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The Human Heart

 How crafty was James Marshall? You notice something new each time.


In "The Scary Movie," George takes Martha to a horror film. George is excited; Martha is not. But, in the actual movie, Martha discovers that she enjoys gore. By contrast, George has a panic attack. At the end, George can't confess that he is terrified. "You just take my hand," he says to Martha. "I don't want you to feel afraid."

This story confirms for me that James Marshall was my twin; he was a gay man who enjoyed scary movies. But look at the first spread--included here. The text makes us plunge in; we aren't told the set-up, because Marshall trusts we can make inferences quickly. Look at the picture: George is wide-eyed, Martha is dismayed, and the vendor is intrigued to note the tension within this date (and neither hippo *notices* that the vendor is making a study of his guests).

All of this is done with the lightest touch. (Finally, because the hippo stories seem to happen in perpetual summer, we can see that it's a balmy night, and a palm tree sways in the background. I'd like to think that the hippos are in Palm Springs. But I suspect that they're in Marshall's native Texas.)

Have a good weekend.







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