No Time Like the Future; Come Fly the World; Grace and Steel

 

Okay, first up, Michael J. Fox's latest. If anyone has a reason to be down on life and full of pity, it's Fox. In addition to being diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease in his twenties, cutting short what would have been a long and brilliant acting career, the last few years have thrown a few more health curveballs at him. He had a dangerous tumor on his spine that required surgery, which was followed by a long rehab where he basically had to learn to walk all over again. Not too surprisingly, he took a bad fall and shattered his left arm, requiring more surgery and more rehab. Yet Fox remains positive and confronts each new challenge with grace and determination. I'm heartbroken for him on his behalf, since he won't be for himself. Especially if you go back and watch Family Ties and Back to the Future. He was so athletic when he was young! He had a move on Family Ties where he would jump up to sit on the kitchen counter with his hands in his pockets (I don't recommend trying it--it's a lot harder than it sounds). He was forever jumping over the staircase to land in the living room, running, even dancing in a few memorable episodes. I can't imagine how hard it must be for him to watch those and think of what might have been. 

I hoped "Come Fly the World" by Julia Cooke would be a little more about Pan Am (I admit to having an unnatural obsession with Pan Am, I truly don't know why), but it was still interesting. It followed three stewardesses: Lynne, Tori, and Karen, who worked during the heyday of flying. Back when stewardesses (not yet flight attendants) were all female of a certain height and weight, had to wear their hair and makeup a certain way, and had to quit if they reached a certain age or got married. For the lucky few who were chosen, it was truly a dream job. In the 1950s and 60s, single women didn't have the freedoms they do now to travel around the world. These young women dreamed of seeing new places and having adventures, and their jobs with Pan Am allowed them to do that. A substantial portion of the book was about the Vietnam War and the heartbreaking flights those stewardesses had to take to deliver more boys to the front. They also participated in rescuing refugees from Saigon before it fell. 

I've read a few of Taraborrelli's biographies and enjoyed his writing style. I liked "Grace and Steel", which was about not just Dorothy, Barbara, and Laura Bush but really the whole Bush family. I had no idea Barbara suffered from such crippling depression that she contemplated suicide, that was heartbreaking. Dorothy was a true trailblazer: she insisted on her marriage to Prescott Bush being a true partnership and started writing a newspaper column when they lived in D.C. when Prescott was in Congress. She encouraged Barbara to have more of a say in George H.W.'s political career when Barbara complained that he made all the decisions and she was just along for the ride. Laura had a tough time making connections with her formidable mother in law, but deep down they loved and respected each other. It was fascinating and well told.