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Thanksgiving 2020 is upon us, and despite the fact that some say "2020" is the new curse word, we can find things for which to be grateful. Here at Rhoads Memorial Library, we are delighted that plans held together, and we were able to re-open on Nov. 20. Currently we are closed to observe Thanksgiving, but hope to re-open at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 1. We will observe our normal schedule by being open through Friday from 9 a.m. til 6 p.m. and Saturday mornings.

It occurred to me that, despite our surging pandemic cases and political and social unrest, I am thankful we live in a country where we are free to make our own life choices. One extreme example can be found in the life of Charles Webb, who died on June 16, in East Sussex, England, survived by two sons, John and David.

Charles' main claim to fame was writing the 1963 novel, "The Graduate" which was the basis for the 1967 film of the same name that starred Dustin Hoffman and Anne Bancroft. The novel gave voice to a generation's youthful rejection of materialism, skewering wealthy social mores.

Born in 1939 in San Francisco, Charles grew up in Pasadena, California. After attending boarding school, he earned a degree in American history and literature in 1961 from Williams College in Massachusetts. Despite being a mediocre student, he won a two-year writing fellowship, which he used to write "The Graduate." He hoped to win his mother's approval as she was an avid reader, but she took offense to his portrayal of wealthy social circles similar to those in which she and her husband, Richard, a heart specialist, travelled.

While at Williams, Charles met Eve Rudd, a former debutante from a family of teachers. The couple rejected the bourgeois worlds of their families. Eve, who took the name of Fred to show solidarity with a self-help group for men with low self-esteem, married Charles in a big, traditional wedding. They immediately sold their wedding gifts back to the guests and donated the money to charity.

Thus, began a lifelong pursuit of shedding their possessions, inheritances, and three homes as they believed owning things oppressed them. Leaving California for a dilapidated house in Hastingson-Hudson, New York, they had two sons.

In addition to "The Graduate," Charles published seven novels, including "Love, Roger", "The Marriage of a Young Stockbroker", "New Cardiff," and "Home School". None of them achieved the success of "The Graduate", however. His refusal to do book signings, which he considered "a sin against decency," did not help.

In the late 1970s, the couple took their sons out of school and returned to the West Coast, choosing to home-school them, which was not sanctioned at the time. They moved around, living in a Volkswagen bus; Charles found work in menial jobs. He worked as a Kmart clerk, itinerant farmworker, and house cleaner. Once, the couple were caretakers at a nudist colony, earning $198 a week.

By 2001, the couple were living in England, moving there so Charles could research an English character for a book. A friend visited them in Brighton, noting the couple had almost no furniture and only one change of clothes. Charles' wife, Fred (Eve), died in 2019, leaving Charles quite alone.

So, however you choose to spend your life or to react to what life brings you, take time this Thanksgiving to reflect upon your situation, hopefully "counting your blessings." Then come check us out!