St. Louis Post-Dispatch from St. Louis, Missouri • Page 37

Just the facts Lillian Hellman and Dashiell Hammett have had their booze and brawls done in SKUTTLEBUG Look up when you go to the History Museum, and you will see the two big birds that guard the movies and on TV Now a PBS documentary tries to see them as products of their times. Page D6 entrance. Page D4 Tuesday, June 29,1999 ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH Suction ffi this 1 My a A i I 1 1 IffiSfL A lOUlt 111 can lead to lots of trouble Story By Phyllis Brasch Librach Photos By Jamie Rector Of the Post-Dispatch Touched by the elissa Urbani, a forward on the University of Alabama at 0 "Oprah miracle" Autkr Janet FUch escapes amnymity after the TV host added "White Oleander" to her book club. The public's urge to stay fit and active in sports r.

results in injuries that are keeping orthopedists and rehab centers busier than ever. By Jane Henderson Post-Dispatch Book Editor r'i lj 1 i A uthor Janet Fitch invited a couple of friends over to watch "Oprah" and to resuscitate her if neces ft Birmingham soccer team, charged down the field intent on making a goal during a spring tournament. She never scored. Urbani heard her knee pop seconds before she fell to the grass in tears. "It was the worst pain I ever felt in my life," she recalled, gazing down at the puffy pink scar covering the three-inch incision on her left kneecap.

Seven weeks after surgeons repaired the anterior cruciate ligament the ligament running down the center of the knee, deep in the kneecap Urbani ached to be back on the field. "I just want to play so bad," she said. "Soccer has taken me so far I have done it for so long, I wouldn't know what to do without it in my life." To reach her goal, Urbani works out on weekends at her home in Manchester and weekdays at SSM Health Care Physical Therapy Center in Kirkwood with Gregg Grain, a certified athletic trainer. Urbani winces when Crain warns that it will be a stretch for Urbani to play again by August, when her UAB team travels to Germany and Holland. She has dreams of becoming a professional soccer player in Europe.

She's played competitive soc- sary. Fitch and her friends were there to witness the "Oprah miracle," the announcement that would turn a first novel's print run of 20,000 books into a best seller. Oprah Winfrey chose Fitch's "White Oleander" to be her featured tome in May, making it another vivid example of the continuing power of the talk show host's book club. In St, Louis this month to sign copies of "White Oleander," Fitch talked about her gratitude toward Winfrey, clearly enjoying the fact that af- ter writing nearly anonymously for two decades, she has been rewarded with a measure of fame and money. "Every American author should light a candle for Oprah," Fitch said over lunch at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, where she was staying.

Looking younger than her 43 years with her long, auburn hair parted in the middle, Fitch was dressed comfortably in black knit pants and jacket and carried a black leather backpack-purse. She also talked with ease about the Janet Fitch says that in "White Oleander," her novel about foster care, the language is there for people interested In reading on that level. "And for those who want a story, there is, a story." "Like tires on a car, there is just so much mileage to get from some parts of your body, like the knee. You've got to be careful and enjoy what you -Harold Cast, 49 "4 a As Melissa Urbani lands from a Jump during rehabilitation of her left knee, certified athletic trainer Gregg Crain of SSM Health Care Physical Therapy Center in Kirkwood points out that the knee twists out slightly. After Urbani replied, "This is how I run, too," Crain said, "That's probably why your knee went out." i Crain adds weight to a chair that Urbani uses to strengthen her knees.

Urbani, 21, of Manchester, a soccer player for the University of Alabama at Birmingham, underwent surgery for a torn anterior cruciate ligament. She hopes to play for UAB this fall In a preseason trip to Europe. 1' I 'V. I cer since kindergarten, and the torn ACL is her first major injury and the only time she's needed surgery. Her college roommate, also a soccer player, has had seven surgeries to repair damage to both knees.

The strenuous lifestyle of competitive young athletes like Urbani has helped make bum knees the No. 1 treatment for orthopedic surgeons. More than 5 million people a year seek medical help for their knees, according to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. About 4.2 million people roughly equivalent to the population of Philadelphia visit doctors each year for treatment See Knee, Page D3 craft of writing. Fitch said that when talk shows like Dinah Shore's started to become popular, they tended to feature nonfiction writers rather than fiction writers.

"Oprah is turning the tide of American reading habits back to fiction," Fitch said. "Oprah says 'trust me' and they do trust her." Fitch illustrates Oprah's power with an anecdote about a woman who told her "White Oleander" was the first book she'd read since high school. And Fitch chuckles as she recalls reading a cheap edition of Wally Lamb's "She's Come Undone," then being surprised to see an attractive new edition of the 1992 novel placed prominently next to a store's cash register. "I thought, 'what happened to this guy? Did he die and go to See Fitch, Page D2 SY- Get Out Tuesday sme best bets thing to today- For a complete listing of area entertainment, see Thursday's'Get Out magazine. "The Jap: "Undulations," a 1997 work by artist Michiko Rukal, is among the works in the exhibit continuing through Aug.

28 at the R. Duane Reed Gallery, 1 North Taylor Avenue. The exhibit is a celebra- -j. The Midwest Chorale The choral group, directed by Mary Marcus Sutherland, performs at 7:30 p.m. at The Sheldon, 3648 Washington Boulevard.

The program of opera choruses and scenes is sung in English, with commentary on each work. The exerpts all share the theme of weddings and marriage. $5. (772-0462) Roaring Tuesday Kids enjoy a chat about the skunk, pygmy goat, guinea pigs and more at Central Plaza boardwalk, an. animal presenta: tion in the Children's Zoo and the "Duck Derby." It all begins at 5 p.m.

at the St Louis Zoo in Forest Park. Free admission to regular Zoo, $3 Children's Zoo, 'Confederates In the Attic" Tony Horwitz, author of "Confederates in the Attic: Dispatches From the Unfinished Civil discusses and signs his book at 7 p.m. at Left Bank Books, 399 North Euclid Avenue. Horwitz discusses how the Civil War is still being fought from Gerrysburg to Vicksburg and from Charleston graveyards to Tennessee taverns. Free.

(367-6731) tion of form and function within "The Japanese Aesthetic' taken to new heights of artistic mastery. "Jed Jackson: Paintings," oils that embody realism with a distinctive SI twist, may also be seen. Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sate' and bv appointmnt (361-867 $1 Duck Derby.

(781-1.