Friday, April 4, 2014

Big Sisters Know Best

by Nell Musoff from the March 24, 2014 issue

Tagline: Susan had to admit that sometimes her sister Mary actually did know what she was talking about!

In a Nutshell: Susan's sister "bullies" her into attending a meeting of the "55 or Better" social club. Susan sees a classmate she hasn't seen in years.

Stream-of-consciousness Observations: Love the bossy sister. I'm only 51, but I am identifying with these ladies!

"I'm well aware of my age. But that doesn't mean I want to join a social club filled with senior citizens sitting around talking about their latest medical procedures." LOL

Oh, she's mourning a husband. Heartstrings tugged.

Oh, hers too. LOL As always, the mention of my late husband tugged at my heart.

LOL She signed her up for brownies. That's hilarious. And bullseye on the "I didn't have to check with you--I knew you weren't doing anything." Wake up call, Susan!

"...You don't sit next to someone for a whole school year without remembering them." Um...I do. LOL

Aww. Done with the story and it was cute. This is the type of everyday hopeful romance I don't remember having seen in a while. There's no date, but the story ends with promise. It's very open-ended, but optimistic. That's something to remember when you're writing your own stories. You don't always have to wrap it up.


5 comments:

Pat said...

Great thoughts and comments, Kate.

Having great relationships three sisters, I also loved this story. It seemed so realistic and cute to me.

Chris said...

I also liked that the characters were older. Made a nice change. But for that reason I wasn't convinced that Susan would remember Charlie, someone she'd sat beside in maths class nearly four decades ago but didn't seem to have hung out with. Okay, I've got a few years on her but I certainly can't remember who I sat with. It's a small quibble, though, in an otherwise pleasant story.

Jody E. Lebel said...

I guess you would remember somebody if you had a crush on them...otherwise, nope. I recall having 7 classes a day, 4 years of high school. How could you possible remember someone in ONE of your classes 35 years ago? But it didn't spoil the story for me. I figured he had puppy love for her that year and she's one of the girls he would never forget.

Mary Jo said...

Memories are funny things. At the moment, I can recall at least half a dozen boys I had classes with and not a crush in the bunch. Honestly, I can vividly remember a dark haired boy with flashing brown eyes whom I did have a crush on IN THE FIFTH GRADE. Wonder whatever became of him.

I am not fond of these "we meet again" stories, but they seem to be a favorite at WW.

Pat said...

Mary Jo, I laughed when I read this. I can remember a boy in first grade clearly who I had a crush on. His name was Richard. Can't remember his last name though. LOL

I also remember many of the boys in my high school classes (very large school) that I just knew from being in class with. No other connection.

But then my memory drives my twin sister crazy because she doesn't remember many of the things I do from an early age. I remember the house we lived in vividly and we moved when we were just over five years old.