The pride of Monroeville, Alabama

Speaking of Atticus Finch (as I was yesterday), happy birthday to Harper Lee, born on this day in 1926. Let's make it a national holiday!

What to do in celebration? How about:

Break out the movie and maybe roll each other down the street in a tire. Dress like a ham. Leave carved figures in a carved out knot of an old tree. Shoot a rabid dog. Be a wise parent. Sneak into a courthouse and listen to a shocking case. Ask lots of questions. Listen to the call of a mockingbird. Sit on the front porch. Or at least read this nice tribute, a Garrison Keillor essay published in the NY Times a few years ago.

p.s. Did you know her friends gave her a Christmas gift of one year off from work so she could write To Kill a Mockingbird?

"Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in corncribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird."

Comments

[Holly]

I agree, her birthday should be a national holiday!

If I had overalls I'd wear them and go barefoot today.

[Christie]

Nothing would please me more than for my little pink princess to tomboy it up, don a pair of overalls, and call herself Scout.

Alas, I will have to make do with pink frilly fluff. Sigh.

[Rochelleht]

This just really makes me want to read this again. It's been since high school! Can't believe it.

[calibosmom]

April 28th is now Harper Lee Day. To Kill A Mockingbird will be viewed annually. Preceded by Enchanted April-a personal favorite!