🎧 136: Mrs. Graham’s first Suggestion ...

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MRS. GRAHAM’S FIRST SUGGESTION was that I read King Lear. I did. The school used a simplified, abbreviated, optimistic adaptation called The Story of King Lear and His Daughters, published as part of a series called Classics Made Suitable for Boys and Girls. I read and reread the play, and I tortured my parents with recitations from it at the dinner table, at bedtime, first thing in the morning, and on any occasion that seemed to invite me to quote a line or two.
     Mrs. Graham next suggested that I choose an assistant director. I think that what she had in mind was that I would choose a boy from the class, and that by working closely together we would become friends. But she could see from the speed and eagerness with which I said, “Clarissa Bud,” how much I wanted to have her working with me, for during the time that we had spent together repeating the times tables we had grown quite close, and I was certain that Clarissa was not merely someone who made my heart ache but somebody I understood, someone I could trust.

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