The Nevada County picayune., 1922-03-23
PREFACE
Which ExpIalns Thinos.

Which Explalns Thinos.
 Father calls ne Mary. Mother calls me Marie. Everybody else calls ne Nary Marie. The rest of my name is AAderson.
 I'm thirteen years old, and I'm a cross current and a contradiction. That Sarah says I'm that. (Sarah is my old nurse.) She says she read 1t once -that the children of unlikes were al- Nays a cross. current and d contradic- doA. And my father and mother are tnlikes, and I'm the children. That e, I'm the child. I'm all there is And flow I'm going to be bigger cross 60rrent and contradiction than ever, {pr 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 t. None of the other girls have got 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 tme-especially If it's been anything like my house with my father and mother in itl
 That's why I've decided to make a book of it--that is, 1t really will be a book, only l shall have to call 1t @ diary, on account of Father, you know. Won't 1t be funny when don't have to do things on account of Father? And I 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. may even like it. some. Anyhow. it'll be different. And that's something
 We'll, about making this into 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. self. and he told me 1t would be an ex- cellent 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:
 "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 abou, the sunset and the snow on the trees Ate my supper. Was talked to by Father down Tn the library about i'm. proving myself and taking care not to be light-minded and frivolous. Gle 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 went to bed. ''
 Just as If was going to write my novel like that Not much l am. But shall call 1t diary. Oh. yes, shall call 1t diary-till l take 1t to be printed. Then l shall give 1t its true uame-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 fuss about ft i write the story part, can't be ex pected to be bothered with looking uI how words are spelt, every five min utes, nor fussing over putting In whole lot of foolish little dots and flashes.
 As if anybody who was reading the story cared for that part The story'i the thing.
 love stories. I've written lots o1 them for the girls, too-litlle shor1 ones. mean not long one like thii Is going to be, of course. And itl be so exciting to be living story in stead of reading it-only when you're living a story you capt peek over tt the back to see how it's all coming out shan't like that part. Still, 1t may bs all the more exciting after all, not tt know what's coming.
 like love stories the best. Father got-oh. lots of books ip the library and I've read stacks of them, ever some of the stupid old histories ant biographies. had to read them whei there wasn't anything else to read But there weren't many love stories Mothers got a few, though--lovely ones-and some books Of poetry or