Entries in the Category "raise high the roof beam, carpenters"
Memories of The Catcher in the Rye
Author J.D. Salinger died this week.
True story: in 12th grade, my English class read The Catcher in the Rye. Some students were complaining that Holden Caulfield was crazy, and they were "just waiting for him to go crazy and shoot everybody." My teacher asked everybody to split into groups according to whether they felt they could relate to Holden or whether he seemed totally foreign to them. When everyone had settled into their places, it was just me and my best friend from high school, Jamie, sitting in the pro-Holden area and the entire rest of the class circled around us, staring.
Usually "I am not like other people" moments don't unfold so literally. But it was nice to ally myself with the fictional Holden in a situation he would have totally appreciated.
I also love Nine Stories and Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters.