Re: First Catcher memories?

Bethany M. Edstrom (Bethany.M.Edstrom@Dartmouth.EDU)
Tue, 25 Nov 1997 10:01:49 -0500 (EST)

--- "Peggy F. Jean-Louis" wrote:
The first time I read the letter that Buddy wrote to Zooey, I remember
feeling sad...because out of all the people I've ever loved, none of them 
could ever write to me so beautifully. It's the kind of letter everyone
dreams of getting and probably never will. That's what makes it so
special.
--- end of quoted material ---
yes, exactly. And especially the idea that someone in a person's own family,
when families are often so hopelessly tied up in the trivial, could  understand
that person so well and write a letter so full of EVERYTHING--compassion,
apology, shared memory, instruction, closeness and distance at the same time.
Like Franny and Zooey I also grew up in a family full of much-older siblings,
but none of them could or would ever write a letter like that. What pulls me
into that scene is the fact that the very relationships that annoy Zooey so
much are the ones I can't help but envy...