the catcher in the rye

last wednesday j.d. salinger passed away, at 92. his book, the catcher in the rye, was a huge influence in my young life. i don't remember how young i was the first time i read my mother's original hard-bound copy, but it was old enough to fall in love with the book and its protagonist, holden caulfield. i could relate to him in so many ways and he made me laugh. i appreciated his dislike of phonies, i adopted his phrase "it kills me" and loved how he described his sister pheobe as "rollerskate skinny." i always wanted to be rollerskate skinny. last night i pulled my mom's copy from the bookcase and just holding it brought back so many memories. now that my mom is gone, i'm so grateful i have this small piece of her teenage years and cherish it even more. if you've never read the book, i recommend it.