Saturday, July 23, 2011

First Paragraph

When he was nearly thirteen, my brother Jem got his arm badly broken at the elbow. When it healed, and Jem's fears of never being able to play football were assuaged, he was seldom self-conscious about his injury. His left arm was somewhat shorter than his right; when he stood or walked, the back of his hand was at right angles to his body, his thumb parallel to his thigh. He couldn't have cared less, so long as he could pass and punt.

- From To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

2 comments:

John said...

What an inspiration.

How many know that Harper Lee, one of the world'smost private famous people, still lives, dividing her time between Manhattan and Monroeville, Alabama?

I can't think of To Kill a Mockingbird without recalling a line from Benny and Joon, one of the truly under-appreciated films of our time.

Listen at about six an a half minutes for "Having a Boo Radley moment, are we?"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEuQ7BNcZ94&NR=1

Michael Wade said...

John,

Thanks. I'm going to tell my younger brother about the "Boo Radley moment" line. He's accused me of having Boo Radley decades.

Michael