"Molly" talks about her passions
Interview by Nan Fawcett
Molly came whipping across the lower Prairie Hill sidewalk toward my porch on her scooter, trim and colorful as always in her Field of Dreams T-shirt. She is the big sister of Fiona, whom we featured in the last newsletter. And now it’s her turn to shine, though being a shy person (not unusual at Prairie Hill), she’s chosen to be known by the “pen name” of Molly in this newsletter piece. Truly she DOES shine if you’ve ever seen her on the high bars or in a floor exercise gymnastic routine. She is magnificent! And her expertise in gymnastics is what we know most about her. So this was my chance to find out more.
Molly says it is true that gymnastics is her biggest love. She started off on this path when she was 2 years old, at home in Moline, Illinois. When she was 4, she successfully begged her parents to sign her up to work out in a real gym, and one year later she was doing back handsprings. She loved it all. And she remembers that while the other kids were playing around in the foam pit, she was working out on the beams and bars. Now she’s at a very high level indeed and participates in competitions.
I asked Molly what else there is to know about her. And sure enough, she has a number of interesting skills and passions. She makes clothes for herself. No sewing involved; she ties cloth together to make new outfits. She also invents things. The latest is a pulley made with a metal rod and fabric, which she uses to pull herself up to the high bar. Right now she is taking it easy on her knees, she explains, since she has a temporary case of “jumpers knee.” That came when she did a front flip on a trampoline and landed wrong. But it’s getting better and soon she won’t need to curtail her jumps.
Molly also has a passion for Greek mythology. Her favorite characters are Artemis and Aphrodite. Years ago she checked out a library book about Medusa, and renewed it many times. It told the story of a beautiful mythical girl who was cursed by Athena. Medusa’s hair turned to snakes, and she was gifted with a strange power: if she looked someone in the eye, they turned to stone. If you want to know more stories from this treasure chest of Greek mythology, go to Molly. She knows much!
Fig and Kit Kat are Molly’s cats. She likes cats a lot because of their calm. As we were winding up our conversation, two dragonflies were dancing above our heads. Some folks say that dragonflies bring good luck, and Molly decided that seeing two at once might bring double good luck. Then she hopped on her scooter and zipped back home.
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