Saturday, January 13, 2018

A Cup of Hope

The bright lights of December have dimmed. My front door looks a little sad without its merry wreath and evergreen swag, and I’m recovering from the worst cold I’ve had in a decade, but the good news is I’ve been drinking lots of tea, and I’ve had time to think, which in the whirl of a fast-paced life is a rare gift. The Big Cold took me down on New Year’s Eve. I tried to rally in time for a neighborhood party; I even showered and put on my favorite holiday clothes, but I couldn’t get my voice over a whisper, so I made the tough call. My New Year’s Eve plans were officially cancelled. I was afraid Joe would be disappointed, but he gave me a smile and quickly moved to plan B. We could sit on the couch next to a cozy gas stove and rent a movie. We scrolled through the new releases. I thought about some light-hearted comedies, or a sweet romance, but Joe was decisive. We would welcome 2018 with Dunkirk. I didn’t have the strength to argue. I thought about seeing this film when it was still in theaters, but decided against it because I knew it would be tough to watch. Like Saving Private Ryan, Dunkirk would be a loud and violent film that would haunt me for months if not forever. I was right about the horror of Dunkirk, but I had also forgotten its great lesson, its glimmer of hope. Many of the British, French, Belgian and Dutch soldiers who were stranded on that French beach in May, 1940, were successfully evacuated by civilian boats who answered the call for “All available boats.” The selfless act of those boat captains and their crews saved 330,000 lives. 

On December 31, 2017, I realized that I was familiar with the term “All available boats” because that was the call sent out on September 11, 2001 across New York Harbor. In fact, I had read a book by the same name. All Available Boats (Spencer Books/New York 2002) passed quickly out of print, but I found it in Maine’s library system a few years ago, and I later purchased a used copy online to keep. It is an unusual account of 9/11 because it describes the evacuation of Manhattan Island rather than the attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. The book, edited by Mike Magee, M.D., is divided into two parts: interviews with the boat captains who answered the call, and their passengers who were fleeing the carnage. The vivid photos show ferries, tugboats, Coast Guard vessels, water taxis, municipal tankers, fireboats, and even a retired FDNY fireboat that had been lovingly restored. The crews of these boats worked without rest until 300,000 people were evacuated from lower Manhattan, almost as many as the number of troops rescued from Dunkirk.

Sea smoke surrounds a Portland tugboat 1/1/18 - Steve Yenco  
One tugboat captain reported that about 20 tugs rescued 400 people from Battery Park City over a period of four hours on the first day of their week-long mission. I feel the warmth of a summer sun in that fact. Men and women are capable of enormous good. As a high school teacher, it always worried me when students told me they didn’t like history; they never watched the news or read newspapers, and they would rather read science fiction or fantasy rather than historical fiction. If I have learned anything, it’s that history really does repeat itself, especially if we don’t pay attention to it! Dr. Magee, a husband and father of four, was completing a fellowship in Humanities at the World Medical Association in New York City, when he witnessed the horrific events of 9/11. I have to believe that he was there on purpose because his collection of emotionally-charged stories and photos shed light on one of our nation’s darkest hours. His view brings us hope.

A frozen boat in Harpswell - Benjamin Williamson
While I was home with that incredibly horrible cold, I filled the quiet hours of the day by reading or watching good stories. For example, I finally watched Frozen, the ninth highest grossing movie of all time.  On one of the coldest nights in recent Maine history, I bought that animated film, and its music helped to keep my spirit alive. Days later, I was still humming, “Let it Go!” Beyond entertaining us, the story of Anna and her sister, Elsa, also shows us the importance of courage under fire, or ice. Anna’s love for her sister, not Kristoff’s love for Anna, saves the kingdom. And that politically correct ending suggests that animated films are not for children only!


Two weeks of cough suppressants, daily doses of Flonase, and countless tissues, ended last night when I watched the eighth and final episode of the first season of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Here’s how social media can sometimes save a tortured soul! Just as I was running out of old episodes of everything I had ever watched, a friend with excellent taste, posted about a great new show on Amazon Prime! Thank you, Carolyn! Next week I hope to invite a few of the Wednesday-morning-coffee ladies over to watch the first two episodes because some of them don’t subscribe to the Amazon network, and no one should miss this gem! Rachel Brosnahan plays Miriam (Midge) Maisel, a young Jewish housewife residing on the upper west side of Manhattan in 1958. Midge has a perfect life until her husband decides to leave her. Struggling to reinvent herself, Midge begins to perform stand-up comedy in a shabby club, and she’s amazing! This show is flashy with great music and fabulous clothes, and it gives hope to women, and men, who need a new dream to pursue. I want to share this funny show with my coffee-time friends because they never fail to fill me up with hope every Wednesday morning, especially the comedians in the group. Truth be told, there are a lot of comedic spirits in and around Bath that keep me laughing. That’s probably why I’m feeling better today than yesterday! My Irish grandmother used to say, “Laughter is the best medicine!” She grew up in Brooklyn with Fanny Brice, one of the first female comedians to become a star. Edna and Fanny were good friends, and they witnessed first hand the healing power of comedy. I think my grandmother and Fanny Brice would both agree that we need a Marvelous Mrs. Maisel in our world right now!

Mike Magee, M.D., closed All Available Boats, with a photo of twenty tugboats crisscrossing New York Harbor, and the words, “Hope survives, in part, on the knowledge that pain, insecurity, and deeply imbedded fear carry with them sparkling moments of insight and redemption. It is easier to hope in company with others showing the way.”