Comments on: The Bullies and Me (Harriet Savitz)

By: Steve

Steve — Sun, 09 May 2021 23:45:44 +0000

That’s awesome Dale! I agree, I love those moments in life when you’re just honoring your past memories, maybe even reliving them, but not in a way to cling to the past but just for a nostalgic blast of fresh air (if that makes sense). That sounds like a fun pandemic routine. Always nice to go for a little drive, roll down the windows and blast some tunes. I love playing the songs from the Fast Times at Ridgemont High soundtrack. I’m a sucker for songs like Raised on the Radio and Jackson Browne’s Somebody’s Baby, especially on a nice night drive. One time I visited LA (where Fast Times was filmed) and played those songs while driving through LA at night… felt like I was going to see that asshole Damone at the next traffic light

I know right, what are the odds I would be back in my childhood home? Although, because my parents never sold the house, it definitely raised the odds a lot, lol.

Happy to share my thoughts on The Bullies and Me — one of countless hidden gems that many folks probably missed out on. Definitely a must-read for any kid dealing with the post move blues. I think that’s part of the fun of reading all these books. It brings back so many memories, yes, but there are so many books I never read but wanted to read. It reminds me a lot of my SNES resurrection from 2006, where there was just so much to take in and enjoy.

By: Steve

Steve — Sun, 09 May 2021 23:36:10 +0000

Hey Daniel, please excuse my super delayed response. It’s crazy that you mentioned One-Eyed Cat by Paula Fox. I was recently cleaning out my library, and I ran across One-Eyed Cat. I held it for a minute, wondering whether to keep it displayed on my shelf or to take it to my mom’s house for storage (I have too many books at my place and have to reorganize my library). I never read One-Eyed Cat yet, but the back description intrigued me enough to keep it. I’ll have to check it out sometime in the near future. Thanks for the recommendation!

And BTW, yes, it’s neat how a book, song, movie, poem or whatever it may be, could speak to us so differently at different points in our lives. Sometimes we’re not ready to receive something in the moment, but weeks, months, years or even decades down the road, that very thing we once dismissed (for one reason or another) clicks with us, speaks to our soul in a deep and profound way. Love when that happens!

By: Dale

Dale — Thu, 18 Mar 2021 08:51:19 +0000

Fantastic review Steven! Brought back so many relatable memories on coping with moving on like you broke down! That is awesome to hear how you’re back in your childhood home! What are the odds!?

Ironic how you bring up revisiting old neighborhoods too. Part of a pandemic routine for me on my night off work to kill time is going out for a drive around the outskirts of town and pumping some tunes for a little while. Last week, on my way back home from this drive something clicked and I decided to do a leisurely drive along the old path I would walk to middle school for a couple years and kind of just took it in. Not trying to cling on to the past, but was kind of like one of those surprise anniversary refreshers like you elucidated on in 2006.

Thank you very much for sharing this book and review!!!

By: Daniel

Daniel — Mon, 22 Feb 2021 02:35:42 +0000

The snowbird story reminds me of another coming-of-age book that I recently re-read, called One-Eyed Cat by Paula Fox. It’s about an eleven-year-old boy who deals with the immense guilt of (possibly) injuring a neighborhood cat with a BB gun.

My sixth-grade teacher assigned our class to read it, but I was far too hyper and distracted to appreciate it. I found a copy in the local take-one/leave-one and decided to give it another shot. I was surprised at just how melancholy it was. It’s also very sweet and dreamlike though, and I think you might like it.