the miracle worker

i called my mom earlier this week to ask her about a story from my childhood. as i have understood the story, i was an early reader. one day, we were on a road trip and i was in the back seat with my favorite book - a chapter book about helen keller. my mom asked why i was crying and i said, "because her teacher just died." my mom hadn't realized that i could read.

i was reminded of this story when i watched this video of helen keller. i have always been enthralled with her story - maybe because it was one of the first books i read on my own, certainly because she has such an interesting story. i remember watching the movie about her and absolutely loving it.



hellen keller has been in the news a lot lately because a statue was put up in DC of her running her hands under a water pump. if you don't know her story, its really inspiring and interesting. i called my mom because i asked her how old i was when i was reading this book. "umm, 2nd grade, i think?" i was shocked because i thought it must've been before that, "2nd grade?!" then she replied, "i dont know. maybe 5th grade?" i was doubly shocked. i am POSITIVE it was not 5th grade - i was reading box car children at that age. in my mind, i was reading at age 3 or 4. if she says 2nd grade, we'll compromise on kindergarten. i read my first chapter book with few pictures at age 5. that makes sense, right?

in any case, i loved reading and still do, although i don't do as much as i used to. to try to encourage my brothers to read, i give them books as gifts for most holidays. i don't think they read them. grr to that.

even more than reading, though, i love movies. here is a scene from one of my favorites, the miracle worker...