#4 in a series on Young Adult literature

"Right," Brother Leon answered, making the check against the name. Looking up, he called, "Renault."
The pause. The damn pause.
"No!"
The Goober felt as if his eyes were the lens for a television camera in one of those documentaries. He swung around in Jerry's direction and saw his friend's face, white, mouth half-open, his arms dangling at his sides. And then he swiveled to look at Brother Leon and saw the shock on the teacher's face, his mouth forming an oval of astonishment. It seemed almost as if Jerry and the teacher were reflections in a mirror.
Finally Brother Leon looked down.
"Renault," he said again, his voice like a whip.
"No. I'm not going to sell the chocolates."
Cities fell. Earth opened. Planets tilted. Stars plummeted. And the awful silence.

-- from Robert Cormier's The Chocolate War (1974), pg. 89

Oh, is that ha-ckey?! *

So, I'm off to Boston tomorrow for a week of revisiting Emerson College haunts and hanging with my twin bro, whom I know is just chomping at the bit for me to unpack my gigantic suitcase in his living room. The green boots are ready to go! I wish N. could join me (tax season, etc. is preventing it and by etc. I mean his illness called March Madness -- ha!) but I'm looking forward to ordering lots of Dunkin' Donuts coffee and the donuts to complete, watching people doing something v. strange called "reading" on the T, sneaking into the Emerson library to fondle the New Yorker (nerd alert) and celebrating my Irish roots (not really) in Southie on St. Patty's Day. I also want to know if my initials are still carved in the movie seat in that old theater in Beverly by the beach and if the grocery store where I worked for a day (frightened by memorizing numbers associated with produce) is still in business. It will also be wicked cold so I plan on saying that alot. Look for photos and stories to come!

*Paige, that one was for you.

#3 in a series on Young Adult literature

I thought this was particularly relevant today...

"And he could see, though his eyes were closed. He could see a bright, whirling torrent of crystals in the air around him, and he could see them gather on the backs of his hands, like cold fur.
His breath was visible.
Beyond, through the swirl of what he now, somehow, perceived was the thing the old man had spoken of -- snow -- he could look out and down a great distance. He was up high someplace. The ground was thick with the furry snow, but he sat slightly above it on a hard, flat object...
Comprehending all of those things as he sped downward, he was free to enjoy the breathless glee that overwhelmed him: the speed, the clear cold air, the total silence, the feeling of balance and excitement and peace."

-- Lois Lowry, The Giver

that darn comment

At church Sunday, a friend of mine commented, "Hey the other day I was watching That Darn Cat! with my daughter, and Hayley Mills kept reminding me of you. I'm not sure why, but I think it was the facial expressions." I have to say that this really made my day. I have loved Mills' movies since I was a little girl. Though I'm not quite sure that I bear any resemblance to her, I now have a renewed interest in watching The Parent Trap, That Darn Cat!, Pollyanna and my absolute favorite, a lesser-known 1964 Disney film called The Moonspinners, a murder mystery set on the island of Crete. I've posted a little montage of Hayley moments below. Any thoughts?