#93 Civil War ties

My great aunt Ada’s father was born in 1862. I think that is quite remarkable. It seems like more of a tie to the past than just having an old photograph or photocopy of a Civil War enlistment. So maybe I’m a sucker for ties that stretch back.

One night back in 1989 or 1990 I was awake and watching Charlie Rose’s middle of the night interview with Alan Gurganus. Between the two of them, it sounded as though “Oldest Living Confederate Widow” would be a really great story. So I put it on my list and received it as a birthday gift. I don’t think I made it through even one chapter. It was dull and unbelievable--the voice just wasn’t that of a woman. It gathered dust on my bookshelves for years, and when we moved to the condo, I think I donated it to the library book sale.

When they came out with the TV movie version in 1994, I tried sitting through it and fell asleep. Really boring. Four hours seemed like four months. Now I read a review in Nov. 17 USAToday that Ellen Burstyn is bored in a one woman play based on this novel. Even this talented actress can’t breathe any life into it, and the reviewer noted that, “at one point during the performance, the person seated behind me gave a soft moan and slumped forward heavily. . . I turned around, worried for a moment. Luckily, she had only fallen asleep.”