Provident Mom

I recently read a Wallace Stegner book, “Crossing to Safety.”  The beginning of the novel is set in the 1930s in Wisconsin.  Because the plot revolves around the friendship of two couples, an active social life is portrayed.  Throughout the entire reading, and even now, a month later, I feel jealous of the social lives of these fictional characters—not because they have an extensive set of friends and acquaintances or lots of money but because they know how to have a good time.

Entertainment today is very technologically driven:  movies, TV, compact discs, etc.  The people in Stegner’s book had eloquent conversations, discussed meaningful topics like literature and nature.  They actually sang together around a piano.  They connected with each other.

I think that connection is what’s missing in most of our social lives these days.  How can you connect with someone when you’re sitting in the dark staring, bleary-eyed, at a giant screen, THX surround sound blasting your eardrums?  You can’t.  And the movie plots are so shallow they don’t even lead to meaningful conversation on the way home from the movie:  “What did you like about the movie?”  “Neat explosions.”

So how do you get past the expensive, digital, mass-marketed norms in entertainment?  Recently, we had some friends over, and after dinner we sat around with a couple of guitars and sang some camp songs. Our singing turned into a long conversation about the state of the world and our places in it. It was lovely, and it didn’t involve a screen of any kind.