Sunday, November 04, 2007

Two Old Chestnuts

I treated myself today to two of my favorite TV adaptations of great books: The Scarlet Pimpernel and Christy. It all started because I forgot about turning my clocks back, resulting in my getting up before 7 this morning. It was awhile before I realized my mistake, too late to go back to bed, so I decided to take advantage of the extra hour by curling up in my recliner and watching a movie I've shown so many times to students that I know much of it by heart: the Anthony Andrews/Jane Seymour version of The Scarlet Pimpernel. It's been several years since I last saw it, though, so even though I knew exactly what was going to happen, I enjoyed the anticipation of certain scenes or lines.

Later in the afternoon, I watched the first installment of the TV series Christy. The book by Catherine Marshall is one of my all-time favorite books about teaching. I've read it numerous times and have loved it every time. The TV show wasn't exactly like the book, of course, and you miss out on a lot of the subtleties that the book affords, but it's still nice and uplifting. It was a good way to recover from all the hustle and bustle of last week and to refocus my priorities. When Miss Alice asks Christy why she came to Cutter Gap, she replies that she wants to give her life meaning and purpose. Teaching definitely does that for me...it was good to be reminded.

3 comments:

Christy Woolum said...

I love Christy also. My grandmother had a copy and I remember thinking I would like it because it was my name. I did and still do also.

Heidi said...

What a wonderful day (and way) for you to relax!

La Tea Dah said...

Love both stories --- I first read Christy as a very early teen. I loved it and know it influenced me in my decision to teach. I have always been disappointed in the movie/TV version, though --- but I usually am when books are made into movies.

Although I have a newer copy of Christy, I still keep my old original. By now it's just about an antique! LOL!

:) LaTeaDah