Lights, Camera, Amalee by Dar Williams

Author:Dar Williams
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Published: 2006-03-03T16:00:00+00:00

We got home in the early evening, along with the tired commuters.

Dad was home, so we all sat and watched my new footage on the television. It would be a nice contrast with Henry at the aquarium as he stood next to the light rippling through the water. Where Gail stood, it was all very still, in a museum way.

“She’s a kicker,” Dad said.

“You can’t tell until she starts talking about plants and animals,” Phyllis said. “Amalee had to draw her out.”

“Good for you,” Dad murmured, still listening to Gail. “Wow, she really makes you care about this stuff.”

I asked, “What do we do to preserve the web of life — in this house, I mean?”

Dad groaned, and Phyllis laughed. “Probably not enough,” Dad said. “But I drive a fuel-efficient car, we recycle, we compost … uh.” He looked nervous. “Oh, and we use recycled paper whenever we can, and I give money to environmental organizations, and, and … I don’t water the lawn. I’m not a vegetarian, but thanks to John, most of our food comes from a local source.”

Phyllis shook her head. “I’m not sure if that’s enough, David.”

Dad said, “I planted trees to shade the house in the summer so we don’t have to use air conditioning as much, and we use energy-efficient appliances and lightbulbs.”

Phyllis said, “I don’t know….”

“I try to salvage things instead of throwing them away,” Dad went on.

“Stop torturing Dad!” I yelled, laughing with Phyllis.

“I should get a solar panel,” Dad said to himself.

“You should,” Phyllis teased him. “Oh, you forgot to mention growing native plants that attract birds and butterflies.” She turned to me and said, “Your dad has always been into the environment.”

“Was my … was Sally?” I asked. Phyllis and I had been through so much today, I felt like I could ask.

Dad smiled sadly. “That’s a good question. Yes, she would have been if she hadn’t had all those problems. She loved animals.”

“Yes,” Phyllis agreed, “she could have been very happy taking care of animals. In fact, I could see her in a place like southern Argentina, very far away from her mother, looking after seals and penguins.”

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