"Oh hello, what are you doing down there on the floor? Oh you're putting away flower books! I love flowers and I want some books about gardening because we're going to have a garden, well, not really a garden because we only live in an apartment so we just have pots on the porch. Do you have a garden? Do you grow flowers in it? What are your favorite kinds of flowers? I don't like roses because if you sniff them too deep they make you sneeze. What other kinds of flowers do you have? Oh I think so, too, why bother growing anything that doesn't smell good but don't get any cactuses because if you pick them up they'll stick you, you know, so I never have cactuses and neither does my twin sister her name is Esther and our bigger sister is 13 and her name is Phoebe, we're eight, Esther and me.
"Oh, now travel books! Here's one about Italy, I've been there, my daddy lives there, I don't know what town but he lives by the Colosseum in an apartment. Have you ever been to Italy? Why not? Where have you been? All those places? Did you go by yourself? How old were you?
"No, I don't like those Harry Potter books, I like Girl Books, and the girl in those Harry Potter books wears a tie, why on earth would she do that? Oh, I see, well, I don't have to wear a uniform because I'm home-schooled and that's why I can be in the liberry on Thursday morning. Those books look so heavy, can I help you?"
"NO--" I'm terrified Mr. Duck Walk will see me being talked to by a child, whereupon I will be Spoken To again, and I'm really not sure I could remain civil if that were to happen. So "--thank you, no, dear, really, I'm almost finished here, and then I have to go back behind the desk--"
"Can I come with you?"
"No, sweetie, I'm sorry, you can't. But--"
"Are you here every Thursday?"
"Well . . . yes."
"OK, then. See you next week!"
[sigh] But the grumpy headache I had before she appeared is now gone!
I love this site it helps me so much! Keep up the great work!
Posted by: Andrew Spark | March 16, 2006 at 11:05 PM