The Boy and the Mouse

After last week's excursion we're back to more regular ground  here after spending a few weeks with a few friends reading The Mouse and the Motorcycle from cover to cover. 

You see, and I'm no expert on literature, actually that had it of come from this side of the Atlantic would be seen a classic Boys Own  novel which of course it is really because the motorvation was writing for her (Beverly Cleary's) son and no girls are involved.

It captures that boyhood friendship between the mouse in room 216 and him at a level we'd get, the trust and betrayal when Ralph loses Keith's beloved motorcycle but how Ralph risked his life to get him the aspirin that saved his life from a fever.

Keith could of been any of us at the age of eight or nine with our collections of toy cars we'd play and Beverly's son did play with them while sick as many of us did, capable of striking up a friendship over shared interests.

And we're all carrying around a bit of 'Keith' as sophisticated as we may feel as much as we all can identify with Ralph's longing for freedom, independence and adventure  being probably as reckless in his innocence too, having scrapes in our pasts.

To me, between the pages of The Mouse and the Motocycle lies the spirit of childhood in rude health .

Let's drink to it.