1964-A Year to Remember

The Secret Life of Bees scrapbook

1964-A Year to Remember

!   I. The People You Meet (Character Silhouettes)

!   II. Wish You Were Here (Literary Postcards)

!   III. Thoughts From the Road (Journals)

!   IV. The Letter Not Sent

The People You Meet !   “[May] smiled at us, one of those odd

grins that let you know she was not an altogether normal person.” (p. 85).

!   “May was simpleminded. I don’t mean retarded, because she was smart in some ways and read cookbooks nonstop. I mean she was naive and unassuming, a grown-up and a child at the same time, plus she was a touch crazy.” (p. 104).

!   “May takes in things differently than the rest of us do…everything just comes into her— all the suffering out there— and she feels as if it’s happening to her. She can’t tell the difference.” (p. 117).

The People You Meet !   “The one it was hard to get a fix on

was June. She taught history and English at the colored high school, but what she really loved was music. If I got finished early in the honey house, I went to the kitchen and watched May and Rosaleen cook, but really I was there to listen to June play the cello.” (p. 106).

!   “June smiled so little.” (p. 106).

!   “June swore off men and said she would never get married, and then she met Neil when he came to be the new principal at her school…he has tried every which way to get June to marry him, but she won’t do it.” (pp. 128-129).

The People You Meet !   “She was tall, dressed in white,

wearing a pith helmet with veils that floated across her face, settled around her shoulders, and trailed down her back. She looked like an African bride.” (p. 83).

!   “…August is so intelligent, so cultured…” (p. 97).

!   “One thing I was starting to understand was that August loved to tell a good story.” (p. 133).

The People You Meet !   “There was nothing white about

Zachary Lincoln Taylor. Even the whites of his eyes weren’t exactly white.” (p. 144).

!   “He had broad shoulders and a narrow waist and short-cropped hair like most of the Negro boys wore, but it was his face I couldn’t help staring at. If he was shocked over me being white, I was shocked over him being handsome.” (pp. 144-145).

!   “He was about to be a junior at the black high school, where he made all A’s and played halfback on the football team.” (p. 145).

Rosaleen and Lily

Tiburon, South Carolina 1964

Dear Mama,

Even though you’re not around to get this, I wish you could see me in your hometown of Tiburon, South Carolina. I’m not sure what this place holds in store for me, but I feel your presence here.

I wish you could see this pink house! It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen, but I feel like I’ll get some answers about you here.

Love and kisses, Lily

Literary Postcards

Dear May,

I guess it’s just August and I now. Your weeping wall is hard to see every day because it is a living testament to the fact that you couldn’t conquer what made you sad.

In a sense, I suppose that you’re happy because you and April are finally reunited with our parents. It gets hard to carry on knowing that you’re no longer with us, but I know that you would be happy to finally learn that Neil and I are getting married. I wish you could be here to be my maid of honor, but I know you’ll be blessing the wedding from above.

With love, June

Literary Postcards

Dear August,

I will never be able to thank you for saving my life. When you took Rosaleen and me in, we were lost with no clear direction. Yes, you knew we were lying; thank you for not busting us on it.

You not only gave me back a piece of my mother that I thought was lost to me forever—you became a third mother. I could never have imagined being this blessed in Sylvan.

I love you, Lily

Literary Postcards

Listening to a secret life… August Boatwright and Lily Owens, 1964

Thoughts From the Road “Weeping Walls”—

In The Secret Life of Bees, May has a place where she goes to lay her stresses and burdens down. She writes down whatever stresses her and shoves it into cracks within a stone wall. The act itself is a tribute to the weeping walls made in Jerusalem.

Whenever I get sad, I have two places to go so I can clear my head. The first place is at home in my loft. In my loft, I have a bookcase and my sewing machine. Whenever I find that things get too crazy in life, I channel that frustration into either sewing pieces of fabric together or knitting with no clear goal in mind. In those times that I need to de-stress, the loft is my favorite place to go because I know that whenever I leave the loft, I have channeled negative feelings into creating something beautiful.

My second place is to take my bicycle down to the Mueller development and ride around the area. I like to see the new developments that come up because it’s uncanny to see an area that I grew up near that was abandoned for so long turn into something trendy. Getting out in the air helps me to clear my head because it’s like traveling without leaving Austin. Cycling has helped lower my stress levels while shedding weight.

Thoughts From the Road !   “Running Away”—

!   I haven’t quite figured out yet if I think that Lily is brave or stupid for running away. While she’s very brave for breaking Rosaleen out of jail and for leaving a home life that no longer suits her, it was kind of stupid for her to leave without thinking out all of the possible angles.

!   I have never actually run away from home. There has been a time, however, when I have had to “run away” from friends who were no longer bringing out the positive side of me. It was a difficult realization that girls who I had grown up with were now women with whom I started to share little in common. It seemed that every time we got together, we would always end up slamming someone.

!   After awhile, I realized that the jokes were no longer funny. My mother once said “You want to be around someone who brings out the best in you, not the stress in you.” I realized that my friends were now adding stress because I felt like I had to constantly be on my feet thinking of jokes before I realized that nothing positive came from putting down others. I haven’t returned to these friends yet. Only time will tell, but so far I’m enjoying having a more positive vibe in my days.

Thoughts From the Road !   “Stranger in a Strange Place”—

!   Lily experiences being a stranger in a strange place when she comes to Tiburon, South Carolina. Even though she is white, she becomes painfully aware of her race when she lives with the Boatwright sisters (who are black).

!   One of the times when I can think of when I was a stranger to a new place was when I was a sports writer for the Columbia Missourian newspaper. I was a photography major, but it was a requirement for every photographer to take a semester of news writing. I also had a part time job as a waitress at Olive Garden. There was one time when I was on the run from one shift at Olive Garden to my night shift at the news desk. I had to cover the Missouri basketball game against Texas A&M. All of the reporters were dressed down in jeans and sneakers while I was overdressed in a button down shirt, tie, and slacks—the dress code for Olive Garden servers.

!   It was awkward because all of the reporters made jokes about my being overdressed. One was even rude enough to make a joke about me going to “fetch them a drink.” While it was infuriating, I had to keep reminding myself that these people didn’t know who I was nor did they pay for any parts of my bills. That made it easier to block out the reporters. With time, they got bored of the jokes and moved on to a different reporter.

Neil + June=True Love

The Letter Not Sent Dear Dr. Phipps, It’s been eight months since you left us and the hole in our hearts isn’t any smaller. When you passed away, you left behind a partner who loved you, two dogs--Monty and Savannah--who I’m still scared to come near after four years (haha), and countless students who look to you for guidance, yet you’re not there. I remember when I first took your class, I thought of it as just one class that stood between me and student teaching. I didn’t know at the time that you would be an example for the exact kind of teacher that I want to be--compassionate, caring, challenging, and the kind of teacher that students remember long after they’ve left your room. I couldn’t possibly see that you would become more than just another professor. There were definitely times when you not only challenged me; you angered me because you made me go past my comfort zone in terms of thinking, yet today I’m forever grateful that you pushed me. There are times when I wish that we could meet just one more time for coffee after class. I’d love to just tell you about my students and what they’re like. Every teacher’s class has personality, but man--my students have it in spades. They’re smarter than they give themselves credit for and I truly believe that I’m teaching future entertainers, world leaders, and innovators. Of course, like any teacher, I always wish that they would listen a little more and work a little harder, but then I remember that conversation that you, Connie, Duff, and others that I can’t remember now had when I said this exact sentiment and you turned to me and said “They’re seventeen, angel face. You remember being seventeen; nobody could tell you anything at that age. Trust in the fact that they’re listening probably more than you think.” I could go on forever because there’s so much that I didn’t get to tell you because I always thought that I would have the “next time I was passing through Kansas City” to do it. If I could end on anything, I would say thank you. Thank you for everything. You were an amazing teacher who walked the walk AND talked the talk. I try to live up to your example every day. I can only hope that wherever you are now, you’re at rest, you’re watching over all of us, and that you finally have the time to do REAL reading :) All my love, Lauren