Gone With the Wind

My absolute favorite characters from any book or movie are Rhett Butler and Scarlett O’Hara. I first read ‘Gone With the Wind’ when I was a young child, but I watched the movie first. I don’t remember the reason, but the movie was showing at our little theater in the town I grew up in and my mother took my brother and I to see it because she had enjoyed it so much.( I think my father said he had slept through most of it the first time he watched it! My husband did the same after I coerced him into watching it with me!)

The movie made a HUGE impact on me. The Civil War was and still is my favorite era. I loved the clothes they wore, the houses they lived in. Yes, I know not everyone lived on a plantation, but in my dreams I would. The concept of slavery and the difficult political situation was lost on me as a nine-year old and all I could think of was the romantic part of the movie. I wanted to meet a ‘Rhett Butler’ someday and be swept away.

At some point, I happened to be in an old book store in that same little town. Wouldn’t you know, they had a very old copy of ‘Gone With the Wind’ and I snatched it up with my paper route money. I read that book in its entirety and loved it! I learned much about the battles that were fought and gained a bit more clearer thinking of the Civil War and what it entailed. Of course I read it several more times over the years, loving the worn gray/blue cover and yellowed pages. It had a smell all its own. I’m afraid that copy ended up in a flood we had in our basement many years ago, because it went missing shortly after that. I still miss it!

I remember thinking as a child that the title for the book was exceptional. That era; the clothing, the mannerisms, the plantations were all truly gone after the Civil War ended. That time period didn’t return. The south was crippled. Again, this post is not to get involved into the issues of slavery…many horrendous things happened during that time period. The south could not continue as it was and probably for the better. But I will always love and enjoy the sweeping grandeur of the movie, the actors, the colors that were so vibrant.

When I think of writing, and great Authors, I think of Margaret Mitchell. Just a housewife, plucking out a great story on her typewriter. That doesn’t come along too often.

The above picture hangs above my desk where I write… for inspiration. This picture means a lot to me because it was a puzzle my husband purchased last Christmas with MANY pieces. Our family spent the first part of the New Year of 2015 putting it together. So not only does the picture mean a lot to me, the memories I will always have assembling it are very special as well!