Maddie Haskell in “The Wild and the Innocent”

Dear Angel, I was thinkin' today of Momma. How she had the sofest, sweetest voice you ever heard... like a willow in a breeze. In church, when she sang, people standin' around her would hush just to get a better listen. I can't help thinkin' how sad all this would have made her. She never liked Bobby much... And, for whatever reason, I fell in love with him. he paid attention to me... made me feel pretty... I saw him sittin' on the hood of his Firebird late one summer night in high school. He was one of those types of people who acted fearless... like he had a secret. I never had secrets. Momma had a hard life. Guess I'm kinda glad you weren't around 2 see her hurt like she did. I'm not sayin' this like it's an excuse for anything that happened. Just that, well... I never wanted to be one of those people that gets to used to bein' sad. That must sound funny comin' from me. Love, Maddie