White County record., 1922-07-13
PREFACE
Which Explains Thlnss .

dtHeT CHllS lbc AATy. hOlHcT CALLS me Marie. Everybody else calls me Mary Marie. The rest of my name Is Anderson.
 I'm thirteen years old, and I'm a cross-current and contradiction That Is, Sarah says I'm that Sarah Is my old nurse) She says she read 1t once that the children of unlikes were all ways a cross-current and a contradic- ion. And my father and mother arc mikes, and Pm the children. That s, I'm the child I'm all there Is. And now I'm going to be 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 go 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 a divorce in their families, and I 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 If it's been anything like my house with my father and mother in It
 That's why I've decided to make book of it-that Is, 1t really will be book, only I shall have to call it diary, on account of Father you know. Won't 1t be funny when don't have to 5n 2
 won't, of course, the six months I'm lying with Mother In Boston But h. my !-the six months Pm living lere with him-whew But, then, .an stand Ii. l may even like It. some. Anyhow, it'll be different. And that's something
 We'll. 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, a diary-oh, he loves diaries. He keeps one him celient and instructive discipline for me to do it, too-set down the weather and what did every day.
 The weather and what did every day, indeed! Lovely reading that would make. wouldn't if? Like this:
 "The sun shines this morning I got up, ate my breakfast, went to school, came home, ate my dinner, played one hour over to Carrie Hey woods practiced on the plano 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. Gle beant like Mother, only he didn't say right out loud. You don't have to ny some things right out in plain
 ords, you know.) Then went to bed"
 Just as If 1 was going to write my .ovel like that ! Not much am. But I shall call 1t diary. Oh, yes, I shall call It diary-till I take it to be printed. Then I shall give 1t it's 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 and periods and question marks that every body seems to make such Q fuss about If l write the story part, I can't be ex- pected to be bothered with looking up how words are spelt, every five min utes, nor fusslng over putting In a whole lot of foolish little dots and dashes.
 As If anybody who was reading the story cared for that part The story's the thing.
 love stories I've written lots of them for the girls, too-litlle short mes 1 mean; not a long one like this going to be, of course. And it'll e so exciting to be living a story in. lead of reading it-only when you're wing d story you can't peek over to he back to see how it's all coming out / shant like that part Still. it may b. all the more exciting, after all. not tc know what's coming
 like love stories the best Fathers got-oh, lots of books In the library and I've read stacks of them. ever some ot the stupid old histories and