tippi gritt ~~~~~~

Page Six…..    based on a true turners story

 

Tippi is sitting around her livingroom, watching a movie with her children and their babysitter, who lives next door. The babysitter is fourteen, and an avid reader. Somehow or other the conversation rolls around to the concept of reading to little children. Maybe the babysitter, Lysa, had read the kids a story and was telling Tippi all about it.

Lysa:   Do you read to the kids, Tippi?

Tip:  God no, that’s what kindergarten’s for.

Lysa:  But only one of  ’em is even in kindergarten. What about the others?

Tip:  They’ll get read to when they go. I”ve got too much to do to sit around reading stories. I don’t like books anyway.

Lysa:   What about their Dad?

Tip:  No, he don’t read books either, and he don’t read to the kids.

Lysa:  Jeeze, I never heard of parents who didn’t read to their kids. You’re the first ones.

Tip (getting touchy):   What’s the big deal about books anyway? Does reading books make money? Money’s the thing that pays the bills. They’ll learn to read when they go to school. Then they can read books themselves, if they want to. But I don’t know why they’d want to waste their time.

Lysa:  But reading is fun. And you learn all kinds of things. It really does expand your mind.

Tip:  Well I never saw nuthing fun about bein’ forced to read. And I don’t give a crap if anybody’s mind ever gets expanded. Make money, that’s what people need to do.

Lysa  (also getting touchy):  I don’t know why you’d wanna be so ignorant, and let your kids be ignorant.

Tip:  Oh, so now you’re callin’ my whole family ignorant?

Lysa:  Yes I am. And I don’t know why any parent would sit around and refuse to read their kids. You just must be proud of not going near books. You must think it makes you special somehow, or it makes you some kind of a rebel.

Tip  (yelling now):  And you’re some kind of a snot, like your mother!  Books and that stupid Beethoven stuff and music in languages nobody can understand. All I ever hear is how you can’t stand your mother, but you’re a snot just like her!

Lysa  (also yelling):  Well I’d rather be a snot than be ignorant!

Tip:  And I’d rather be bringin’ in good money than sittin’ around on disability listenin’ to Beethoven and readin’ stupid books! Don’t come back here anymore! I’ll get another babysitter.

Lysa:  Fine, fine, I won’t come back. Hope the new babysitter reads to your poor little kids. And you’re a lousy cook! You’re so proud of the fact that you get up in the morning and make pudding and pancakes and cupcakes. What a great MOM you are! Well if you really wanna be the special mommy who always makes homemade treats for her kids, take some goddamned cooking lessons! Your panckes are like sawdust and you’re pudding is like rubber and your cupcakes are queer. Nothin’ you make has any taste! Make your kids somethin’  good and tasty for a change!

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Epilogue

A little squabble between neighbors. Happens all the time in the world. In the years to come, Tippi tossed her husband, stopped bleaching her hair, started riding a motorcycle and dressing in this sort of I’m-so-natural look. And so far as this writer has been told, she has never, since the day of this little argument, gone near a book.

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read Poison and snowflake trees

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