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I know I am a little ahead of the game--the 50th anniversary isn't until July--but I saw this article yesterday and had to share it.

For many of us To Kill a Mockingbird was required reading in school--for me it never was, so I took it upon myself to read it. I came to To Kill a Mockingbird when I was in seventh grade; my family had just uprooted from a private school back to public school (nearly an hour away); I was virtually friendless, lonely and unhappy; I didn't know who or what to believe in anymore and I was angry at the world. I fell into Harper Lee's book; was amused with Scout, who reminded me of myself; envied Atticus Finch, who's patience was something to marvel at.

It has been nearly 20 years since last I read To Kill a Mockbird--though only months since last I watched the movie (which I love)--so it is time to read it again. Here's to you Harper Lee. Happy 50th.

"I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand.  It's when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what.  You rarely win, but sometimes you do." 
~Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, (Chapter 11, spoken by the character Atticus Finch)

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