June 30, 1965
Jocie Brooke reporting from Hollyhill, Kentucky on the last day of June. I hate June to end so soon. That means just one more full month before school starts again. Ugh! But Dad says I shouldn’t be looking ahead, but enjoying each day that the Lord gives me. The present is like a gift. You know, present – gift. Anyway, each day is a gift to open. And one of the best things about summer is getting to read!!! I love books, don’t you?
Not long ago, I read The Incredible Journey by Sheila Burnford. I think I told you that a couple of weeks ago. Have you read it? It’s a story about two dogs and a cat and it’s a movie too. Walt Disney made it into a movie about a year ago. They might have shown it on television on Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color, but we’re always at church during that time. We might get to watch the show when it snows in the winter and they call off night church, but that’s the only time. Of course, it won’t be in color. We don’t have a color television set.
Besides, church is more important than television. But I wish that show was on Monday nights. That’s okay though. I can read the books. And I loved The Incredible Journey. In fact, I liked it so much that it’s made me want to write a story like it. A dog and a cat on an incredible journey. Where could they be going and why? It won’t be like the story in the book. It will be my very own story.
If you were writing a story about a dog and cat, what would you name them? Cat and Zeb? Zeb is a great dog, but I don’t think I’m going to let him be in my story. This will have to be a different type of dog than Zeb. And Cat, well if I had Cat in my story, everything would go haywire. That might not be so bad. Things need to go haywire in a story. If nothing happens, nobody would want to read it. But my story cat will have to have a name better than Cat. Yeah, I know Cat has another name. Redspot. But Cat is so independent that he just seems to want to be called Cat. Like he’s the only one of his kind in the world.
He was on Zella’s desk when I got to the office last week. She wasn’t even chasing him off. She pretended not to know he was there. You know what? I think Zella likes him. But one thing sure, she won’t like the cat I write into my story. He’s going to be one interesting cat. But wonder what I’ll name him.
Did you read The Incredible Journey or see the movie when it came out in 1963? Do you remember the cat’s and dogs’ names? I loved Bodger and Luath. Then there was Tao. My names will be more like something you’d hear here in Hollyhill. But then those names might be something you’d hear in Canada. The author based the animals on pets she’d had there.
I love books and stories, don’t you? What’s one of your favorite stories?