Nice piece, VA, I also "rediscovered" The Wind in the Willows a few years ago. According to Wikipedia someone wrote a left-wing version of WITW from the lower-class animals' point of view so I think your perception of its conservative ethos is accurate. Although there was also a "pagan" section where the god Pan appeared. Grahame I believe was already well-known for some other children's books previous to WITW which are now forgotten.
Another work worth revisiting is "Little Lord Fauntleroy." Saw the film version a couple years ago, which was wonderful.
Great article VA! Remember my Peace Corps buddy? The one who told me that the nordic countries were 'boring' cuz they lacked the 'excitement' of diversity? Well she almost got killed last week in Egypt in some type of explosion that killed the woman standing next to her. She sent me a hysterical email saying that she had never known the feeling of coming that close to death and that no one should go to Egypt cuz it just isn't worth it. Will it change her? I doubt it.
The funny thing is my muslim best friend went to Egypt a year ago and loved it cuz the girls were 'so sexy in their hijabs and loved to dance' etc etc. Whatever.
This sounds really bad but I don't care, better that I type it online then say it outloud! So I was at the doctors office today and there was an americanized hispanic family (father plus two kids) and he was saying that they were moving to a small town in Idaho cuz there were "Spanish Teaching" positions open. I was just like shaking my head....the father had an accent and the kids didn't look like the friendliest most-pro american people in the world. I'm sorry to judge people like that....but hey instincts are instincts. They should stay in Southern Cali.
Steve - thanks.
I haven't read Little Lord Fauntleroy, although I've seen part of the 1930s movie version. I believe the author was Burnett, was it not? Maybe I will get around to reading it one of these days.
cabbageroll - I guess the states like Idaho, which have until lately been seen as the last bastion of our people, are now considered ripe for colonization or conquest by Hispanics and others. They see that these places are ripe for the picking, and I think they may be right as there are still quite a few naive local people in parts of the rural Northwest who have little experience of 'diversity.'
-VA
I shared your post with my wife. She's sitting by the Nueces right now reading Wind in the Willows.
ben tillman - thanks. I gather you are in Texas then.
-VA
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