Topical Guide 343
Mark Dorset
Historical Personages: Dolores del Rio
One late-spring night, an extraordinary night, one of those nights that make you think that you might make your dreams come true, Ella came into the living room with her cheeks flushed and her biology book under her arm. She was wearing lipstick — not much, but some. Her hair was pulled to one side, and she had pinned a carnation in it. She was wearing a white cotton blouse with an elasticized neckline, a type of blouse that the girls in Ella’s set bought so that they’d look like Dolores del Rio.
“Ella,” said Herb, “you look just like Dolores del Rio.”
“Oh, Daddy, I do not,” said Ella, delighted.Herb ’n’ Lorna, Chapter 14
Education: High School: Biology: Parts of the Frog
“Do you have a date?” he asked.
“Of course not, Daddy,” said Ella. “I’m going to go next door to see if Dudley can help me memorize the parts of the frog.”Herb ’n’ Lorna, Chapter 14
Pop Quiz! (Answers at the bottom of the page.)
Personality Characteristics and Emotional Stability, Assessing
There’s no reason to worry, Lorna told herself. Dudley’s an intellectual. His mind is off in the clouds somewhere. He probably hasn’t even noticed Ella as a — as a woman. …
There isn’t a thing to worry about, Herb told himself. Dudley’s a swell guy, much too swell a guy to go chasing after young girls who aren’t much more than half his age.
Mrs. Stolz watched Ella walk out the door, and she said to herself, Oh dear, oh dear. Dudley is a man of sophistication and taste. Ella shouldn’t be alone with him in his house.Herb ’n’ Lorna, Chapter 14
See also: Education: Early Childhood, Benefits of TG 103; Childhood Education: Unintended Consequences of TG 112; Personality Characteristics and Emotional Stability, Assessing TG 119
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