All Writers Are Dead (Fragmented Fridays)

Usually when I pick up my eldest, Put Pie, from school she doesn’t have much to say. Usually, but if I’m listening to something on NPR that I find really interesting, then she has all sorts of tales to tell. The other day, I pick her up and I’m listening to a review on NPR of a new Elena Ferrante book. I’ve never read any of her books, but I wanted to listen and see if I was interested. Put Pie was in the backseat excitedly telling me about her day and when faced with the choice of listening to NPR or my daughter, my daughter won. I turned down the radio, but before I let Put Pie go on I made her promise that she would help me remember the name Elena Ferrante. She asked me why and I told her, “Because she wrote some books and I might want to read them.”

Put Pie went on to tell me about school and in particular these crayons that she got to use that were really just something special. They come with their own caps and one of them was even GOLD! She also talked about Day of the Dead and why it was important. There are times when she tells me she doesn’t like school and those days I get sad, but on days when she is excited about what happened at school I am thrilled.

We get home and park and she gets super serious and says, “Mama, I don’t know how to tell you something.” I told her to just say it and she says, “I don’t like to remember.” I have no idea what she is talking about so I prod and pry and finally I get, “I don’t like to remember anything, Mami!” Ugh! “Like what?” I asked. “ELENA FERRANTE!” she finally blurts out. The funny thing is that I had completely forgotten all about Elena Ferrante.

Then hours later she says to me, “Elena Ferrante is dead.” I tell her I don ‘t think that’s true and she tells me that I’m wrong because all writers are dead. She goes on to explain to me that anyone who has ever written a book is dead. I was about to argue with her, but instead I thought I should play it safe and not write any books because I’m just not ready to go yet.

And now your Friday Fortune Cookie
(don’t forget to add “in bed” at the end, if you are so inclined):

If you don’t like what you’re being told, just pretend you didn’t hear it.

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