September 9, 1964
David Brooke here filling in for Jocie who got in trouble at school for eating a Tootsie Roll in class. She claims she just took a little bite in the hallway between classes. It wasn’t her fault that Mrs. Jackson picked on her to answer the very first question in English class and that chocolate sort of dribbled out of the corner of her mouth when she tried to answer. She knew the answer, but then Jocie always thinks she knows the answer. That’s part of her problem.
I shouldn’t say that. Jocie’s a great daughter and I can’t find much wrong with her. She works hard at the paper. She helps Aunt Love who is having more and more memory problems. She mostly manages to be respectful to the church people. She’s a favorite of several of the members there although I think some of them are just entertained about what Jocie might say or do next.
I’m just glad she’s full of love, wants to make people smile, and likes being my daughter and living in Hollyhill. And that she’s not much like her mother. Adrienne was beautiful. She knocked me off my feet at first sight, but I should have stepped back and taken a deep breath before we ran off to get married.
I was home from the war on leave for my father’s funeral. I was getting ready to ship out. Well, ship under might be a better way to say it since I was going down in a submarine. I was going to be swallowed in a deep sea of loneliness for a long time and Adrienne was so beautiful. Real beauty is more than skin deep. I found that out. Not sure Adrienne has yet, but I pray for her. I don’t love her anymore. I don’t know that I ever had the proper love for her. Attraction, that’s for sure, but real love that lasts a lifetime takes more than that. It has to grow and wrap tendrils of caring around one another to tie two people together for life.
I was willing to try to make that happen, but Adrienne wasn’t. She deserted us. Deserted Jocie long before she actually left Hollyhill, but that’s a different story. One I should tell Jocie before I tell the world. If I could find the right words. Maybe I need to add that to my prayer list. The right words.
Jocie always has plenty of words ready. She’s a great writer already and getting better all the time. But I can tell she and her English teacher are going to butt heads this year at school. So I’m trying to nip this problem at school in the bud. Not letting her write last night was the worst punishment for her. She loves writing. She said she had to write this report, that people were expecting her too. I asked her how many people. She said five or six at least, and who knows? Maybe as many as ten or fifteen! I told her that she should have thought about that before sneaking bites of candy at school.
She looked at me like I’d lost my mind and asked what being hungry could have to do with writing this? And was it her fault that Tootsie Rolls took so long to chew? Hadn’t I seen the ad I put in the Banner last week? I asked her hadn’t she. She should have known better. I thought she was going to cry when she knew I was serious about not letting her write. I can’t stand to see her cry, but I couldn’t give in. A father has to maintain a little discipline. So I told her I’d write this piece for her. That way you’d know why she didn’t get it written last night.
She’s off to school today. No telling what note she’ll bring home from the teachers this week. She’s really a great daughter and I love her so much. If she gets in trouble again this week, I’ll make her sweep the press room. That needs doing anyway. And she won’t mind that. She’ll get to talk to Wes. Wes would do anything for Jocie. But then so would I. Even try to get her to figure out a way to get along with her teachers!