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     Weekends are the best!   The day is yours to do 

whatever you wish.   No school and endless hours of 

freedom to do as you please.   There is nothing better, 

unless you're me.   While most kids my age are in the 

luxury of their own homes on the weekends, I'm stuck 

at my grandmother's.   Don't get me wrong, my 

grandmother is a great lady.   She cooks the best fried 

chicken this side of Georgia, but there is one thing that 

drives me insane.   She does not have cable television!  

It makes no sense.   Marybeth's grandmother is the 

same age as my grandmother and she has cable.   Who 

would willingly choose to live without the wonderful 

world that cable television provides?   My grandmother, 

that's who.  

     Every Saturday when my mom drops me off on her 

way to work, I hold on to a glimmer of hope that my 

grandmother called the cable company and a wonderful 

black box of happiness will be sitting neatly next to her 

television.   And each week it is the same, no black box, 

but two bunny ear antennas covered in foil to help get a 

better signal for the local channels.   Do you know what 

comes on the local channels?   News, old timey movies, 

and more news.   Not the best selection for a fourteen 

year old growing up in the age of technology.

     "You could go outside and play.   It is a beautiful day 

out and the flowers are starting to bloom," my 

grandmother says.

     "Yeah, that's okay,"   I say as I fiddle relentlessly with 

the bunny ears on the television.

     "What about reading a book?   I have a bunch that you 

might be interested in.   Stories about the past and how the 

west was won.   What do you say?"

     "She doesn't want to hear what I really have to say, so 

I nicely state, "No thanks Grandma.   The past is in the past 

for a reason, no sense in reliving it today."   I was hoping 

she would take the hint and realize that she is the only one 

on the block without cable, but no luck.

     "The past is what made us who we are today.   You can 

only get so much from a television show.   What is it with 

you and your T.V shows anyways?"

     "Well Grandma, with cable television you can watch 

shows or movies about anything!   Unsolved mysteries, 

dramas about moving to a new town, and of course my 

favorite, the shows about people going through hard times 

that beat the odds and come out on top.   Where else can 

you see things like that, certainly not outside or on the 

local channels?

     "You may be surprised.   Have you read any of my 

books before?   I have tons of mystery novels, stories 

about voyages to imaginary lands, and many tales about 

struggles faced in the past."   My grandmother makes her 

way over to the bookshelf and pulls out a thick dusty book.

     "I don't think that will interest me Grandma.   I am not 

much of a reader."

     "That is part of the problem.   You depend so much on the 

television for entertainment that you're missing out on one of 

the oldest forms that have stood the tests of time, books!"  

my grandmother says with great emphasis.   "Just give this a 

shot and if you don't like it, I'll consider getting cable for 

when you come over next weekend."

     "Really, sounds like a deal,"   I shout.   I would do anything 

to have just one Saturday at my grandmother's with the fun 

and adventure that television shows provide, even read this 

old dusty book.

    As my grandmother hands me the book, dust flies and 

causes us both to cough.   The title says Gone With the Wind.  

"Yeah, that sounds about as boring as you can get," I think 

to myself.

     I make myself comfortable on my grandmother's 

green couch, nestling up against two of her fluffiest 

feather filled pillows.   I open the giant book to the first 

page.   "Chapter one," I say to myself as I begin reading.

     I make it through the first paragraph and without 

control let out a tremendously loud yawn.   I knew this 

would happen.   Boring books equal snooze time.   I try 

to continue reading, but my body wins the fight and I 

drift into a deep sleep.

     "Scarlett!   Scarlett!   You have to wake up Scarlett!"  

I hear as I rub my eyes trying to awake from my 

peaceful slumber.  

     "We have to leave now!   They are coming into town 

as we speak."   I awake to find a dark haired man yelling 

in my face.   As I sit up I realize that my jeans and t-

shirt have been replaced with a dress that looks like it 

belongs in the 1800s.   This observation gets worse as I 

look around and find that the house I am in also looks 

like it belongs back, way back, in the old days.

     "You've got the wrong girl!   My name is Susan and I 

am not exactly sure how I got here, but..."

     "There is not time for that Scarlett, the smoke from 

the town is already getting to you.   They are burning 

everything down and we are in the line of fire.   We have 

to leave now!   Go upstairs and help Melanie and the baby 

down.   They need to get settled in the carriage outside."

     "Okay, who is Melanie and what are you talking 

about?"   While finishing my rant of confusion, gunshots 

ring from close by.   I decide that while I have no clue 

what is going on, if I want to live I better listen to the 

dark haired man who seems to know what he is talking 

about. 

     I run upstairs to find a woman dressed in white 

holding a new born.   "Are you Melanie?"   I ask.

     "Scarlett, are you okay?   What is going on down 

there?"

     While it is not my name, I answer anyway.   "We 

have to leave!   The dark haired man said someone is 

coming and that I have to get you and the baby down 

to the carriage safely."

     "Rhett said?   Well let's go, we have no time to 

waste."

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