A true classic turns 50

As a society, we seem to be eager to proclaim anything as a classic, so in my mind, there are very few really true classics, but today I'm going to talk about one that is most definitely a true classic.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the novel "To Kill a Mockingbird".  

To say this is a book that everyone should read is really an understatement.  I re-read it every few years to remind myself what truly great writing is like. There are so few truly great pieces of literature out there.

The one and only book written by Harper Lee, "To Kill a Mockingbird" won a great many accolades, including a Pulitzer Prize, but it's true beauty is that it holds up exceedingly well now, a half century later, in its depiction of ordinary people facing extraordinary choices. Proving, without a doubt, that the easy thing to do and the right thing to do are rarely the same.

And, it's not well known, but "To Kill a Mockingbird" is said to have inspired one of my favorite television shows. A show that I consider a true classic. The one hour drama "I'll Fly Away" featured  a white Southern lawyer named Forrest Bedford, who was raising his three children with the help of his black maid, Lilly.

The creator of the show, David Chase, has only told the story of how he conceived the show a few times. He said that while watching the 1962 film version of "To Kill a Mockingbird", he was taken with the scene in which Atticus decides to leave his home and go to the jail to protect the newly convicted Tom Robinson. Atticus turns to his black maid, Capurnia, and simply asks her to watch the children while he's gone. Chase said, "This is an something that Atticus had probably done thousands of times -- asking his 'help' to watch the children -- but somehow that very action takes on much more signficance in the wake of Atticus' controversial interactions with the black community. This action got me to thinking about the relationship between Atticus an Capurnia and that's how I came up with "I'll Fly Away".

For more on the 50th anniversary of "To Kill a Mockingbird", check out an excellent piece produced for CBS' Sunday Morning at http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/07/11/sunday/main6667444.shtml

No parking in the White Zone

Last night I flew into LAX at about 8pm. As I waited for my ride, I stood at the white curb in the departure area.

As I waited there, I noticed that there was a small blue car parked at the curb. Parked, and with no one in it.

I watched and waited for any sign of who might own this car.

We are told all the time to be on alert, to keep our eyes open for anything suspicious, especially at airports.

More minutes past and still no sign of an vehicle owner. And, no sign of a police officer anywhere. I have to say that that's the first time I've ever stood at an airport curb for longer than five minutes and not seen any sign of a police officer.

I wasn't sure what to do. My ride was going to be there shortly and I didn't want to miss her, but I felt like I should do something.

So, I went back inside the airport and walked right up to an area where there were several official looking folks in uniforms with patches and badges on their shirts. It was the area at the entrance to the screening area. I approached a woman and told her that there was a parked car with no driver anywhere near and that maybe someone should check it out.

Her response: "Oh, I'm sure the police will come by soon. Tthey'll ticket it and tow it."

I tried to say that my concern was not about the inconvenience but that it might be a safety issue. She repeated what I assume is her standard response.

I finally just turned and went back out to wait for my ride. The car was still there.

My ride pulled up and I explained the situation to her and she told me that I'd done all I could do and that we should just get the Hell out of there in case anything was going to happen.

So we took off.

Did I do enough? Should I have done something differently?

What would you have done?

Not really all that surprising

So, Larry King has decided it's time to retire.     

Can't say that I'm surprised. If you'll recall my faithful readers, back in April I said that I thought it was really time for King to hang it up.

Check out my reasons why here: http://akeaston.blogspot.com/2010/04/more-bad-news-for-larry-king.html

Now, who should replace him?  Hhhmmm. There needs to be some discussion about this one.

Please not Ryan Seacrest. His over-pronounciation of every word is a bit annoying to me. I like Joy Behar's show and she might be a good choice. Any other candidates you favor?

Discuss.