March 11, 1988

Dear Diary,

My boyfriend moved. In school we learned [how to write in cursive] H, K, M, N, I, J, E, C. That's all there is to say bye-bye.
Penny

This is the first entry that I ever wrote in any diary or journal. It was the day after my 8th birthday, and as you can see I was already churning out masterful prose. It's also before I started spelling my name, PennI. I was still going with the tradtional PennY. I must have been pretty torn up about that "boyfriend" moving away. I have no idea who that could have been. Really though, what's more exciting to an 8 year old than finally learning how to write in cursive? That was clearly my main interest at the time.


March 13, 1988

age 8
I wrote Michel J. Fox a fan letter. We moved to Hamelton Square.

This is my second journal entry ever. Later that summer, at camp, this little fan letter to Mr. Fox would yield a SIGNED letter from the man himself and a hott postcard-sized photograph. Well, it was a copy of his signature anyway. We also moved to Hamilton that year, just one town over from Mercerville, to the house where we still live. I must have had some really strong feelings about it all. I sound really torn up.