Simple and Thought Provoking. Review on White Widow - Jim Lehrer

My last visit to the local library – I was surprised to see a book by Jim Lehrer. To me Jim was the host of the NewsHour on PBS – a show which I have watched every evening, without fail, since the last 10 years. Those who are familiar with the US news coverage, for unadulterated news coverage PBS is the best and Jim is a legend – he would give both Peter Jennings and Tom Brokaw a run for their money – and far superior to the Aaron Browns and the Paula Zahns of CNN.

White Widow was the first of Jim’s books which I have read and I was not disappointed and would highly recommend it.

The Hero:

Our hero is Jack T. Oliver, a bus driver for Great Western Trailways, a company which runs intercity buses. Jack lives in Corpus-Christi, a small coastal town in SE Texas and his usual round was to take the bus from Corpus-Christi to Houston, have a layover in Houston and return back the next day. The one way drive takes about 5 hours.

Jack had a very strong work ethic and was a stickler for the company published schedule and was rightly nicknamed “On Time” Jack. He took pride in always timing his run and making up for lost time. He was awarded the Master Operator badge – an honor reserved only for the very best.

He was an easy going person who used to chat with his passengers and the ticket agents at the various stops he made.

His Wife:

Jack had an adorable wife in Loretta who used to wait for his return and cook him his favorite meatloaf. She used to work in the local telephone company. Both Loretta and Jack shared a passion for Christmas decorations and their house was the best decorated one during the Holidays.

His Colleagues:

They have nicknames like College (because he was bright and they thought he must have gone to college), Sunshine (who always had a smile on his face) and Pharmacy who was also a Master Operator like Jack. Jack was well liked by his colleagues but the only person with whom he was really close was Pharmacy.

His Parents:

Jacks’ father, who was an eye doctor, wanted his son to specialize in contact lenses and take over his practice. Jack was poor in studies and always wanted to be a bus driver and one day he just got up and left home without informing his parents. Here the description of the small town people is very lucid and touching.

Mr. Abernathy:

A character who is seen at the bus station with a packed suitcase. Every day, he makes enquiries about going to Mount Rushmore, Washington D.C. or some vague place, but never buys a ticket or boards a bus.

Philosophically speaking, this character represents each one of us - who would like to go someplace other than where we are now but still do not get the courage to take that step.

The White Widow:

In the local language, a white widow is a woman traveling alone.

She was a passenger who used to board Jack’s bus on Fridays with a one-way ticket from Victoria to Corpus Christie. From the moment he laid his eyes on her he was obsessed by this stranger. Jack’s only contact with her was to help her alight and get down from the bus. She used to disappear without even looking up at Jack.

Jack used to constantly think about her – who is she, where does she live, where does she go, why Friday’s, why one-way ticket but he had no answers. But he had a fertile imagination and he used to have imaginary conversations with her. He imagined that Ava loved him and this obsession was affecting his relationship with Loretta.

Jack used to look forward to the Friday run from Victoria to Corpus Christi so that he gets a chance to see her.

He did not even know her name, so he named her Ava Gardner – because she looked like Ava. Sometimes he used to refer to her as Grace Kelly.

The writing style:

The first half of the book builds the character of Jack, the working of the Trailways and the folklores of small town Texas between Houston and Corpus Christi.

And then, on a rainy night when Jack is making the run from Houston to Corpus Christi…

There was a flash of lightning. Were those people up there on the side of the road? Were they waving at him?

Who were they? Did he accidentally kill them ? What should he do now?

His whole world turns topsy-turvy. Read the book to find out more.

What I liked:

The description of the people and of the small towns of Texas are beautiful.

Overall it is a book of passion and self-destruction. Jack had everything going for him but he looses it all. While reading the book, I was reminded of President Clinton and his situation which led to his impeachment.

It deals with tough topics like who we are and how obsessions can play havoc with a person’s hard earned life.

''White Widow'' is a good read which is thought provoking.

This book has made me look for other writings of Jim Lehrer.

Happy Reading.