Distinctly Montana Magazine

63 w w w. d i s t i n c t l y m o n t a n a . c o m ized, I wouldn't have read any of these lousy books. I'd go home after school and shoot bottles off fence posts, or ride horses, or something fun. And if I were right about that, than I could probably just make up the plot of the book and old Mrs. Harvey would never be the wiser. How hard could it be to come up with a viable book plot? People seemed to do it all the time, judging by how many books there seemed to be—probably hundreds! Thus buoyed by a sense of confidence in my skills as a confidence man, I sat through Caroline Sebring's narration of Tom Sawyer thinking I'd probably be able to pull off the book report with an A-, or at least a B, as long as I could remember which book it was I was supposed to report on. "Very good, Caroline. You've done a lovely job of summarizing the novel." Presently, con- sulting a sheet of our names, she turned to me. "Gary Shelton, you're next." "Yes, Thank you, Mr. Harvey. I appreciate the chance to talk on my book." After a pause, she nodded. "Right. Well, you're welcome. Go ahead. Tell us about National Velvet." National Velvet, that's right! My mind raced as I tried to recall something, anything, about National Velvet. I seemed to vague- ly recall there was a movie made out of it, but this was before streaming services and video stores. My only chance to have seen it would have been to catch it on television, but even though we had an old black and white set that weighed half a ton and which came in about as clear as if the image were projected on the side of a tornado. Even if it had been broadcast on TV, I wouldn't have seen it because if my Mom had caught me watching the TV rath- er than reading my bible or doing my chores, she'd have had me stretched on the rack. All of which is to say that I was up the literary creek, and no paddle to be found. "Go ahead, Gary." Ok, time to invent the Great American Novel. "Uh. Ok. National Velvet is about a man." I looked into her eyes for any sign that I was right or wrong. I saw none. She stared back, waiting for the rest of the story. Maybe I was going to make it after all! VOTE FOR US WIN $ 500! FOR YOUR CHANCE TO B E S T O F M O N TA N A B M D I S TI N C T L Y M O N T A N A ' S 2023 Our desire it to create and maintain a culture that puts you first. Our team strives to provide excellence, encourage collaboration, cultivate creativity and most of all, have fun doing it. (We just so happen to do hair.) 7 7 7 E a s t M a i n S t r e e t , S u i t e 1 0 5 B o z e m a n ( 4 0 6 ) - 4 0 4 - 1 0 1 5 w w w. c o a l e s c e s a l o n . c o m

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