Amy recently loaned me a clever children's book, Der Kleine Nick und die Mädchen (Little Nick and the Girls, originally published as a series in French as Le Petit Nicolas). In the first story Nick invites Marie, the little girl next door, to join him and his friends (all boys) for an afternoon of hot chocolate and play. The boys are peeved because they "don't play with girls."
Out in the yard the boys engage in a series of immature contests -- eating a piece of cake as quickly as they can, walking on their hands, climbing trees, performing somersaults -- as Marie, with her doll, quietly and indifferently observes. When Marie's mother calls her home for her piano lesson, Nick comments that he and his friends hadn't been very nice to Marie.
"We have hardly spoken to her, and we played as if she wasn't even there," he observes, unselfconsciously.
This story reminds me of Capt. Rob's engaging story about when he was in sixth grade and tossed a young girl's loafer into a tree. Rob describes his action as "a courting ritual only a 12 year old could understand."
Capt. Rob entertains the Ocracoke Opry audience on Wednesday evenings during the season. Be sure to put the Opry on your list of things to do on your next summer vacation. In addition to entertaining stories you will enjoy some of the best of our island music.
Our latest Ocracoke Newsletter documents the day telephones came to the island. The article includes
images of Ocracoke's first telephone directory which lists a total of
63 subscribers. You can read the Newsletter here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news022114.htm.
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My husband and I had the pleasure of seeing the Opry last October. Great show! Well worth a visit. And a tall man in jeans and a starched white shirt "takes your ticket" and gives you a smile and a "thanks for coming!"
ReplyDeleteThrowing a fellow classmate shoe into a tree as a courting ritual. Ahh those were the days. Just try and bite your pop-tart into the shape of a heart and offer it as a valentine and a 12 year old may be slapped with sexual harassment charges.
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