monks, slippers and threads…what’s in common?

It was a pleasure to meet Frederick Marx and Tracy Seeley in person.  Frederick and Tracy have been in the Seattle area on tour to promote Tracy’s new book, My Ruby Slippers:  The Road Back to Kansas, and Frederick’s new film, Journey from Zanskar.

We saw Zanskar at the Grand Cinema in Tacoma, a nonprofit theatre dedicated to showing independent films.  (There are fewer and fewer of these left any more, so support them wherever you can!)  It was great to see a nearly full house for Zanskar, which is a story of two Buddhist monks’ struggle to bring a group of children from a remote area in India to a distant school that will provide not only western education but also crucial religious and cultural studies.  Zanskar is a powerful film that works on a number of levels, importantly that of cultural survival.  It is narrated by Richard Gere and well worth seeing.

Tracy had a reading of her book at the Elliott Bay Book Company in Seattle, where we picked up a copy.  (There are fewer and fewer independent booksellers left as well, so support them, too!)  Ruby Slippers, part of the “American Lives” series, is a compelling story of a woman searching for her roots as well as what those roots mean.  It’s very well-written and personal.  Definitely worth reading.

Len and I had the opportunity to spend a couple of hours working with Frederick on Threads while he was in Seattle and really appreciate his experience and help.  The expertise and dedication so apparent in films like Hoop Dreams and Zanskar comes through in everything he does.  We are eager to move forward with the useful suggestions that the three of us discussed together.

We wish Tracy and Frederick all the best with their book and film tour!