- Kurt Vonnegut
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The last day of March, and because winter had been unusually mellow, new buds were already popping a chlorophyll green on the maples and oaks surrounding Pierce Field. My old man had the ball in his right hand and his Ted Williams-autographed bat in his left. He pointed to the sun, low in the sky, and shouted, "Last one!" He hit a hard grounder to third, where I picked it, scooped it to Bobby, watched him toss it to Billy at second, who fired it to Marie at first. She picked it out of the dirt, turned, and winged it to Cubby, who stood in front of my father at home plate. We were still in our school clothes, and we'd talked that tired old guy into some after-dinner grounders. We'd been there maybe an hour and could have shagged them all night if he'd let us. Cubby turned, handed Pop the ball, and we began to follow him to our station wagon. Marie ran over, got between me and Bobby, and dropped her long, slender arms over our shoulders, her glove lying on my twelve-year-old chest. Her tight black pigtails were finished with green bows, and a tiny crucifix on a braided gimp cord lay at the top of her breastbone. I got into the front with Cubby, and Marie sat in back between Bobby and Billy. Right before he fired up our Ford, my old man sniffed and looked at me.
"What's that smell, Jono?"
"What?"
"That smell. What is it?"
I caught my Marie D'Agostino's exquisite eyes in the rearview mirror, and she smiled the smile I can still savor decades after the fact. She looked serious for a second, then smiled it again.
"Roses, Pop," I said, my eyes still on her. "That smell is roses."
from Traveler, by Ron McLarty
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this is the second book i read written by ron mclarty and i can't tell you how much i love both. the first one, Memory of Running, the only reason i bought and read it was b/c there was a quote by stephen king on the front cover (that's the 3rd book i read b/c of stephen king's suggestion, the other 2 being, Battle Royale and No Country for Old Men. thank you, stephen.).
both have a similar theme in that throughout the book, the main characters reminisce about the way things used to be and this gives them the strength to move forward... which is a really nice idea and also true. the future is uncertain, but while life does get harder, it gets better. at the same time, we get better. i believe both to be absolutely true. if it's not, that's an exception and not the rule.
"I caught my Marie D'Agostino's exquisite eyes in the rear view mirror, and she smiled the smile I can still savor decades after the fact. She looked serious for a second, then smiled it again."
what a beautiful passage. it makes me smile reading it. =)
