To hell and back

On Sunday morning, I sweated over a passage in my fledgling manuscript, trying to capture the cadence of my father’s hellfire-and-damnation, call-and-response sermons. Glory be, and can I get a witness: that was very hard work!

 

What better reward, then, than a matinee performance of WICKED? Okay, so I bought tickets months ago. We’ll call the timing serendipitous.

 

Those wildfires in Orange County? Fortunately, they didn’t come close to my house. But it hit 96 degrees here yesterday; by late afternoon, it was hot as Hades! I’m not complaining, though: the warm sun’s working its seductive magic on all the budding plants in my yard. Here, unfolding blooms from my champaca tree and banana shrub, tropical relatives of the magnolia. They aren’t especially beautiful, but wow, they smell heavenly! (Champaca flowers have a sweet fragrance, like Hawaiian plumeria; banana shrub blossoms smell like — you guessed it — bananas. Or maybe Juicy Fruit gum.)

I’m headed to Portland this week, to do more research for my memoir project. I’ll also be taking some side trips — the Oregon Coast, a few Willamette Valley wineries, and Hall Street Grill in Beaverton, where I’ll meet three lovely LJ friends for lunch. Boy, do I feel blessed!

34 Comments

  1. Good luck with your memoir writing and researching, Melodye! And when you get back, we have to have that lunch! I’ll be out of town the first week of April, but any other week in March or April works for me–especially Fridays since my husband is home to watch Sophie while Bailey is in school! 🙂

    Cathy

  3. This memoir will be fabulous! Pamela and I were chatting it up about you Friday night :). I hope to meet you in person sometime soon.

    • I thought I smelled smoke, and figured it was the wildfires. Maybe it was my ears that were burning. 😉

      I hope we get to meet each other soon, too! I’d like that very much.

  6. Research suggestion…

    If you’re looking for ‘similiar content’ as an ‘inspiration’ toward capturing that elusive hell fire and brimstone cadence, you might find a cut on Russ Taff’s CD entitled, “Right Here, Right Now,’ to be of interest. One specific track “Long Hard Road” is a song he wrote about the unfinished business between himself and his father, who died before they were able to resolve their differences over just such issues.

    While (obviously) your story will not ‘be the same’ as Russ Taff’s, there’s a sound clip from one of his father’s sermon’s at the beginning of the track that is sure to ignite memories…

    • Re: Research suggestion…

      Sounds like a great suggestion. Is it a long-ish segment? I’m not sure if I’d want to buy the album for a small snippet. (Hope that doesn’t sound horribly self-serving!)

      Email me if you’d rather: newport2newport AT gmail DOT com

  9. First of all…I LOVE Wicked. How did you like it? (I’ve seen it twice – hehe)…Secondly, the weather must be goregous down there, despite the fires. I was at the gym today and saw on the news the “Orange County Blazes” and instantly thought of you! I’m glad to hear you’re okay, though =) Anyway, I’m loving the weather up here, too. I went out on my patio yesterday and fell asleep tanning. Such a treat. Ah, I wanna come down to the OC and “do lunch” with you too!

  10. Manuscript & Photos

    Nice looking flowers. What camera are you using? I fancy myself a photographer as well and recently got a digital camera.

    Re: The Manuscript – You may want to look for a couple of movies; Marjoe, which, as I recall, was autobiographical in nature and dealt with the whole revival world. The other is Elmer Gantry with Burt Lancaster.

    Finally – Make sure to taste the Pinot Noirs. I’m sure you will as they are famous in that neighborhood. Be safe.

    • Re: Manuscript & Photos

      I have a Nikon Coolpix 3. I’m not the best photographer, but those are beautiful subjects, aren’t they?

      Thanks for the recommendations on the movies; I’ll check ’em out!!! Same with the pinot noirs. 🙂

  11. Preeeetty flowers. Two of the things I miss about California are the palm trees and birds of paradise. Even if they grew here in Texas, it wouldn’t feel the same.

    • Thank you! I love fragrant blossoms, and these are amazing, especially when the sun warms them.

      I agree with you about palm trees and birds of paradise: they’re symbols of a lifestyle, aren’t they? Like pine trees in the Pacific Northwest or oak trees in the Northeast…

  12. Nice!!! How was Wicked??? I’ve been curious about seeing it. And I love the smell of flowers in a garden… It’s always so soothing. Good luck up in Portland and I hope you have fun with your friends!!!

  16. Great article in the Sunday Time Mag about the guy that wrote WICKED – did you see it? Hope you had fun at the show. I haven’t seen it yet, but I want to.

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