Return Of The Book Quest

Ok. So about three years ago, I saw this list of 100 books that people were passing around Facebook to see how many they'd read. I consider myself reasonably well-read and was surprised by how many I had NOT read from the list, so I started to remedy that problem. You can read about the beginning of that quest here. It includes the list.


I have strayed from my quest, but decided to return to it this week. The reason? Our library isn't all that great. I'm trying hard to use it and love it this summer, but loving it is not always easy to do. They often (maybe even usually) don't have the books I'm looking for, so I decided that I should think about looking for different books. Books on the list. You see where this is going?


I finished Atonement, by Ian McEwan, this morning. It took me a little while to get into the story when I started it, but the ending is incredibly powerful, as is a lot of the middle. It is a story from the lead up to and very beginning of World War II in England. The central conflict is a lie that changes the paths of everyone enmeshed in it forever. I definitely recommend it and it illustrates perfectly the benefits of going through this list. I can't imagine picking up Atonement without the list. It has none of the characteristics that make me pick up completely random books and read them with no prior connection or recommendation. I'm usually drawn to a quirky title or book jacket (yes, I know I shouldn't judge, but I do!) and then find something on the leaf description that seals the deal.


I was debating between a few other books on the list, but then saw Neal Stephenson's Anathem on the shelf and felt compelled to reread it. Amazing book, truly. 


I know this post doesn't include the requisite picture of Darcy. We're stay-cationing at the house of friends this week and I don't have the card reader. Otherwise, I'd share a great picture of Darcy with a giant banana slug outside our house. But while searching for the original book-quest post, I came across this post with Darcy still in full curly-hair mode, so take a walk down memory lane and remember the younger, dinosaur-obsessed Darcy Jo.

A Silhouette to Remember

I generally manage to resist souvenirs and so-called memorabilia from theme parks and other tourist traps (i.e., except for those darling figurines I got from Precious Moments Park in Carthage, Missouri--who could resist children shedding single teardrops, all captured in delicate porcelain?!). I admit, however, that when it comes to Darcy Jo, I tend to splurge. Frequently, I splurge on crap. Walking down Main Street in Disneyland, however, I spent $9 for a cut-out piece of black paper glued to card stock. And it was all for me! Oh yeah--it was for Angela, too. And Granny Mimi.

Now, just look at that! Is there no profile better suited to silhouette...art...-istry?! That noggin! Those curls!

When I was a boy, I remember looking through my mother's big box of family photos and coming across a vintage paper bag from Disneyland. In it were very similar-looking silhouettes of both my mother and father. I remember being pretty much amazed at the detail. I assumed that something like this must have taken forever to create: First, someone took a series of photographs of my parents in profile. They were then told to return at closing time, after the images had been developed and the scissors artist had carefully and faithfully followed the contours of each hair, each characteristic facial curve.

As it turns-out, however, it's nothing like that at all...

We walked into the Main Street shop and, immediately to our left, facing the storefront window, sat a lady dressed in Victorian clothes. I said, "Hello." I think she returned the greeting, but before I could even begin some sort of request for services, I noticed her hands moving. She was looking at Darcy Jo while cutting black paper with what looked like a toenail-grooming scissors. I kid you not, in less than a minute she was done. No photos. No wait. Nine dollars.

Turns-out this woman's been doing this for 35 years. In the same little store on Disneyland's Main Street. With the same scissors, you think? Maybe she even cut-out my young parents' silhouettes (I haven't done the math...). Amazing. As soon as Darcy Jo was finished, another couple with their children came-in. Before I could even finish paying the cashier for my souvenir silhouette, what witch (how else do you explain it?) had finished cutting a faithful profile of a toddler asleep in his stroller. Nine dollars. NEXT!!

Oh, Disneyland...