A Southern Missive

One of the most significant growing areas of the Dallas-Fort Worth Area has to be Weatherford. I was there Saturday. I was interviewed by Linda Brooks Bagwell at KYQX-FM at 10 a.m.  I found this beautiful lady interesting, literate, and skilled in her fields of study. Here is a photo of us after the interview:

Here is a photo of me and Randy Cook at my book signing after the radio interview at the Lark Bookstore just outside of  Weatherford. Randy is the owner, a man devoted to books, reading, and the promotion of the arts. I predict you’ll hear more of him in the future.  Here is the store’s website: Do yourself a favor and check it out.

A Short Review: A Model Summer by Paulina Porizkova

I first met Ms. Porizkova this past January at Kathy Patrick’s Girlfriend Weekend. After listening to her speak, and conversing with her as she signed my book, I must say that I am most impressed with this lady—especially after having read her new novel, A Model Summer (Hyperion).  I mean, not only is this lady stunningly beautiful, but her writing reveals that she is sensitive and an acute observer of life.  And if you are as fortunate as I was to meet her in person, you will find her polite and caring.  If you’ve been following the reality shows, you know she was appointed a judge, replacing Twiggy, on America’s Top Model. She also had a short stint on Dancing with the Stars.  She has appeared in movies: Anna, Portfolio, Her Alibi, Arizona Dream, Thursday, Roommates and Knots. She is married to Ric Okasek and they have two sons. Model, actor, writer—how much talent can one woman have?

Now to her novel. A Model Summer is the story of Jirina, a fifteen-year-old model. The story is of her first summer as a professional model. You could read this as an expose of the modeling business, a tale of innocence lost, or just as a young lady’s rite of passage. I would say that this book could be helpful and would provide valuable life-insights to any young lady who aspires to be a model.  Being a successful model is harder than people think, and an industry that can cause an individual to crash and burn.  I’m not sure how much of the novel is auto-fiction, not that any writer would admit anything in a novel to be autobiographical, but the suggestion is there. At least, we know the author is someone who knows the fashion industry. Indeed, she knows secrets that the fashion industry has cloistered.  Her writing style is smooth, I found it had a distinct voice, the plot is captivating, and so many of the lines were superbly written. I feel fortunate to have met Ms. Porizkova, and even more fortunate to have read her novel. I truly wish her the best.

Here are photos of the author and of the novel’s cover.

I’ve been researching some songs for my Civil War program, and I was rather shocked to find that in Lincoln’s administration, Septimus Winner, the man who wrote “Listen to the Mockingbird” (see earlier post) was arrested for treason during the Civil War because he wrote a song calling for the reinstatement of McClellan as commander of the Federal Army. I was shocked, not because Lincoln arrested someone who wrote and said things he didn’t like, but because the offense seems so harmless.  One site I found says this of Mr. Winner: “During the Civil War, Winner was greatly affected by the political atmosphere. His composition “Give Us Back Our Old Commander: Little Mac, the People’s Pride,” was written in plea to President Lincoln for the return of Union General McClellan who had been removed from command. The song was considered anti-Union and Winner spent a brief time in jail on a charge of treason. Winner was released from jail only after agreeing to destroy all remaining copies of the song.” You can read Winner’s full biography and achievements here:

Unfortunately, the sanitized, revised, mythologized version of Abraham Lincoln is the only Lincoln that many people know. Lew Rockwell has an extensive list of free articles you can read about Abraham Lincoln. These articles make good reading for high school and college students. You can find that list here:

Here is a poster of Lincoln from a Confederate point of view: