and then on to college and teaching school. I love a story with grit that has an ending of triumph. It gives honor to personal endurance and shows that you do not necessarily have to have the perfect upbringing to succeed and be happy. Read this book if you want to be amazed and smile. And find out precisely what the hypocrisy of disco really is.

Yes, I am a year older today. I do not care about the public celebration of birthdays, preferring to be quiet and reflective on the day that marks my birth. Although, you know I love birthday suits and birthday cake. And that's all I'm gonna say about that! xoxo