So,
it’s that time of year again. Well, yes, it IS Spring time again – I think:
they’re talking about the possibility of snow again…sigh – but I was actually
referring to the yearly A-Z blogging challenge that takes place every April. It consists of writing an article on subjects that go from A-Z, consecutively. They give us Sundays off for good behavior, so that we can regain our strength for the following week. This will be my fourth
challenge and, truthfully, I’m really looking forward to it. The first time I participated, I was gung-ho
about the idea when I first heard about it. And then, I forgot. Naturally. But
then, Russ reminded me and I asked Corinne Rodrigues if it was okay that I was
a couple of days late. I wasn’t taking part in it officially, but I did pretty
well.
Anyway,
tomorrow will be the first day of the challenge, and I thought it might be an
interesting idea to write about something near and dear to my heart. WAIT! She
HAS my heart. Yes, I have decided to dedicate this year’s challenge to the…
DRUM ROLL, PLEASE!
Many
people think that children are simple to understand; they’re young, they haven’t
had many experiences, they haven’t got the foggiest idea what’s going on in the
world, they are quick to forgive, they’re easily made happy, and so on and so
forth. But really, children are way more complex than their parents have ever
suspected. Old McDonald is a carefree, not so fictional look into the not so
carefree and simple life of a child, interpreted by Melody McDonald (aka Mary
McDowell) and her siblings: Jan, Mark, Kenny and newborn Chas. The fictional
part consists of actual conversations and the Ferris wheel scene. The latter
could actually have happened, it just wouldn’t have been Mark – it would have
been Kenny, who turned out to be the mechanical genius in the family. And,
although not precisely fictional, I downplayed most of the actual events. I
figured that if parents read just how wild we really were they wouldn’t let
their children read the book(s).
Children
are complex people. They have their own likes, dislikes and views of how
the world should be. They have their own fears, strengths and weaknesses, which
parents may look on as silly or even without real meaning, but they are very
real to a child.
I
have been blessed with a very strong memory; I can remember things that
happened (not everything, but a great deal) when I was still living across the
street from my grandparents, on the Balboa Peninsula way back in the early-mid-fifties. This is not
always such a great thing, believe me. However, it works out just fine while
defining my alter-Ego, Melody McDonald. I hope you will enjoy her "simplicity"
and her crazy idiosyncrasies.
And
so, Onward and Upward to the A-Z of Melody McDonald! See you tomorrow!
P.S. If you look for my name on the List of Participants, at the time of this post, it was 723, but it might change. :D
