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July 05, 2003
Boom!
That is the noise on my street tonight. Lots of people setting off firecrackers. The cat is hiding in the closet.
I had a good day -- went to Patrick's mom's house for the usual cookout and swimming. I threw my vegetarian diet out the window and ate cheeseburgers. In fact, I threw away the whole diet and ate like mad. It was all so good! And eating on holidays doesn't count, right? We swam for ages, and I avoided sunburn, though my hair did get a little sun-bleached. (I had sprayed some Sun-In in it before I left, and it looks nice. I may do more tomorrow.) Lee and I left when the mosquitoes started feasting on us -- I have four bites on my right foot, and a few more on my legs. I am itchy. We went to Lee's apartment and watched Boston's fireworks on TV, in air-conditioned comfort. It was a very good day. And now, it is too hot and muggy to sleep.
So, a Friday Five:
1. What were your favorite childhood stories?
Oh, there are so many. The Ramona books. All the Judy Blume books. I was especially enamored of the Trixie Belden books. I used to read those, then re-enact the stories with my Barbies. I wanted to be Trixie. I used to get into trouble because I'd snoop around hoping to uncover a mystery to solve. I started trying to collect them all, but I ran out of disposable cash, and had to stop after finding nine of the books on eBay. I loved those books.
2. What books from your childhood would you like to share with [your] children?
The Trixie Belden books. All of the Ramona The Pest ones. The Secret Garden, definitely. My mom read that one aloud to me, and I loved it. The Little House on the Prairie books. Anne of Green Gables. The Hobbit. Books were a big deal when I was a kid. I read the whole young adult section in my library when I was little. I was sick a lot, I had a heart problem, and so all I could do was read. And I did so, voraciously.
3. Have you re-read any of those childhood stories and been surprised by anything?
Hmmm. No. Maybe I was surprised by how much I still liked them. I do like to go back and re-read my childhood favorites.
4. How old were you when you first learned to read?
About 3 or so. My mom used to read to me, and I remember the reading lessons on Sesame Street. I remember pulling my mom's cookbooks off the shelves -- they were the only ones I could reach -- and reading them aloud to my mom. I remember the house we lived in then, so I know I was around 3 years old.
5. Do you remember the first 'grown-up' book you read? How old were you?
Lord of the Rings, and I think I was 11 or 12. I had tried to read it earlier, even though my parents warned me it was too old for me, and I couldn't do it. It went right over my head. I remember reading it in elementary school, and falling in live with it. They are still my favorite books, and I re-read them once a year or so.
Posted by Mary Ellen at July 5, 2003 12:34 AM