Wishin' and Hopin'

Back in the early 80s, I was in graduate school, working toward an MFA in Writing.  One of my fellow students was another high school English teacher.  Although I was in the Poetry MFA and he was in the Fiction MFA, Wally and I had enough in common that we forged a friendship.  I remember well when he was working on a short story, and his advisor told him, "You have too many pots on the stove."  That short story became the novel She's Come Undone, one of Oprah's first book club reads.  And Wally Lamb became famous.

I can testify that Wally is one of the kindest, sweetest, most down-to-earth people you could ever meet.  In an age where fame is bestowed too often upon undeserving media darlings, Wally's rise to best-selling author is something we can all applaud.  I assure you, he is still the down-to-earth human being he always was.

In 2009, Wally published a fun little holiday novel titled Wishin' and Hopin', taken from the Dusty Springfield song of the same name.  (You may have noticed that the titles of Wally's novels all come from song titles.)  The story is told from the point of view of Felix Funicello, fifth-grader and cousin to the well-known former Mouseketeer, Annette Funicello.  The story takes place in 1964, and lest you think that the story is autobiographical, I can assure you that Wally was not in fifth grade in 1964.

Wally has a strong sense of the trappings of the Baby Boomer generation, so the novel is a delightful romp back in time for those of us who grew up in that era.  If you happened to have had a Catholic school upbringing, you will be amused by his interpretation of that experience.

Wishin' and Hopin' was made into a movie this fall.  It premiered on the Lifetime Channel earlier this month.  It stars Molly Ringwald, Chevy Chase, Cheri Oteri, Conchata Ferrell, and (believe it or not) Meatloaf.

I don't have cable TV, but my friend Margaret invited me to watch her DVR'd recording of the movie this afternoon.  Although Margaret had already seen it, she could not control her laughter watching it the second time around.  I was in Christmas heaven, watching Wally's movie and eating Margaret's Christmas cookies.  If you missed it, Lifetime will air it again on December 21.

Tune in and fall in love.

Wally in his cameo as the janitor