Anyone who still thinks that young men can’t relate to a book that features a strong female protagonist ought to meet my sons. Soon after reading the Hunger Games trilogy, Boy-in-Black and With-a-Why decided to buy bows so that they could set up an archery range in our backyard.
“Katniss was only my second favourite character, though,” Boy-in-Black explained to me. “Rue was my favourite.”
Of course, when my extended family descended upon us for Easter dinner, everyone wanted a chance to try their hand at shooting arrows into a target. Urban Sophisticate’s boyfriend, Tall Man Who Owns Cowboy Boots, even went so far as to set an apple on the top of the target, just to set the stakes a little higher.
Even my parents joined in. My mother tried Boy-in-Black’s bow. “It’s a little tough to pull back,” she said after sending an arrow across the grass to the target. Well, there’s some chance that a bow that’s a good fit for a 6’3” young man in top condition might not be the right bow for a 78-year-old woman who is almost a foot shorter.
Tie-dye Brother-in-law was the first to hit the apple. Everyone in the family immediately began saying, “That’s not fair! You’ve used a bow before!” Clearly, using a bow and arrow a couple times as a kid forty years ago at a summer camp disqualified him from any sort of honor that we might bestow on him.
After my nieces had had a chance to shoot some arrows, Blonde Sister stepped up to the bow. She didn’t look very confident as she pulled back, but she managed to hit the target. And then, just a few arrows later, she hit the apple!
“It’s like getting a gold medal at the Olympics,” she said, setting the bow down after a celebratory dance and photo shoot. “I’m going to go into retirement now.”
When I checked facebook today, I kept seeing photos of family members posed with the bow, which gives the eerie impression that we held some sort of Hunger Games over the weekend. I couldn’t take any photos myself because I’d left my camera at my mother’s house, but here’s a photo of Blonde Niece, which Boy-in-Black took with her phone. That pretty much sums up our Easter celebration. Food, conversation, and archery.
“Katniss was only my second favourite character, though,” Boy-in-Black explained to me. “Rue was my favourite.”
Of course, when my extended family descended upon us for Easter dinner, everyone wanted a chance to try their hand at shooting arrows into a target. Urban Sophisticate’s boyfriend, Tall Man Who Owns Cowboy Boots, even went so far as to set an apple on the top of the target, just to set the stakes a little higher.
Even my parents joined in. My mother tried Boy-in-Black’s bow. “It’s a little tough to pull back,” she said after sending an arrow across the grass to the target. Well, there’s some chance that a bow that’s a good fit for a 6’3” young man in top condition might not be the right bow for a 78-year-old woman who is almost a foot shorter.
Tie-dye Brother-in-law was the first to hit the apple. Everyone in the family immediately began saying, “That’s not fair! You’ve used a bow before!” Clearly, using a bow and arrow a couple times as a kid forty years ago at a summer camp disqualified him from any sort of honor that we might bestow on him.
After my nieces had had a chance to shoot some arrows, Blonde Sister stepped up to the bow. She didn’t look very confident as she pulled back, but she managed to hit the target. And then, just a few arrows later, she hit the apple!
“It’s like getting a gold medal at the Olympics,” she said, setting the bow down after a celebratory dance and photo shoot. “I’m going to go into retirement now.”
When I checked facebook today, I kept seeing photos of family members posed with the bow, which gives the eerie impression that we held some sort of Hunger Games over the weekend. I couldn’t take any photos myself because I’d left my camera at my mother’s house, but here’s a photo of Blonde Niece, which Boy-in-Black took with her phone. That pretty much sums up our Easter celebration. Food, conversation, and archery.
9 comments:
Love that her hair is braided like Katniss!
H.
We bought G a set for Christmas, and they've both gotten a lot of use out of it. And lots of exercise retrieving arrows that go over the fence - luckily we back up to green space!
BubTar has a long bow and a crossbow and his interest in them has definitely increased since finishing The Hunger Games!
Tall man who owns cowboy boots? I think someone got the short end of the stick with that pseudonym. :-P
Chico de Piratas
YES! I love this.
The archery sounds like fun. After reading this I had to think for quite awhile to decide which character was my favorite. Rue was fine, Katniss was fine but I think that my favorite was the dress designer guy (can't remember his name).
Cinna.
As someone who is allegedly pursuing a career in publishing it really is inexcusable that I haven't read these books yet.
BB: Oh, you really should read them. The main character, Katniss, is such a survivor. I think you'd really identify with her.
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