Memoir

The Lord of the Rings

30 April 2010

“Debbie was thrilled that I enjoyed it so much, and told me about another book by the same writer—actually three books telling a single story, which was related to The Hobbit, but more adult. I begged her to bring them in for me, so on Friday she brought in the first book, The Fellowship of the Ring. I couldn’t wait to get a chance to start reading it.”

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Another Roadside Attraction

30 April 2010

“Robbins’ sprawling tale of a Washington hot dog stand, a mystical earth mother, and the Second Coming of Christ is dizzying, especially when you’re a white suburban 15 year old kid who reads too much in the first place.”

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The Wizard of Oz

30 April 2010

“A sack of clothes wakes up while being stuffed with straw? A woman dissolves when she gets wet? A race of tiny people made of china, who can only move if they stay in the area where they are born?”

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Christa

30 April 2010

“She got better grades than me. She always knew the answer, but didn’t jerk her hand into the air when the teacher asked for volunteers, waiting instead to be called on. She had long, straight brown hair, and mismatched eyes, one green, one blue. And she was clearly smarter than me. It was love at first report card.”

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The Other Side

30 April 2010

“As I made the right onto her street, I started to get a creepy feeling, like something was wrong. I saw her walking towards my car, from the bushes at the side of the road. She was saying something, but I had the AC on and couldn’t hear. I rolled down the passenger window to hear her, and she started to shout ‘Look out!’”

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Prom Night

30 April 2010

“‘If you don’t go to your senior prom you’ll regret it for the rest of your life!’ So said my mother, with the conviction only a mother can muster.”

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A Nameless Kiss

30 April 2010

“The first fully intentional and anticipated kiss I ever received was at about age eleven.”

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In Amber Light

30 April 2010

“She noted that the grease is getting deep in the pan, and that I was probably going to set the house on fire. We laughed, and I poured the grease into a cat food can. When I put the pan back on the burner for the eggs, it immediately started to smoke and set off the alarm.”

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All Good Things

30 April 2010

“I guess the detail which surprised me the most was the genuine compassion in the judge’s voice.”

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Faith 2: Paradise

8 April 2010

“The first time I can remember being inside a church I was paid to attend. A high school classmate’s Baptist church wanted a brass quartet to perform an Easter service, and I was asked to play trombone. It was fun, if a little weird. We were positioned in the upper choir loft at the back of the church, so we weren’t visible to the congregation. It was an ideal perspective for witnessing some strange and new customs.”

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