One thing I remember from reading The Maltese Falcon sophomore year is that it has only two scenes that aren't in the present or that aren't from Sam Spade's point of view. Or something. Those scenes don't exist in the film. And it's a good one.
Something about The Outsiders occurred to me last week and I reread most of it before we left. I saw the movie only once (before today), with Haitch, and, seeing it for the first time as an adult instead of at 13 when it came out, I thought it sucked. Like "Maltese Falcon," it is nearly faithful to its book; unlike that cinematization, it doesn't work. Pointless scenes like trying to trap the rabbit are added, and pointful bits about the characters that aren't in the linear time period, like Sodapop's love for Sandy or even that Two-Bit is a junior at 18.5, are missing.
You learn a lot about Sodapop and Ponyboy through the latter's telling Cherry about the quarterhorse. In the movie, that's completely absent, but Two-Bit wears a Mickey Mouse shirt, and they watch a bit of Disney cartoon on television. That's just not enough.
Ratty won't mind if I muck about with dirt instead of with boats, I am sure.
The next step, emptying the vegetable frames and mixing in the virgin loam and refilling the frames, won't be as satisfying ("I have made fire!") as scavenging a few cubic feet of rich black compost from my bins, but I figure I'll enjoy it.
I forgot to look for an electric leaf blower at Home Depot. Do such things exist? I refuse anything gas-powered for a property the size of mine but I think a blower is the only way to separate leaves from the heavier stuff I want to keep in the garden. And how long must I keep the groundcloth down? How long until the bindweed gives up growing yards and tangled, anemic yards of vines under there? If I ever can remove the cloth, I could scratch some decomposed mulch into the gardens too.
In the forecast: a big order of bishop's weed for the north side, vinca major for the north easement, thyme for the north garden slop, and maybe finally some bulbs. One crocus survived my mauling of the raspberry bed, but no grape hyacinths or tulips did. This fall I must do bulbs. But for now, High Country Gardens and fragrant blue and lavender blossoms and spare greeny-grey or greeny-silver foliage await. Wheee!