Picnics

The Victorians packed up their elaborate picnics for much the same reason we grill out in the back yard: they wanted to reconnect with nature, with their agrarian roots. Though an excursion just for the sake of a picnic seems to have fallen off these days, it’s still a lovely thought. Drag out the cooler, stuff it full of drinks, sandwiches, pickles, brownies, and other delectables, and head with your family, a companion, or even a good book out to one of the parks in our area or even into your own back yard.

Tomato sandwiches

Here’s a delicacy you can pack for your picnic. For the ideal, classic tomato sandwich, take a tomato fragrant with sunshine, rain, and warm earth. Wash it and cut it into thin slices. Coat one piece of white bread with real mayonnaise. Add tomato slices, salt, and pepper. Cover with the other piece of white bread. Take a bite and enjoy the taste of a Carolina summer.

“Cinderella Man”

I don’t understand why some critics panned this movie. It’s the true story of a decent man who loved his wife and children, and who fought fiercely both inside and outside the boxing ring to lift his family out of poverty (OK, maybe I do understand). Russell Crowe was magnificent as James Braddock — of all our male actors, Crowe is one of the few who actually looks and sounds like an adult — that’s on-screen, of course; Crowe in real life apparently has all the maturity of a college freshman given a case of Bud on a Saturday night. Ron Howard as director gives us some of the best fight sequences I’ve ever seen in a movie. If this one isn’t playing in your local theater by this point, try the video when it’s available.

“White,” “Blue,” and “Red”

This trilogy of films goes deep into the lives of three different people and their problems of the heart. White is largely done in Polish, Blue and Red in French. Each film offers us an in-depth look into a human soul, and though each movie stands on its own, together they form a triptych of meditations pondering the power of redemption and the lovely frailty of human connectedness. Local libraries and many video stores carry these movies.

Books for boys

If you’re having trouble getting your elementary or middle school sons to read this summer, you might consider some of these suggestions: Calvin and Hobbes cartoon books, the Tin-Tin books, Hatchet, or the books in the Redwall series. For reluctant readers or for slow readers, it sometimes helps as well to pick up the tape at your local library along with the book. Some readers like to listen to the tape while they follow along in the book.

— Jeff Minick