Portrait Collection: Kristy's Book
As someone whose birth announcement was in the sports section of the local paper (because my dad was the state champion high school football coach in our town), I appreciate the baseball touches Kristy puts on her life story and imagery.
Kristy (like Stacey, Claudia, Mary Anne, and all the other SMS eighth-graders) is writing her “autobiography” and here’s what we learn about her:
Her dad was a sportswriter (did we know this before? I don’t remember) and her parents were at a Yankees/Red Sox game when her mother went into labor with Kristy. This tracks.
Kristy’s “first great idea” was a snowperson-building business on Bradford Court; Kristy, Claudia and Mary Anne got paid a few dollars to build snowpeople on neighbors’ lawns and used the money buy Mimi a scarf for her birthday. Mimi wore the scarf every winter for the rest of her life. RIP MIMI. <3
Growing up, Kristy always wanted to do the same things as her older brothers but wasn’t always allowed (because she was younger) so sometimes she’d sneak or finagle her way into things… like seeing the movie Car Man about a dude who could transform into cars. Her mom found out and stormed into the theater, getting the movie shut off and then demanding that Kristy and her brothers leave. HAHAHA good for you, Elizabeth. The boss is the boss.
Kristy’s dad is shady and at some point comes back and makes Kristy lie to her whole family about hanging out with them. (It’s basically the same plot as the 1995 Baby-sitters Club film.) The saddest part, to me, was how her dad gave her a brand-new baseball glove as a way to makeup for some missed birthdays, but it was a righty glove (and Kristy’s a lefty) and when she tries to exchange it she finds out it was actually a party favor from some sportswriter event. GUT PUNCH. Stay tuned… we’ll talk about BSC movie next week!
