The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1922-04-25
Which Explains Things .
PR EFACE

me Marie. Everybody else calls me
Mary Marie. The rest Of my name Is
Anderson.
I'm thirteen years old, and I'm
cross-current and a contradiction. That
In, Sarah says I'm that. (Sarah is my
old nurse.) She says she read 1t once
that the children of unlikes were al.
ways q cross-current and cOntradic-
tion. And my father and mother are
unlikes, and I'm the children. That
is, Pm the child. I'm all there Is. And
now I'm going to be a bigger cross
current and contradiction than ever,
for I'm going to live half the time with
Mother and the other half with Father.
Mother will 60 to Boston to live, and
Father will stay here-a divorce, you
know.
I'm terribly excited over 1t. None of
the other girls have got q divorce in
their families, and always did like to
be different. Besides, 1t ought to be
awfully interesting, more SO than just
living along, common, with your father
and mother In the same house all the
time-especially II it's been anything
like my house with my father and
mother In It'll
That's why I've decided to make a
book Of it-that is, 1t really will be
book, only / shall have to call it
diary, ON account Of Father, you know.
Won't 1t be funny when don't have to
do things on account of Father? And
/ won't, Of course, the six months I'm
living with Mother in Boston. But,
oh, my the six months I'm living
here with him-whewl But, then,
can stand It. I may even like it
some. Anyhow, it'll be different. And
that's something.
Well, about making this into a book
AS I started to say, he wouldn't let
me. I know he wouldn't He says
novels are a silly waste Of time, If not
absolutely wicked. But, diary-oh,
he loves diaries. He keeps one him
self, and he told me 1t would be an ex-
celient and instructive discipline for
me to do 1t, too-set down the weather
and what did every day.
The weather and what l did every
day, indeed! Lovely reading that
would make. wouldn't 1t? Like this:
1.-THE sun shines this morning.
got up, ate my breakfast, went to
school, came home, ate my dinner,
played one hour over to Carrie Hey
woods, practiced on the piano one
hour, studied another hour. Talked
with Mother upstairs In her room about
the sunset and the snow on the trees.
Ate my supper. Was talked to by
Father down In the library about I'M
proving myself and taking care not to
be light-minded and frivolous. (He
meant like Mother, only he didn't say
1t right out loud. You don't have to
say some things right out In plain
words, you know.) Then I went to bed
Just as If I was going to write my
novel like that Not much l am. But
l shall call 1t a diary. Oh, yes, shall
call 1t a dary-till I take 1t to be
printed. Then I shall give 1t its true
name-a novel. And I'm going to tell
! the printer that I've left 1t to him to
make the spelling right. and put in all
those tiresome little commas anC
periods and question marks that every
body seems to make such fuss about
II 1 write the story part, can't be ex
pected to be bothered with looking VI
how words are spelt, every five min
utes, nor fussing over putting in {
whole lot Of foolish little dots an(
dashes.
As If anybody who was reading thu
story cared for that partl The story
the thing
love stories. I've written lots o
them for the girls, too-litlle shor
ones, mean; not long one like thi
10 going to be, of course. And it'll
be 50 exciting to be living story In
stead of reading it-only when your
living a story you can't peek over t
the back to see how It's all coming out
shan't like that part. Still, it may b
all the more exciting, after all. not t
know what's coming.
/ like love stories the best. Father
got-oh, lots Of books In the library
and I've read stacks OF them, eve
some Of the stupid old histories an
biographies. had to read them whe
there wasn't anything else to read
But there weren't many love storie:
Mothers got a few, though-lovel
ones-and some books of poetry, o
the little shelf in her room. But
read all those ages ago.
That's why I'm so thrilled over thi
new one-the one I'm living, NEAR
For Of course this will be love stor!
ThereTl be my love story In two c
three years, when / grow up, an
while I'm waiting there's Fathers an
Mothers.
Nurse Sarah says that when your
divorced you're free Just like you wer
before you were married. and ths
sometimes they marry again. Ths
made me think right away: what
Father or Mother. or both of then