Relishing Writer Bailey White: Before we had phones with remote receivers, so that you could wander all over the house. Before cell phones. Before computers and iPads and all sorts of other things?
There was radio. And when I was bringing up my children, with the exception of a few years where I tolerated television, radio was what you got.
It seems there was always so much to do, so that the only time I listened was in the car.
And periodically, just by luck, I would catch writer Bailey White, with her inimitable voice, reading one of her small pieces.
Her writing was always unique and unusual, with a pinch in there somewhere.
And when I heard the introduction, I would do just about anything to ensure there was quiet in the car, something nearly impossible. And then ? I got to hear the whole thing.
You see, she talks about simple days. The intricacies of a common life. Only she reveals the remarkable, within the banal.
Peaking our interest, dragging us along adventures, causing us to prolapse in hysteria, wrapped in tenderness .
Somehow, like a newly hatched bird, I bonded to her. Her tenacity. Her acquiescence with her unusual life. Her raised eyebrow ( I imagined) with every mildly shared challenge.
As if she was saying "Just part of life. But it's quite enough to deal with, and yeah- I'm going to share it with you." And so she did.
Every single word the antithesis of what everyone here and now yearns for most of all .
It's not that there isn't wisdom in having a home that's solid and is not about to rot apart. It's not that there isn't value in having a well functioning car, or all sorts of other things. Working hard while your kids are in after school; buying a new car every few years . Plasma screen TV's- sure. Nicer and nicer and more and more.
Yet, the point is, sometimes, despite your best efforts, this is not the case.
Houses do become old and creaky. People are unable to have the money to fix anything they want or purchase anything they want or do anything they want. And if your life is not like this, you need to know about the other half.
AND, guess what? If I'm distracted by my nice nice stuff and the monthly new new stuff, I won't know people different than me. It's uncomfortable , you know ? And that conformity lurking within hungry acquisition ? Possibly creating sterile crafted hybrid flowers out if each and every one of us.
But in her stories? People have spirit. They make do. Not only do they make do; they make remarkable and fascinating choices. They make interesting lives.
Bailey White has a good handful of compelling books, and NPR has a nice audio collection.
Need a smile brought to your face on a difficult, lonely day? Have a hankering for an after dinner treat or a nice lay-me-down bedtime story to end your day with?
Go find one of her pieces. Written by a brethren with a love of the small and the true.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1131971
http://www.baileywhite.com/index.shtml
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