UNEXPECTED TEARS

    We went to the movies this afternoon. We used to go more than we have in the recent past; maybe we are getting too old to enjoy the animated and action films so popular today.  For whatever reason, we find few we consider worthwhile.  But today we found a gem.  The Help..  I had led discussions in two book clubs shortly after the novel came out.  In each group there were persons from the North and the South which made the discussions interesting to lead, to say the least.  If a person grew up in the South with black help in their home, their reaction to the novel by Kathryn Stockett, Berkley Books, 2010, was different than someone who lived in the North, even though they employed black help. The reasons for those differences seemed clear to me. This is not the place to delve deeply into those factors but I can sum them up in a few words. The South had laws on the books, unwritten codes and an invisible line that were not to be broken or crossed. Not found in the North, these laws and codes of prejudice were used in the South to suppress the black race  The Civil Rights Movement.brought these injustices into the light of day.  Stockett crafts her story of this sorrowful era of the early 60s into a heartwarming, as well as a disturbing story.  The movie stuck to the book as well as an I can remember. The characters come alive on the screen, the acting is superb, easily making it a  movie never to forget.
     And the tears.  I don't know if I were crying for the storyline of the movie or for the injustices done to my friend Catherine and generations of women before her who cleaned the homes, cooked the meals, and most importantly of all, reared the children of white families in the South.
     Go see the movie.  Don't hesitate to ask your husband or significant other.  I noticed the man beside me had a difficult time in finding something to wipe away the tears. I would go again.

Thank you for taking time to read this post.  Your comments are welcomed