TORI TORI TORI

Blog number 385 **** 19 April 2009

We - mine wife and I, went to Phoenix yesterday to see a movie and before our movie started, we went into Barnes and Nobles to look at books. I picked one up from the "New Arrivals" section. An autobiographical book about a woman journalist who was imprisoned by the Iranians for a hundred days. I first heard of the book when I saw the author being interviewed by Jon Stewart on "The Daily Show." Seemed like it might be interesting.

As I was walking to a table to read a bit in it, my wife having gone to the ladies room, I passed by a little girl whom I learned later was four years old. And named "Tori." She was a bit pudgy and a little bigger than a regular four year old. She was eating a cookie with frosting on it. It seemed to me that she was eating more frosting than cookie, and later she did shove aside the cookie when she had eaten all the frosting. She was sitting with an old lady who turned out to be Tori's grandmother.

I asked Tori if I could have a bite of her cookie and she offered it, saying, "Yes." This is not a usual thing that four year olds do, tending to be a bit more selfish. I told her, "no, no. I was just joking."

She asked me where I was going. I told her I was going "over there" to sit and read. "What are you reading?" she asked.

"This book."

"What's it about?"

"This woman on the cover."

"Why are you reading?"

"I like reading."

"How did you get here.?"

" I walked."

"How are you going to get back?"

"I'll walk."

"How are you going to walk?"

"with my feet."

"How do you do that?"

I asked her name and at first I could not get it right. Mory, Lory.

She put the index finger of each hand like a cross people use to ward off vampires and I said, "Tee."

She said yes and then proceeded to spell out, Tee, O, Eye, Are.

"Toeer?"

"NO!"

She tried spellling again, "Tee, O, Are, Eye."

"Tori!"

"Yes!"

The questioning continued on and on, with me standing there with my unread book in my hand, realizing by now that this had no ending.

Then she asked, "Why are you standing there?" Hah! I busted up on that one.

Teresa came back about then and I foisted Tori on to here so she could see what I had found. And sure enough, Tori started asking her innumerable questions.

She said her Dad's name was Don and her Grandma's name was Grandma.

All this time her Grandma sit there reading. Once in awhile she would tell Tori to come back. Tori would and then almost immediately she would get down from her chair and come closer to us. Grandma mostly ignored us.

Her dad, Don, came to get her. We told him how bright we thought she was, he told us she was very outgoing with everybody.

That girl was a real treat. So curious, so intent.