Senior 'nerd' writes in

I got this e-mail last week and kept meaning to post it.

By the way, don't forget to come see hubby and me hosting trivia tonight!!

Dear [Addled],
Thank you for Carrie Pilby! I am a 60 year old woman, retired from teaching, living in an "active adult" community in Florida. We have a library in our neighborhood where residents donate their old books and, after hunting through the shelves for something worth reading, I came upon your novel. I thought at first, that the book was probably directed toward a much younger audience, but decided to read a few pages anyway, in case it was any good -- and besides, I love teenagers, having been a middle school teacher. And I love "young adult" literature as it is usually well-written with interesting characters and tight plots. Teens don't continue reading a book once it bores them!

Well, your book was a revelation to me! I AM Carrie Pilby at 60! I wish I were as bright as she, but I do have that nerdy personality that wants to learn new things and becomes fascinated by each bit of knowledge the world reveals. I am just bright enough to have that "black-white" thinking that plagues Carrie in her quest to understand hypocrisy, and I must admit that I still am often disappointed by people's actions. The world is rife with hypocrisy, and I have had to focus on motives rather than actions as Carrie learns to do.

Her acceptance of herself at the end of the novel was wonderful--a perfect ending. As a senior who tries to fit in--even at this age--it was a good lesson for me to relearn. I don't enjoy "doing lunch" every day with others who want only to gossip, and I would only join Red Hats if someone put a gun to the head of a loved one. Yet I am not a snob at all. I love people but just don't seem to have the same interests. It was a good time to reaffirm my own self-acceptance and realize that nothing was "wrong " with me . In fact, I feel quite excited today and look forward to some "projects" that I have wanted to start but have been putting off in order to socialize more. Hooray for the Carrie in all of us! And thank you.
Sincerely,
[Senior]

The Hills

For anyone else who watches: Lo is secretly in love with Lauren, isn't she? She gets jealous whenever Lauren even mentions a boy. (Just a theory.)