Snoopy, Summer School, Becoming a Writer…
When I was in second grade, a girl in an older grade had a dog that had puppies. Her dog had 10 puppies, in fact. Her family wasn’t about to keep that many dogs and so the school had a raffle so that students could win the puppies. The raffles were ten cents a piece. When I found out about the raffle, I went home and asked my mother for some money. I guess she didn’t think I would win – because she handed over a dollar! A dollar, in those days, was a lot of money for a seven year old kid!
When the tickets were drawn, I was one of the winners. My name was announced over the loud speaker the morning of the raffle. I was so excited.
Shortly after the winners were called, the students were invited to the girl’s parents’ Greek restaurant in town. My sister drove me there on her moped to pick out my puppy! When we got there, I chose a puppy from the litter – for obvious reasons: to me – she was the absolute greatest looking puppy in the world. She looked a lot like the dog on the Breakstone Cottage Cheese commercial. The commercial had this little dog that chased down the cottage cheese man and would bite at the ankles of his pant leg. My puppy was white with black eyes – just like the dog on the commercial. In a way, she also reminded me of the dog on The Little Rascals. Once at home, I put the puppy down on the floor in the living room. She started to sniff all over the place – probably picking up the smell of our Westie – MacGregor. I took her sniffing as snooping and I announced, “Her name is Snoopy.”
At the end of second grade, my teacher sent me to summer school. My school, a small Catholic school in Long Beach, didn’t have summer school that year. And since I was the only kid who had to go – I was sent to a nearby public school.
I had difficulty comprehending what I was reading and that was enough for me to need to attend school in the summer! My teacher thought I would benefit from some extra help. I went, however reluctantly, to West School – a public school – four blocks from my home.
I learned a lot that summer, but what I learned the most was that I loved writing. I decided that summer, the summer of 1976, that I would become a writer.
I wrote my first book that summer – a book about dogs.
When I was in second grade, a girl in an older grade had a dog that had puppies. Her dog had 10 puppies, in fact. Her family wasn’t about to keep that many dogs and so the school had a raffle so that students could win the puppies. The raffles were ten cents a piece. When I found out about the raffle, I went home and asked my mother for some money. I guess she didn’t think I would win – because she handed over a dollar! A dollar, in those days, was a lot of money for a seven year old kid!
When the tickets were drawn, I was one of the winners. My name was announced over the loud speaker the morning of the raffle. I was so excited.
Shortly after the winners were called, the students were invited to the girl’s parents’ Greek restaurant in town. My sister drove me there on her moped to pick out my puppy! When we got there, I chose a puppy from the litter – for obvious reasons: to me – she was the absolute greatest looking puppy in the world. She looked a lot like the dog on the Breakstone Cottage Cheese commercial. The commercial had this little dog that chased down the cottage cheese man and would bite at the ankles of his pant leg. My puppy was white with black eyes – just like the dog on the commercial. In a way, she also reminded me of the dog on The Little Rascals. Once at home, I put the puppy down on the floor in the living room. She started to sniff all over the place – probably picking up the smell of our Westie – MacGregor. I took her sniffing as snooping and I announced, “Her name is Snoopy.”
At the end of second grade, my teacher sent me to summer school. My school, a small Catholic school in Long Beach, didn’t have summer school that year. And since I was the only kid who had to go – I was sent to a nearby public school.
I had difficulty comprehending what I was reading and that was enough for me to need to attend school in the summer! My teacher thought I would benefit from some extra help. I went, however reluctantly, to West School – a public school – four blocks from my home.
I learned a lot that summer, but what I learned the most was that I loved writing. I decided that summer, the summer of 1976, that I would become a writer.
I wrote my first book that summer – a book about dogs.
The writing and photographs on this blog are property of M. Samantha Kinsley
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