Some Pig

This is the time of year that I am reminded just what a softy I can be when all the pop culture chips are down. I get a little choked up every time I read the last few pages of "How The Grinch Stole Christmas". Go ahead, you try it:
Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before!"Maybe Christmas," he thought, "doesn't come from a store."Maybe Christmas...perhaps...means a little bit more!"
Okay, so maybe your heart didn't grow three sizes just now, but that's because you're made of stronger stuff. So that would mean you're ready for a bigger test. Chapter 21 of "Charlotte's Web": "Last Day" is as heartbreaking as any work of fiction before or since, and took me an extra evening to get through when reading it aloud to my son. Wilbur's future is assured, just as Charlotte's is not. Ultimately, of course, Charlotte's progeny remain as echoes of their sainted mother, and Wilbur must content himself with the memories of his dearest friend and all that she has taught him. "Wilbur never forgot Charlotte. Although he loved her children and grandchildren dearly, none of the new spiders quite took her place in his heart. She was in a class by herself. It is not often that someone comes along who is a true friend and a good writer. Charlotte was both."
I might go out and see the "live-action" version that opens on movie screens this weekend, but it seems like a pretty hard act to follow. Garth Williams' illustrations and my imagination have done such a nice job for so many years. Even a regrettable 1973 animated musical version couldn't kill this story. Debbie Reynolds and Henry Gibson? And those songs? I'll stick with the source material, thanks. It is, to quote the goose, "T double-E double-R double-R double-I double-F double-I double-C, C, C."