In Character

The canopy created by our family's apple tree was always a much loved place to spend a day reading.  I would grab an old quilt, a glass of sweet tea and a favorite book to while away the hours of summer vacation.  Complete immersion in my latest read would have me "becoming" my favorite characters.  I was Anne Shirley, a poor orphan, feeling alone in the world, but she was soon replaced by Jo March. Being one of several sisters, Jo suited much better, but ,alas, I am the youngest and lacked Jo's fearlessness. She was soon replaced.

A love of reading has continued into adulthood and it is well known that I would pass on food to buy a good book :)  Reading has always been my escape to foreign lands and customs, lifestyles that were completely different from my own, yet contained truths that I could not deny.  These characters, spun from the imaginations of truly brilliant writers, became a part of me.

From Jo I understand my desire to write and my love of family.  Charlotte (Charlotte's Web) taught me that the least likely friends are often the most loved. Anne made me realize that often what you wish for isn't what is right for you.  What little girl can't understand Anne's angst over her red hair and freckles?  Without said physical characteristics she wouldn't have been ....well....she just wouldn't have been Anne!

 "Tell me what you read and I'll tell you who you are" is true enough, but I'd know you better if you told me what you reread."    ~Francois Muriac

I re-read these books often.  They are not only the books of my childhood, but the gentle rasp that shaped my personality.  My sincere gratitude to those amazing writers with their God given gifts.