JD Salinger and Me

"People always clap for the wrong things." ~Holden Caulfield

Truthfully, I haven't thought about him in years so it's a bit odd that I'm feeling so affected by his death. Guess that's the way of the world in this age. So much to distract us and since he dropped off the grid, I didn't remember until JD Salinger died, how much he meant to me in my formative years.

I read Catcher in the Rye when I was 12 years old. I may even been as young as 12 actually. I don't remember exactly, but I do recall that I read the book because my friends' older siblings were all talking about in whispers, as if it was daring and somehow illicit to view his prose. Wanted to see for myself what the buzz was about. I was hooked for life. I read everything he ever wrote and it formed, and informed, my view of the world.

One of the reasons I started dating my first husband was because he owned Salinger's complete works. That didn't work out so well, but the books got me through some rough stages. That was a long time ago. Thinking the best memorial I can give Salinger now is to read them all again.

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