First string future, p.17
First-String Future, page 17
“How do we do that?” I ask.
“You appear at fund-raisers and so on for animals, and I devote my life to keeping you dancing. Fair enough?”
“Heck, no! I wanna hang out at the mall.” I cross my arms and pout out my bottom lip.
“C’mere, you!” He puts his arm around me and pulls me against his shoulder. “Be serious.”
“Cody, the truth is I can’t find the words to tell you how I feel about what you’ve told me. It’s unbelievable—my whole life is falling into place.” What was I saying about the best of both worlds?
We lean our heads together. “Ever hear about people marrying their childhood sweethearts?” Cody says.
“All the time.”
“Well, that’s us, see. Only we’re still in the childhood part of it. But our time will come.”
“Mm-hm, it will. So let’s enjoy this part.”
Propped drowsily against each other, we gaze long and silently at our pond dreaming in the late afternoon sun, the dragonflies shimmering above the still water. So still are we, storing up its peace for our long future, that the frogs come out of their hiding places. They move about their business in a world they’ve always known, unaware that it may be disappearing, that they may be near the last of their kind. For today they are here, and that’s enough for them. For us, too.
We watch them, fascinated, almost holding our breath. Cody grins and gives them a thumbs-up, and I join him.
Frogs forever!
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Information about the books, music, and organizations mentioned in First-String Future are listed below for those who are interested.
The ballet novels of Lorna Hill’s Sadlers Wells series were published in England between 1950 and 1965. The books are out of print now; but you can locate used copies through BookFinder (www.bookfinder.com). Their search engine checks the inventory of 15,000 booksellers worldwide and tells you how to order the copy you want. If your library doesn’t have Lorna Hill’s books, you might try interlibrary loan. The first two titles in the 14-book series are:
A Dream of Sadlers Wells Veronica at the Wells
You can find information about Lorna Hill and her books online at a website called Collecting Books and Magazines. The website address is:
www.penrithcity.nsw.gov.au/usrpages/collect/lornahil.htm
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Frogs and the Ballet, by Donald Elliott, is a humorous look at the basic steps of ballet. Illustrator Clinton Arrowood’s froggy dancers are hilarious! Originally published in 1979, it’s still available in paperback (Harvard Press, 1984). You can order it online or in a bookstore or look for it at your library.
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The Frog and Toad books, by Arnold Lobel, are easy-to-read books loved by all ages. They were first published in the 1970s by HarperCollins and are still available in bookstores, online, and in libraries. Titles include:
Frog and Toad Are Friends Frog and Toad Together
Frog and Toad All Year Days With Frog and Toad
Arnold Lobel wrote and illlustrated many other books, including Fables, a collection of zany take-offs on Aesop’s tales. Dance students will especially enjoy the one titled “The Camel Dances” and be inspired by its “moral”!
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You can get the CD or cassette of Mannheim Steamroller Christmas, © 1984, at music stores, online, or from American Gramaphone Records at 9130 Mormon Bridge Road, Omaha, NE 68152. Their phone number is 402-457-4341.
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If you’d like to check out PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), visit their website at www.peta.com. You might like to get their regular magazine, Animal Times, or their teen magazine, GRRR!
If you’re faced with a dissection situation, you can get support and borrow materials from NAVS, the National Anti-Vivisection Society. Call the Dissection Hotline at 800-922-FROG!
You can also call the Humane Society of the United States at 301-258-3046 and ask about their Dissection Alternatives Loan Program.
Kat Corbett, First-String Future
