Although she died at the age of 36 in 1962, Marilyn Monroe’s appeal has been both timeless and classic. During her lifetime, her life was the subject of six books, mostly brief works, quickly done to capitalize on her popularity. Since her death, however, there have been some 300 books written about her. Two of these were written by Dr. Carl Rollyson, the LEAP Center’s guest speaker during a screening of “Some Like it Hot” at the Walker Education Center.
Students and local citizens dropped in for a pre-screening reception, where the guests enjoyed cookies, candy, and punch.
Dr. Rollyson was on hand during the reception to sign books…
which included not only the two Marilyn Monroe books, but also a well-received book on Huntsville native Dana Andrews.
Following an introduction by Dr. Rollyson…
…”Some Like it Hot” proved to be a crowd-pleaser, as it has been for the fifty-five years since its release in 1959. According to the American Film Institute, Some Like it Hot is the greatest film comedy of all time, and with a cast of Monroe, Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, George Raft, and Joe E. Brown, some great songs by Monroe, and an enduring appeal, it’s tough to argue with that choice.
The film was directed by Billy Wilder, one of the great Hollywood Directors. In addition to what may be the film industry’s greatest comedy, he also directed what might be the industry’s greatest film noir (Double Indemnity) and one the great romantic comedies (Sabrina) and melodramas (Sunset Boulevard), as well as one of the first films to deal seriously with alcoholism (The Lost Weekend). Some Like it Hot was his second film with Monroe; they previously did The Seven Year Itch; and Wilder knew how to direct Monroe.
Rollyson discussed the reversal motif apparent throughout “Some Like it Hot,” from the gender reversals to the literal reversals that recur throughout the chase scenes.
Most people know that Tony Curtis adopts a Cary Grant persona when wooing Marilyn Monroe, but it may be less known that he also used his Grant impersonation to ask out his most famous Hollywood date: Janet Leigh. According to Leigh in her memoir, Curtis called her up and pretended to be Cary Grant asking for a date. Leigh was speechless, and as she stammered, Curtis revealed the gag. This might be something of a questionable tactic, seemingly setting up the date for a letdown, but it seemed to work for Curtis, who ended up marrying Janet Leigh.
Dr. Rollyson also noted that, while Curtis was doing his Cary Grant impersonation in Some Like it Hot, Jack Lemmon adopted the mannerisms of Joe E. Brown, his co-star (and film love interest!). The introduction added to the enjoyment of an already-enjoyable film.
Following dinner, the group enjoyed dinner and additional conversation at The Homestead. While sampling the Spicy Tomato and Red Pepper Soup and the Fresh Mozzarella and Garlic stuffed Tenderloin Filet, a handshake deal was made to bring Dr. Rollyson back in 2015, when his biography of Walter Brennan will be published. Tune in!
We started our day in Independence, Missouri, with hot chocolate, mocha, coffee, and various pastries at Home Sweet Home Bakery in town. The hostess was welcoming, had an interesting haircut, and was very helpful.
Following breakfast, we headed to the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library, starting with a short movie that introduced us to how Truman came to be, from his life in Independence as a young boy up until his career as 33rd President of the United States.
The Library features various exhibits, including parts of his personal diary, and pictures from his presidency.
Harry Truman Library, With Mural by Thomas Hart Benton
One favorite picture of the group was the famous “Dewey Defeats Truman” news headline in which Truman holds the Chicago Daily Tribune with an erroneous headline that indicated Dewey had defeated Truman in the 1948 election. Truman is laughing in the picture, clearly celebrating his victory and ready to begin his second term. The Library also features an original of the newspaper that was published in 1948.
The Library’s largest exhibit is “The Presidential Years,” featuring videos, Truman’s personal diary, newspaper covers, and other artifacts depicting his presidential years. One interesting feature of the Library was the replica of the Oval Office during Truman’s presidency. Also interesting was a documentary on the Cold War, which was very informative.
Another favorite exhibit, also of the newspaper variety, included a display of enlarged newspaper covers, presented in chronological order, and featuring headlines such as “ROOSEVELT IS DEAD: TRUMAN TAKES OATH,” and “FIRST ATOMIC BOMB DROPPED ON JAPAN.” Finally, we took pictures with Truman’s statue…
…and we visited the graves of him and his wife, Bess Wallace.
After visiting the Library, we headed to the Truman Home. Even though the Trumans were not wealthy, the house is far from modest. In fact, the house belonged to Bess’s family, which was wealthy. A wraparound porch surrounds most of the house, and stained glass windows front the house.
The guide led us into the kitchen, which is very modest, with furniture and wallpaper that reflect 1950s style. The chairs, counters, table, and cupboards are all painted apple green, a popular color at the time.
The rest of the house is filled with wooden furniture and golden interiors. The second floor is closed to the public, so we only visited the dining room, Truman’s studio, the two living rooms, and the main hallway. In the larger living room, used for special occasions and guests, is a portrait of Harry, while in the family living room hangs a portrait of Bess. The portrait liked most was in the main hallway, of Margaret Truman, their daughter and only child. At the end of the tour, more pictures in front of the house, and then on to our next destination, Kansas City.
It was lunchtime, and we had to eat Kansas City style barbecue! Our research led us to try Oklahoma Joe’s Kansas City Barbecue, rated the number one place for barbecue in KC. We arrived at a very long line outside the restaurant and decided to utilize our backup plan. We headed to Fiorella’s Jack Shack.
Fiorella’s Jack Shack was voted by The Zagat to be one of the best places to eat in Kansas City; but, we were not impressed. We faced a wait of 30 minutes, at least that was the story according to the waittress. An hour and fifteen minutes later, and after some slight vocalization of our displeasure, we were seated. Overall, the food was average. The sliced pork was above average and the beans were good, but the bulk of the meats were no better than you can find in Huntsville.
We had a negative experience at lunch, but we would not let lunch defeat us! We headed over to the World War I Museum with full stomachs, armed with curiosity. The Museum was beautiful and showcased the Monument in a spectacular way.
The inside of the Museum had a glass floor that led from the main entrance to the museum exhibits, showcasing poppies commemorating those fallen in World War I. Each of the 9,000 poppies in the display represented 1,000 fallen soldiers. Walking across the glass floor and seeing the poppies below really demonstrated the vastness and destruction of World War I.
There were several great exhibits. One of the most interesting and informative was on wartime weapons development. The war started with very basic weapons; however, many developments were made in terms of weaponry and battle strategy. One particularly effective strategy was camouflage. The British would paint their ships in various patterns that they pulled from Cubist paintings to confuse enemies and make it harder to track the ship’s speed and course.
In terms of weaponry, countries were still in the early development stages. The first machine guns were poorly designed and very slow – but the Germans developed the German Maxim machine gun that performed fast, concise and very well. Grenades were also introduced in World War I and made trench warfare brutal. Various gases were used as well, making World War I a chemical war. Other developments such as tanks and submarines changed transportation for troops during the war and helped improve reconnaissance efforts.
We closed down the World War I Museum and continued our exploration of KC starting from the top of the museum, which is the bottom of the 265-foot tall Liberty Memorial. We walked up the stairs to the Liberty Memorial and were astonished at the view: the entire skyline of Kansas City.
After taking several pictures of the skyline (selfies and groupies), we walked the several blocks to Union Station. On our walk, we encountered a large field of grass with an American Flag in the middle: the perfect place for a race. We had tried a race the night before, but because Professor Yawn left Silvia in the dust, he agreed to run backwards against her this time. It was much closer this time, and Silvia edged out Yawn in a photo finish.
The Race!
During the race, though, we stumbled upon a beautiful tree in full fall foliage, displaying red, orange and brown leaves like a proud peacock. The tree served as a perfect backdrop for more pictures of us as a group…
…and individually…
We finished our stroll in the brisk Kansas City air at Union Station, an historic train station. Built in 1914, the train hub is home to Amtrak, museum exhibits like Science City, and theaters. Awed by the extravagant architecture and design of the interior, it was interesting to learn that after being closed in 1985, $20M was spent on restoration of the building to recover it from its solitude and dilapidation. Intriguingly, it’s still an active train station.
Historically, the KC Union Station was the second to be built in the country and followed Second Empire Style and Gothic Revival. After consuming all available space in the 1878 location and eventually flooding, the decision was made to move the station to its current location. Designed by Jarvis Hunt, the great hall with three massive chandeliers and ornate ceiling adornments is what we see today.
We were fortunate enough to be spectators to all the 100th year celebrations the Saturday evening held for Union Station. Drinking our coffee, we watched patron after patron stroll past, determination in their eyes, dressed in authentic 1920’s regalia. Unsure of what was happening, we followed a few to find, to our surprise, swing dance lessons going on. We watched, thankful for such perfect timing for something so entertaining.
With the sun setting…
…we hightailed it out of the enormous train station and headed back to the car in search of the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art. Sighting a Chihuly, we knew we had arrived at the home to many inspiring pieces of modern art.
We wandered through the museum, admiring exhibits such as Summoning Ghosts: The Art of Hung Liu, full of poignant, politically vocal pieces about communistic China, and Miss Your Mark, which sought to allow artists to make their mark using the manipulation of different materials.
We even explored the museum’s café, full of art by Frederick James Brown, which paid tribute to many artists throughout time. Our artistic appetite not quite satisfied, we left the Kemper and walked to the Donald J. Hall Sculpture Park, to appreciate the pieces by moonlight. Among those seen, our favorites included Shuttlecocks by Claes Oldenburg and Rodin’s Thinker. Although we had filled one appetite, our hunger made an appearance, so we left in search of sustenance.
An all-time favorite of our own Professor Yawn, we walked into Grunauer’s, not knowing what to expect. We quickly learned of the many Austrian delicacies available but had trouble narrowing it down to just a few. We began the meal with an assortment of sampler appetizers, including different kinds of cheeses, bratwursts, meats, and breads. Some of the unusual choices included currywurst, liverwurst, and brie. We downed the wonderful, new foods in preparation for the main course. Among some of the delectable entrees we enjoyed were Hungarian Beef Goulash, Cordon Bleu, Kasespatzle (noodles and cheese), and Fisch im Strudelteig-a fish baked in pastry adorned with spinach and mushrooms.
Stuffed to the gills, we surprisingly found room for apple strudel, chocolate cake, and nutella crepes for dessert, much to our full bellies’ dismay. Such an enjoyable end to an exciting day, we loaded up in the car to make our way to Bentonville, Arkansas for our final day of the Midwestern Tour.
Our Midwestern Trip second day was especially busy. After a short night and a hearty breakfast, we headed to the Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site, located in Webster, Missouri.
First, we watched a short video that covered Grant’s life and career, emphasizing the loving relationship between him and his wife Julia, as well as covering his military and presidential careers.
US Grant
Grant was originally from Ohio, and later graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he met his roommate and future brother-in-law, Fred Dent. He actually resigned from the military to be closer to his family but re-entered when the Civil War began. He rose to prominence with excellent military skills and led the Union to victory. A few years later, he was elected President of the United States.
The National Historic Site features White Haven—his residence—which, incidentally, is green.
White Haven
It was Julia’s childhood home, and home to Ulysses and Julia for many years of their marriage. Julia’s father, Fredrick Dent, named it White Haven in honor of another property he had; subsequent caretakers of the house during Grant’s ownership painted it green. Inside, as we walked through the halls and rooms filled with pictures and quotes from the Grant family, we imagined how life was over a century ago.
After lunch we ventured deep into St. Louis to tour the Gateway Arch. The closer we got to the Arch, the more intimidating the monument became – it was stunning, elegant. The panes reflected the light so as to make it look iridescent.
We made our way underground to the visitor’s center where we bought our tickets to ride to the top. The Gateway Arch was designed by the Finnish architect Eero Saarinen; it took $13M and a little over three years to complete. Comprised of stainless steel, it reaches a staggering 630 feet high, making it the world’s tallest arch. To get to the top of the Arch – and the spectacular views – we traveled in a small pod (emphasis on small) that offered a rocky trip up the arch.
After checking out the beautiful views…
St. Louis from the Arch
…it was, back down to the visitor’s center to begin our next adventure to the Old Courthouse.
The Courthouse looked much like a capitol in that it had a large dome and several levels that were separated by beautiful spiraling staircases.
On a more substantive level, this is the building in which Dred Scott sued for his freedom, winning in state court, but losing when his case made it to the Taney-led Supreme Court.
This much we knew going into the building, but what we didn’t know is that Mr. Scott was granted his freedom by his “owner” and, although he died a short year later, he died a free man.
Ariel Traub, the Old Courthouse, and Dred Scott
Feeling rather free and adventurous ourselves, we walked through several local parks, took a picture with the “running man…”
The Running Man and the Standing Girls
…and, of course, took selfies…
…and then ventured through several historical buildings. We saw the Wainwright Building, which was constructed in 1981 by Ellis Wainwright and designed by Louis H. Sullivan, who would go on to mentor Frank Lloyd Wright. The Wainwright Building became the father of the contemporary skyscraper and was a turning point in architectural history.
The Wainright Building
We learned about the difference between modernism, which has an accompanying slogan that “less is more,” and post-modernism, with the slogan that “less is a bore.” Modern buildings consist largely of glass windows and steel, whereas post-modern buildings have unique designs and shapes—often incorporating many styles from the past—that make the buildings one-of-a-kind.
Regaining energy with a Starbucks break, we left to further our learning in the state of Illinois. We arrived in Springfield just in time to eat and take a nighttime tour. We mollified our hunger at Lake Pointe Grill where, according to Silvia, there is such a thing as too much arugula on a pizza. Lake Pointe Grill boasts the only wood-burning grill in Springfield, clearly showcased by the delicious fare we enjoyed. We did not dally at dinner, as the Capitol was drawing us in, in all its glory.
Our first night stop was in front of the Capitol building, where our architecture lessons continued. Showcasing a French Renaissance style, the building lit at night seemed spectacularly imposing. The current capitol building happens to be the sixth Capitol building since Illinois became a state. Designed by Cochrane and Garnsey out of Chicago, the immensity of the building begged exploration. Even though we were not able to enter, we were successful in taking a photograph with Abe Lincoln before making a regrettable leave to our next stop.
Lincoln’s influence in his hometown does not end at the Capitol. Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln’s home sits smack in the middle of town. After searching the park full of many historical homes, we finally found the former President’s home on the corner of Eighth Street. The home clearly fit the spacial needs of the Lincoln family, compared to its original (smaller) size when they bought it from Rev. Charles Dresser.
To finish our nighttime explorations of Springfield, Illinois, we juxtaposed the very proportionate and grand architecture of the state house with a Frank Lloyd Wright home. Mr. Wright built the early 1900s home for Dana Thomas, with imposing walls and sunken bricks representing the change from the open, trusting social life to the more guarded, private lives of the early 1900s. Even though it was dark, we could clearly make out his trademark hidden front door, taunting us with what is inside. So different from the vertically enhanced capitol building, Wright’s horizontal home seemed to sink into the ground and succeeded in representing the plains of America.
Back in the van, we headed to Chicago to continue our journey in the “Windy City.” As we ended another long day, we anticipated a chilly, activity-packed day –to hopefully fulfill our goal to learn more about the art and architecture the White City has to offer.
May 31–Our Austin agenda is packed, and Friday morning was no different. We visited the Bob Bullock State History Museum, which covers hundreds of years of Texas history—from Spanish explorers to Apollo 13 landing on the moon and reporting back to Houston. With so many interesting facts about the state, it was impossible to learn about all the exhibits and artifacts. But we each had our favorite, lingering over important documents, old fashion tools, jewelry, many weapons, and large-scale displays.
Perhaps the most intriguing of the exhibits to our group was the “Goddess of Liberty.” The exhibit allows you to get close to a full-sized replica of her, and her features were over-large and unflattering.
The reason, according to the Museum, was so that the facial features would be noticeable from 310 feet away, which is the height of the Capitol Building. Rumor has it that she was placed atop the capitol building to make it just a bit taller than the US Capitol. My favorite exhibit, however, was Lone Star flag, which included a quote from Sam Houston, who noted that the flag is a “symbol of heritage that marks who we are as a people, who the land has made us, and who we will become…” It was a fitting quote for our group from SHSU, the University which marks us as a group and will influence who we will become.
After feeding our brain with knowledge of Texas history, we were also introduced to new spices, flavors, and foods. For lunch, we tried the Noble Sandwich, where a long line for the food attested to the popularity of the restaurant. The line also gave us the opportunity to discuss the menu options, which culminated with Jake deciding on the Noble Pig Sandwich (pulled pork, bacon, spiced ham, and provolone) and the ladies sticking together and ordering the delicious Turkey Chop (red onion, cucumber, fresh herbs, and lemon coriander vinaigrette. Professor Yawn opted for the Smoked Duck Pastrami, which consisted of duck, sauerkraut, and Russian dressing.
We also expanded our palates by trying a double fudge cookie, a coconut cookie, a maple and pecan cookie, and an exotic chocolate bacon tart!
We ended the night with a visit to Quack’s 43rd Street Bakery. We greatly enjoyed a lively conversation, as well as desserts, coffee, and tea. Lupe and Jake finished off a piece of Peanut Butter Fudge cake and a double chocolate brownie, while Joyce and Makeebba shard a Vegan Lemon Blueberry cupcake, and we all enjoyed ginger cookies, a specialty of the bakery.
In between lunch and our late night snack, we spent a full day at the New Politics Forum’s “Campaign Bootcamp.” We met students from all over Texas, students from the University of Texas, Texas State, Texas A&M, Rice, and University of Houston. We weren’t sure what to expect, but we were eager to learn from veteran campaign staff, who serve as presenters and mentors on topics such as fundraising, campaign management, volunteer recruitment, message shaping, crisis control, getting out the vote, and social media. Emily Einsohn, the Coordinator of the New Politics Forum, offered introductions, and she helped establish a welcoming environment, allowing us to focus on the substantive topics.
Our first presenter, Parag Mehta, was the Outreach Coordinator for the Barack Obama Presidential Transition Team, and he led off with a poem for an introduction. It was a nice icebreaker.
Dr. Regina Lawrence, the Director of the Annette Strauss Institute began with a discussion of statistics, helping us know how to target vote totals.
We also heard from Luke Marchant, the Republican mentor, and Parag Mehta, the Democratic mentor—both have worked for high-level elected officials.
At least one of us found the campaign management seminar, led by Rob Johnson and Ed Espinoza, to be the most informative. It was a great overview of the process, and appropriate for our first day.
We also broke into our groups and were given a hint of our hypothetical scenarios, in which we work to ensure victory for our hypothetical candidate. One of the nice—and fun—aspects of the campaign is that the scenarios bring together Democrats, Republicans and Independents together to work on the same team. We’ll see how that goes!
Lupe Cuellar and Joycelyn Ovalle–Our destination was Austin, a trip made to engage in a “campaign bootcamp,” but we headed out a day early to enjoy the many attractions in Austin, Texas. Actually, we enjoyed the trip before we even arrived in Austin, particularly our dinner in Elgin, Texas, where we enjoyed some delicious barbecue. Elgin is a small town just outside of Austin that is known for its savory sausage. Meyer’s restaurant provided a range of barbecue favorites such as smoked beef brisket, barbecue chicken, barbecue smoked turkey breast and pork garlic sausage. With so many mouthwatering choices, making a decision on one thing was not easy. However, I could not pass up trying the smoked pork ribs. My entry consisted of four flavorful smoked pork ribs that were dipped in rich original barbecue sauce. It also included two sides, which consisted of creamy cheesy macaroni and fresh coleslaw. I could have not asked for a more delightful meal. The rest of the group came up with a sampling of other food options: brisket, turkey, pulled pork, and sausage.
And while their choices may have differed, the group’s conclusion was the same: the food was delicious!
After enjoying some delicious barbecue, we headed to the Austin Playhouse Theater to watch the play–“The Foreigner” by Larry Shue. After all, laughter is the best calorie burner! It was interesting to learn that the cast was not only composed of professional actors and actresses, but also members of the Austin Community. People volunteer their time and skills to provide live entertainment for people of all ages.
The key character in the play was “Charlie,” the titular “Foreigner,” and he was the group’s favorite. But we also enjoyed Cyndi Williams’ performance as Betty Meeks, the operator of a fishing lodge and resort. If her Georgian accent and “old South” expressions didn’t provide sufficient humor, her interactions with the “foreigner” made for plenty of laughs.
At the end of the day we realized that our first day in Austin was a success. Barbecue, Site seeing and Comedy are great partners!
Makeebba Deterville and Jake Rivera–Today is the first day of SHSU classes, but we embarked on a different education in Austin, Texas—a bit of site-seeing on top of a three-day campaign bootcamp hosted by the Annette Strauss Institute.
Our journey began with a visit to the unique Meyer’s Barbeque, in Elgin, Texas. I ordered the BBQ brisket with a side of potato salad and macaroni and cheese, while the other students opted for turkey, ribs, pulled pork, and sausage. One of the fun things about the restaurant is sampling their two types of BBQ sauce—the “original” and the “honey mesquite.”
The restaurant was recently covered in the Dallas Morning News, which addressed the ongoing debate over whether Meyer’s Barbeque is better than its main in-town rival: Southside. Having never visited Southside, we cannot decide the matter, but this gives us something to explore on the way back to Huntsville…
But we are getting ahead of ourselves. We landed in the great city of Austin, Texas with a welcoming view of the city’s skyline—including, of course, the beautiful Texas capitol building.
Of course, we followed that up by seeing the less-than-beautiful Highland mall, which is where the Austin Playhouse (a new venue is in the works).
None of us knew what to expect from Larry Shue’s “The Foreigner,” which was our night’s entertainment. We were, by far, the youngest people in the place, which was too bad, because the play served as wonderful entertainment for people of all ages. There were some very funny lines, but much of the humor was conveyed non-verbally as well. One scene, reminiscent of the Marx Brothers mirror scene in Duck Soup, which involved the characters Charlie (the “Foreigner”) and Ellard (a half-wit) at breakfast, and was particularly memorable.
Also attending the play with us was Blake Roach, an SHSU alumnus, who is now working for Attorney General Greg Abbott. It was great to meet SHSU alums, sharing laughter, and kicking off what we will hope to be a great weekend!
Center for Law, Engagement, and Politics 