One to Adele

“On a scale of one to Adele… How bad was your last break-up?” 

(http://www.imglols.com/on-a-scale-of-one-to-adele/)

I saw this cartoon shared on Facebook recently and it made me laugh. While I could totally relate to the feeling of going through a very bad break-up (Read: Set Fire to the Rain), I wasn’t the type who would say, “Never mind, I’ll find someone like you” because that it precisely what I don’t want to do. I don’t want someone like you. I want someone better. Someone who will treat me better. But I do agree: “sometimes it lasts in love, but sometimes it hurts instead.” There’s pain, but there’s also hope.

As this generation’s Queen of Break-up Songs, Adele captured the varying emotions one feels when a relationship breaks up. We’ve all probably felt like getting back at unfaithful exes, wanting them to go “Rolling in the Deep” and never resurfacing again.  Or maybe we feel like we’re just “Chasing Pavements”, feeling like a car crash waiting to happen but still trying to make it work. Or maybe we felt abandoned and not knowing why just makes it even more painful. “Don’t You Remember”?

Beyond the lyrics of Adele’s songs, though, there is the beauty of her voice. It’s smokey, full of authority, yet wise… It’s open and full of emotion. When she sings, you hear the longing and the regret, the anger and annoyance… Or is it irritation? It’s deep and rough, like cornmeal in a can. It’s perfect for expressing strong emotions in a song. And then there’s the music. It’s soulful. It catches your attention and doesn’t let go, and then you realize you’re hooked… swimming in the messy emotions stirred up by her songs.

It’s like Ally McBeal’s “walking wounded” meets Breakfast at Tiffany’s meets Edward Scissorhands. Does that make sense? You’ve got these icons of heartbreak (in my head at least) of varying “personalities” --- the quirky, funny, self-deprecating, open, angry, and awkward to the classy, sad, ethereal, and hopeful to the gothic, haunting, magical, thought-provoking, and surreal --- and all of them are in this one person’s songs. It’s pretty impressive.

So, on a scale of one to Adele…? I’d say, Adele.

The Mystery of The Bobbsey Twins, Nancy Drew, and The Hardy Boys

I saw a set of Bobbsey Twins, Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys books being sold at a second-hand bookstore. The sight of these old friends took me back many years ago.

I remember at around the age of 8 or 9, I fell in love with the hard-bound books of The Bobbsey Twins, Nancy Drew, and The Hardy Boys. I’d walk into the elementary school library --- which the school called the “Learning Resource Center” --- and checked out at least 2 of each kind. I thought Laura Lee Hope, Carolyn Keene, and Franklin W. Dixon were amazing authors and detectives themselves. I wanted to be Nan Bobbsey, but adored Freddie and Floss. I also wanted to be Nancy Drew and marry Joe Hardy. (Who cared about Ned Nickerson and Iola Morton?) Nancy and Joe were my fictional Ken and Barbie.
 
I went around with a checklist of book titles for each series and every time I borrowed from the library, I’d tick them off my list. If I went into a bookstore, I’d ask to be left there while the rest of the family went shopping. Knowing that I won’t be wandering around the mall or anywhere else, I’d be left in peace to prowl the aisles and search out my friends Bert, Nan, Freddie, and Floss; Nancy, Bess, and George; Frank, Joe, Chet, Phil, Biff, Jerry, and Tony.

I’d devour 6 to 10 books a week, replace my borrower’s card twice or thrice a year, and cajole or beg or bribe my parents for a new book every weekend. Such was my devotion to these fictional characters.

They opened the doorway to other writers of mystery and suspense, like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie, Baroness Orczy, Lemony Snicket, and a whole bunch of others.

Every time I cracked open a new mystery novel, whether it was a Bobbsey Twins or Nancey Drew or Hardy Boys adventure, I always mentally girded myself for the challenge of figuring out the perpetrator of the crime before the end of story. Many times I’d get it right, but on those occasions when I didn’t, I’d go back and look for what I missed. And then I’d contemplate a bit more on how cool these authors are to come up with these plots and weave them into a compelling tale that the clues are scattered within so subtly and seamlessly.

“I want to be able to do that,” I used to say to myself every time I finished a book.

So as I stared at these incomplete sets of hard-bound books from the first few volumes of each series, I asked myself, “How come I didn’t get to write those mystery books I told myself years ago?” I realized that I didn’t want to write the stories. I wanted to unravel the mysteries.

My musings stayed with me until I got to work where I quickly pulled up the ever-reliable know-it-all, Google, and keyed in the titles of each series.

Lo and behold! They were created, produced, and written by Edward Stratemeyer, founder of Stratemeyer Syndicate. (Well, he and a bunch of other ghostwriters wrote all the series.) I wanted to be upset, seeing as how my childhood heroes were actually a great many people. Definitely more than 3 authors. But then, I realize I’ve got only one real hero. His name is Edward Stratemeyer. The brains behind all the series --- and apparently the entire book packaging firm. (Thanks, Wikipedia!)

So, thank you, Edward Stratemeyer, for coming up with such wonderful characters I could admire and grow up with. They taught me a whole lot.