I Was a Child by Bruce Eric Kaplan

"this book is for my parents, who tried"

"although i wasn't able to put it into words then, i think what i found so compelling about that moment each week was the expression of a truth--we are all just little dolls of ourselves who occasionally pull back the curtains to reveal the real us."

"the wizard of oz was on tv once a year. it was like halloween or christmas. you waited for it. and then a week or two before , you knew it was coming on and thought about it a lot. our first television was black-and-white, so i never knew oz was in color, and had no idea the horse of many colors was changing colors. it didn't make a difference. once someone called during the wizard of oz and we all looked at one another, thinking, Who would call during The Wizard of Oz?"


hansel and gretl story..."i was driven mad by fright. cried and cried at how scary she was."=doug + gremlins (this is a random note from 1.5+ years ago. i don't quite remember the hansel and gretl story, but i do remember the gremlins one. in 1984, when Gremlins was released, i was 8 years old. my brother, doug, was 5. my parents took us to see it in the theater. doug was terrified and cried throughout much of this film. i thought this was HILARIOUS. this is perhaps the first time i remember being a touch evil. i went on to own everything Gremlins...velcro shoes, nightgowns, backpacks, and a pink babydoll t with a glitter Gizmo decal that i bought for myself when i was 26 years old. yep. all true. no shame.)

thrift store commercial of a woman transformed by a fur coat..."every time it came on, I was mesmerized by it. it was a very powerful message-this idea that you could change your situation, you didn't have to settle for what you had, you could become more than what you were."