Spring cleaning

The Japanese magnolia in the southwest corner of our cloister garden has pink buds that are ready to burst. The Japanese magnolia in the southwest corner formed by two wings of the monastery is, as usual, well behind the other -- its buds are tightly closed.

I have packed four boxes full of books and figures. I have decided it is time to send copies of Pinocchio, along with my collection of Pinocchio figures to four needy families, one in Tennessee, two in Indiana, and one in Michigan. Each box will also include a copy of a recently published edition with lovely pictures by the Bulgarian artist Iassen Ghiuselev. They will be mailed once Amazon completes sending me the four copies the newer book.

My first copy of Pinocchio was bought at L.S.Ayres in downtown Indianapolis. It was a hardback copy reduced from &1.25 to 98 cents. I remember trying to read it by the streetlights as we headed north toward home. I loved it from the first words. "'Once upon a time, there was . . . 'A king,' my little readers will shout at once. No, once upon a time there was a piece of wood, an ordinary piece of wood that you would throw on the fire."

My fascination with puppets is rooted in my love of Leslie Caron, who had made several movies that I saw as a kid, including "The Glass Slipper" and "Lili" (which is the one with the puppets). When I watched "Lili" as an adult I saw how really cheesy it is -- but, for a kid, it was pretty wonderful. Of course, I claim that my love for French literature, especially from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, is rooted in "Gigi" -- another of her movies. Be careful of what you let your kids watch.

I will keep a couple of editions of Pinocchio (although the first one is packed in one of the boxes) and some figures for the four families to gather at a later date -- when they can also pick up my Teddy bear.