It's just a habit
I have a fascination with nuns. I suppose it can be traced back to Catholic school, where they hovered over us for years, chalk and rulers in hand, teaching us about grammar and God. Our nuns were Dominicans. They wore all white with black veils. Some were sweet and grandmotherly, some were stern but fair, others mean and nasty. In short, they were human, even if we didn't know it at the time.
Today's book, Scary Nuns: Sisters at Work and at Play (HarperCollins, 128 pages, $14.95) is a small volume filled with photographs of what nuns are doing ...
... when they're not praying. They apparently swim in the ocean in full habit, play pool, take part in target practice, ice skate, appear on TV, go fishing, dance in their stocking feet, do needlepoint, go to amusement parks, play baseball, drink tea and eat cake.
I have to admit, I already knew all this. You see, I've been given as a gift, two years running, a wall calendar titled "Nuns Having Fun," which includes many similar photographs. It would have been helpful back in grammar school to have such a reference because for all we knew, all the nuns did was pray — that is, when they weren't teaching school. I can't even recall if I ever saw one eat. I'm sure I never saw one in the bathroom.
Scary Nuns includes nun-related quotes from noted authors and several Scary Nun Hall of Fame entries on infamous sisters such as SIster Maria Jesus Agreda, "the original Flying Nun" (aka The Blue Nun) and Catherine of Siena, "who liked to catch falling heads and bathe in blood."
It's a quick, fun read for those like myself, who still find fascination with those who wear the habit.
Comments
I guess you could call this book "Lots of fun and Nun of the pain..." (Yes, I hear the groans). As a guy who has known plenty of Nuns in his life, it also has fascinated me what they do in their "off" time (Do they really watch and rewatch "Where Angels Go, Trouble Follows" and dance to old "The Singing Nun" singles?), including when I saw a gaggle of them at swinging clubs at a charity golf outing. Not nearly enough space has been given to the fact they kept Chrysler afloat by driving old blue Dodge station wagons with no air conditioning. The eternal mystery continues.
Keep up the good work! I love this thing....
Posted by: Don R | August 19, 2007 01:23 PM