August 30, 1973In which I discover what true love really is by watching TV

I just saw The Waltons and learned what true love really is. John Boy fell in love and it wasn't at all like I have ever felt. It looked so delicious to be in love instead of liking someone because they will kiss you. I vow not to go out and find guys this year. I will be me, not Cindy or Lori or Carol or anyone but Dona Patrick. I feel now that if Dona Patrick, glasses and all for now, isn't good enough for someone then I need not bother with them.

There are quite a lot of things I would like to change in me before school begins. But didn't I just say that I wanted to be me?

I am hoping that my mother and father don't come up over Labor Day. I would like to be home earlier than I thought I would be. If only a day. I have a thousand and one things to do before I go to school. Less than one week from this moment. I have to do laundry -- even clean things because everything is going to smell like smoke when I get it home.

I have noticed Grandma looking older than usual lately. The other day I was startled to see her without her top teeth in. I haven't ever, that I can remember, seen her like that.

I am trying to memorize The Highwayman again. I have it pretty well down pat. I make a few mistakes and the last three stanzas give me trouble. That poem is one of the most beautiful in my opinion.

Note:
I remember the episode of The Waltons where John Boy fell in love. So do other people, apparently.

The way I memorized The Highwayman was to I still remember bits of the poem and used it when I taught about metaphors:

The wind was a torrent of darkness among the gusty trees,
The moon was a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas,
The road was a ribbon of moonlight

A number of recording artists have recorded it including Phil Ochs and Loreena McKennitt.