Another Valley premiere is arriving in July-the musical Memphis will be opening at the Reedley Opera House on July 6! I took a moment to chat with director, Joseph Ham about this amazing show.
I have been a fan of Marcia Muller's Sharon McCone books since the very beginning, and still after all of these years I get excited when I hear that a new one is coming out. I couldn't wait to sit down and read The Color of Fear (Book 32 in this series) and it ended up being very fitting for the time we are now living in-- a time when racism seems to be flourishing more than it has for some time, not that it has ever gone away.
There is a certain brand of "Christianity" I have seen which makes me very, very sad. It's a mind-set held by some within certain church circles that is about as contrary to the mind-set of Christ as one can come. It's a mentality that basically says, without going so far as to use these words, "Jesus loves everyone, but he loves me most." Another way of referring to it is to call it what it is: sheer racism.
The Help is about a young female journalist in the south who decides to write about life from the perspective of the black women in her town who have been serving southern society families for years; never realizing how this will turn her town and her life upside down.
Living in this homely and secluded town called Reedley gives one the illusion that the world is small and simple. In only ten minutes one can get to the market, the local park, or the one “hectic” street that has enough restaurants to fulfill the needs of every town member. Everything is at arm’s reach. With a single walk around the block, a person can spot the favorite teacher she had as a child, the elderly dog that was once filled with robust energy, and three neighbors that she greets daily.
