|
 |
when i was in high school, i had my first and last pen pal, an attractive italian girl (she sent a picture), also a teenager. i dimly recall my letter to her was in typical bragging style--about my cool lifeguarding job, my cool car, all the cool bands i liked. i exaggerated to impress her and to convince myself i was cool. i still remember one thing she wrote: "i love children--they are so pure." the correspondence ended there, but that line has always stuck with me. today, my sister and her family visited me at doe bay. margaret, jim, sarah (10), david (8) and emma (5) appeared after 20 months of no-see. emma's a gem--her smile, laugh, and mischievous eyes that remind me of my mother (who clung to life just long enough to see emma born). what happens to corrupt that easy light? school? church? peer pressure? television? parents' hangups? billboards? malls? cars? |