Jeannette Walls
Journalist and author Jeannette Walls had a wildly dysfunctional childhood, but was able to escape her chaotic home and help rescue her younger siblings.
*****
Jeannette's father, Rex Walls, was a ruggedly handsome, brilliant, and charismatic man. However, he was a selfish alcoholic and gambler who could never keep a job as an electrician/engineer for more than a few months. Rex would tell his family to pack at a moment's notice ("You can only take one thing") and frequently hustled them from one dilapidated hovel to another, which he called "doing the skedaddle."
Rex Walls
Rex told his kids he was on the run from the FBI, but was really fleeing from bill collectors. For decades, Rex said he was 'rooting out corruption in the unions' and perfecting an invention, called 'The Prospector' - which would separate gold from dross. When fortune struck, Rex planned to build a 'Glass Castle', a fairy tale abode for the family.....which he was designing himself.
Jeannette's mother, Rose Mary Walls, was a carefree, hippy-dippy artist - and sometimes teacher - who had her head so high in the clouds that earthly concerns like feeding, bathing, educating, and nurturing her four children (Lori, Jeannette, Brian, and Maureen) were hardly on her radar. If the kids had problems or concerns, Rose Mary assured them that 'hardship fosters strength' and blithely went on her way. When the youngsters were hungry, they had to fend for themselves IF there was even food in the house.....which was rare.
Rose Mary and Rex Walls on their wedding day
Rose Mary and Rex Walls and three of their children
Having to feed herself, three-year-old Jeannette was cooking hotdogs one afternoon when she went up in flames. Rose Mary swaddled the blazing child in a blanket and, courtesy of a neighbor, rushed her to the hospital. The Walls family, which usually avoided scrutiny from the outside world, was subject to negative judgment from doctors and social workers.....who expressed their concerns.
This infuriated Rex, who already had issues with doctors, lawyers, bankers, businessmen, etc. (people we now call 'the one percenters'). Moreover, Rex disapproved of Jeannette's medical treatment and - using his toddler Brian to create a distraction - mounted a skedaddle to rescue Jeannette from the hospital (and probably skip out on medical bills). This may have contributed to the permanent scars on Jeannette's torso.
During Jeannette's turbulent childhood, she witnessed Rex toss the family cat out of a moving car and drown a batch of kittens, which he did nonchalantly, without regret. Rex taught his young kids to shoot guns; launch arrows; and throw knives. He encouraged little Jeannette to pet a cheetah at the zoo (which got the family thrown out), and - not having money for proper gifts - gave the children 'stars' (in the sky) for Christmas.
Young Jeannette Walls
As a result of the family pinging from one town to another, Jeannette met a hodgepodge of kids, many of whom were roughhewn delinquents. One time, when the Walls were living in Phoenix, Arizona, a boy named Billy took a shine to Jeannette, and - thinking she liked him back - forced a kiss and tried to do more. When Billy was rejected, he showed up with a bebe gun and the resulting scuffle - involving a REAL gun wielded by Jeannette- necessitated another hasty skedaddle.
After traipsing around the Southwest for years, the Walls family was penniless and desperate. Therefore - against Rex's VOCIFEROUS objections - Rose Mary insisted the family move to Rex's home town of Welsh, West Virginia. There the Walls' lived with Rex's hillbilly parents and brother for a time, resulting in (relatively minor, but troubling) physical and sexual abuse....perhaps providing a clue to Rex's turbulent personality.
When they'd lived in Welsh for several months , Rex and Rose Mary found an old wreck of a house at '93 Little Hobart Street', and moved the family there. The house had no toilets or heat, and was almost unbearable in winter. The kids started to excavate a foundation for the 'Glass Castle', but the large depression soon became a stinking garbage pit. School was a trial as well. Jeannette was dirty; smelled bad; had raggedy clothes; and usually had no food for lunch. On top of that, she was much smarter than her classmates. Thus, she was bullied by schoolmates and even some teachers.
93 Little Hobart Street
One time, when Jeannette was fourteen, Rex took her to a bar and encouraged a fellow patron to dance with his underage daughter, and even take her up to his apartment - while Rex hustled money for drinks. Jeannette was almost raped, but managed to escape. The girl was furious with her father, who was nonchalant and blasé, saying "I knew you could take care of yourself." (This pimping out of his daughter is Rex's most outrageous behavior IMO.)
Whenever the family got a little money, Rex usually spent it on alcohol and cigarettes.....though the kids were starving. On one occasion, the children amassed a good bit of 'Piggy Bank' money by mowing lawns; babysitting; tutoring; doing other kids' homework; and so on - to finance their eventual escape to New York City. Rex found and stole their savings. Nevertheless, oldest sister Lori headed for New York the day she graduated high school, and was followed by Jeannette when she completed the 11th grade. Later, the girls sent for their younger siblings, Brian and Maureen.
Some years later, when all the Walls children were established in New York, Rex and Rose Mary showed up, and - after exhausting visiting privileges with their children - became homeless squatters in a downtown tenement. Luckily, Rex was able to (illegally) rig up electricity from a power line, but the couple became dumpster divers to survive.....despite their children's offers of assistance.
Rex and Rose Mary Walls in their later years
Rose Mary and Jeannette Walls
Rose Mary and Jeannette Walls
The really remarkable thing about all this is that Jeannette continued to adore and idolize her father, though she deplored his behavior. Jeannette's attitude toward her mother seems more ambivalent. She apparently blamed Rose Mary for not taking the kids and making a run for it, but - nevertheless - showed her mother kindness and consideration.
Though Jeannette's story is bleak, it has lighter moments. During a stint of relative prosperity, Rex bought Rose Mary a piano. To get the heavy instrument into the house, Rex rigged up a system of ropes that attached to the piano in the front yard, threaded through the house and out the back door, and were tied to the family car. Rose Mary was supposed to gently nose the car forward, pulling the piano into the house. However, she hit the gas hard and hauled the piano through the entire house and into the backyard, where it stayed from then on.
This is a remarkable story of resilience in the face of adversity, and kids with less intelligence, spunk, and drive than the Walls' youngsters may not have fared as well.
This memoir, which has been on the New York Times best seller list since it's publication in 2005, was made into the 2017 movie 'The Glass Castle.' The film, though a clearly recognizable adaptation of the book, gives the story a 'fairy tale' touch that's a bit disingenuous IMO. Still, it's a good movie.
Movie posters for 'The Glass Castle'
This is a well-written, riveting book, highly recommended to readers who enjoy memoirs.
Rating: 4 stars
No comments:
Post a Comment