40 Contemplations for Lent — Day 4: Avoiding Reading
For Lent this year, I’m giving up hiding myself from… well, myself! I’m having dialogues with my inner children about each topic from this link. Yesterday, we were talking about clutter and the positives of clutter in our lives. Let’s tune in to hear about today’s topic, avoiding reading.
Cori: Avoiding reading? That must be a typo.
tommy: *smirks just a tiny bit*
Cori: Oh, wait. It says “making time to read more during Lent (and beyond) is always a good idea.” Ok, that makes more sense. tommy, are you reading anything good these days?
tommy: *hands a comic book to Cori from his backpack*
Cori: *reads the title out loud* SIN CITY That Yellow Bastard #4 — Dark Horse Comics 1996 — Frank Miller. *coughs* Um, wow, that’s a pretty advance and dark topic for a young person.
tommy: *nods solemnly, looking directly into Cori’s eyes*
Cori: Are you sure this is appropriate for you?
tommy: *nods firmly and hits his right fist into his left hand repeatedly*
Cori: Has this comic been therapeutic? *hands the book back to tommy*
tommy: *nods, taking the book and putting it in his backpack*
Cori: I remember reading that book for the first time. And seeing it on the big screen.
tommy: *tenses up his body and watches Cori as if on guard duty*
Cori: It was really emotional. It’s about a Detective named Hartigan who is about to retire. On his very last day, he gets a call about a little girl who has been kidnapped by a really bad man.
*tommy’s eyes squint and focus, his face becoming hard like stone*
Cori: Spoilers: Hartigan saves her!
tommy: *exhales a big rush of air*
Cori: And Spoilers: Hartigan takes care of the bad man.
tommy: *crosses his arms tightly, his shoulders widening, and he smiles for the first time*
Cori: I remember because that was the first time we felt a little bit safe. Not because of someone in uniform. Not because of Hartigan’s implicated power. No, that scared us. We felt safe because he understood the width and depth of the problem, and fixed it in a rather dramatic and stupendous way.
tommy: *nods emphatically, with his eyebrows up in excitement*
tommy: *rushes at Cori and gives them a giant hug*
Cori: *is taken aback by the show of physical intimacy, but hugs him tightly in return*
tommy: *lets go and coughs*
Cori: You’ve been on guard duty a long time.
tommy: *looks down at his shoes, puts his hands in his pockets and shrugs his ten year old shoulders*
Cori: Guess what?
tommy: *looks up at Cori inquisitively*
Cori: I have a new book for you to read. While I haven’t read it yet either, it should be a good one. *hands a book to tommy titled Holes by Louis Sachar*
tommy: *gasps and points to himself*
Cori: Yes, it’s for you.
tommy: *takes the book and looks at the cover*
Cori: It’s a book about a boy around your age who is sent to a detention center, and all day long they dig holes. What do you think about that?
tommy: *makes a questioning face, crosses his hands palms up, then draws his right hand away, making the sign for pit-hole in ASL*
Cori: Yep, like a pit hole.
Cori: I think there was a movie about that book too. We could watch it sometime.
tommy: *nods yes that he’d like to see it too, then flips through the book*
Cori: *farts*
tommy: *cracks up laughing and puts Holes in his backpack, and retrieves another book which he hands to Cori*
Cori: Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson. Are you trying to make me cry?!?!?!
tommy: *chortles and shakes his head no*
Cori: We first read this when we were about your age. We took it out of the church library.
tommy: *acknowledges this to be accurate in his memory too*
Cori: This has also been turned into a movie. I suppose you want to watch this one, too.
tommy: *indicates Cori is correct and looks pleased*
Cori: You got any other books turned into movies you want to discuss in that backpack of yours?
tommy: *looks amused, pulls out three more books and holds them up so Cori can see the titles*
Cori: The Hobbit, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and The Princess Bride. Yep, all movies.
tommy: *looks chuffed*
Cori: I guess you like to read the classics in your downtime.
tommy: *laughs and shakes his head no*
Cori: No? Do you like to write classics in your downtime?
tommy: *falls over laughing so hard he’s crying*
Cori: I guess not.
tommy: *dances like a robot*
Cori: Is it dance party time?
tommy: *moonwalks*
Cori: Wow, you have secret talents.
tommy: *dances like Jay and Silent Bob*
Cori: I only have this. *does the chicken dance*
tommy: *cackles*
Cori: Why are you laughing?!?! I got moves.
tommy: *holds his head in his hands and tells me to stop and watch him*
Cori: *crosses their arms and scowls, playing the part of the disapproving Cori*
tommy: *takes Cori’s phone and puts a song on*
Cori: *recognizes the starting riff and starts grooving* Motownphilly by Boyz II Men!!
tommy: *cracks his knuckles and brings the house down*
Cori: “Keep bringing the gift,” tommy!
