Life Lessons in Books

"Look for it only in books, for it is no more than a dream remembered, a Civilization gone with the wind.''

Confession: My favorite book of all time is Margaret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind... and even though the actors are cheesy, I just LOVE watching the movie too. In fact, I'm really fond of old movies... even the old black and white ones like "The Misfits".

I once got into a discussion with someone, I can't remember who, and this person didn't understand why I liked either the movie or the book of Gone With the Wind... they couldn't understand why you'd want to spend so much time reading such a long book that was more a romance novel than a realistic portrayal of the Civil War.  When I read it the first time, I did enjoy the love story built up throughout the book, and loved the way the scenes were described in such a way that I could almost see them in my mind.

Reading the book and watching the movie again though... I see it in a different light. I still love the tension between Rhett and Scarlett.... but I see it in a more broad spectrum of sorts, one that I think more people would relate to if they stopped to think about it.

It's the story of a girl who realizes that the world of her childhood is falling apart.... not only in society because of the war, but in her expectations of the future as well... she finds that marriage isn't always all fun and games. That sometimes you have to make sacrifices and do things that you don't want to do in order to get by. She learns that growing up is difficult and it's not nearly as easy as her parents made it look. She realizes that sometimes the best choice is the one standing right in front of her, that the grass isn't always greener on the other side of the hill, even if she fails to see it until it's too late, or is too stubborn to look at the problem head on. Basically, she learns that life is HARD...

Oddly enough, I can see this book applying to this century, this generation (and the next, and the next) - and not just to the belles of the Old South in Civil War times.... can't you?

So no, it might not be an accurate depiction of the Civil War to some...although I'm sure a lot of it comes close... and yes, it's a great love story too... but if you open your mind enough, you might find some lessons for life that you can apply to your own life.

So maybe I'll start a campaign to get people to give the book a shot....

But I'll think about that tomorrow.... After all, tomorrow is another day....