The scenes that stay with you

[HerNameIsBuffy]

I just finished reading the old thread and some of my favorite posts were people talking about the scenes that stayed with them.  Since we have a different batch of posters, for the most part, from the original 2012 thread I'm curious...

Which parts itched that part of your brain in such a satisfying way that they stayed with you?   For me a couple immediately spring to mind:

• I think of Laura and her delight over her bread plate whenever I get my holiday platters out. 
• And when I put groceries away each week more often than not I think of how pleased she was to have stocked coffers with flour and sugar, etc.  
• Ma making donuts.
• The fear and grief when Jack was missing from the creek crossing and the tremendous relief when he returned, both book and series.  I know ML could be cheesy as all get out but when he said he only said that about needing a watchdog out of guilt for not putting him in the wagon …heartstrings tugged.  
• How happy the girls were with the very humble gifts Mr. Edwards brought them from Santa.  "We each got our own cups now!"
• Laura and Pa's hands cut with from twisting hay and the snow coating the nails on the inside of the roof in the Long Winter.
• The Christmas barrel in the Long Winter.  I could feel in her writing the utter joy is having some small luxuries after so much deprivation.

 

Edited December 17, 2019 by HerNameIsBuffy
hit submit too soon

[GreyhoundFan]

For me, the Jack going missing scene really hit me hard, both as a child, and on re-readings.

When they were first in Kansas, and truly in the middle of nowhere, I always think about how afraid I'd be with nobody who could help in a crisis within miles.

The Long Winter also really gets to me. The sense of feeling trapped is hard to take. I've mentioned before that I got to go see many of the LIW sites. All were wonderful, but DeSmet is fascinating. I would encourage anyone who loves LHOP to try and go. You get to go into the Surveyor's House, where they spent the Long Winter. Just standing in that tiny kitchen, where they all spent months, is quite powerful.

[clueliss]

Off the top of my head

Twisting hay to burn for heat.

And for some odd reason - When Laura was guilted into giving her doll to a younger child with horrible behavior (either her or her parents) and then finding the doll later toss aside in a mud puddle or something.  

The Long Winter remains my favorite of all the books in the series.

[catlady]

1 minute ago, clueliss said:

And for some odd reason - When Laura was guilted into giving her doll to a younger child with horrible behavior (either her or her parents) and then finding the doll later toss aside in a mud puddle or something.  

And then she felt bad about taking the doll back, as if she’d stolen it, even though the other girl had thrown it away (yes, the other little girl was portrayed as a bit of a brat; she had demanded to play with Laura’s doll and then refused to give it back at the end of her mother’s visit). It did make me feel better that Ma just helped clean and repair the doll, and didn’t make Laure feel worse for taking it home.