Critique - Part 2
posted in For World, For Kids, For Robin |The book: 14,000 things to be happy about by Barbara Ann Kipfer, 1990
The problem: I am confused/repulsed by a significant portion of the 14,000 things
Items 6-10
6. sweet fresh corn and tender baby green lima beans, drenched with cream
What can I say? I don’t like corn. I don’t like lima beans. I don’t have the same metabolism as I did when I was 18, so I try to steer clear of anything drenched in cream. And so should you.
7. the “snuggle right in” feeling
I’m not even sure what this means. Is the “snuggle right in” feeling the same as the “putting warm clothes on when you are cold” feeling? Or is it the “sliding your arm into the cavity on the side of a cow while studying veterinary science at WSU” feeling? (For those of you who don’t know, there were cows at WSU with a hole on their side where you can slide your arm into an inverted glove inside their guts. It was yucky, and dad liked to make sure and point out those special cows everytime we drove by.)
8. a lake catching the last flecks of sunlight coming over the pines
Pines? That is the best she could come up with? Not oak, or chestnut, or cherry, or fir? Plus, the last flecks of sunlight means that it will be dark soon. You are in the middle of nowhere, with nothing to eat, and it is almost dark. And I’m pretty sure Jason lived in the woods near a lake. Crystal Lake.
9. the position of your head as you bite into a taco
OK! This one I like.
10. shadows cast by shutters against shiny white walls
Shiny white walls? I think it is time to either hire an interior decorator, or develop some sort of design sense - then paint the walls a more interesting color. And why does it have to be shadows cast by shutters? Why not shadows cast by a Coke can, or by an iguana, or by a very large shark tooth? I suppose she is just saving those for later. If there is another ‘thing’ in this list of 14,000 that starts out ’shadows cast by…,’ then I am not going to be pleased.
