Systematic Student + YA

Memory Monday, The Fourth

Before I get started on what books I want to remember today, and the memories themselves, I need to give you a little background on my family and my childhood. Bear with me here. If you actually end up reading the whole story below... It's pretty funny, and totally true. (Welcome to my life... ;) )

So, my dad grew up in a theater family. His father owned a 'local summer theater' up in West Yellowstone, Montana (The Playmill, for anyone who's been out that direction) and my dad (the youngest of 7 kids) began performing in the Playmill when he was 6 or 7. I'm not kidding or exaggerating when I say it's in his blood, which very likely means it's in mine as well (even though I haven't done much in the way of acting) which may explain why I have a tendency to be a little over the top.

Anyway, rather than divulge more family history, I'm going to tell you a story, that will segue nicely into my Memory, for Memory Monday.

As I believe I mentioned, or hinted, I tend to be dramatic, and I can get pretty intense, especially when I was a kid. One day, as the family was getting ready to go somewhere nice (I was in a dress) my father did something that upset me, and I decided that I was tired of it. So, I informed the family that I was leaving, and they could just go on/be happy without me, and I walked out of the house. I don't think I really intended to run away, it was (as it so often is with nine year olds) more of a punishment for my parents. We had a very long driveway/road (about 3 other houses along the road) and I walked to the end of the driveway, and then turned to watch, expecting my dad to be right behind me, waiting to drag me back into the house. Apparently, it took them a while to notice I was gone, so it was a few minutes before my dad came after me. But, by then I was so mad! I couldn't believe that they had waited that long before coming to get me! So, I decided to run away for real, which meant I definitely needed to get a move on.

As I mentioned before, I was a nine year old wearing a dress that had previously been worn in my aunt's wedding... Stiff fabric and a long, straight skirt. So, I didn't move very fast. My dad caught up with my just around the corner, in the libraries parking lot (fitting, I suppose) and dragged me back to the car. He made me get in, we started driving. My dad asked me if I knew what happened to young girls who tried to run away from home. He sounded quite ominous, and he spent the next 15 — 20 minutes explaining to me what exactly happened to nine year old runaways... In a nut shell, I could look forward to being picked up by a pimp and turned into a crack whore. (Did I mention that I was nine, and that I'm not making this up?!)

My mom was horrified, my older sister completely scandalized, my little brothers oblivious, and me? I was belligerent. Every bad thing my dad mentioned — some guy will grab you and force you to be a prostitute/he'll take all your money/he'll make you take drugs/you will have no choices etc and etc and etc was met with a very sincere, well, I won't let him do that. I was a little afraid, because what nine year old want to believe that her possible future includes hooking for some greasy, smelly old guy while completely high on some toxic mixture of meth, crack and heroine?! But, I refused to let my dad know he was upsetting me, and I honestly remained convinced that I would be able to get away, or overcome said greasy, smelly old guy. I believed that they same way I believed, when my mom would tell me never to open the door to strangers when my parents weren't home, that I could just 'shut the door really fast if they were bad' and there would be no problems. I could handle it.

My mom and I were talking about this a while ago (well, she was actually kind of mocking me) and it got me thinking about why I was so convinced I would be able to handle the world's bad guys as some fairly scrawny 9/10 year old kid. I was looking through some of my old favorite books, when I had an epiphany. I had discovered why I was convinced I could take anything those evil nasties threw at me: Willo Davis Roberts. (GR profile)

I read Roberts voraciously. Some of her books were 'issue' books (Sugar isn't Everything about a girl who is diagnosed with diabetes, Don't Hurt Laurie about child abuse etc) but most of her books are more in the vein of The View from the Cherry Tree, Scared Stiff, Twisted Summer, Baby-Sitting is a Dangerous Job, and Meghan's Island. That is to say — a mystery where the young (generally 8-13ish) protagonist(s) ends up matching wits with the sinister bad guy, and the kids always win! True, there are usually adults involved on the periphery, but there role is generally relegated to calling the police, or offering a small amount of moral support while their world collapses. It's always the kids who ultimately save the day, not only figuring out who the bad guys are, but also managing to subdue them until the police arrive, while also caring for the injured adult family member.

I read every single book by Roberts I could get my hands on. And a vast majority of the books I picked up involved a young kid outsmarting the adult criminal. So I ask you... What else was I supposed to think?! How could I not have believed I'd be able to 'take them down?' What we read often reflects on our realities, so in my reality, kids were definitely the heroes, and there was no doubt in my mind that I would be able to bring those suckers down. Those criminals had no idea who they would be messing with, and I was just itching to prove all these great abilities gleaned from Roberts wisdom.

Wanna know the craziest part? I went back and reread a few of my favorite Roberts' stories a few months ago and I can still believe what those kids get involved with! Her stories are just barely plausible enough to work, and if you don't think about it too hard, those kids really could have done everything she professes them capable of. While it's unlikely that they would be so lucky, by just the right combination of brains, luck, boredom and skill, it's a possible scenario!

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Memory Monday, The Fourth + YA