Rural Routes, Blog Version

“Dance on the Earth: a memoir” by Margaret Laurence, McClelland and Stewart, 1989.

I found this hardcover book, still in its book jacket, at Nerman’s Books on Osborne, one of our favourite places to go (along with Black’s Books, which is sadly closing this month). A handwritten notation on the inside cover states that the book was a gift from “Reed” in 1989. I love these notes when I find them; it is a sign that a book has been deliberated over as a possible gift, given and then enjoyed. It gives the book a history outside its pages.

“Dance on the Earth” was Laurence’s last work completed shortly before her death in 1987. It comes across as a personal thank you, most especially to the three women she called her ‘mothers’: her biological mother Verna, her aunt and eventual step-mother Margaret and her mother-in-law Elsie Laurence.

The photographs included are of interest, especially one of the Wemyss family cottage at Clear Lake in Riding Mountain National Park.

That connection recently came to mind when I learned that Laurence has been named a person of national historic importance. Parks Canada is involved in the project that will see a plaque designating her as such placed at the Margaret Laurence Home in Neepawa.

As a member of the Margaret Laurence Home committee, I will be involved in preparations for this fall’s event.

QUICK TAKES

“Not Without My Daughter” – Betty Mahmoody with William Hoffer, St. Martin’s Press, New York, 1988

My mother-in-law lent me this book. I believe she purchased it at an MCC Thrift Store.

At first, I thought I had already read it. Certainly I knew that it had been made into a movie starring Sally Fields, although I had never seen the movie. As I began to read just to refresh my memory, I realized that it was all new to me.

In August 1984, Betty Mahmoody accompanied her Iranian-born husband back to his homeland. Once there, she discovered that her husband had no plans to return to the U.S.A. She and their four-year-old daughter were virtually prisoners in a country where women were second-class citizens and “American” was a dirty word.

The book details Betty’s efforts over a period of years to get herself and her daughter back to the States. Thirty years later, it is interesting to see how much has changed – and not changed – in the world since then.

Dead Midnight” – Marcia Muller, Mysterious Press, Warner Books, New York, 2002

This is another pick from the shelves at Nerman’s Books. Muller’s P.I. Sharon McCone is a private investigator in San Francisco. This particular book has her taking on an investigation into a young man’s suicide at the same time as she is mourning her own brother’s death by his own hand.

McCone doesn’t have the depth of a V.I. Warshawski or the spunk of a Kinsey Milhone, but she continues to evolve as the series itself carries on.

Dallas, MB

Every time I log on, my desktop tells me that my location is Dallas, Manitoba.

I am embarrassed to say that I did not know where Dallas, MB is. I do know that I do not live there.

Wikipedia tells me that Dallas is located between Peguis First Nation and Fisher River Cree Nation, about 215 kilometers north of Winnipeg near the western shore of Lake Winnipeg.

The two nearby communities of Dallas and Red Rose had a combined population of 45 in the 2006 census.

We live in a world where even our phones can tell us what city we are in, what store we are shopping in and what restaurant we are dining in. I find it rather comforting that when I am at home, my devices cannot find me.

P.S.

Shortly after writing that last paragraph, I checked out a Facebook group for Manitobans who want to buy and sell antiques and collectibles. My eye was caught by a kitchen table and chair set that looks remarkably like the set we ate at when I was a child.

According to the post, the set originally came from a home in the Dallas-Red Rose area of the province.

Life is full of coincidence.

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