Atticus, Scout, and Harper were all on our baby name list.
A proud parenting milestone came last summer when both Bird and Deal read To Kill A Mockingbird. Like so many others might say, it’s the one book I can read over and over again without skimming. Bird read my tattered old copy from high school with teeny tiny print and my notes scratched in the margins. Deal read it on his kindle, making it easier to whiz through. Later in the summer we sat atop blankets and picnicked with friends while we watched the film version at the art museum outdoor theater.
The boys know how I marvel at Atticus Finch. I have been inspired by modern-day Atticus Finches. I met them through legal industry clients who focus on social justice and civil rights. To this day they have been the most inspiring and dedicated people I have ever worked with, many of them citing To Kill a Mockingbird as their early inspiration. For Mother’s Day last year the boys gave me a necklace of two silver feathers, each representing Scout and Boo Radley and celebrating their unlikely bond. I wore it everyday we were in India last spring. I would absent-mindedly twirl the feathers, a cathartic and calming habit on our long road journeys. I hadn’t worn the necklace in a while but something made me reach for it today.
“You see, more than a simple matter of putting down words, writing is a process of self-discipline you must learn before you can call yourself a writer. There are people who write, but I think they’re quite different from people who must write.” HARPER LEE, interview with Roy Newquist, Counterpoints, 1964
“We’re paying the highest tribute you can pay a man. We trust him to do right. It’s that simple.” HARPER LEE, To Kill a Mockingbird