Saturday Scribes - July 19, 2008

It was becoming increasingly obvious that luck was not on my side. I sat watching my DVD set of “The Partridge Family: Seasons 1 and 2,” wondering how I was to convince Lady Luck to join forces with me. What would my plan be? A simple, straight-forward, direct on the mark plan that I could walk towards with clear goals and strategies? Or some intricate Byzantine plan that eluded others and possibly myself?

I watched episode after episode. Danny has to get his tonsils out. Shirley goes back to school. Keith has a crush on a woman’s libber. Lori gets braces and can’t sing. I notice that Shirley assumes greater importance as the seasons progress. She’s the star, not teen-idol Keith, not cute and pretty Lori, and not even red-haired, freckle-face Danny. Shirley Partridge, stunning in appearance and pivotal to each and every plot-line in the tale (You notice that I do not even mention “the other two.” Yes, there are two other children in the Partridge family, but I can’t recall their names and they play such a limited role in the family that it’s easy to forget them altogether)


I decided to probe a little further into Shirley’s character. It likely would not help my own situation, but it would be a worthwhile distraction- perhaps. What was my problem? Trying to find work in an increasingly dog-eat-dog job climate. Yes, teachers can be nasty if their livelihood is at stake. They’re not nasty to the kids(hopefully) but there’s some pretty serious competition happening in the teaching profession. And I’m not that competitive or mean-spirited. Honestly, however, it’s pretty irrelevant what attitude I take. The “I give up” is comparable to the “I’ll fight em in the trenches” which is equivalent to the “slow and steady wins the race.” It doesn’t matter which approach I take. Seniority, trustee-friends, superintendent friends, etc. the usual nepotism seen in the corporate world is in full swing. So, I need luck - serendipity appearing in my life suddenly and happily.


How does Shirley Partridge relate to my dilemma? Is she an emblem of Lady Luck? Let’s have a good close look at her. First of all, she’s got a great voice. I remember my mother telling me once that Shirley Jones is a serious singer. You wouldn’t know this fact if you listened to the canned pop music she normally sings on the show. But yesterday, (or the episode I watched yesterday) she sang a song of the Whale, taking her place in the 1970's environmental moment, which was then called the “ecology movement.” Here, Shirley Partridge sings her heart out, gives a lot of vocal support - nice breathing, Shirley - and let’s it all out. It’s a good episode, full of corniness and fakery, with one beautiful shining moment of sincerity when Shirley sings for the whale. If only she wouldn’t wear the family velvety outfit (it’s the red outfits this time). It doesn’t fit in with the whale theme, somehow.


Have we found, then, an image of Lady Luck? Unfortunately not yet. We have some sincerity. We have a speaker for the whales - an apologist for ecology, at least for the 23 minutes of camera-time she has. This is admirable enough, though it is not clear if Shirley Partridge really cares (I’m sure that Shirley Jones does).
Let’s move on. Let’s look at Shirley’s progress from season 1 into season 2. At first, Keith seems to be the star. Cute little David Cassidy. He’s the obvious shining star of the velvet-suited band singing their heart away as they ride about in the family bus. The question we might ask ourselves - is he really cute? - remains unanswered. I keep looking at him, trying to decide, but cannot disassociate him from 1970' iconography. His bell-bottoms and tapered hair are emblematic of the decade and there seems little reality to the actor or the character. As the season progresses, I lose interest in Keith. It’s the same with Lori. She’s undoubtedly cute, extremely thin, good-looking, sweet and she plays her part of romantic, idealist - and looking for a boyfriend girl-next-door, darned well. But again, she is overshadowed by two other characters. Danny and Shirley. Red-haired Danny. Danny is a star, no questions asked. He’s a strong actor - charismatic, appealing, a bit of Michael J. Fox type in Family Ties. His character is similarly materialistic, prudent and cunning. But he’s cute. Still, he’s overshadowed by the main star, Shirley Jones/Shirley Partridge.



Is she somehow emblematic for me, a candle in the wind? And here I see, not Shirley Jones, but a plaintive Elton John, sitting with his grand piano (are there candles atop his piano?) calling out for us all. Okay, who’s upstaging who now?
I’m rambling on now, like a lost zeppelin, floating in the sky. I’ve given up on Lady Lucky. After all, you make your own luck, don’t you? And who is in charge of luck - divine providence? electro-magnetic forces? I’m sure that Deepak has the answer for us all in one of his volumes that relates Vedic philosophy and contemporary physics - yes, that works.....


But back to Shirley. Forget Elton (though I think he has been known to wear velvety outfits also). As I watch Shirley through seasons one and two, I notice that she gradually blooms for us. In the opening episodes, we notice Keith, Lori and Danny. Then gradually it becomes clear the Shirley is the most interesting one, the flower that gradually blooms for us (yes, I pulled out that very, very old metaphor). Shirley moves ever so gradually to the foreground of the show that you barely notice the change. Until you realize that you are watching the show to see her. She’s the mother, and the star.


So how does this help me and my JOB search? Yes, I’m willing to work towards some awkward, uncomfortable analogy! Like Shirley, I will ever-so-gradually move from the background (jobless) into the foreground (have-a-job). It may take a while, and I may be initially overshadowed by various superstars in velvet outfits. But ultimately, I’ll bloom, I’ll shine, I’ll be able to take center stage and sing for the whale.