Be patient, Bob Cratchit!

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Dear Mr. Cratchit,

      Yes indeed, I have heard of this man Ebenezer Scrooge. He has a reputation for being tightfisted, stingy, and as secret and solitary as an oyster. Don't you love my simile? I have this job as the editor of an advice column, but I like to exercise my literary muscles every now and then. Sorry - back on topic!

     Well, I would NOT advise you to ask your boss for an entire week off at Christmas. No, that would be a terrible idea. Remember, your employer's name is MR. SCROOGE and not something lighthearted like, for example, MR. FEZZIWIG. If you worked for somebody with a name like that, you could probably try to ask for a week off. In fact, somebody named Fezziwig would probably even give you a huge Christmas party and BEG you to take the week off! 

     But with a guy like Mr. Scrooge, you risk not only losing your job, but jeopardizing your entire family's welfare and ending up living like those destitute people on the street that we see all over London. I wouldn't want you to end up in a poorhouse, or worse, a workhouse! I just can't see your son Tiny Tim hobbling around on his crutch trying to work for his food. 

     My advice is to WAIT. I'm not supposed to be telling you this, but let me give you a bit of foreshadowing: your boss Mr. Scrooge is in for a night of surprises. Just you wait. Things are going to be happening to him, things like chains, pictures from the past, sad scenes of regret, shocking scenes of guilt and remorse. After a night like that, there is no way that he is going to be the same man he was before. 

     I know you don't believe me, but your boss Mr. Scrooge just might experience a turning point (I told you I was literary, didn't I???). 

     I am not allowed to tell you anymore! But don't worry, Bob Cratchit! Just be patient. Things are going to turn out all right! 

     Merry Christmas! (I promise, it will all be OK),

     Ethel

My boss is a misanthrope

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Dear Ethel,

My name is Bob Cratchit. I am the solitary clerk in Mr. Ebenezer Scrooge's counting-house. Have you heard of him? He is known as the most stingy, tightfisted, odious, unfeeling man in all of London, maybe even in all England! Even his name sounds quite harsh. What kind of name is Scrooge, anyway? I don't know anybody else with that name. 

I have several conflicts which I hope you can help me solve.

First of all, Mr. Scrooge refuses to buy coal to heat the counting-house office. He says it is too costly. I think this is ridiculous because he is indeed quite rich, but doesn't like to spend his money to keep warm. It is hard to for me to work with freezing hands. I have to copy numbers all day long in a big book, and sometimes my hands are trembling. It is so unfair! What can I say to him to convince him to buy more coal? 

Moreover, Christmas is tomorrow but Mr. Scrooge thinks that it is wrong to give me the day off! He thinks I should go to work on Christmas Day! Can you imagine? Go to work on a holiday instead of spending the day with my family? I have several children and a wife who are all looking forward to having me home that day for a Christmas feast. We don't have much money but we try our best to have a tasty meal. My wife is an excellent cook! It is impossible for me to miss this day with my family. My son Tiny Tim would be so disappointed.

I guess Mr. Scrooge will give me the day off tomorrow but I wish I could have the whole week. Do you think I should ask him? What should I say? How can I persuade him? Help me, Ethel!

Sincerely,

Bob Cratchit

Clerk in Scrooge and Marley's Counting-House

London, England

Brian's twin brother, Ryan

Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

I have noticed that a lot of people have read the novel Hatchet so I have been thinking about inventing a character to add to the story. I have always kind of felt sorry for Brian all alone there in the Canadian wilderness with just a hatchet for company, so I would invent a twin brother for him named Ryan. In other words, Brian and Ryan were taking that airplane together on the way to see their father. It says in the novel that Brian is a little overweight, a bit of a couch potato. For Ryan's appearance, I would make him really athletic, maybe the captain of the soccer team. He is really muscular and full of energy. Brian watches nature shows all weekend long on TV while Ryan is a Boy Scout who goes on camping trips. Since Brian worries all the time about his mother, "the secret" and his parents, I would make Ryan not care about those kinds of things at all. He even makes fun of Brian for worrying about it. He thinks all about the girl he was going out with that summer whom he did not want to leave behind. Every time Brian tries something new - finding turtle eggs, fishing, building a shelter, trying to hunt for meat - I would make Ryan complain about how Brian is doing it all wrong. If Brian had a twin brother in the novel, then there would be a lot more dialogue and conflict. 

My explanation by William

"All Summer in a Day" by Ray Bradbury

Dear Teacher,
   Well, you want me to explain why I had the idea to lock that girl Margot in the closet. I feel like she asked for it. I tried to be nice to her, I really did! But she never wanted to play at recess; she just stayed on her own staring into space like she thought the sun was going to come out or something. It annoyed me the way she was so pale and sickly. And her stupid poems!! Admit it, Teacher, she was your little pet! She kept talking about her life back in Ohio which really got on my nerves. It was like she wanted us to know that everything was better on Earth than on Venus. She should have tried harder to get used to it here; it's not my fault if she is unhappy here. I heard somebody say that maybe her parents were going to take her back to Ohio so she could see the sun every day. That is NOT FAIR. 

OK, so she is going to get to move back to her home, so what is the big deal if she misses the sun just one afternoon? It's not like us. We are going to have to wait another seven years while she is going to get to see it every day. 

You can give me lunchtime detention if you want but what difference does it make since we have to stay inside all day anyway?
Don't expect me to apologize.

Signed,
William


P.S. I heard that it rains a lot in Ohio! 

Reply from Jeffrey's Father

Dear Annoyed Reader,

     Well, you think you know everything, do you? You seem to have a lot of strong opinions about parenting! But let me tell you, you know absolutely NOTHING about my relationship with my son, Ganesh. By the way, please stop calling him Jeffrey. We have lived for many years in India and want to use our Indian names. You probably think that I forced that idea on my son but it's not true. He loves living in India. If you read the book carefully enough, you would see that he is learning yoga and, therefore, completely understands my need to go off to see my guru every so often. 
     Ganesh was not at all upset with me about the state of my health and being left alone sometimes. Why should YOU be so upset? It's none of your business.
     You know what I think? You seem like a very stressed out person who gets easily annoyed. I think you should try some yoga. How about starting with this pose??
     
     Looking forward to NEVER hearing from you again,

      --Ganesh's Father

A Letter to Jeffrey's Father

Ordinary Magic by Malcom Bosse

Dear Mr. Moore,

     I really do not understand your decisions and actions. As a father, you are supposed to look after your son and be sure that he has all the things he needs such as adequate food, education, money, a clean place to live. Moreover, you are responsible for his safety. I think it was irresponsible of you to neglect your health. Why didn't you go to the doctor when you were sick? You are Jeffrey's only parent. Have you forgotten that he has no mother? Have you thought about where he will go if you die? He has no other relatives in India and it is not safe for him to stay in the village on his own. It was important for you to go off and travel to spend time with your guru, but at least you could have left money for Jeffrey (or Ganesh, as you call him) to buy food! What is going to happen to him if you don't get better? This is a real problem! I am awaiting your reply.

     An annoyed reader

Complete and utter confusion

Ordinary Magic by Malcom Bosse

I must admit that I was confused pretty much throughout the whole novel. I really did not understand how the main character, Jeffrey, could have been left all alone by his father. What kind of irresponsible parent does not make plans for the future of his child? After all, he was only thirteen years old which is too young to be left alone. Even worse, his father did not leave any money behind so Jeffrey (also known by his Indian name, Ganesh) could pay the bills. It just didn't make sense to me. I was also confused later on when the most popular boy in the school decides to become Jeffrey's friend, just right out of the blue like that. It was a nice thing to happen, but I didn't think it was particularly realistic. I guess it could happen, but the way the author described it didn't make a lot of sense.