I have forgotten her name, nor do I remember what she looked like. We were picking blackberries together when a monster of a spider appeared on the bush. I took another look from this perspective and felt an instant liking and feeling of respect for this beautiful creature which endures to this day, and has extended to all creatures, both great and small, including rats. Then there was the problem of my personal beauty. I was about five yeas old, maybe six, when I wondered if I were pretty.
All little girls get to the age when that begins to seem important.
I didn't know then, as I do now, that we gather friendships on how we treat people and not on how we look. Anyway, I settled that question early by way of a cousin, Lois. She was fifteen years older than I and I adored her. That settled it for me. I never wanted to be pretty, just wanted to look intelligent.