Chapel Hill!

We made it to Chapel Hill! Yahoo! I've had a fantastic trip so far; we drove to Baltimore yesterday (eight hours in the car) and to Chapel Hill today (six hours.) We're having such a lovely time with David and Ellen. We stopped at The Weave this afternoon, then went to Spotted Dog for dinner, and then watched Ferris Bueller's Day Off, which was good fun.
See all of you soon!

A special hootenanny moment

Almost Famous

We watched Almost Famous yesterday, and I had forgotten how much I like it. It is really a very good movie. Flora, if your parents are okay with it, we should watch it together. It's funny, and it has good music in it. That is sort of all I've got to say.

Everything Is Illuminated

I finally saw the film version of Everything Is Illuminated, which I enjoyed. It wasn't anything like the book, but it is definitely worth seeing, and I really did like parts of it. It frustrated me sometimes, though, and it left so much out. I still liked it more than I expected to. The way they introduced Alex was terrific, and I am glad they managed to capture his way of speaking, because it's extremely funny.

A happy lil' story

I had to write a short story for Latin class. I just finished it. I wanted to make it bizarre (almost like Waking Life) but unfortunately, I am not premium with Latin. My vocabulary is, er, limited. Here is my finished story:

FABULA IN LINGUA LATINA

Flaccus Quintum vocat. "Quinte!" dicit, "veni!"
Quintus Flaccum non audit. Ille est laeta.
Iam Flaccus iratus est. "Quinte!" clamat, "meus filius stultus!"
Flaccus exet casam, et constituit procedire in hortum. Sed Quintus non est in horto. Flaccus procedit in agrum, sed Quintus non in agro. Flaccus procedit in Quinti amici casas, sed Quintus non in casis amici! Quintus non adest!
Ubi est Quintus ipse? Quintus non est in terra. Immo est in aere! Quintus in aere volant! Iam Flaccus est valde iratus. Flaccus ambulat in casam, et Scintilla videt.
"Ubi est Quintus?" rogat.
Scintilla non respondet. Scintilla festinat ad ianuam et Quintum videt! "Aaaah!" clamat, "QUINTUS VOLAT!"
Flaccus dicit, "O dei boni! Puer stultus!"
Quintus cadit ad terram. "Salve, Mater! Salve, Pater!" dicit.
"Quintus!" Scintilla clamat. "Flaccus, Qunitus est mortuus!"
Quintus respondet, "Sum non mortuus. Sum laeta!"
"Fu, puer," Flaccus dicit. "Tuus mater est misera. Es puer malus."
"Sum non malus. Sum puer bonus," Quintus dicit. "Fu, pater!"
Quintus surgit in aerem. Mox Qunitus non adest.
Scintilla dicit, "Eheu."

Here is a translation:

STORY IN THE LATIN LANGUAGE

Flaccus calls Quintus. "Quintus!" he says, "come!"
Quintus does not hear Flaccus. He is happy.
Now, Flaccus is angry. "Quintus!" he shouts, "my foolish son!"
Flaccus goes out of the house, and decides to go forth into the garden. But Quintus is not in the garden. Flaccus goes forth into the field, but Quintus is not in the field. Flaccus goes forth into Quintus's friends' houses, but Quintus is not in his friends' houses. Quintus is not present!
Where is Quintus himself? Quintus is not on the earth. He is in the air! Quintus flies in the air! Now, Flaccus is very angry. Flaccus walks into the house, and sees Scintilla.
"Where is Quintus?" he asks.
Scintilla does not answer. Scintilla hurries to the door and sees Quintus! "Aaah!" she shouts. "Quintus is flying!"
Flaccus says, "Oh, good gods! Foolish boy!"
Quintus falls to the earth. "Hello, Mother! Hello, Father!" he says.
"Quintus!" Scintila shouts. "Flaccus, Quintus is dead!"
Quintus responds, "I am not dead. I am happy!"
"Fu, boy!" says Flaccus. "Your mother is miserable. You are a bad boy."
"I am not a bad boy! I am a good boy!" Quintus says. "Fu, Father!"
Quintus rises into the air. Soon, Quintus is not present.
Scintilla says, "Alas."

School

Have I mentioned that I have decided to attend school next year? Well, I have. I have mixed feelings, mostly. The thought of school makes me sad, but I think it'll be exciting. It will be a strange fall indeed, as Flora and I will both stop homeschooling, and perhaps Devyn, too. But I will be going to school with Miss Glissando and Artemis, which I am looking forward to. Mostly I am afraid of not having enough time to do what I want to. But it will probably be good for me.

I finished Everthing Is Illuminated. It made me cry. I wish I had decided to read 10 pages per day, or something, so it would not be over. The saddness never ends, eh?

Time's tide will smother you, and I will too, when you laugh about people who are so very lonely; their only desire is to die. Well, I'm afraid it doesn't make me smile. I wish I could laugh, but that joke isn't funny anymore. It's too close to home, and it's too near the bone, more than you'll ever know.