Chapter 11, Page 18 Doing Both

Gotta love little red wagons. I think every family should have one. I always wished I could go on the sort of rides Calvin and Hobbs went on, but there wasn't a national park in my backyard. Oh well.

Chapter 9, Page 12 Panic under pressure

There are people who perform wonders under pressure. There are those who approach problems with calm and poise.

Mary isn't one of those people.

Chapter 9, Page 11 Too quiet

There are children in the house.

There is no noise.

Worry.

It's pretty amazing how often that progression works out.

Chapter 9, Page 9 Queen of the castle

Last Thursday was the 22nd. That's the 20th anniversary of Jacob Wetterling's kidnapping. I was six when that happened, so Mary wasn't born yet. My memories of the time are kinda vague, and I don't think I entirely understood what was going on, but I do remember finding the whole thing rather frightening.

Mary is about to have a similar experience. Just to let you know, I'd planned out this arch before finding out about the coinciding date. Really. Oh, and the following is based strictly on real events. (Being responsible is not fun.)