Happy birthday to The Catcher in the Rye

The Catcher in the Rye,was published today in 1951. To this date, it has sold over 60 million copies.

This book, along with all its other associations, always makes me think of a couple of things.

It makes me think of my dad. He loves this book.

It makes me think of my mother, and when she was trying to get a teaching job in the mid-60s. One of the questions every interveiwer asked her was, “Do you plan on teaching Catcher in the Rye?” If she said Yes, she didn’t get the job.

It makes me think of 10th grade English, taught by Mr. Crothers – one of the best teachers I’ve ever had. We loved Mr. Crothers so much that we all called him “Crud”, or sometimes, when we were feeling more formal, “The Crud”. “Did you get to talk to The Crud yet about next week’s test?” Believe it or not, it was an endearment. We called him that to his face. Hand goes up in class: “Hey, Crud, can I have an extension on my paper?” He was a phenomenal teacher, and he taught me how to write. I mean, I already knew how to write – but I didn’t know how to write a paper. He taught me. I got straight As on every paper I wrote in college because Crud was such a hard-ass. My first paper I wrote for him I got a D. What??? A D? I get Ds in Math, not in English!! My paper was covered in red markings. I stared at them and saw gobbledygook. I panicked. My next paper, I worked my ass off. I worked on what he said I should work on – I plotted out my paragraphs, my arguments, the thesis statement … I got a C on my next paper. A C???? But … but … I had tried so hard … Crud, what’s with the C???? But Crud was firm. It was a C paper. (Crud, by the way, was also so positive. Great teacher. “It’s not an A paper yet. Keep working. You’ll get it.”) After the C paper, my self-confidence plummeted. I could no longer write. I remember, randomly, throwing myself on my parents bed in despair (they weren’t in the bed, by the way – hahaha – I must have been stalking through the house in teenage despair and ended up there) – and I remember actually crying. Crying because I could no longer write, I was AFRAID to put pen to paper. I was AFRAID. But eventually, I did. I hacked out a paper. I worked hard. I got a B. Okay. That’s better. Still not what I like but at least I was improving. I’m telling you: when Crud finally gave me an A, it was one of the proudest moments of my life. I had really EARNED that A. And after that – it was all As on papers. I had got it. I had cracked the code (with his help). I had learned how to organize my thoughts, I had learned how to pick a position and then back it up properly. I was a kick-ass paper writer all through college, and I have The Crud to thank. His lectures on Catcher in the Rye were so interesting that I still remember some of his points, almost word for word. Thanks, Crud. You were awesome.

(Uhm … can you tell I’m still in a nostalgic high school mood??? Still no sign of the nostalgia ending …)

And lastly it makes me think of my Uncle Jimmy. My godfather who is, sadly, no longer with us. I would say not a day goes by when he doesn’t cross my mind. Jimmy was special. Long crazy grey hair, a big loud raspy laugh … and one of the most unforgettable people you would ever meet. He loved Catcher in the Rye so much, and his love for the book was so well-known that local high school teachers would have him come in as a guest lecturer, to teach the book. Man. I wish I could have been a student in THAT classroom. I would have loved, in retrospect, to sit down and talk with him about Catcher in the Rye.

Happy birthday, Holden. I hope that life has treated you well. Oh, and Phoebe too! I always wondered what kind of woman Phoebe would blossom into.